Thursday, September 22, 2011 - Watertown Daily Times

Thursday, September 22, 2011

C M Y K• 1 50 th A N N I VE R SAR Y • 18 6 1 - 2 0 1 1 •WATERTOWN DAILY TIMESThursday, September 22, 2011 E3W A T E R T O W N1861 2011J OIN US FO R T H E N EXT 1 5 0 Y E A R SWD A I LY T I M E SRECOLLECTIONCorps of editors helpedextend WDT’s reachBy CARY R. BRICKNearly 50 years ago when my fellow journalismstudents at Syracuse University were searching andscrambling for hands-on experience with any newspaperswhich would give them a second glance, I waswelcomed with open arms by a team of veteran localjournalists at the Watertown Daily Times.I was a part of the Times staff through my collegeyears — summers, weekends, semester breaks andvacations, holidays and special events such as electionnights— and then became a full-time reporterand copy editor upon graduation in 1967.I had been recruited by the national Gannett newspaperchain upon completion of my studies in 1967,as were many graduating seniors from the NewhouseSchool of Public Communications at Syracuse, butthere was no question in my mind that I wanted toreturn to my hometown daily in Watertown. Whilethe Newhouse faculty members were nationallyrecognizednewspaper and magazine editors withimpressive backgrounds in the field, the Watertownnewspapermen were my hands-on teachers.G. Robert (Bobby) Farmer, then-assistant city editorof the Times who later became city editor and mylifelong friend, told me that the news staff with whomwe worked at the time had a combined Watertownjournalism experience of 400 years with the Times.There was virtually no newspaper staff turnover inthose days; most of the reporters and editors —whoseroots were deep in the community--spent their lifetime at the Timesand knew more about their readersand community institutions andorganizations than the readers knewabout themselves. Just listening totheir morning conversations aboutthe breaking local news of the daywas an education in itself. WorkingBrickwith them was an experience thatwas never matched in a classroom.All of them were characters and local legends—more about a few of them later.They published a six-day-a week afternoon newspaperwith a circulation approaching 45,000, with four— count ’em, four —daily editions. The Times of the’60s was the largest circulation upstate daily and wasrespected among the national media. Its front pagereporting on the passage of legislation authorizing theconstruction of the St. Lawrence Seaway hung on thewall of the National Press Club in Washington. As a PressClub member a decade later when my career took me toWashington, I proudly pointed it out to my guests.The Times was consistently cited in the trade as oneof America’s outstanding small-to-midsize circulationdaily newspapers. I knew it was quite a coup for a youngjournalism student to join that team.The WeSTeRN UNION AND TeleTYpe eRAThe newspaper business of that era had not yetbeen challenged by the Internet; the notion of computersand instant communication never crossed theminds of the journalists of the 1960s. In fact, storieswritten the previous afternoon from the Times Washingtonbureau arrived at the newspaper by WesternUnion telegram the following morning. Our workdaystarted at 7 a.m. though many of us were at our Royal,Remington and Underwood manual typewriters —kept in perfect working condition by the local John J.Stocker Co. —well before then.Stories from the full-time staffed news bureaus inLowville, Carthage, Potsdam, Canton, Ogdensburg,Massena, Gouverneur, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lakearrived on a fussy clickety-clack teletype machine;stories from correspondents in Malone, Northern andSouthern Jefferson County, the St. Lawrence RiverSee Editors, E5Atelephone call in June 1904 bya city editor in Watertown to a23-year-old man in Gouverneurwould shape the destiny of theWatertown Daily Times.Harold Bowtell Johnson, who had becomeinterested in the printing businessbefore his 1899 graduation from GouverneurHigh School, was about to commencea rapid climb from reporter to eventual soleowner of the newspaper. His arrival was 12years after the death of Beman Brockway,and it would be another seven years beforehe would begin carving his niche in thenewspaper’s administration.Mr. Brockway had left his paper in viableform, not so much because of his personaladministration, but because of the directiongiven by a high school dropout - hisson.Henry Allen Brockway was 19 when in1873 he left school at the request of his fatherto assist in the Times’ business office.While the founder of the Brockway Companyhad been a good editor, and his policieshad established the editorial standards ofthe newspaper, he had been less successfulin the business phase.The newspaper was, in fact, “heavily encumberedwith debt,” an editorialist admitted.His son, on the contrary, was passionatelyfond of business office activities, and thelanguishing finances that Henry Brockwayhad inherited were soon turned around.He worked tirelessly to increase circulation,which was then between 3,000 and4,000. It may even be to Henry’s credit thatthe newspaper remained a daily because heconvinced his father that returning solely toweekly publication would be bad judgment.“Father, the last three months the businesshas shown a slight gain over the three previousones,” he was quoted in Times stories, “andif you will give me six months’ more time inwhich to prove to you the confidence I have inthe daily, I am sure there will be a good showingon the right side of the ledger.”The effort proved successful, and Henry’sposition with the company was enhanced.With the death of Beman Brockway, ownershipof the Watertown Daily Times transferredto his sons Henry and Jefferson, whohad charge of the printing department, andto three shareholders: Willard McKinstry,Leonard L. Allen and Charles D. Cole, who,stepping into the city editor job in 1886, wasthe younger brother of former city editorWilliam Cole. Henry Brockway eventuallypurchased his brother’s interests.Mr. McKinstry became editor of the paperat that time, and remained so until hisdeath in 1919.Mr. Allen, a town of Hounsfield farmerand teacher, came to the newspaper as marketeditor in 1894, and advanced to city editorin 1903.The slogan of the Henry Brockway-McKinstry administration was “A BetterPaper Today Than Yesterday,” accordingto quotes attributed to James F. Pappa. HeA native of Somerville,HAROLD JOHNSONrose through the WDT ranks to become owner/publisherHarold Johnson considered a career in Montana, but soon returned to the north country to work at theWatertown Daily Times. After buying stock in the company after becoming a reporter, he eventuallybought the paper and began expanding its reach.spent 54 years, from compositor to reporter,at the Times.“I personally know that the Times proprietorshave kept in close touch with thegrowth of the city and the age in which welive,” he said. “Instead of the proprietorspersonally enjoying the fruits of their labors,aside from their weekly stipends, theyhave invested them in the improvementand betterment of their plant.”At the turn of the century, the senior manof the news staff was Levi Pratt, who at 82 wasstill predicting the weather for Times’ readers.“He was an early riser and was at the officeat 6 a.m. every day,” said a colleague,George I. Baker. “He was greatly annoyedbecause the editors and reporters did notget to work until 8 a.m.”Rounding off the staff in 1900 were Mr.Baker, telegraph editor; Frank M. Porter,telegraph operator, and reporters Olin L.Lyman, George A. Harris and Royal K. Fuller.Mr. Baker was in his ninth year of whatwould be a 50-year career with the newspaper.Mr. Porter, who had worked with thepaper since 1887, assisted Mr. Baker and introducedthe typewriter to the Times office.“I decided it was too hard work copying thenews with a pen, so I sent over to Oswego andpurchased a typewriter,” Mr. Porter wrote. “Isoon discovered that it was much easier to copywith a machine as I had both hands to work with.The boys on the wire scoffed at the idea, somesaying it couldn’t be done.“I was the first man to use a machine, andit was not long before the others adoptedthe idea,” Mr. Porter wrote.When reporter Irving G. Parmeter washired in 1904, he observed, “The only typewriterin the editorial department was thatof the editor.””Newswriters provided their own machines,”Mr. Parmeter wrote.Mr. Lyman was considered a “star reporter”at the time, covering politics and sportsfrom 1896 to 1906. Mr. Harris, who laterserved briefly as city editor, “had a gift forwriting the news story much of the style ofthe old New York Sun, and nearly all his storieshad the O. Henry ending twist,” wrotean eventual city editor, Lee N. Fuller.Henry Brockway was 50 when he died onOct. 13, 1903, and his interests in the com-See Harold, E8COMPLIMENTARYFACILITY DAYPASSFor You And A FriendVALUE $20Workout At The Downtown,Fairgrounds or Carthage Y* Coupon Must Be Presented At The Time Of Use* Expiration 12/31/2011Congratulations to the Watertown Daily Timeson their 150th Anniversary fromand to both serving the community for many more!Free Parking - Competitive PricingFast, Friendly ServiceWatertown To Chicago BeginningNov. 17th With American EagleBOOK NOW AT WWW.AA.COMCongratulationsOn Your150thAnniversary!Congratulations, on your150th Anniversary!from theJefferson County Economic Development Agencies:Jefferson County Industrial Development AgencyJefferson County Job Development CorporationJefferson County Local Development CorporationJefferson County Civic Facility Development Corporation

C M Y K• 1 50 th A N N I VE R SAR Y • 18 6 1 - 2 0 1 1 •E4 Thursday, September 22, 2011WATERTOWN DAILY TIMESW A T E R T O W N1861 2011J OIN US FO R T H E N EXT 1 5 0 Y E A R SWD A I LY T I M E SRECOLLECTIONReporter got her startby stopping the pressesBy MARSHA DAVIS SPIRIDIGLIOZZIThere was the day I “stopped the presses” and theday I got to drive an M-1 Abrams Tank. One day wasa highlight of my nearly 25-year association with theWatertown Daily Times. The other ranksmuch lower.The war in Vietnam was ramping up when I joinedthe Times payroll in June 1965 as a proofreader in thecomposing room … a summer job after my freshmanyear at Jefferson Community College. A proofreader’sjob was to compare the type-set story or headline towhat the reporter or page editor hadsent out to the composing room tobe set in lead type, making sure thespelling and punctuation were accurate.While I’m sure the editor spelledit correctly, I did not see the typesetter’serror in what would be the frontpage banner headline for the day’sDavisSpiridigliozziRECOLLECTIONLearning journalismalong the St. LawrenceBy MIKE PELLATLANTA JOURNAL & CONSTITUTIONShortly after graduating from college I arrived inWatertown as a green reporter with little experienceoutside of my college newspaper.The Watertown Daily Times had just been featuredin a prominent journalism industry publication, Editorand Publisher, and came highly recommended asa solid newspaper for a young journalist to learn thecraft of reporting and writing.I started covering the ThousandsIslands beat, which included theCanadian border, the ThousandIslands Bridge Authority, environmentaland business issues relatedto the St. Lawrence River and everytown, village, and school districtPellboard meeting between Cape Vincentand Alexandria Bay. Thesewere heady times.The paper published my stories about how thepost 9-11 atmosphere affected northern border communities,including the first news account of federalregulations that would eventually require Americancitizens returning from Canada to carry passports.The paper documented how rules conceived in WashingtonD.C., would play out for American hockeymoms with kids in Canadian leagues and Canadianblue grass guitarists who had strummed at Americanfestivals for decades.Every winter I wrote about the St. Lawrence SeawayAuthority’s none-too-subtle attempts to edge up thestart of the shipping season, despite the fact that theywere unprepared for the oil or chemical spill thatcould accompany the grounding of a large vessel.During the summer I covered the water levels debatesin Clayton.And of course there were the hours of often bafflingconversation with Alexandria’s eccentric supervisor,F. Sampie Sutton. Say what you will, he got the roads,and sometimes even certain driveways, paved ontime.Perry White, then state editor and now city editor,helped develop my writing and reporting skills. He wasexactly the kind of editor all young reporters need. Heis interested, knowledgeable, ethical, gutsy and readyto let you know in no uncertain terms when you makea mistake. In the years following my departure from theWatertown Daily Times, I have worked with many editorsand can think of only a couple that are his equal.And I appreciated working for an editor like JohnB. Johnson Jr., who encouraged me to place ethicalstandards above all else and encouraged me to growas a reporter.Bob Gorman, managing editor, imparted the necessityof not getting too involved in a story and lettingthe facts speak for themselves.Taking my north country experiences with me Imoved on to the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit,nonpartisan, investigative news outfit in WashingtonD.C. where I worked for nearly three years.I now write about consumer issues like the sale ofpatient medical debt for the Atlanta Journal Constitution’sinvestigative team.final edition … something abouttroop movements in Vietnam. Itwas the day I learned that if the word“ever” shows up in MANEUVER… you’ve missed the error and it’s time to “stop thepresses.” Ooops!!I spent four proofreading summers between collegeyears at JCC and St. Lawrence University and duringthose years there were so many fulltime composingroom workers and summer staffers that us “summerkids” had to share time card slots with the veteranlinotype workers, typesetters and compositors. Thecompositors were the magicians who could somehowread lines of lead type that appeared upside downand backwards as they placed the galleys of type ontopage-size “trucks” in one of the many labor-intensivesteps of turning a reporter’s words and advertisingcopy into a newspaper “hot off the press.”The transformation of the bustling composingroom with its rows of clattering linotypes, each withtheir pots of molten lead, to the cleanliness of “coldtype” and now to computerized “pagination” marksthe amazing advances in newspaper production overSee Stopping, E6John Brayton Johnson was a 32-yearoldreporter and editorial writer, andsecretary of the Brockway Company,when in May 1949 his father’s suddendeath made him the editor and publisherof the Watertown Daily Times.The only son of the late publisher, JohnJohnson had graduated from Phillips ExeterAcademy in Exeter, N.H., and was apolitical science major at Princeton University,where he received a degree in 1939.Having performed the reporter’s toils at theTimes during his college-year summers,he joined his father’s reportorial staff upongraduation and assumed the City Hall beat.The staff’s society editor at the time,Catherine A. Common, became JohnJohnson’s wife in June 1941. As the couplemarked their first wedding anniversary,the young journalist packed his bags togo serve his country. With the outbreak ofWorld War II, he enlisted in the Army, wascommissioned a second lieutenant, andwas assigned to counterintelligence in thePacific Order of Battle section in Washington,D.C.Following his December 1945 discharge,John Johnson returned to the WatertownDaily Times to begin his 3 1/2 years’ preparationto take over the direction of thenewspaper.He inherited a seasoned newsroom staff,the majority of its members being Times’career people -- employees who would staywith the company until retirement, or evenuntil death.Harry F. Landon was in his 17th year asmanaging editor.