History of the Clay Co. Leader

Found  among  the  papers donated to the Museum by the Eugene Hurn Estate is the history of the Clay
County  Leader, written for publication in its 50th Anniversary Edition in April 1982. The following
is a shortened version of the late Mr. Hurn's history:

"At  the time Mr. Tom B. O'Bryan, Sr., came to Henrietta in 1932 and set up his presses to print his
paper,  which  he called the Clay County Leader, there was already a paper being published here, The
Henrietta Independent, by Mr. Cyrus Coleman.

"This  paper  was  established in 1884 by J. B. Hopkins and was published without interruption since
then. In 1888 Mr. Hopkins sold the paper to A. S. Mercer, who also published The Clay County Journal
in Cambridge. (Note: Alfred Menn wrote that The Henrietta Journal was being published in 1878.) Soon
after  acquiring the Journal from a Mr. Williams, Mercer moved the paper to Henrietta and renamed it
The  Henrietta Shield. In 1890 or 1891 Cyrus Coleman's father, G. W. Coleman, acquired The Henrietta
Independent from Mr. Mercer and Cyrus Coleman was named editor.

"Cyrus  purchased  The  People's  Review  from  W.  E.  Edwards on March 1, 1928, and terminated its
publication. Thus Cyrus Coleman and his Independent were without local competition.

"Coleman was a pioneer as well as a stanch member of the community and a pillar of the First Baptist
Church.  He had been publishing The Henrietta Independent more than 40 years and Clay County was his
territory.  So  deep were his roots in the red clay of Clay County, Mr. and Mrs. Coleman named their
only son 'Clay.'

"Mr.  Coleman was a quiet man at peace with himself and his community. The Independent was his paper
and he was proud of his work. He had become a legend with his non-controversial editorials. He wrote
of  the  need  to  support  the community, the schools, and the churches. He believed in patriotism,
righteousness  and the dignity of man. His paper reflected his sincere religious convictions. It was
rumored  that  Cyrus  Coleman spent more time selecting the weekly Scripture Reading to publish than
the news items which appeared in his paper.

"The  Clay County Leader was first published in the Boddy, Staggs, Waller Building between the Royal
Theater (previously the Majestic) and the building occupied by Brad Staggs Tailor and Cleaning Shop.
The  building  had  been  constructed  in  1920  and  was  first occupied by the Gates Drug Company,
established  by Claude and Rex Gates. It had been vacant when Mr. O'Brien moved in his machinery and
started publishing his paper.

"The  first  edition of The Clay County Leader came off the press April 29, 1932, with W. C. Tillman
the  editor  and  Tom  B. O'Bryan the publisher. At that time John's Grocery was selling 2 pounds of
Peabody  coffee for $.35; a pound of bacon was$.15 and a box of strawberries cost a dime. H. L. Bear
was  selling  good  9'  x 12' linoleum rugs for $5.95. A 10-pound sack of sugar cost $.40 at Munkres
Feed  and  Produce, and Central Meat Market sold home baked ham for $.15 a pound, sausage for $.08 a
pound and T-bone steak for $.15 a pound. Just in case the little woman wanted the day off, the White
Rose Café offered a good turkey dinner for $.30 a plate.

"In  1934  Mr. Tillman sold his interest in The Clay County Leader to Mr. O'Bryan, who continued the
publication  until  his  death  September  27,  1945. In the meantime, the Leader was moved into the
building  adjoining  Ray  Moore's  Cleaning Shop on the north, with the Dorothy Theater north of the
cleaners,  all on the east side of the court house square. Later, in 1950 the newspaper was moved to
its  present location, previously occupied by Hanagan's Produce and Feed Store, on the north side of
the  square. (Phil Major, the present owner of the paper, says that even today an occasional chicken
feather  comes  floating  down  from  somewhere. Sullivans had the produce place sometime in there.)
Later a new front was put on the building to greatly enhance the looks of the entire block.