“He provided that absolutely necessarycontinuity of management and leadershipto this newspaper when the new editor waslearning how and experiencing the difficultiesof the new assignments and the newproblems that were inevitable after HaroldB. Johnson’s death,” John Johnson wrote.“For five years he provided the assistancethat made it possible for an orderly transitionin management.”The assistant managing editor was WilliamE. Pearson, who had recently beenbrought in from the company’s Albanybureau. Gordon Bryant, having just completed17 years as city editor, had been withthe paper 33 years. That made him junioronly to David F. Lane, a veteran of 37 yearsin covering the courts.Alan S. Emory, with two years under hisbelt, was state editor, and 25-year veteranHoward A. Lennon was telegraph editor.John G. Case, popularly known as Jack, wasin his 29th year on the job, the last 20 assports editor.Flanking Mr. Lane on the veteran staffwere John H. Briar, brothers John andDominic Pepp, 19-year veteran FrederickH. Kimball, and Frank P. Augustine, whowas beginning his ninth year.Boyd W. Moffett, a company man since1934, was editing the Farm & Garden supplement,and respected book critic BeulahRector was in her 20th year as a Times’ contributor.Clark T. Morrison III, Oswego, and theonly woman reporter, Fauneil J. Rinn, wereFormer WDT staffers are working all over the countryA number of former WatertownDaily Times reporters continue towork in journalism. They include:Scott D. Atkinson (1976) WWNY-TVPeter Barber (1987-2002) SchenectadyGazette photographerAmy Biancolli (1987) HoustonChonicle & Hearst Newspapers, musiccriticSteven Billmyer (1984-1986) SyracusePost Standard, team leaderRobert Brauchle (2006-2010) Utica ObserverDispatch reporterScott Bronstein (1994-2001) a news bloggerin PanamaTim Buckland (1998-2005) New HampshireUnion Leader reporterJohn Reed Coston (1971-1973) WallStreet JournalDawn Chmielewski(1986-1987) Los AngelesTimesMatt Dorney (1989-1996) ColoradoSprings Gazette, copy editorShawn Dowd (1988-1994) AP WesternNew York bureau chief photographerDave Duprey (1990-1998) RochesterDemocrat and Chronicle photographerKeith Epstein (1980-1982) The HuffingtonPost Investigative FundLu R. Feorino (1985-1988) Springfield,Mass. Republican, city editorThomas S. Foster (1981-1984) GannettPaul S. Foy (1984-1990) Associated Press,New York’s youngest publisher in 1949,JOHN JOHNSONexpanded the Times’ reach for more than 53 yearsJohn and Catherine Johnson expanded the Times’ properties and also its support of NNY education,medical care and the arts.relative newcomers to the “city room.” Thepost of society editor was in transition,from Grace M. Ward to Barbara P. Smith.Mr. Johnson’s team also consisted ofmore than 20 correspondents and stringers,with Ernest G. Cook of Theresa beingthe senior man with his 47 years of writing.John Johnson strived to continue his father’sjournalistic philosophy, which he definedin an article marking the newspaper’s100th anniversary: expansion of news coverageso that the reader can get more newsout of one paper than he had previouslyobtained out of two, referring to a formercompetitor, the Watertown Standard.“That is why today the extra effort is alwaysmade for wide, detailed and completecoverage of the news,” Mr. Johnson wrote.Expansion of the printing press facilitiesof the Times was an expression of that philosophy,he said. His father had made plansfor a new building, and had purchased twopieces of property at the northwest cornerof Washington and Clinton streets.On one of the sites was a building erectedin 1811 to be a school, but used as a hospitalduring the War of 1812. The structurewas subsequently a seminary for girls, andeventually a residence. When the historicbuilding was bought in 1944 and scheduledfor demolition, Harold Johnson said in aneditorial, “The Times makes the purchasesimply to be prepared for necessary expansionsome time in the future.... The Timeshas felt for some time that it should takesome step to insure a location for a newhome eventually.”John Johnson ordered in 1950 an expansionof the printing plant on Arcade Street. Anaddition to the press gave the company theability to print a 40-page edition, increasingby eight pages the previous capacity.AlbanyKarenna Glover(1997-1999) Roanoke(Va.) TimesJohn T. Golden(1983-2007) WestchesterCounty BusinessJournalA. Charles Haeffner(1970-1979) The GloverOdessa File, editorJacob Hannah (2006-2008) Lincoln, Neb.Star, photographerVernon Hill (1981-1987) Springfield,Mass. Republican, sports editorJeff Horseman (1999-2000) Riverside,Calif., Press-Enterprise, reporterJay Jochnowitz (1984-1987) AlbanyTimes Union, editorial writerJames C. Kevlin (1980-1989) Freeman’sJournal, Cooperstown, publisherMaria Kinsley (2007-2010) Utica ObserverDispatchMargaret Kissinger (1979-1981) MilwaukeeJournalAlison Laurio (2006-2011) WinchesterStar, Va.Ken Lovett (1988-1992) New York DailyNewsThomas J. Martello (1980-1985) The StarLedger, Newark, N.J., bureau chiefCharlotte McAttee (1986-1988) Springfield,Mass. Republican, production editorGoldenStill bearing the name of the Times’founder, the Brockway Company decidedin 1954 to expand its radio holdings intothat new miracle called television, furtherdelaying construction of a new office building.The expansion, John Johnson reasoned,was “good judgment.”“The electronic industry moves fasterthan the printing industry. People like theirnews from their newspapers; they like theirnews from radio and television, but theylike also to be entertained, and the very natureof newspapers, their concept and theirlimitations, prevent them from being verysuccessful as entertainment devices.”So the newspaper continued to functionin a building erected for the New York DailyReformer in 1861, to which had been addedby purchase in 1921 of the Ehrlicher building,adjoined to the north.The first floor housed the press, with theeditorial and composing departments occupyingthe second floor.In its last years of use, the old building’sthird floor lodged the photography unitand a private print shop.“The present home of the Times is comfortableand commodious,” Harold Johnsonhad said.“This old building is a homelike place. Itis warm in winter and it is seldom that thereis a day in summer when it is not cool. It isa kindly, hospitable building. To be sure, itis cut up.”But the old building, at 118-132 ArcadeSt., needed constant repair. The floorswere feared unsafe for the weight they hadto support. And certainly, it seemed, thestructure was becoming a fire trap.See Johnson E7Heather McCrea (1999-2002) OrangeCounty, Calif. Register, city editorRandy McMullen (1979-1984) Contracosta,Calif., TimesWilliam Moore (2006-2007) ArkansasDemocrat GazetteCory Nealon (2004-2007) NewportNews, Va., Daily PressMike Pell (2002-2006) Atlanta, Ga.,Journal ConstitutionRalph J. Perkins (1984-1988) SyracusePost Standard, neighbors editorKate Pickert (2001-2002) Time MagazineKaren Pominville (1994-1998) Bangor,Me. Daily News, PhotographerGeorge Spohr (2010-2011) The World,Coos Bay, Ore.Richard Sullivan (1979-1984) SyracusePost Standard, managing editor.Bob Sutton (1988-1995) Burlington, N.C.Times News sports editorKen Tysiac (1993-1995) Charlotte, N.C.Observer, sportsAmanda Voisard (2003-2006) WashingtonPost, photographerGene Warnick (1996-1997) Los AngelesDaily News sports editorDennis Watkins (2004-2005) freelancemagazine writerCarl Weiser (1986-1987) Cincinnati Inquirer,reporterCollen White (2006-2010) North JerseyMedia Group, photographer

C M Y KWATERTOWN DAILY TIMESThursday, September 22, 2011 E5Editors extended WDT’s reach by emphasizing local news coverage...From E3River communities, northernOswego County and those tooexpensive to send by telegramfrom Washington arrived bymail. Dozens of local correspondentsfrom every crossroadsin the north ce an inch fortheir stories —submitted theirmostly-handwritten copy bymail.There were some distinctivecopy desk rules. For example:•The word “area” was notallowed. I was told the publisherfelt it had been over-used.•Italic type was not permitted.•The words “street, avenue,boulevard,” etc., were never tobe abbreviated and never capitalized.• “SUNY” was not allowed.The local college, for example,was Potsdam State Universitycollege— with college not capitalized.• Any form of the word“gut” was absolutely forbidden.Fire could destroy, but notgut, a building.•The local news was on theback page.•The page one lead storywas always headlined with aneight column banner headlinein all caps. Hardly any exceptions.• We were never to losesight that it was a family-orientednewspaper and nothingwhich might be considered offensiveto core family valueswould be highlighted, either instories or photographs.• All names in locally-writtenstories were required toinclude middle initials. No exceptions.“Ms.” was unacceptable.If a lady was unmarried,she was a “Miss.”• Soft-lead editing pencilswere kept in the city editor’sdesk and were distributed oneat a time.Competition was very muchon the mind of the editors andreporters. The Syracuse paperoffered home delivery inWatertown. WWNY radio andtelevision, owned by the newspaper,had an active news department,as well, and wasconsidered competition by theprint journalists of the Times.WOTT radio also had a busynews department. The PostStandard and the broadcastingoutlets were closely monitoredand being “scooped” onlocal stories was unacceptableto the newspaper editors. TheOgdensburg Journal, MaloneTelegram and Adirondack Enterprise---competingdailiesin St. Lawrence and FranklinCounties, respectively, wereclosely monitored as were thecompeting weeklies in Adams,Alexandria Bay, Carthage,Lowville, Gouverneur, Massena,Potsdam, Pulaski andSandy Creek.WWNY broadcast reportersleft their evening scripts at thecopy desk (company policy!)for review by the print journaliststhe following morning.That notwithstanding, majorstories developed during theday by the newspapermenwere usually not shared withthe broadcasters!Our editors were responsiblefor the the paper’s reach andvitality.Gordon W. Bryant, the cigarchompingexecutive editorwho began his career with thenewspaper in high school, wasresponsible for editing the editorialpage. His reputation wasthat of a tough old-schooler,but he had mellowed somewhatwhen he reached his seventies.Frederick H. Kimball, a softspoken, kind and gentle man,was the city editor and responsiblefor the overall productionof the daily news product.I recall him being rattled onlyonce when a local businessman—whohad a well deservedreputation for his pomposity— came storming into the officeto complain about a story.Fred listened patiently whilehis coworkers watched the unfoldingdevelopments. Withoutraising his voice and displayingno anger, he told the businessman“you are standing on atrap door and if you don’t leaveRay Robinson boxed in Watertown in 1939 and received thenickname “Sugar” in a story by Times Sports Editor Jack Case, right.right now, I’ll pull the lever undermy desk and you’ll drop tothe first floor.” The shockedbusinessman backed up immediatelyand stormed out ofthe building in a huff holdinghis straw hat under his arm; thestaff gave Fred a standing ovationand he just smiled withoututtering a further word.Howard Lennon, the editorwho was responsible forpage one, was as unflappableas Fred Kimball. He monitoredthe numerous wire services towhich the Times subscribed —AP, UPI, Washington Post andthe Los Angeles Times, amonga multitude of others. He, too,was as cool as a cucumber. Healso edited the Historical Societynewsletter.Frank Augustine was thestate editor, responsible forall news from correspondentsoutside the city. He was also thepolitical writer who occasionallywent to Albany for specialassignments. He later becamean editorial writer. He was a seriousjournalist.His successors as state editorwere John W. Overacker,whose wife was the Saturdaysociety page editor, and R.Gareth “Gary” Service, whosewife was Alexandria Bay correspondent.John was an affablemumbler with a gregariousstyle —he would makefrequent trips to his nativeSt. Lawrence County to interviewhis personal sourcesfor stories about politics inthat county. Gary smokedcigarette after cigarette asthe pressures of deadlinesapproached. Both were greatteachers, though they neverwould have thought of themselvesas such.Many of the reporters of thatera are featured in other storiesin this section . Others shouldbe mentioned as well.Robert Spath covered countygovernment; James C. Brettlocal law enforcement andJohn H. Brior, city government— his wife, Elizabeth was WatertownCity Clerk and was hisbest news source.Mayors and City Councilmembers often first learned oftheir meeting agendas in thepaper. A cynic of local government,he once told me “if youwant to show a local politicianfor what he really is, just quotehim directly… don’t clean upthe quotes.”Boyd W. Moffett of BlackRiver was an editorial writerwho also edited the Farm andGarden Saturday supplement.Reporters who were asked byBoyd to write a feature story forthat supplement were paid anadditional $5.David F. Lane, who was frailand elderly when I joined thestaff, was a historian. Havingsuffered a stroke, he came towork after the rest of the staffleft the building at 3 each afternoon.He spent hours scouringwills filed with the courts andwrote in detail about many ofthem—sometimes to the dismayof heirs — right down tothe disposition of householdgoods! His stories were wellread, but copy editors’ nightmares.Bob Farmer and I wouldcringe at David’s sentences of ahundred words each.As a native Watertonianwhose family’s north countryroots dated back to the 1800s,I intended to spend my careerat the newspaper. I lovedthe competitive nature of thenews business and enjoyed thefriendships I made throughoutthe region.As appreciative as I wasof the lessons learned fromthe journalists with whom Iworked, I was frustrated bywhat was an obvious reality —professional advancement wasat least a decade away as theTimes veterans weren’t aboutto retire.As difficult as it was the leaveWatertown and a comfortablelifestyle, I accepted an offerto become a copy and layout(design) editor at the Gannettflagship paper -- the RochesterDemocrat and Chronicle.It was an exciting opportunityto broaden my experience on anewspaper which was a springboardfor young journalists advancingquickly through Gannett’snational news hierarchy.After only a few monthsin Rochester, I received an unexpectedtelephone call fromthen-Congressman Robert C.McEwen of Ogdensburg. Heasked if we could meet for dinnerat the Syracuse airport afew days later when he wouldbe enroute back to Washingtonafter his usual weekend in thenorth country.After a snowstorm drivefrom Rochester to Syracusealong the Thruway (includinga fender-bender with a plow)I met with him in the diningroom of the Syracuse AirportInn. We discussed the NorthCountry news business fortwo hours resulting in his offeringme the position as hisPress Secretary in Washington.Viewing it as a chance tolearn the Washington newsbusiness, I accepted with thecaveat that I’d give it “a try fora year or so.” That “try” becamea three decade career. Iassumed that position on Jan.1, 1969 and upon his retirementin 1981, I was offered thesenior staff position with hissuccessors David O’B. Martin,and John M. McHugh, beforeI decided in 2000 that 30-plusyears in Washington wasenough.The feeling of awe in commutingto the Capitol dome everymorning was beginning towane and the draw of the northcountry was getting stronger.I decided that the best view ofWashington at that time wasfrom a rear-view mirror.Today, 11 years into retirementI still believe it is. It was afun career and it began at theWatertown Times.Cary Brick is a resident of Claytonand serves on numerous boardsand committees, including theThousand Islands Foundationand the Clayton Local DevelopmentCorporation. He chairs theClayton Heritage Alliance, anorganization of 31 nonprofit organizations,and is an elected Townof Clayton Fire District Commissioner.He served as a ClaytonVillage Justice for four years andas a retired Judge, continues toperform marriages throughout thenorth country.

C M Y KE6 Thursday, September 22, 2011WATERTOWN DAILY TIMESStopping the presses helped WDT reporter get her start...From E4the past 50 years. The composingroom of old is as vintage asthe Victrola.In September 1968 a reporter’sjob opened in The Timeseditorial room and I was interviewedfor the job by then newseditor Frank P. Augustine. Thiswould launch a nearly 22-yearadventure as a Watertown DailyTimes reporter.While The Times facilitieswere only seven years old in1968, the editorial staff was asveteran as the cast of a 1930smovie. That fall Mary Lu (West)White and I were the only staffersunder the age of 30 until wewere joined by David N. Mc-Mane. By the end of 1969 therewere about 10 young newsroomstaffers as we watched the stalwartsof the editorial room beginto retire, one by one.Dave McMane would takeover the reins from Howard Lennon,Mary Lu would succeedHiltberg and I followed JohnPepp as main obit writer alongwith duties as a feature writer.In 1973 I was assigned a storyabout John and Mark Scarlett,who had both left white collarjobs in Rochester to take up organicfarming and maple sugarproduction on small farms nearRossie. The full page feature waslater picked up by the AssociatedPress and I won an honorablemention in the AP enterprisewriting category that year.About a decade later I wouldwrite more about Mark Scarlett,who was back in the “whitecollar world,” then serving onthe Development Authority ofthe North Country.SO NEAR YET SO FARAs the village of Lake Placidprepared to take on the worldat the 1980 Winter Olympics,the Times put together a fivereporterteam to cover the extravaganzafrom sports to thestreet scene. Bert Gault, LarryCole, John O’Donnell and Ijoined Adirondack correspondentEd Hale for the coverage.My beat was the streetscene, activities at the artscenter and various features.One day, parked along the villagemain street was a vehiclemade from the fuselage of anairplane and the cabin froman old Cadillac - hence Cadaplane.I compared it to a “midaircollision between the mostunlikeliest of objects” and itwas one of the most fun featuresto come from the LakePlacid streets.While I got to see EricHeiden receive his 5th goldmedal in a ceremony onLake Flower, I did not get tosee the Miracle on Ice (JohnO’Donnell did). The “TimesOlympic Team” won its own“medal” - taking the NewYork State Publishers’ AssociationAward of Excellence forlocal reporting for 1980.THE CAISSONS GO ROLLING ALONGIn the early 1980s co-workerMeg Kissinger earn nationalfame when, under her bylinethe Times became the first toreport the real identity of BarryFreed -- Abby Hoffman.When she left for anotherjob, I took over Ms. Kissinger’smain beat, Fort Drum.In the summer of 1982 theM-1 Abrams tank was being introducedand a tank and crewwere brought to Fort Drum tofamiliarize the Guard and Reservewith its operation. Editorand Publisher John B. JohnsonSr. thought it would be a greatidea for me to drive that tankand write about the experience.After being outfitted witha complete battle dress uniformand given instructionsby the crew from Fort Knox,Ky., I took the driver’s seat inthe compartment beneath themain cannon of that 60- tonpiece of awesomeness and putit through its paces over dirtroads and scrub brush on theFort Drum training range.Exhilarating seems likesuch a small word to describethe experience of driving thiswicked piece of machinery thathandled with the response of asports car, but that’s how it felt!The biggest on-going story ofmy 22 years in the city room hasto be the selection of Fort Drumas the home of the 10th MountainDivision, bringing the largestsingle Army constructioncontract since World War II toFort Drum as well as a stellarroster of the Army’s finest officersto lead the formation ofthe new division including Maj.Rich Alcott, WDT copy editorBrian Amaral, WDT reporterElaine Avallone, Carthage Republican TribunereporterBob Beckstead, Massena Daily Courier-ObserverreporterTed Booker, Ogdensburg Journal reporterChris Brock, WDT features writerDoug Buchanan, Malone Telegram editorMatt Bultman, Massena Daily Courier-ObserverreporterCap Carey, WDT Canton, sportsLisa Carr, WDT librarianDan Cassavaugh, WDT sportsJohn Day, WDT sportsHeather Ditch, WDT copy editorCathie Egan, WDT copy editorMartha Ellen, WDT Canton reporterKen Eyseman, WDT business magazine editorBenny Fairchild, Massena Daily Courier-ObserverreporterCraig Fox, WDT reporterRichard Fyle, WDT sportsAndy Gardner, Malone Telegram reporterBert Gault, WDT executive editorGreg Gay, WDT sports editorJohn Gokey, Malone Evening Telegramsports editorJosh Gore, WDT Canton reporterBob Gorman, WDT managing editorBrian Hayden, Massena Daily Courier-ObserverreporterKyle Hayes, WDT news clerkSteve Heaton, Ogdensburg Journal sportsMarc Heller, WDT Washington bureauGen. William S. Carpenter andGeneral Jack Keane, who wouldgo on to become Chairman ofthe Joint Chiefs of Staff.My marriage to a Fort Drumofficer in 1986 would eventuallylead to my having to leave myreporting career in 1990 as weSarah Haase, WDT reporterGabrielle Hovendon, WDT Canton reporterJason Hunter, WDT photographerJudy Jacobs, WDT Currents editorRay Jarvis, WDT copy editorAmanda Johnson, WDT copy editorNorm Johnston, WDT chief photographerLaurie Jones, WDT news clerkMary Kaskan, WDT Sunday editorBrian Kelly, WDT reporterBrian Kidwell, Ogdensburg Journal reporterMelanie Kimbler Lago, WDT Canton photographerTracy Kinne, WDT state editorJerry Koepsell, WDT wire editorJimmy Lawton, Ogdensburg JournalJaegun Lee, WDT reporterKevin Leroux, Massena Daily Courier-Observernight editorDean Lichterman, Ogdensburg Journal copyeditorTricia Livernois, Malone Telegram reporterTom Lloyd, editor, Lowville Journal & Republicanand Carthage Republican TribuneBeth Lyons, Ogdensburg Journal city editorRebecca Madden, WDT reporterNancy Madsen, WDT reporterRyne Martin, Massena Daily Courier-ObservereditorMatt McAllister, Ogdensburg Journal reporterJohn McFadden, WDT editorial pageSue Mende, WDT Canton reporterPaul Mitchell, St. Lawrence County Plaindealereditorheaded to a joint assignment atYokota Air Force Base, Japan,and later a move to Centreville,Va. For the past 12 years Ihave worked as a teacher aideat Stone Middle School in Centreville.I have been a careerday speaker at our school severalyears and tell our studentsabout how my liberal arts educationat JCC and St. LawrenceUniversity prepared me for twodifferent but equally rewardingcareers -- and yes, the studentslove to hear about me drivingthat tank.Today’s WDT and NNY newspapers staffersIt’s Halloween Party Time!Centerpieces will never be the same! A beautiful array of cinnamon chocolate dipped applestopped with a special cinnamon blend, pineapple daisies, half of the strawberries dipped in gourmetchocolate, honeydew, cantaloupe, grapes and fresh orange slices presented in a keepsake metalcenterpiece container. A colorful addition to any table. Available in three sizes. Container may var y.Visit us at:Target Plaza21856 Towne Ctr. DriveWatertown, NY 13601315-788-4201EdibleArrangements.comFruit Festival ® • All stores open 7 days a week©2011 Edible Arrangements, LLC. Containers may vary. Delivery not available in all areas. Available in a variety of sizes.Franchises available; call 1-888-727-4258 or visit eafranchise.com.Mike Mittelstadt, WDT copy editorJonathan Monfiletto, Malone Telegram reporterAmanda Morrison, WDT photographerDan Mount, WDT sportsJamie Munks, WDT reporterSarah Nichols, WDT news clerkFrancesca Olsen, WDT copy editorPatience O’Riley, WDT copy editorRick Pominville, WDT web site content managerFrancis Pound, WDT editorial pageMaggie Reed, WDT sportsChris Robbins, Ogdensburg Journal reporterTrudy Ross, Malone Telegram editorial assistantJeff Savitskie, St. Lawrence County editorDave Shampine, WDT reporterWendy Sharpe, WDT Canton office assistantDave Shea, Ogdensburg Journal sports editorLeslie Sheldon, WDT sportsReena Singh, Carthage Republican TribunereporterMike Smith, WDT website technicianJustin Sorensen, WDT photographerJosh St. Croix, WDT sportsAlain St. Pierre, Massena Daily Courier-Observersports editorDiana Staie, WDT copy editorSteve Virkler, WDT Lowville reporterJohn Turcotte, St. Lawrence Plaindealer,sportsTom Wehrhahn, WDT copy editorPerry White, WDT city editorDaniel Woolfolk, WDT reporterFrom our 4th generation family business to your4th generation family business:Congratulations andContinued SuccessScott & Denise Gray and staff

C M Y KWATERTOWN DAILY TIMESThursday, September 22, 2011 E7Johnson family added Sunday paper, more products to holdings...From E4The company was purchasinga new press, one whichwould double the size of thedaily paper, and there was noroom in the old building. JohnJohnson in the summer of 1959made the decision which hadbeen waiting 15 years -- to constructa new office.On April 10, 1961, the firstissue of the Watertown DailyTimes to run off the press in itsnew home appeared in print.The company had partiallymoved into its new building,but was still occupying the familiarground on Arcade Street.“There is nothing so encumberedwith trivia as living in thesame building for 100 years,”the Times editorialized monthslater. “This is one of the wonderfulthings about change.If one becomes so old that hecannot accommodate change,then he might as well retire andprotest privately and publicly,leading a movement againstchange.”Incidental to the change ofscenery was a gradual changein faces. The old guard was givingway to new blood. Alreadygone were Mr. Landon, whodied in 1954, and Mr. Pearson,whose passing was mourned inJanuary 1956.Dave Lane, at the age of 85,began in 1965 a 14-year stringof newsroom retirements. Littlemore than a year after he retired,he died. A quiet bachelorwho in earlier years had supportedhis mother, Mr. Lanewas an author in local historywho, “despite advanced age, ...could recall vividly New Yorkhistory events, dates, names,incidents, with complete accuracyand detail,” the Timessaid. “He was tireless in diggingup details from the newspaperfiles and the library for his historicalwritings.”An editorial also noted,“Lawyers held great respect forhis accuracy in reporting courtproceedings and his thoroughknowledge of law.”More retirements followedin the 1970s, with four comingin December 1971: city editorKimball, telegraph editor Lennon,reporter Brior and sportseditor Jack Case.Mr. Case, the Times said inmourning his death less thantwo years later, “was a hardworker, prodigiously energeticnight and day, Sundays andholidays. All this industry didnot cut his life short. He madehis three score and ten. Hemight have lived longer hadhe not retired as a newspaperman.”Mr. Moffett, Frank Augustineand the Pepp brothers remainedlong enough to blendin with the new help for thenew city editor, 20-year veteranG. Robert Farmer. DominicPepp, who gave 43 years to theTimes as general assignmentMark A. SmithGEICO Field Representative1063 Arsenal Street, Watertown, NY 13601Telephone: 315-221-2886 Fax: 315-755-2896John B. Johnson cranks up the press for the first Sunday edition of the Times in September 1986 as hiswife, Catherine, and their sons, Harold, left, and John, watch.reporter, left in June 1978. Mr.Augustine was the last of thegroup to retire, leaving in 1979.With Gordon Bryant as managingeditor, “Bobby” Farmerhad a team consisting of Mr.Emory as Washington correspondent,John Johnson’sson, John B. Johnson Jr., anda younger generation in thepersons of Donald E. Lawton,Marsha J. Davis, Larry P. Cole,A. Charles Haeffner IV, MaryLu West, John A. O’Donnell,Nicholas J. Lyman and John R.Coston.Today’s holdovers from theFarmer era include executiveeditor Bert Gault, Gerald C. Koepsell,Francis A. Pound, JohnP. Day, Patience Carter O’Rileyand David C. Shampine.Like his father, John JohnsonJr. attended Phillips ExeterAcademy, graduating in 1962.Beginning in 1959 while in highschool, and continuing intohis college years at VanderbiltUniversity and ColumbiaUniversity schools of businessand journalism, he served as asummer reporter at the Times.Upon completion of his graduatestudies in 1968, he wasnamed a general executive ofthe Brockway Company, andwas elevated in 1973 to managingeditor.The new managing editor,thoroughly involving himselfin all aspects of the business,drew his father’s written salutewhen the newspaper publishedon July 3, 1976, a bicentennialedition, compiled by featureseditor Haeffner.“In the last 15 years,” thepublisher wrote, “the newspaperhas made changes whichwere unthinkable to the printerwho moved from Arcade toWashington Street.” Describinga newly acquired computersystem - a system which itselfhas since given way to a successionof newer generationcomputers - Mr. Johnson said“It was conceived four yearsago by John B. Johnson Jr. Heworked with electronics specialistsand engineers of theInternational Business MachinesCompany in developinga system, relatively simple ascontrasted with methods elsewhere,for handling the 400,000words that are transmittedeach 24 hours to this newspaperoffice.”The antique linotype machineswere cast aside, andtheir operators were trained fordifferent jobs. Solid lead plates,on which type was set for thevarious pages, were now useless.News from the wire servicesno longer arrived on teletypemachines, but was instead feddirectly into computer storagediscs. Reporters, meanwhile,set aside their typewriters andbecame acquainted with videoNorth Country Lock and KeyWith 26 years of experience,would like to congratulatethe Watertown Daily Timesfor their 150 years ofkeeping the North Countrywell informed.Providing fast, friendly, professional mobilelocksmith services throughoutJefferson County and surrounding areas.Chris Wells, CRLNorth Country Lock & Key • 315-786-7233Quality locks, working properly... because good security is not just a state of minddisplay terminals.Modernization of the WatertownDaily Times also broughton a new name. The BrockwayCompany, as the parent firmhad been known since March1892, became, in December1977, the Johnson NewspaperCorporation.