"For  more than a decade both The Clay County Leader and The Henrietta Independent made their weekly
appearances,  each  reflecting  something  of the nature of its publisher. On September 1, 1935, Mr.
O'Bryan  was  appointed  postmaster at Henrietta, a position he held until April 1, 1940. This meant
that  while  he was postmaster, he could not devote all his time to his paper, so he shifted a large
part  of  the  day-to-day operating details to a brother-in-law, D. H. (Uncle Dave) Germany and to a
brother, Sid.

"Following  Tom B. O'Bryan's death in 1945, his widow, Mrs. Carrie O'Bryan, and son, Tom B. O'Bryan,
Jr.,  continued  to  publish the Leader. They redidicated the paper to those high ideals and beliefs
which  had  guided  its founder, that 'a newspaper is an instrument of public trust, privately owned
but  dedicated  to  the common weal...and above all having the will to be sympathetic, understanding
and sincere.'

"In December 1945 they purchased the Henrietta Independent and 'Uncle Dave' Germany was moved to its
plant and both papers were continued as separate newspapers.

"On  June  27,  1946,  the  O'Bryans sold their publishing interests to Jerry W. Sitton, a returning
naval aviator with 7 years of newspaper experience in Kilgore prior to World War II. He combined the
mechanical plants of the Leader and the Independent in January 1947.

"On May 1, 1948, Jack Wettengel and Ross Strader bought both papers but suspended publication of the
Independent September 9, 1948. "That last issue paid tribute to Cyrus Coleman, who had died July 23,
1848:  'The  things  that  men do live after them and although the newspaper which he edited so many
years  suspends  publication with this issue, the fine principles established by Mr. Coleman will be
carried on by The Clay County Leader, which now takes over the work of The Independent.'

"Jack  Wettengel  purchased  Strader's interest on August 26, 1950. Jack Wettengel was a 'go-getter'
and he brought new life to his paper with columns about people and the things they did, 'Looking the
Town Over' and 'Sense and Nonsense' being two of his best.

"Bill  and Jo Ann Glassford bought the Leader December 1, 1961, coming to Henrietta from Morton, TX,
where  they  had  published The Tribune for 10 years. Mr. Glassford has become as well known for his
column,  'Near  News' as Wettengel had been for his. Columns and editorials are what give newspapers
personality and life.

"The  Clay  County  Leader  is  no longer printed on the four-page, flat-bed Babcock letterpress Tom
O'Bryan  brought  with  him.  In fact, it is not even printed in the Leader's plant. Early Wednesday
morning  Bill  Glassford takes the paper to Wichita Falls to be printed by an off-set process, which
results in a much more readable and cleaner looking copy.

"A  visit to the pressroom of the Leader no longer provides the thrill it once did. There is still a
faint  scent of printer's ink but the heavy pungent odor of the early plant is gone. The presses are
still  there  but  they  are  not  running. And there are a couple of linotype machines but they are
infrequently  used. The monotonous yet musical sounds of the matrixes falling into proper slots with
amazing  accuracy and the clunking of gears and levers and cams each driving the other belong to the
past.  Even the editor's old manual typewriter that responded in large part to only the index finger
on each hand has been replaced by an electric model.

"The  composition  corner  in  the  back room where the paper is put together has also changed. Upon
first  entering  the  area,  one feels that he has stumbled into a play area where little girls have
been  cutting  out  paper  dolls.  Instead of printer's trays and had-set type and wedges and wooden
mallets  to properly align the type, one sees strips of printed paper here and there pasted on large
cardboards and scissors and glue and paperclips.

"In  addition  to  converting  to an off-set printing press, the Glassfords made another significant
change  in  The Clay County Leader. They believed that inasmuch as The Independent continued to live
through the Leader, its presence should be recognized. To do so, the masthead of the Leader includes
the wording, 'Continuing the Henrietta Independent - Established 1884.' This makes the Leader one of
the oldest, if not the oldest organization in Clay County.

"When Jack and Winona Wettengel moved on, Clay County lost two wonderful people. The void they left,
however,  we  now  know, was filled when the Glassfords moved in. To Bill and Jo Ann, this writer is
pleased  to  say,  'We are glad you came our way. We had hoped you would pull up your chairs and sit
awhile.  Now that we know you better, we hope that you will sit with us a good long time.' " -Eugene
Hurn, February 20, 1982

Submitted by Lucille Glasgow