“The new name of thecorporation acknowledgesthe ownership which started45 years ago when thelate Harold B. Johnson tookover as editor and publisherand owner,” the newspaperexplained.“There are more Johnsonsnow than there were then, sothe association of the namewith the enterprise ought toprovide an identification thatnot only has currency by alsobears the expectation of longevity.”The change came while thecompany was in the midst ofa legal battle over a FederalCommunication Commissiondivestiture order which, whenaccomplished in late 1981, hadresulted in the sale of the company’stelevision and radioholdings.“The ownership which oncewas considered in the interestof public service was torturedinto meaning a monopoly ofopinion and the public serviceof news,” the newspaper satirized.Years later, too late for JohnsonNewspaper Corp., the government’srule was rescinded.Management responded tothe divestiture by broadeningits holdings in the newsprintfield. The initial expansion occurredin 1981, when JohnsonNewspaper Corp. purchasedthe Batavia Daily News inWestern New York.In September 1983, WesternNew York Offset Press in Lancaster,the printer of advertisingcirculars and newspapers,came into the Johnson fold.Nearly a year later, the corporationpurchased CarthageCommunity Press Inc. andcontinued operation of thatcompany’s three publications:the Carthage Republican-Tribune,the North Country Courierand the Fort Drum Sentinel.Through its first 125 years,the Watertown Daily Timesserved the north country asan evening paper. It beganbreaking from that traditionon March 15, 1986, when theSaturday issue became a morningpaper. The next step camesix months later when, on Sept.28, the first Sunday issue of theWatertown Daily Times waspublished.The only other WatertownTimes morning issue of recordhad been on Thanksgiving Day1980, a result of flooding in thepress room that had preventedpublication of a paper the previousday.To achieve the ability toput out a larger paper withcolor reproductions, theTimes in 1987 installeda seven-unit full-colorM.A.N.-Roland Press.During 1987, the Times employedprobably its largesteverfull-time news-gatheringforce. The reporting staffswelled to 25, including 11 correspondents,to accommodatethe demands of a seven-dayoperation. Complementing thestaff were 12 copy editors, sevensports writers, two editorialwriters, five photographers andthree news clerks.Johnson Newspaper Corp.resumed expansion in 1988when it acquired the MaloneEvening Telegram. A year later,the Catskill Daily Mail andthe Greene County News wereadded. The Lowville Journal& Republican was added in1990, and in 1997, the corporationmade itself Northern NewYork’s largest distributor ofprint news with the purchase of10 newspapers from the formerPark Newspapers, covering St.Lawrence and Columbia counties.John B. Johnson, who washonored as Watertown’s citizenof the year with the 1959Israel A. Shapiro Award, maintainedan active presence at theWatertown Daily Times even ashis age advanced into his early80s.A champion of higher education,public libraries, municipalpower, industrial development,Fort Drum expansion,good government and the public’sright to a free press, he diedon May 2, 2001, at his homefollowing an illness of severalmonths. He was 84.“Fort Drum’s FinestTown Home Community”Right outside Ft. Drum315-629-5069EagleRidgeVillage.com

C M Y KE8 Thursday, September 22, 2011From E3pany fell to his wife, Stephanie.Mr. Cole took over as businessmanager.“It was in January 1905 thatI associated myself personallywith the daily routine work ofThe Times,” Mrs. Brockwaywrote 33 years later to HaroldJohnson. “My duties in thebusiness office were never verystrenuous. My love for, and interestin, the paper grew andstrengthened with the yearsuntil nearly everything elsewas secondary, and it was witha wrench that I finally severedmy connection with its activities”in 1931.Mrs. Brockway’s early yearsin the administration weremarked by a printers’ strike in1905, and by fierce competitionfrom another evening daily, theWatertown Standard. She overcameboth.“She was a stubborn fighter,”the Times said when she died in1941, but “she remained placidand serene no matter how tightmoney was or how difficult thefight.”When Mrs. Brockway retiredin California, she sold hercontrolling interest to HaroldJohnson. Three Brockways hadbuilt the newspaper, but it wasstill a small daily, having a circulationof 5,000. Mr. Johnsonwould make the Times the largestpaper north of Syracuse andAlbany.•••The son of Somerville merchantand postmaster JohnBrayton Johnson, Harold wasborn Aug. 9, 1880. Before thefamily’s move to Gouverneur,he became acquainted withthe problems facing farmers,problems his newspaper wouldstrive to solve, through hisgrandfather’s experiences.His grandfather, John Johnson,purchased land east ofSomerville in 1830, and clearedthe land for farming. Thestory was retold by Philip B.McDonald in “The Developmentof a Great Newspaper.”“A final payment was due onthe land before the family feltthat they owned it .... The familyhad raised eight head ofyearling and two-year cattle todrive the 12 miles for paymentto the holder of the mortgageat Richville, Civil War hero Col.Abel Goddard. The heifers hadbeen driven as far as the bridgeacross the Oswegatchie Riverat Gouverneur. ... It was justnoon. The big steam whistle ofthe Starbuck & McCarthy sawmillboomed into the quiet airof the village. The frightenedcattle had never heard such anawesome noise. They stampededwildly and plunged intothe river and were carried overthe swirling rapids below thebridge.”During his boyhood, HaroldJohnson and his friend, EdwardJohn Noble, worked for a farmerat 5 cents an hour weedingvegetables and picking berries.His friend would become a millionaireand philanthropist.At 16, Harold went to workfor a weekly paper, the GouverneurTribune. A short timelater, he founded a studentnewspaper, Echo, at GouverneurHigh School, and becamea correspondent for the WatertownTimes during summers.“Here, he enriched hisknowledge of north countypeople by meeting and befriendingmany JeffersonCounty residents summeringat the resort,“ wrote CharlesE. Fitzgibbon in his 1955 master’sthesis, “Voice of the NorthWATERTOWN DAILY TIMESHarold Johnson turned a small daily into a voice for the north country...During the 1940s World War II was the daily story for HaroldJohnson, whose son, John, was in Army intelligence.Country: The 100-Year Historyof the Watertown Daily Timesin Northern New York Journalism(1850-1949).”Mr. Johnson set out for theWest in 1900, as a reporter fornewspapers in Portland, Ore.,and Helena, Mont. He becamehomesick and after about ayear returned to Gouverneur,where he wrote for the GouverneurFree Press and the NorthernTribune. Leasing the latter,he said in a 1944 speech “I wasnot only the editor of the paper,but I was the business managerand the handyman around theshop.”He was in his third year ofoperating it when he took Mr.Allen’s June 1904 telephonecall.“When I assumed the positionas city editor,” wrote Mr.Allen, “I asked Harold B. Johnsonto come to Watertown fromGouverneur and act as my assistant,which he did.”He accepted the Times’ jobfor $14 a week. Three yearslater, Mr. Johnson became thecity editor.Mr. Johnson’s upward climbcontinued in 1911, when hepurchased stock in the BrockwayCompany. A short timelater he was appointed vicepresident of the corporation,and in 1918, he was elevatedto managing editor. With thedeath of Mr. McKinstry in 1919,he became editor of the paperand president of the BrockwayCompany.The publisher at the timewas Charles H. Congdon, whohad come to the Times in 1908as business manager. Upon hisdeath in 1933, Mr. Johnson succeededas publisher.Lee Fuller was the first offour city editors to serve underMr. Johnson. Mr. Fuller wassucceeded in Watertown byHoward W. Palmer.“When I worked on theTimes,” Mr. Palmer said in a1979 interview, “we did everythingwe could to get thescoops to the reader. ...Whilethe Times does a tremendousjob in reporting the local news,Montague InnCongratulations on 150 Years!482 Black River Parkway • Watertown, NY(315) 782-1777 • www.tlsnny.comon Tug HillLocated on Sears Pond Rd, Just off Rt. 177 • 376-2078Open Wednesday – Saturday 11:00 am daily, Sundays Noon ‘til 6~ Check Out Our New Dinner Menu ~Serving Daily lunches and dinners Thurs. 5-8, Fri. & Sat. 5-9WEDNESDAY NIGHT – Wing Night14 UNIT MOTEL OPEN YEAR ROUND.Please visitus on FacebookYOUR HOSTS:RICK & SUE LUCASATMon premisesHappy 150 th Anniversary!from19079 Route 11S (Washington Street) Watertown315-788-8412 • 1-800-464-8412www.rentawreck.comandWIDRICK AUTOSALESOuter Washington St. • Watertown, NY(315) 788-1913www.widrickautosales.commany papers do not.”Harry F. Landon took over in1924 when Mr. Palmer becameassistant secretary of the NewYork State Public Service Commission.Before he came towork for the Times, Mr. Landonwas hired to serve as secretaryto Rep. Thadeus C. Sweet.While working for Rep. Sweet,Mr. Landon wrote several storiesfor the Times from Washington- minus a byline.An office boy personally “recruited”by Mr. Johnson in 1916rose through the ranks from reporterto sports editor, state editorand then assistant city editorto succeed Mr. Landon in1932. Gordon W. Bryant wouldserve as city editor for 24 years.Several reporters gainedprominence under Mr. Johnson.Jay A. Moore, a policereporter and the Times’ firstsports editor, was consideredthe newspaper’s “star reporter”when he was killed in an autoaccident in 1919.The scope of local news coverageexpanded with the birthof bureaus and “stringers,” thelatter usually being womenworking part-time to reporthappenings in their villages.Frederick H. Kimball, a Carthagereporter in 1930, wouldadvance to city editor 26 yearslater. A reporter hired in 1941.Frank P. Augustine, eventuallybecame news editor.John C. (Jack) Case, hiredin 1920, became the longtimeWatertown sports editor whowas credited with nicknamingchampion fighter Sugar RayRobinson.Clarence J. Webster, formerlyof Gouverneur, worked forMr. Johnson as a reporter andcopy editor from 1933 to 1947.“This was a good time at theTimes,” Mr. Webster wrote.“Harold B. Johnson was at theheight of his long distinguishedcareer as the editor/owner ofthe newspaper and the radioand television stations, andas a leader and spokesman forthe north country. Mr. Johnsonwas a man of unusual ability asa newspaper maker. He was alwayskind and thoughtful withthose who worked for and withhim.”Mr. Johnson brought theBrockway Company into radiobroadcasting in April 1941,when he instituted radio stationWWNY, with a studio inthe Hotel Woodruff. Then, inOctober 1945, he added WMSAradio in Massena. He added FMstations at each studio in 1948.•••“As a newspaper publisher,Harold Johnson was no trimmerof sails,” Roy E. Fairmanwrote in the Syracuse Herald-American in 1949.“His editorial policies werenever determined by expediencybut by whether the subjectunder discussion wasbeneficial or inimical to publicwelfare. Verbally and with trenchantpen he fought for whathe believed to be right, againstwhat he believed to be wrong.”In 1916, he counseled oneof his reporters, FrederickW. Dove, a veteran who hadgrown cautious after beingsued for libel, according to aCanton Commercial Advertisercolumn. Mr. Dove’s fearshad started to affect other staffmembers.“Be sure of your facts,” Mr.Johnson agreed, but he added,“Don’t allow the fear of libelsuits to spoil your work. ... Ifyou do a good job of reporting,you will never be troubledwith a suit for libel, but if youget jittery about what’s going tohappen you will not be able towrite a good story and you willfrighten those about you.”Mr. Johnson disliked theterm “crusader,” but he championedmany causes for hisreaders.He was the nation’s leadingadvocate of a St. LawrenceSeaway, citing its potential forcheaper electricity and economicgrowth for communitiesalong the river system.Still in operation today onMarble Street is a city-ownedpower plant erected between1924 and 1927. Harold Johnson,wrote Marquis Childs inWashington, “waged a vigorous,unclinching campaign fora municipally owned powerplant for Watertown,” and inwinning, he earned “the enmityof powerful private utilityinterests.”His editorials “played a leadingpart in creating sentimentwhich resulted in federal-statecontrol of the metropolitanmilk market and adjusting milkprices so that the dairy farmerreceived a larger share of theconsumer’s dollar,” Roy Fairmansaid.He fought for better pay forschool teachers, almost asfirmly as he fought politicalbosses, whether they be Democratsor of his persuasion, theRepublican Party.”“One of thefirst questions asked in Albanyby political chiefs and theirhenchmen in regard to any issuewas “What does HaroldJohnson say about it?’,” Mr.Fairman wrote.Mr. Johnson served as thirdward supervisor in 1912 and1913, and on the WatertownBoard of Education, of whichhe was president from 1922 to1926. He was a lay minister, thefirst president of the New YorkState Newspaper Editors Association,a trustee or directorof banks, the Flower MemorialLibrary, the state dormitory authorityand St. Lawrence University.On May 17, 1949, Harold B.Johnson, 69, died of a heart attackat his summer home, “Underbluff,”Henderson Harbor.He left an estate of nearly a halfmilliondollars, and a newspaperthat had grown in circulationto more than 40,000.“Not many American citiescan boast a daily newspaperthat has a larger circulationthan the official population ofthe city,” wrote Mr. McDonald.“This means that the Timesis widely read throughout thebroad surrounding region.The person most responsiblefor this was Harold Johnson.He worked unceasingly duringthe greater part of his life to improvethe Times in every way,and to advance its influence.“His untimely death was asincere shock to thousandsof readers who felt that theyknew the editor and publisherpersonally. As a matter of fact,many of them did.”

C M Y K• 1 50 th A N N I VE R SAR Y • 18 6 1 - 2 0 1 1 •WATERTOWN DAILY TIMESThursday, September 22, 2011 E9W A T E R T O W N1861 2011J OIN US FO R T H E N EXT 1 5 0 Y E A R SWD A I LY T I M E SMany NNY natives have worked on WDT news staffThe Watertown Daily Timeshas hired many north countrynatives over the last six decades.They include:Scott D. Atkinson, Black River,1976, Massena bureau.Julie R. Berry, Adams, 2000-2002, reporter.James C. Brett, Watertown,1948-1971, reporter.Bernard J. Campanella, Ogdensburg,1979-1981, copy editor.Larry P. Cole, Star Lake,1969-1988; 1992-1999, reporter.Matt Cordova, Chaumont,2003-2010, sports.Catherine G. Cramer, Watertown,1986-1995, news clerk.John P. Day, Watertown,1973-present, sports.Charles B. Decker, SaranacLake, 1986-1991, state editor,assistant managing editor.Max DelSignore, SacketsHarbor, 2005-2010, sports.Sue DeMar, Watertown,1992-2009,news clerk.Charles A. Deshaies, Massena,1986-1987, St. LawrenceCounty sports.Reporter David C. Shampinewrote all the articles in thisanniversary special section.Heather Ditch, Sandy Creek,2010-present, copy editor.James R. Donnelly,Russell,1977-2008, Canton bureau.Richard V. Dowling, Oswegatchie,1971-1980, copy editor,state editor.Juergen F. Dully, Watertown,1970-1973, copy editor.OPEN SUNDAYS 12-6Congratulatons on yourOFF150 t h Year Anniversaryfrom Allen’s Liquors & WinesOPEN MONDAY-SATURDAY 9AM-10PM • 785-0431Historic Paddock ArcadeOpen 7 Days A Week!Watertown’s Favorite Martini BarComplimentary Martini Tastings Mon-Wed 5-9pmHappy Hour Mon-Thurs 4-7Live entertainment everyThursday, Friday & Saturday!Robert Dalton, Proprietor315-786-6633rrockorobert@aol.comBook your next event with us!Birthday Parites, classReunions, BridalShowers...We even offer offsiteBar Services!www.paddockclubusa.comJames P. Elder, Massena,1978-1984, reporter, editorialwriter.Kenneth Eysaman, Adams,2010-present, NNY Businesseditor.Patricia S. Falton, Lowville,1985, Lowville bureau.G. Robert Farmer, Cape Vincent,1951-1994, reporter, cityeditor.Robert Ferringo, Watertown,2002-2004, sports.Joe Flynn, Star Lake, 1992-1999, sports.Corey Fram, Alexandria Bay,2002-2008 St. Lawrence bureaus.Karin Gaffney Christensen,Watertown, 1996-1998, reporter.Alan P. Goldstein, Watertown,1966-1968, Potsdam bureau.Stephen H. Goldstein, Watertown,1969-1973, St. LawrenceCounty bureaus.Judy A. Goodfriend Jacobs,Belleville, 1981-present, Currentseditor.Kyle R. Hayes, Adams,2009-present, news clerk.Gabrielle Hovendon, Watertown,2011-present, Cantonbureau.Richard D. Hovey, Clayton,1969-1971, reporter.Paula Hulbert, Watertown,1997-1999, news clerk.David D. Inglehart, Watertown,1975-1976, reporter.Ray Jarvis, Watertown,2005-present, copy editor.Amanda Johnson, Gouverneur,2004-present, copy editor.Laurie C. Jones, Ellisburg,2000-present, news clerkBrian J. Kelly, Watertown,1997-present, reporter.Michael D. Klemens, Canton,1973-1985, reporter.Sandra L. Lake, Watertown,1969-1971, reporter.Cheryl F. Lawlor, AlexandriaBay, 1980-1985, editorial assistant.Donald Lawton, Watertown,1959-1996, reporter, copy editor.Nicholas J. Lyman, Watertown,1973-1987, reporter, editorialpage editor.Bonnie Malek, Norwood,1973-1974, Potsdam bureau.Andy Mauk, Massena, 1989-Robert D. Schonfield, DDSGeneral Dentist126 Bellew AvenueWatertown, NY 13601(315) 788-0805New Patients WelcomeOffice HoursBy Appointment www.docschonfield.comCredo Community Center, providingChemical Dependency Treatmentand Family Support congratulatesthe Watertown Daily Times on your150 th Anniversary.Thanks for your support!SN ancy D.torinoEQUALReal EstateNancy D. Storino - Farney (Owner)Licensed NY State Real Estate Broker417 Arsenal Street • Watertown, NY 13601www.nancyd.com • nancyd@nancyd.comCell: (315) 783-1388Cell: (315) 778-18451990, St. Lawrence Countysports.Amanda Morrison, Adams,2010-present, photographerSheila Muller, Carthage,2002-2005, news clerk.Sarah Nichols, Watertown,2008-present, news clerk.Rob Oatman, Adams, 1995-2009, sports.Deborha L. O’Connor, Carthage,1984-1987, Carthage bureau.Patience Carter O’Riley, Watertown,1973-present, copyeditor.Meghan Orvis, Cape Vincent,2007-2009, news clerk.Ralph J. Perkins, Ogdensburg,1979-1988, state editor,Sunday editor.Kate Pickert, Adams, 2001-2002, reporter.William S. Pike, Gouverneur,1973-1978, Canton bureau, features.Francis A. Pound, Carthage,1972-present, reporter, editorialwriter.Leonard D. Senecal, AlexandriaBay, 1980-1981, sports.David C. Shampine, Carthage,1971-present, reporter.Catherine M. Shattuck-Egan, Watertown, 1986-present,news clerk, copy editorLeslie Sheldon, Copenhagen,2004-present, sports.Marsha Davis Spiridigliozi,Watertown, 1968-1990, reporter.Diana Staie, Adams,1989-present, copy editor.Roswell P. Trickey, AlexandriaBay, 1978-1985, photographer;Clayton bureau.Tracy Valentine, Chaumont,1995-2000, reporter.Kelly Vergin, Clayton, 2001-2003, sports.Steve Virkler, Castorland,2001-present, Lowville bureau.Joan C. Walentuk, AlexandriaBay, 1979-1980, reporter.Mary Lu West White,Chaumont, 1967-1984; 1986-2009, copy editor.Samuel G. Williams, CapeVincent, 1964-1965, reporter.Barbara Woodrow, Herman,1989-2008, news clerk in Canton.John R. 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C M Y K• 1 50 th A N N I VE R SAR Y • 18 6 1 - 2 0 1 1 •E10 Thursday, September 22, 2011WATERTOWN DAILY TIMESW A T E R T O W N1861 2011J OIN US FO R T H E N EXT 1 5 0 Y E A R SWD A I LY T I M E SStaffers have worked at major publications, written booksGordon W. BryantAs the 1916, city editor HaroldB. Johnson asked Watertown HighSchool to send him a senior who wasalert, energetic and a good scholarto be an office boy. Thus began a careerat the Times for Gordon Bryantthat spanned six decades as reporter,sports editor, telegraph editor, city editorand finally executive editor. Evenin retirement, he was kept in the company’sfold as consultant. A demandingboss, he was described by one ofhis former subordinants in a WashingtonPost story as having “the temperof a hibernating bear whose cavehas been broken into, and just underthe surface, a heart of pure caramel.”He was 84 when he died in June 1984.Leonard L. aLLenBeman Brockway wanted a marketeditor for his newspaper, so he approachedan experienced farmer whohad done reporting for him about theJefferson County Teachers Association.Leonard Allen, a Watertown HighSchool graduate, stepped into the rolein February 1894, about 14 months afterMr. Brockway’s death.A significant part of his job wasmonitoring Watertown’s interiorcheese market, which at the time wasthe largest in the world, with annualsales of nearly $2 million through theWatertown Produce Exchange. In a13-year stint at the Times, he moved toagriculture editor and then city editor.While in that post, he brought HaroldB. Johnson onto the newspaper’s staff.In 1933 he published his “History ofthe New York State Grange.” He was89 when he died on Dec. 5, 1949.Frank P. AugustineHis career spanned 38 years as reporter,telegraph editor, state editor,assistant city editor, news editor, editorof the editorial page and politicalwriter. He, along with John B. Johnson,publisher, and Alan S. Emory,Washington correspondent, won In1967 the national Thomas L. Stokesjournalism award for editorials andnews stories in a successful campaignagainst a plan to exclude the PowerAuthority of the State of New Yorkfrom participating in the developmentof nuclear power. Mr. Augustine,who retired in 1979, authored “LaBella America: From the Old Countryto the North Country,” published in1989 by the Times. An Albany Countynative, he died at the age of 86 on Dec.22, 2002.John G. CaseThe sports editor of the WatertownDaily Times interviewed some of thebiggest names in sports of his era. TheJack Case by-line appeared above hisaccounts from visits with Lou Gehrig,Roy Campanella, Walter Hagen,Maxie Rosenbloom, Joe Louis, MaxBaer, Carmen Basilio, and the fighterwho he was credited with nicknaming,Sugar Ray Robinson. After watchingRobinson in the ring, he told theyoung fighter’s manager, “That’s asweet boy you have there,” to whichthe manager replied, “sweet as sugar.”Case’s column the next day introduced“Sugar Ray” to his readers.Jack Case joined the staff in 1920and became sports editor in 1929.He was on the Heisman Memorialtrophy committee for nearly three decades,and a guest slot on Red Barber’sGordon Bryant in the WDT newsroom.Sports on CBS radio. He also voicedsports reports on WWNY radio, operatedby the Times.He retired in 1971, and was 71 whenhe died in May 1973.Jesse CottreLLJesse Cottrell, who was born inKnoxville, Tenn., in 1878, was a Washingtonreporter for the Times. DuringWorld War I, he was a captain inmilitary intelligence. He later servedas President Warren Harding’s ministerto Bolivia and President CalvinCoolidge’s special ambassador to Bolivia.At the age of 58, he resumed filingnews stories for the Times, from 1936until he died in 1944.Alan EmoryAlan S. Emorywas the longestservingWashingtoncorrespondentfor any newspaperin America. He covered10 presidentialadministrations,Emory beginning withHarry S. Truman. In1959 he saw Vice President Richard M.Nixon’s “kitchen debate” with SovietPremier Nikita S. Khrushchev in Moscow,and covered Mr. Nixon’s talksin 1972 with Soviet leader Leonid I.Brezhnev that developed agreementsin limiting the production of nuclearweapons. He began with the Times in1947. He was assigned to the Times’Washington bureau in 1951. He andcolleague Frank P. Augustine won the1967 Thomas L. Stokes Award, andwas a president of the WashingtonProfessional Chapter, Society of ProfessionalJournalists, Sigma Delta Chi.He was inducted into that society’shall of fame in 1979. He died at 78 onNov. 27, 2000.Jay JochnowitzA series of editorialson “New York’sHall of Shame,”highlighting howtop legislative leadersand local lawmakerscontributedto gridlockJochnowitzsurrounding the2009 coup in thestate senate earned for Jay Jochnowitz,editorial page editor of the AlbanyTimes Union, first prize recognitionfrom the New York State AssociatedPress Association. Mr. Jochnowitz was27 when he came to the WatertownTimes in 1984. One of his early dutieswas to cover the visit of Pope JohnPaul in Ottawa. He joined the AlbanyTimes Union 1987. He later becamestate editor and in 2008 was givencharge of editorials.Michael J. Kernan Jr.Utica native Mike Kernan brokeinto journalism with the Times in1949, and remained here four years.He moved to California for a 13-yearstay, during which he received a firstplaceaward for reporting from theCalifornia-Nevada branch of AssociatedPress. Mr. Kernan in 1967 begana 23-year run as feature reporter withthe Washington Post, where his contributionsincluded profiles of Gen.Maxwell Taylor, Jack Benny, VolkerSchlondorff, Gene Kelly and RichardDreyfuss. After winning first prize in a1975 London Times ghost story contestfor “The Doll Named Silvio,” ashort story, Mr. Kernan authored twonovels, “The Violet Dots,” in 1977,and “The Lost Diaries of Frans Hals”in 1994, which was translated intoFrench, German and Dutch.He died May 4, 2005, at Bennington,Vt., at the age of 78.Margaret KissingerMeg Kissingerwas a general assignmentreporterwith the Times fromJune 1979 to January1981. She movedto the CincinnatiPost before settlingin Milwaukeein 1983. A 2009 investigationthat sheKissingerand a colleague conducted resultedin a six-part series that revealed a governmentalfailure in protecting thepublic from dangerous chemicals ineveryday products, such as some “microwave-safe”containers. They citedfailures by the federal EnvironmentalProtection Agency and the Food andDrug Administration. The 2009 serieswon for the pair a George Polk Award,a National Journalism Award for EnvironmentalReporting and Public Service,and was a finalist for the PulitzerAward for investigative reporting.Harry F. LandonHarry Landon authored four booksbetween 1932 and 1954: “The NorthCountry, A History,” “An ElementaryHistory of Northern New York,” “150Years of Watertown,” and “Bugles onthe Border.” He was considered theforemost authority on the early historyof Northern New York.In 1917, he was hired as secretary toCongressman Luther W. Mott. He leftthat position to sign on with the Armymedical corps during World War I,and then attended Washington Collegeto obtain a law degree.Mr. Landon returned in 1923,where over the next 31 years he wouldfill posts of political writer; state editor,city editor and managing editor.In his latter role, “for five years heprovided the assistance that made itpossible for an orderly transition inmanagement” after Harold Johnsondied, wrote John B. Johnson. A seriesof historical stories he wrote in 1950for the Times won an award from theNew York State Historical Association.Mr. Landon died at 62 on Nov. 6,1954..John Reed CostonJohn Coston came to the Times in1971 and was assigned the City Hallbeat. He subsequently moved onto the Hartford Courant, the MiamiHarold, and ultimately to the WallStreet Journal, where he is newseditor on the national desk. Mr.Coston’s book “To Kill and Kill Again,”published in 1992, was nominated forthe Edgar Allan Poe Mystery Prize, andhe also authored “Sleep, My Child,Forever,” published in 1995.Ken LovettKen Lovett is Albanybureau chieffor the New YorkDaily News, and inMay 2010 the WalterT. Brown LegislativeCorrespondentAlumni AssociationAward for excellencein reportingLovetton state government. He was cited forhis coverage of the state pension fundscandal. His work in Albany has alsobrought him honors from the NewYork News Publishers Association andAssociated Press.Mr. Lovett was the Times’ City Hallreporter from June 1988 to October1992. After a series of jobs at other papers,he returned to Albany in January2000 as correspondent for the NewYork Post. He has been with the DailyNews since April 2008.“There isn’t a day I don’t find myselfusing the skills I first honed at theWatertown Times,” he recently wrote.“And I’ve always said, the Johnsonsare among the most dedicated newspeople I’ve worked for. They didn’tcare about going to war with City Hallor anyone else. They cared about gettingand reporting stories, both bigand small, and providing blanket coverageto the community.”James A. “Jay” MooreWith a telephone call on June 21,1919, to Napanee, Ontario, Jay Mooreinterviewed an escapee from Clintonprison, then typed out William Ellis’admission about a burglary he committedafter his prison break. His“scoop” filed, the reporter got up fromhis desk, announced, “I’m going outand get something to eat,” and neverreturned to the Times office on ArcadeStreet. Early the next morning, Sunday,as the 36-year-old reporter wasreturning with a Watertown policemanfrom a fatal accident in the townof Rutland, their auto overturned. Hewas pinned beneath the car, later todie of his injuries in a hospital, becomingthe only Times reporter known tohave been killed on the job. Survivorsincluded his wife and two children,ages 14 and 10.His employment with the Timesbegan when he was 10, as a carrier. Mr.Moore eventually worked in the mailingdepartment, where the city editorapproached and asked if he would liketo cover sports events. He was soonthe “sporting editor” and developed asports page. In that role, he attendedand reported on the 1917 World Series.Finally, he was given the policebeat, where, according to an editorialat the time of his death, “he wasabsolutely tireless in his energy” and“he would never permit an obstacle tostand in the way of his accomplishinghis purpose in getting a story.”PickertDominic PePPIn a career that spanned 43 years,“Dom” Pepp covered the expansionof Pine Camp to Camp Drum and FortDrum, and had interviews with EleanorRoosevelt, Lawrence Welk andsinger Kate Smith. He was the onlyreporter present in 1955 when a sixdaymanhunt of three escapees fromSt. Lawrence County Jail ended with ashootout. He opened his May 2 storyfrom Hopkinton, “A rain of police bulletstoday ended the life of Frank P.(The Hook) Talarico, 44, and wounded,perhaps mortally, his co-desperado,Ralph F. Lasomb, 28.”The one story he failed to write waswhen he got tossed out of a congressman’shouse while trying to interviewHerbert Hoover.He died at the age of 94 in August2010 in Florida.KATE PICkertMs. Pickert is astaff writer for TIMEmagazine, but hercareer began in 2001in the Times’ Carthagebureau.“I loved everyminute of it. Ilearned the importanceof local journalism,how a story in a local newspapercan have far more impact onpeoples’ day to day lives than a longformstory in a glossy national magazine.”“In March 2008, I wrote small blurbsfor the front of the magazine and forTime.com. Less than a year after Istarted, however, I was promoted tostaff writer and assigned to cover thehealth care beat. I covered the entirereform debate, learned an incredibleamount about how Congress worksand tried not to become completelycynical about politics. It wasn’t easy.”beulah rectorBennett Cerf, publisher and cofounderof Random House, wrote inthe Sept. 22, 1951 issue of SaturdayReview of Literature that “one of bestliterary editors in the country” wasBeulah Rector. She was at the timein her 22nd year at the Times. Shebelieved in quality writing and cleanstories, and if a book measured up tothose two standards, it was bound toreceive a good review.Miss Rector also wrote editorialsand shared her world travel experienceswith Times’ readers.Born in Newport, R.I. in 1885, her1922 arrival in Watertown was as organizerof an education departmentat the YWCA. She began a 25-year careerat the Times in 1929. Miss Rectorretired in Massachusetts, where shedied in November 1977.Royal K. FuLLerHermon native Royal Fuller wasabout 24 when in 1897 he joined theTimes. After five years, he moved toNew York City. As reporter with NewYork Herald, he went to the Arctic in1909 and met with Rear Admiral RobertE. Peary. He also covered the Titanictragedy in 1912 for the Herald,and in 1910-1911, he was assigned toaccompany President Howard Taft intravels, and with Taft saw the grounddigging for the Panama-Pacific Exposition.He was 62 when he died Sept. 14,1935.RECOLLECtionReporter met bride in city roomBy TIM BUCKLANDNEW HAMPSHIRE UNION LEADERLike anyone who spendsseven years at any job, I have aton of memories frommy years as a Timesreporter, nearly all ofthem good.While coveringFort Drum, I rode inBlackhawk helicoptersand (attemptedto) drive a tank. Ispent 10 eye-openingdays reporting the10th Mountain Division’sefforts in war-torn Bosnia-Herzegovina.That timeincluded interviewing a familyof refugees who thought theywere lucky because they founda house that, despite missingtwo walls, had a roof and workingelectricity.I once had a female soldiersob in my office as sheBucklanddetailed her allegations ofsexual harassment at thehands of her supervisor. Shewas especially saddenedbecause she said nobodyin the Armyranks believed her.Four months afterthat story appeared inthe Watertown DailyTimes, that supervisor,who had steadfastlymaintained hisi n n o c e n c e d u r i n ginterviews with me,confessed his guilt toavoid a court-martial.I was standing in thenewsroom on Sept. 11, 2001,crowded at a 13-inch televisionwith 30 other peoplewatching the events of thatday in horror.As the city hall reporter, Ionce had Mayor Jeff Grahamso mad at me that he spent 10minutes in an open meetingberating me and questioningmy professionalism.I made friends who I stillkeep in touch with today.While all of those moments,and many more, kept my jobinteresting at all times, it palesin comparison to the fall of2003, when I met the new educationreporter, Kate DeForest.I would marry Kate two yearslater and we now have a 2-yearoldboy.After a five-year hiatus, I’mback in journalism at the NewHampshire Union Leader inManchester, N.H. I’m makingpeople mad again by demandinginformation thatthe public needs to knowabout.But I will always look backwith fondness when I remembermy time at the WatertownDaily Times.

C M Y KE11 Thursday, September 22, 2011WATERTOWN DAILY TIMESE11 Thursday, September 22, 2011Key highlights in Times history: acquistions, major issues and moves• The New York Reformer, which hit thestreets on Thursday mornings, was publishedin “Paddock’s block,” on the third story of theArcade. The Watertown Daily Times moved outof the Arcade and across the street to its “new”building on Arcade Street Nov. 9, 1861. Thecompany’s plant was enlarged in 1885, and in1920, the neighboring Ehrlicher Building wasacquired for continued growth. • The WatertownDaily Times’ traditional leanings toward theRepublican Party date back to 1856 when the GOPemerged as a national political party. The NewYork Reformer abandoned its traditional policy ofnon-partisanship, and endorsed John Freemontfor president, applauding him as “a true friendopposed to slavery in the abstract and opposed toslavery extension.”• Telephone service arrived in Watertown in1880. The first business to have a phone installedwas a grocery store located at Public Square andWashington Street, on March 3. The sound ofphones ringing at the Watertown Daily Times wasfirst heard 15 days later, March 18.• The Times, Daily Standard, and five weeklypapers, including the Herald, were hit by a printers’strike on Sept. 9, 1905. About 50 workers, including20 at the Times, walked away from theirjobs.Their union, the Watertown TypographicUnion, demanded that employers agree to aneight-hour work day.A Times’ reporter, Irving G.Parmeter, wrote that the business and editorialstaff banded together that day to put out “onesheet of two miserable pages.” The work stoppagedragged into October, with most strikersfinding different jobs.• Watertown was home for two daily newspapersfrom March 1894 until Aug. 17, 1929, whenthe Daily Standard was purchased and shutdown by the Daily Times.Founded by “Major” Andrew W. Munk andCharles S. Adams, two former Times staffers, theStandard provided fierce competition in newsdistribution. Harold B. Johnson, publisher of theTimes, was quoted in his reference to the Standardas “esteemed but loathed.”• A reporter named William Francis Mannixbuilt quite a reputation for himself, but not agood one. His last day at the Times was in June1907, when the 38-year-old balked at an assignmentand disappeared after it was suspected thathe stole $220 at the First Presbyterian Church.AMalone native, he came to the Times in 1906 afterhaving written allegedly contrived stories ofthe ”infernal Spanish atrocities” in Cuba for theNew York Times and Philadelphia Press.His biggest effort in creative writing was aseries he wrote for the London Observer, “TheDiary of Li Hung Chang, Translated from theoriginal manuscripts at Canton, China,” whichin 1913 was compiled into a book. With that, abiographer wrote, Mr. Mannix “had achieved amasterpiece of literary forgery.”• The first society editor at the Times wasMarjorie Snell, a niece of Stephanie Brockway,vice president of the Brockway Company. Shewas 22 when she began writing her column inSeptember 1906. In her 25 years on the job, onlythe most important weddings were reported onher page. Ruby M.R. Carpenter, a 20-year-oldwho moved from the Watertown Standard in1923, was the apparent first woman news reporterfor the Times. She remained seven months,however, choosing to try the life of a nun. Thatendeavor lasted only two months, and she returnedto news writing, initially going to the BaltimoreAmerican.Another woman on the staff, from 1927 to1929, was Margaret G. Blakely. One of her highlightswas interviewing Eleanor Roosevelt inCarthage, and having her editorial in the Timesabout the painting “Blue Boy” reprinted in theBrooklyn Daily Eagle. “I found all the staff of menmost cooperative and helpful,” she wrote decadeslater. “Certainly, Mr. (Harold B.) Johnsonnever had any prejudice against females breakinginto what had been a man’s domain.”• The Times has never been shy about takinga stand on issues, especially for the public good.In the 1920s, the newspaper was an advocate of amunicipal power system. Between 1932 and 1940,the Watertown Daily Times was at the forefront infights at the state and federal levels to achieve betterprices for milk producers, and was an organizerof dairy marches upon Albany. In the 1930, theTimes became a leader in securing increased hydroelectricgenerating capacity in New York Statethrough utilization of the St. Lawrence River.•Watertown Times readers were introducedto their first political cartoon on June 16, 1915,when the newspaper began carrying the work ofJohn T. McCutcheon of Chicago. Two monthsSee HIGHLIGHTS E15BATTLEFIELD COMMONS224 Dodge Ave., Sackets Harbor, NY 13685CALL US AT: 315-646-2220email: info@battlefieldcommonshome.comHAPPY 150th BIRTHDAY!CONGRATULATIONS ON A JOB WELL DONE!www.BattlefieldCommonsHome.com • www.SacketsMeadows.comBUILDING HOMES IN SACKETS HARBORYR E N I W N R A B W LO L YEComplement your party by servingour favorite wine from Yellow Barn Winery!18876 Co. 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C M Y KE12 Thursday, September 22, 2011WATERTOWN DAILY TIMESBy KEITH EPSTEINThe Huffington postMy first professional news jobwas in the Massena bureau in 1980-- I WAS the Massena bureau --and it was more than just a first job.It was boot camp, training groundfor all I’d encounter in journalismlater, and -- thanks largely to theJohnsons, the opportunities to diginto stories that mattered, and thenorth country I’d so soon be fondof -- a lasting inspiration.I was kept moving not only byambition or by news, but the relentlessdemands of a pre-Internetnewspaper devoted to missingnothing of significance for the45,000 people who depended onit. By day, between stories we hadto have, I’d diginto stories Iwas sure nobodyelse had-- yearning tomake the backpage, whichwas in thosedays equivalentto other Epsteinnewspapers’front pages. By night, I’d covermeetings and the occasional homicide.In the morning, a deadlineloomed - more stories, editing, updates.Today’s twenty-somethingbloggers think they’re part ofsomething thoroughly new. Butan afternoon newspaper in thosedays was like the Huffington Postin pace, quantity and importance-- and none of it could be aggregation.We had to beat the pants offThe Syracuse Post Standard and allthose pesky community weekliesscattered across the northern cornerof New York. And we had to doit, each of us, multiple times a day.I’d write three, five, six stories in atypical 16-hour day. Funny thingis, I wanted to. Ambition, opportunity,and the Johnsons made mewant to. My newlywed wife, missingme sometimes, would cometo the bureau at night, just to benearby, and fall asleep as I churnedout my copy or tried to track downa source or identify a victim.The Daily Times gave meRECOLLECTIONKeith Epstein: From WDT reporter to Washington, D.C. and beyondmore than my $126 weeklypaycheck. From the crampedbureau stacked with old newspapers,a room above a floristshop on Massena’s main streetthat often smelled of Easter liliesor other flowers of the seasons(most days, my biggest obstacleas a reporter was making myway through all the plants andwreaths in the hallway).I covered schools, courts,pollution, dairy subsidies, disastrousice and floods, cops-- and a few sordid crimes. I followedopenings, closings, lockcleanings and misdoings at theSt. Lawrence Seaway -- all fascinatingto a young kid from Californiawho’d studied politicalscience, but had never seen ironore ships or the bottom of a lockbefore.Long before pondering foreigncorrespondence or coveringwar, I got my first taste ofcovering armed conflict - duringa standoff between factions andState Police on the St. Regis Mohawkreservation. And my firsttaste (not counting the time thebird-loving elder Mrs. Johnsoncooked my goose for misidentifyingCanada geese as Canadiangeese) of reader anger.Once, after a big story theydidn’t consider fair, a group ofwomen took offense and surroundedme, armed with baseballbats. They must have likedthe stories that followed, becauseit never happened again.Between my other responsibilities,the paper more thantolerated my yearning to makea difference through investigativereporting, which I’ve spentmost of my career doing. Backthen, it was brucellosis andcattle smuggling across theborder, misspending by localschool districts, sexual harassmentby government officials,chemical contamination ofdrinking water -- and one ofmy first big breaks, disclosureof secret talks by local and stateofficials aimed at settling landclaims with the Mohawks.Of course, the north countryalso was the setting for oneof the biggest stories I’d evermissed: I’d met Abbie Hoffman,the ’60s fugitive radical,many times, without realizinghis true identity. My only solaceis that Sen. Daniel PatrickMoynihan, sipping a BloodyMary with us the morning beforea St Lawrence Universitycommencement address, alsohad no idea who the other manwith the curly hair really was.Still, reporters remember thestories that got away.Above all, the place and itspeople hugely influenced me.There was nothing like thenorth country before I arrived,and I’ve never experiencedanything like it. I’ll alwaysbe thankful for the people Imet - on dairy farms, RotaryClub lunches, on the reservation,in the zinc mines, on thecampaign trail with AlphonseD’Amato...but especially at thepaper and in its bureaus.Too many to mention, butI want to single out the Johnsons,who gave me my firstchance and believed in me, andAlan Emory, then the Washingtoncorrespondent and onetimeMassena correspondent,who took me under his wing inboth places, helping me get orientedto the land of Alcoa andthe small town borderlands,and to see the connection (orlack of connection) with ourleaders in Washington.My best memories of each ofthe Johnsons is telling. “JohnJunior,” with the enthusiasmof a man with ink in his veinsmore noticeably than a silverspoon in his mouth, was myfirst real editor -- sharp, funny,demanding, caring. A skeletoncrew would turn out the paperon Saturdays, often with Juniorat the helm, which meant histemporary position at a desknext to mine -- moving, alwaysmoving, excitedly askingquestions, assigning stories,wondering what we’d missed,always pushing to be first witha story, to envision the harderquestions we’d neglected toconsider. It should have beendreary hardship duty, thoseSaturday rotations, but theywere fun, fast-moving, satisfying,thanks to Junior.Then there was “John Senior.”Like the contemplative,spirited news people I’d meetlater, especially in Washington,he always had an opinion, andan eagerness to test it on you. Hecared about community, but Ican still see him, ensconced behindhis desk , puffing on a pipeas he’d ask me in and offered hisviews (and tested mine) on thebiggest issues of the day. Communityand nation and citizenalways seemed to connect inthat room -- another lessonfrom days at the WDT, and onethat has always stuck with me.We don’t just break stories andbeat the other guy -- we careabout them, and strive to showhow events, both unfolding orunnoticed and requiring disclosure,touch the lives of thepeople around us. Readers, citizensdepended on us, and wecouldn’t let them down.That’s something I learnedin Massena, Potsdam, Cantonand Watertown. But I’ve carriedit with me ever since, toVirginia, Florida and Washington,D.C., where too many reportersforget.

C M Y K• 1 50 th A N N I VE R SAR Y • 18 6 1 - 2 0 1 1 •WATERTOWN DAILY TIMESThursday, September 22, 2011 E13W A T E R T O W N1861 2011J OIN US FO R T H E N EXT 1 5 0 Y E A R SWD A I LY T I M E SBrothers and co-publishersJOHN B. JOHNSON JR. & HAROLD B. JOHNSON IIkeeping company on cusp of technological changesThere was no question about whowould guide the Watertown DailyTimes into the 21st century.Just as John B. Johnson had nurturedthe newspaper that his father,Harold, had built, the third generation, in thepersons of John Brayton Johnson Jr. and hisbrother, Harold Bowtell Johnson II, was beinggroomed to carry on the family business.“There was never an option,” said John Jr.,who is chairman and chief executive officer ofthe company. “That was a different day and age,the ’50s and ’60s. You did what you were told.”When their father died on May 2, 2001, the twobrothers stood as co-publishers.“As a kid growing up, it never entered mymind that I’d do anything else” except being inhis father’s communications business, said Harold,president and chief operating officer. “Therewere no overt discussions; I took it for granted.”But he thought his future was in the company’sbroadcast division at WWNY-TV, channel 7.Forced divestiture in 1981 switched channels forhim. The Federal Communications Commissionwon a court battle that required the newspaperto sell its television and radio holdings. The government’sfocus was to break up large monopoliesin the communications business.“They whittled down the number of targetedcompanies and settled on us because we were theleast powerful and the smallest on the block,” JohnJohnson said. His younger brother added, “It was avery bad move by the FCC. We had documentationshowing that the newspaper was very competitivewith the television station.”But good came out of the government action,Harold said. With the forced sale, the companyhad significant funds to reinvest. The outgrowthis the Johnson Newspaper Corporation, which,with its subsidiaries, Northern New York NewspaperCorporation, Batavia Newspapers Corporation,and Hudson-Catskill Newspapers, bringstogether seven daily papers, 12 weeklies, andthree advertising circulars.“The TV market was getting so fractured, wewere competing with cable TV,” Harold said.“We would have kept the station strong, but itwould have been difficult in competing. Withoutthe sale, we would not have expanded to otherpapers. I don’t know how we could have gotteninto that.”•••Stewardship of Watertown’s daily paper couldhave taken a different course. In 1950, the firstborn,7-year-old son of John and CatherineCommon Johnson was suddenly stricken withpolio.“I spent a lot of time at the Jefferson CountySanitorium, what is now Whispering Pines,”John Johnson said. “I was lucky. A lot of mendied there.“I remember very vividly rooms for four tosix boys. The halls were lined with guys in ironlungs, which were doing their breathing forthem. They were lying on their backs, with mirrorssuspended over them so they could seearound them. What an awful existence.”Only his mother was permitted to visit him.“I was paralyzed on the right side. It was veryhard for me to walk, and I was out of school thewhole winter. My mother exercised me andhelped tremendously in enabling me to regainuse of most of the leg.”Seven years later, that experience behind him,his grooming began, but not at the newspaperoffice on Arcade Street.“My summers of work in 1957 and 1958 wereat WWNY radio at the Hotel Woodruff, becausethe newspaper was deemed heavy industry.They couldn’t hire somebody who was less than16, but I could work at 14 at the radio.”The job for the future boss - messenger anderrand runner.After completing ninth grade at North JuniorSchool, his parents sent him to Phillips ExeterAcademy in New Hampshire to continue hiseducation. When at home, having reached ageThe trade magazine Editor & Publisher featuredthe WDT in an August 2001 cover story.John B. Johnson Jr.16, he was toiling as an office boy in his father’sheadquarters, “doing whatever Gordon Bryantwanted, running numerous errands” such ascarrying news copy to compositors and exercisinghis weak right side by running up and downtwo flights of stairs with newspaper morgue filesin hand.“It was hot. Being closed in by other buildings,there wasn’t any breeze. All the windowswere open, even in winter, because the buildingwas heated by coal, and it was very hot. And itwas creepy. Lots of stairways, narrow doorways,uneven floors. The press was under dad’s office,and when it ran, the vibration was felt and heardthroughout the building.”Outside, delivery trucks had a narrow drivewayin which to back to the rear of the building,Hence, the walls of buildings towering above thedriveway were well scarred.Eventually, he was allowed to do some writing— “local paragraphs, doing minor weatherstories, not significant weather events. I’d goto the post office about once a week to pick uppress releases at the various government offices.They seldom had anything to offer. If it was minorenough, they’d let me write it.”He consideredthe entirestaff his mentorsas he matured inthe company.“ E v e r y b o d yover the yearsmade a contribution,”he said.“It was an interestingatmosphereof peoplewho knew aboutthe city andcounty, whettingmy appetiteabout knowingwhat was goingon in the northcountry.”Harold B. Johnson IIHis fatherwas, of course,his primaryteacher.“He had a lot of influence over me. Newspaperjournalism was about the only thing we talkedabout. We all felt we were vicariously involved inthe business. The offices were our second home.There was a lot happening, and I learned a lotjust by being around. I learned who you couldcount on and who you couldn’t.”Graduating from Exeter in 1962, John Johnsonspent his next four years at Vanderbilt University,except for the summers he spent as a Timesreporter, with one summer in the Massena bureau.Following Vanderbilt, he was off to ColumbiaUniversity for post graduate work. In 1968,he became a fixture in his father’s office, beingappointed general executive.After five years, in 1973, he was elevated tomanaging editor, As such, he delved full thrustinto every avenue of the business, grasping awell-rounded knowledge of the company.Harold, also educated at Exeter and Vanderbilt,got his introduction to the companyas mail boy and janitor at the TV side. Buthis introduction to the newspaper businesswasn’t ignored. Assigned to the circulationdepartment, his task was to burn some shoeleather, visiting homes in St. Lawrence Countyto sell subscriptions and the familiar blueboxes for rural delivery.As time passed at Channel 7, he began sellingadvertising, and got into writing and producingcommercials.With divestiture, he moved to the Times officeon Clinton Street, and in 1982 was appointedmanager of regional advertising, with a mandateto bring in more business from St. Lawrence andFranklin counties. As the company added properties,he was given a new responsibility in 1996.Named general manager of Johnson NewspaperCorp., his realm became coordination of allcompany holdings outside Watertown, as well asoverseer of advertising sales in Watertown.•••John Johnson Jr. reflects on how differentlythe transition in the newspaper’s managementwent for him, as compared to his father.“I was better prepared than was my father. Hisfather’s death was totally unexpected, a shock toeverybody, and dad had not been a participantin the day to day operations of the newspaper.Watertown Daily Times headlines from the last 39 years reflected the triumphs and tragedies ofAmerica’s history for north country readers.He was at a real disadvantage.”The movement that the company patriarch,Harold B. Johnson, had started toward developingradio and TV was successfully completed bythe second generation owner.“And then he had to turn around and sellthem,” John Jr. said, still showing bitternessabout the government’s suit.With the seating of the new Johnson regime,change was in the wind, not only for employees, butalso for subscriberswho wereaccustomed togetting home inthe afternoonfrom their dailyroutines to settledown in easychairs, withnewspaper inhand. On Sept.30, 2002, about16 months intothe new Johnsonadministration,the Daily Timesbecame an exclusivelya morningpaper.It wasa move that JohnB. Johnson hadnot opposed, accordingto JohnJr.“He recognized that we had started as a morningpaper, but switched to the evening fairlysoon.”There were a number of factors forcing thecompany’s hand, he said.“We had less and less time to deliver thenewspaper each day, and we had a dwindlingnumber of potential carriers as youngmen and women were attracted to afterschoolactivities, not delivering newspapers.We knew the news cycle was against us. Wewere publishing way too much news thatwas 36 hours old before it was in the handsof readers. We had to tighten the scheduleby committing to publishing a complete accuratereport of the previous day’s activitiesthe next morning.”The afternoon paper was more fun for the editorialstaff because everyone was at the office atthe same time, he acknowledged, but “it was notgood for our readers. And to succeed the staff hasto accede to the needs of the customers.”Meanwhile, the Johnson family has continuedthe model established by the patriarch, standingas an advocate for the north country.“We stand for jobs,” John Jr. said in a 2001 interview.“What we’re interested in is increasedopportunity for the people who choose to livehere. We feel very strongly that we have to do as acommunity anything and everything to encourageinvestment and job creation.”The plight of the dairy farmer has long beena concern of the Times, and having available laborfor that industry “is very important to us,” hesaid more recently.The newspaper can be proud of “a lot of successes”relating to the development of the St.Lawrence watershed, he said.“A very important issue to us is maintainingthe steady generation of electricity from Massena,”he said. “We are a staunch defender of theNew York Power Authority, but we need a balancebetween the power authority and privateproviders like National Grid. We need to focuson having better transmission capacity for equalaccess ... not just when the wind blows and thesun shines.”With his reference to wind power, he raisedsome questions: Is it economically viable? Can itbe done without government subsidies?Editor John B. Johnson Jr. and Managing Editor Bob Gormanstand in the WDT newsroom for a photo that appeared in a 2006edition of the trade magazine Editor & Publisher.“With legislation that gives developers inordinatetax breaks, taxpayers are already subsidizingwind, so local people shouldn’t be given anadded burden.We don’t believe wind is a solution ... we needsolid electricity.”And the Times has been at the front on behalfof Fort Drum.“We are very concerned about utilization of allthe land at Fort Drum, for the defense of our nationand the training of soldiers,” John Johnsonsaid.Other concerns, he said, are accountability ingovernment and the mayor of Watertown, andissues in reapportionment.•••Like every newspaper and magazine acrossthe nation, the Watertown Daily Times has suffereda decrease in circulation, due to changinglifestyles and competition presented by theInternet. Similarly, the recession that struck in2009 seriously impacted the Johnson NewspaperCorporation.“Since 2009 has been a difficult time, with allthe challenges in the economy,” John Jr. said.“We have gotten through it without any layoffs,with pay cuts and furloughs. We reducedthrough attrition and retirements. Everybodyshared in the sacrifices equally. I don’t thinkabout it because I hate it.”Regarding the Internet, “We have coped withit well, as well as anybody has,” he said. “If wecan just figure out how to get paid for the workthat we do.”Through all the recent hard times, “the newspaperremains the dominant media here,” hesaid. “Not a week goes by that we don’t have astory that promotes discussion.”His brother added that Johnson NewspaperCorporation will continue to succeed whereother newspaper conglomerates may stillstruggle.“We broadened our base in community journalism— local newspapers still sell,” Haroldsaid. The large chains that minimized local newscoverage, “they are the ones who are hurting,”he said.Harold Johnson applauded the arrival of thenext Johnson generation into the business.“I’m pleased that mynephew, John BowtellJohnson, is back, andis willing to reinvest hislife.”The heir-apparent tothe company’s future,the 40-year-old JohnB. Johnson is generalmanager of NorthernNew York NewspapersCorp.He came back to Watertownafter workingfor nine years at 3M inMinnesota.“I changed my lifebecause I believe inJohn B. Johnsonthe underlying fundamentals of the local news,sports and information business,” said John.“My role is to help the employees recognize theirstrengths and to embrace the changes that willbe required as we build sustainable businessesaround new platforms. As our platforms diversify,our shared goal is to be the most accurate,informative, timely and technological news servicein three county region. Success on differentplatforms means our staff teams will often needto re-conceptualize their jobs, especially as ouremphasis on local news, local sports and localviews continues to increase.”And another Johnson may be on the wayone day. Harold’s son, Alec, 25, is a reporterwith the Waterbury, Conn. Republican American.

C M Y K• 1 50 th A N N I VE R SAR Y • 18 6 1 - 2 0 1 1 •WATERTOWN DAILY TIMESThursday, September 22, 2011 E15W A T E R T O W N1861 2011J OIN US FO R T H E N EXT 1 5 0 Y E A R SWD A I LY T I M E SThe WDT: 150 years old and just getting startedBy BOB GORMANTIMES MANAGING EDITORThe best way for us to wrapup the first 150 years of the WatertownDaily Times is to offertwo words: Thank you.Thank you to our readers whorecognize they need the contentof the Watertown Daily Times tolive a more informed life.And thank you to our advertiserswho understand that thecustomers they most want toattract are those who are tightlywoven into the fabric of ourcommunity.Together you have allowedus to do what we do best: comfortthe afflicted and afflict thecomfortable. That job is notalways appreciated or understood–- but it is one that is criticalif a society is to remain free.To stay in business, theTimes has had to weather war,national economic collapseand rapidly changing lifestyles–- and that was just in the1860s. I mention that becauseas we weather these same factorstoday, readers may oftenwonder why the Times doesn’thit the panic button every timeone of our revenue streams beginsto dry up, newsprint costsspike, or we’ve been suckerpunchedagain by changes ingovernment rules on pensionsor workers’ compensation.When youlook at othernewspapersaround thenation, youcan definitelysee a lot ofpanic buttonsbeinghit.In part is itGormanbecause of the tradition of theJohnson family to take the longview. When you have reportedon death, devastation, depressionsand other calamities for150 years, you tend to assumeyou will be doing the samething for the next 150 years.The Johnsons also havelong-standing business philosophiesthat continue to beplayed out every day. Duringthe recent economic downturnthe Johnsons have not hunkereddown, but instead haveinvested money on equipmentand facilities to reduce productionduplication among ourNNY newspapers, and improveour print and online productsfor years to come.They continue to financiallysupport hundreds of charitableorganizations, and they continueto serve on boards and commissionsthat add value to thelives of our citizens. (Yes, John B.Johnson Jr., has fought hammerand tong in Albany to ensure thatlow-cost power remains in Massena;Yes, Harold B. Johnson IIhas helped the Historical Societyand the Jefferson CommunityCollege Foundation navigatesome fast-moving waters in thelast few years).And their journalism philosophyremains the same, whichcould be loosely translated to “bethe firstest with the mostest.”In many ways, changes insociety have played havocwith newspapers’ ability to dothat. Email has allowed everygovernment entity to blast outinformation to anyone with awebsite, giving the least significantblogger a playing field thatis seemingly level with any establishedmedium.But the desire by the leastamong us to post informationRIGHT AWAY! has led to a demisein good writing, and evenworse, solid reporting. And thatworks to the advantage of thosewho find true public oversightto be an irritant.Governments, educationalinstitutions and cops do notproduce information with thegoal of providing context andbackground. Our police agenciesin particular are puttingout more press releases thanever, but often fail to includepertinent facts, such as thenames of crime victims.Consider the website forJefferson County’s government.If you go to the page for“news” links, there is nothingthere, even though the WDTwrites about the county’s government– good, bad and ugly-- every week.The need for good, traditional,beat-covering, wellsourcedjournalism is greaterthan ever and yet in many waysjournalism is headed in the“Facebook” direction, in whichtoo many citizens want theirjournalism to be a mirror, nota window.President Barack Obamahas 50 journalists followinghis every move every day. Butthe departments of our federalgovernment – such as Defense,State, Treasury and Interior-- are being covered by fewerjournalists every year as newspaperscut staff because so fewpeople are willing to pay fornews.We continue to buck thetrend by keeping open ourWashington, D.C., office,staffed by Marc Heller, and thebenefits are obvious: Our readersget localized reporting onsuch issues as national defensespending, dairy co-op regulationsand ballast legislation affectingthe Great Lakes.Closer to home, we are thego-to place for coverage onsuch issues as wind farms, FortDrum and high school sports.And we continue to expand ourreach into the business worldwith our magazine, NNY Business,which in less than a yearhas become a must read.Our motto at the Times haslong been “News for today, historyfor tomorrow.” You can’tbeat that. But the other dayJefferson County LegislativeChairwoman Carolyn Fitzpatrickcame close. She describedthe WDT as “getting along witheverybody… most of the time.”Yes, Times journalists canbe a bit prickly when a newsmakeris evasive or some businessowner wants free publicityinstead of buying an ad likeeveryone else.But in the end, this is ourcommunity, too. We want whatis best for our community. Andwe think our community is bestserved when it is well informed.To continue to do that, weare dependent on our readersand advertisers. Thank you forhelping us go into the next 150years as the north country’sbest source for news and information.Beman Brockway and business partners kept the Times competitive....From E2Mr. Brockway had workedunder Horace Greeley at theNew York Tribune. He had leftthat employ of two years out ofgrief over the death of his wifeof 14 years, Elizabeth.Born April 12, 1815, the sonof a western Massachusettsfarmer, Mr. Brockway startedhis trade as an apprenticeprinter in Northampton, Mass.He moved on to the MayvilleWeekly Sentinel in ChautauquaCounty, and within a year,at the age of 21, became thepaper’s owner. Saving $5,000from that enterprise, he purchasedthe Oswego Weekly Palladium10 years later.“I thought of Cooperstown,Ithaca, Watertown, Ogdensburgand other places,” Mr.Brockway wrote. “Finally, beingin Albany, I ran against twoOswego gentlemen who spokein such glowing terms” of Oswego.He converted the Oswegopaper to a daily, then sold it in1853.He took a copy-editing jobwith Mr. Greeley, but “I neverfelt at home in the metropolis,”he wrote.He resigned after two yearsand moved to Pulaski, where heinvested in a milling business.His election in 1858 to the stateAssembly set the stage for hisencounter with Mr. Haddock.About six weeks after anagreement was struck for hisanticipated one-third sharepurchase of The Reformer, Mr.Brockway found Mr. Haddockhaving second thoughts aboutthe arrangement. The newcomerhad to accept an officejob at $10 per week, but onlybriefly. Mr. Haddock resignedin August 1860 after he andMr. Ingalls argued, leaving Mr.Brockway as Mr. Ingalls’ partner.•••The Reformer, Mr. Haddockwrote, became a newspaperwhich “appealed to the betterclass of readers.” The paper“said things, always in a respectableway, that the olderplodding political organs didnot care to meddle with.”The coming of the Civil Warleft the weekly paper facing achallenge and losing subscribers.“Everyone was eager forthe news, and the latest,” Mr.Brockway recalled. “Daily paperswere in great demand.The weekly was of no account;it was too slow. So there was arush for the daily issue, and as aconsequence, the weekly papersuffered.”Mr. Brockway had reservationsabout change, seeing thedaily as a project for “thosewho had money to fool awayand who were prepared to doany amount of hard work forsmall compensation.”On April 22, 1861, the WatertownDaily Reformer was published,beginning a 150-yearrun which eventually continuedunder the name WatertownDaily Times.The Reformer office of theCivil War era, as described byCharles E. Holbrook, who laterbecame a publisher, was asmall three-story brick buildingon Arcade Street partiallysurrounded by pastures. To itsStone Street side, tents werepitched during the circus summervisit, and on the north sidewas a two-story 60-square-footbuilding. That wood structurein 1864 housed the “InvalidCorps,” soldiers of the war whohad been sick or wounded.“In pleasant weather, theHighlights of the Times at 150...From E11later, on Aug. 26, the Times beganrunning its first humorouspanel of cartoons, the productof syndicator Clare Briggs.Comic stripswere addedon Nov. 17,1922.• Whenthe Timesmoved intoits currenthomein 1961, itsPettitn e w H o eColormaticprinting press provided thecapability of using color foradvertising. The apparent attemptat color in the presentationof news was on Nov. 1,1969, when the new YM-YWCAswimming pool building, nowthe Massey Street fire station,was dedicated. A color newsphoto next appeared on Aug.3, 1972, when a shot of the Wa-The Times newsroom in 1907 included, left to right, Lee Fuller,Francis Lamon, Irving Parmeter, Harold Johnson, who wouldeventually own the Times, and George Harris.tertown Police Department’sfirst blue patrol car was shown.Regular use of color photographyin the Times did not arriveuntil after the Sunday morningedition was introduced in September1986.• The Jefferson County HistoricalSociety, which observesits 125th anniversary this year,and the Watertown DailyTimes have enjoyed a close relationshipover the years. BemanBrockway, founder of theTimes, was the first presidentof the historical society, from1893 through 1892. Other peopleassociated with the Timeswho have served as historicalsociety presidents were HarryF. Landon (1949-1954),John B.Johnson Jr. (1988-1991), andHarold B. Johnson II (1994-1997 & 2002-2004). The followingTimes’ staffers have in variousroles served the Society:Charles H. Congdon, ErnestG. Cook, Sidney T. Cox, Lee N.Fuller, William P. Hills, HaroldB. Johnson, John B. JohnsonSr., Frederick H. Kimball, DavidF. Lane, Howard A. Lennon,Willard D. McKinstry, RensselaerA. Oakes, Pattie Schreck,and David C. Shampine.• Will the real Susan Johnsonplease stand up? When John B.Johnson Jr., was married July12, 1969, his bride was SusanMacDonald, 163 Bishop St.Fourteen years later on Feb. 19,1983, his brother, Harold, marriedSusan Meylor, 251 FlowerAve. W. Among coincidencesto the siblings’ respective marriagesis that both Susans chosecareers as teachers.• The Times’ slogan, “Newsfor Today, History for Tomorrow,”was the $100 winningthought of photographer RalphM. Pettit, responding to an inhousecontest conducted in1971 by the Times. Mr. Pettit,who retired in 1985 followinga 54-year association with thenewspaper, died in 1992 at theage of 73.corps had daily drills on ArcadeStreet in front of their barracksand the Times office,” Mr. Haddockwrote.“In those days,” he continued,“the daily telegraphic reportswere a novelty for Watertown.The news was recordedon a tape. Mr. Brockway wouldgo to the telegraph office eachday and would write out the reportas Edwin Pope, the telegrapher,would read it from thetape.“I well remember the morningof the 15th of April, 1865,when Mr. Ingalls, with tears inhis eyes, came into the composingroom bearing a pressdispatch and announced ina broken voice that PresidentLincoln had been killed by anassassin. From that hour untilthe forms went to press, thedispatches came continuously,giving the particulars of the awfultragedy.”•••During the early years of thatturbulent decade, Mr. Brockwayspent much of his time inAlbany, serving as a delegateto the state convention. Hisstay in Albany was extendedafter the 1864 election, whenhis boyhood friend, Reuben E.Fenton, was elected governor.Becoming the governor’sprivate secretary, Mr. Brockwayresigned from his positionon the Reformer, but returnedin the spring of 1870. Hebought a one-third share of thebusiness for $10,000.By then, the newspaper hadmade a change. With the beginningof the new year, the frontpage masthead read WatertownDaily Times.Another third-interest in theconcern was sold to Charles R.Skinner, a 26-year-old formerteacher from Oswego County,who was taken on for his skillsas an accountant.Mr. Skinner and Mr. Brockwayimproved the type, ink,paper and press work, and theyrealized a rebound in circulation,which had dipped to 700.“We gave to it new life,” Mr.Brockway wrote.Disenchantment betweenMr. Ingalls and Mr. Brockwaydeveloped in 1872 when thelatter supported the presidentialcandidacy of his oldboss, Horace Greeley, a liberalRepublican. Mr. Ingalls consideredthat an affront to hisRepublican philosophies, particularlysince Mr. Brockwaysought Congressional election-- unsuccessfully -- on theGreeley ticket.At the same time, Mr. Ingallswas going bankrupt, accordingto Mr. Haddock’s history. Mr.Ingalls’ holdings in the newspaperwere placed on publicauction, and on Dec. 12, 1873,Mr. Brockway submitted thehigh bid, $4,000.Until he could recover hisfinancial losses, Mr. Ingallsremained an employee of theevolving company, Brockway& Skinner. He made a quickcomeback, commencing in1874 an 18-year run as publisherof the Watertown Post.•••Mr. Adsit and “Major” AndrewW. Munk were two staffmembers hired by Mr. Ingallswho served the newspaperprominently for several years.“By” Adsit, of South Rutland,apparently became the firstTimes’ reporter, and among hisearly stories were a cockfightat Dexter patronized by wellknownWatertown citizens,and a charivari at Carthage,“where the groom scattered amob with buckshot.”“Although Ingalls had nevertold me so in words,” Mr. Adsitwrote, “I was aware that hewas also pleased with what Iwas doing. My weekly pay hadgradually mounted upwards‘til I was getting $10.”Major Munk, another Oswegoman, became the Times’ expertmarket reporter. He earned hisnickname while serving threeyears as a drummer boy with the17th U.S. Regiment. In 1869, hebecame a reporter with a bit ofadvice from Mr. Brockway: “Be agood listener, but don’t do muchtalking.”Mr. Brockway in 1870 hiredLevi L. Pratt, who founded theTimes’ weather department inAugust 1871, and as the “TimesWeather Prophet,” gave thenewspaper the distinction ofbeing one of the nation’s firstpublications to feature a forecastcolumn.A peek into the average publishingday in 1873 was providedyears later by Charles M.Redfield, then an office boy,later to publish his own paperin Malone.“We went to press at 4o’clock and believe me, on thetick of the clock those chaseswent downstairs. Along about2:30, the editors all came outand joined the composingroom force. Beman Brockwaygenerally had some little belatededitorial comment thathe put into type and Levi Pratt‘struck type’ if the weather didnot bother him too much.“Mr. Pratt made some changein his weather forecast a half dozentimes between three and fouro’clock. By then Adsit could notset type, but he contributed hisbit by pulling proofs.”•••Not long after Mr. Ingallsdeparted the company, Mr.Brockway purchased Mr. Skinner’sone-third interest.Between 1874 and 1876,three men took turns occupyingthe city editor’s desk. Firstcame William H. Cole, a nativeof England who arrived in Watertownin 1870.ily recognized what was news,”said a contemporary, James F.Pappa.Then came Charles J. Bellingerfrom Oneida County,and George C. Bragdon, son ofa Revolutionary War soldier.Mr. Bragdon was succeeded in1876 by Mr. Adsit.“By this time, the value ofspicy local news was better appreciatedthan it was during myfirst employment, and havingconfidence that I could supplythe demand, I was given theright of way,” Mr. Adsit wrote.Harry E. Devendorf becamecity editor in 1881, anddid practically all the local reporting,with assistance fromCharles S. Adams. The twocombined efforts in gettingout a special edition in the July2, 1881, shooting and Sept. 19death of President James Garfield.Mr. Horth, who was oftensummoned from the compositors’room by Mr. Adsitand Mr. Devendorf to fill in asa reporter, later served brieflyas city editor. He “caused alittle flurry,” wrote William H.Bechert, then the foreman ofthe Times job-printing department,when “he set up a columnabout a murder up norththat never happened.”Mr. Brockway brought to hisnewspaper in 1886 Willard D.McKinstry, his cousin, naminghim the telegraph editor. Mr.McKinstry, then 36, had operatednewspapers in Fredoniaand Dunkirk.In his new job, Mr. McKinstrywould run from the Times’building to the telegraph officeto obtain skeletonized dispatches,and then he would fillin missing words to create areadable story. Within a year,he was promoted to assistanteditorial writer.“I am the editor-in-chief,and McKinstry is the chief editor,”quipped. Mr. Brockway,now becoming blind.“Mr. Brockway recognizedthe exceptional ability of thecountry editor,” said JamesPappa. “He had a gift of sayingthe best or the most sarcasticthings in three or four lines ofany man I ever knew.”Mr. Brockway, Harold Johnsonwrote, had excellent judgmentabout what should bepublished and what was unworthy.“That piece makes aninteresting read” was the standardhe applied.The 78 year-old Mr. Brockway,appeared at his office dailyup until two weeks before theday of his death, Dec. 16, 1892.“He was a strong, carefulwriter, and he could tell unerringlyat a glance the value ofan article or printed page,” Mr.Adsit wrote. “He knew what agood newspaper was and fullyappreciated the great effort

C M Y KE16 Thursday, September 22, 2011WATERTOWN DAILY TIMESD is a ble dP e r so ns•A c t i o nAP DO r ga n i za t i o n•DPAO CONGRATULATES THEWATERTOWN DAILY TIMESON THEIR150th ANNIVERSARY!!!THANK YOU WATERTOWN DAILY TIMESFOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORTON BEHALF OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIESAND OTHER SPECIAL NEEDSPAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.From the Staff at DPAO