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Show ( American Fork Newspaper News-paper History Wanted e The Utah State Historical Society, with J. Cecil Alter as secretary I is compiling newspaper history of the leading cities of the state of Utal J and below is the original draft of the write-up as compiled for America: e Fork. e In a letter of May 30th to the Citizen Mr. Alter says: i "You are at liberty to publish this material now, soliciting comer t: from old readers in the hope of correcting, improving or completing th manuscript," 3 Jfy cUizen f our district or reader of the Citizen who has inform!- uion, dates or old copies of the papers published here will please communicate communi-cate at ones with this newspaper and we will attempt to have the informa- tlon incorporated ihto the state history. s American Fork, Utah County 3 (Population: 1890, 1942; 1900, 2732 1910, 2797; 1920, 2732; 1930, 3047.) 5 American Fork Independent begar I March 21, 1890; every Friday; $2 s year. J. F. Bledsoe and James Mc-y Mc-y Coard, publishers. Only one copj found, (in personal file of A. F B Gaisford, Jr.). Vol. 1, No. 13, June s 13, 1890, 4 pages, 6 columns, plus 2-. 2-. page supplement, all home print t American Fork Independent Publishing Publish-ing Co., McCoard & Riddell. II I contains more inches of advertising j than of home news, much if not most of both concerning the mines j in American Fork Canyon. The pap-3 pap-3 er is said to have been printed or 3 an Army press. "The paper is small in dimensions s but large in expectations" said the a Provo Daily Enquirer, March 24 1890. Then; "Dr. Ed. Isaacson, edi-r edi-r tor of the American Fork Independent Indepen-dent has bright hopes for the fu-j fu-j ture of his paper, which was shortly short-ly issued twice a week," the Equirei reported further May 3, 1890. "We think it a very creditable paper' says the Home Sentinel, Manti, Maj 28, 1890. "Mr. Heskel of Grand Junction has purchased the Ameri- Ican Fork Independent" says the Provo Enquirer, July 5, 1890. "He will take charge about July 15th.' Still another change is indicated: ! "The American Fork Independent under its new management, is a great improvement and will hereafter here-after give a great deal of attentior ' to mining matters, "says the Park " (City) Record, May 2, 1891, doubtless doubt-less quoting in part an Independent statement. "Mr. Pribyl, the new ' editor and proprietor of the Ameri- can Fork Independent is a thorougl 5 and experienced newspaper man anc ! is getting out a good paper," we learn from the Provo Enquirer, Maj 13, 1891. "John Pribyl, Esq., editoi ' of the American Fork Independent,' is mentioned in the Price Telegraph 1 October 30,891. This same authori-1 authori-1 ty states November 20, 1891, thai 1 "the American Fork Independenl reached us in a new dress last week J as a 7-column folio". But Mr. A. F Gaisford's notes say John F. Priby: L purchased the plant and in 189S moved it to Corinne. Utah Republican, was launched early in 1892; 4 pages, 4 columns 3 every Friday, $1 a year, Republican k Newman H. Mix, editor and publish-s publish-s er. "The American Fork Republican" Republi-can" is given credit for an item ir the Manti Times, August 6, 1892; and on September 24, 1892, the Spanish Fork Sun says: "The American Amer-ican Fork Republican sits down or . the Lehi Banner, and styles it Patent Medicine." That is the las1 we hear of toe paper, and we found no files. 3 American Fork Item; 8 pages, 4 . columns, every Saturday, $1.25 a 1 year; date of first issue not found '. "The American Fork Item is the lat- - est thing in newspaperdom," says 3 the Bingham Bulletin, September 23 2 1893. "It is an independent weekly l published by M. L. Scott. It starts ; out without one 'ad' from the busi-f busi-f ness men of the town, to whom the - paper comes as a surprise, no patron-1 patron-1 age having been solicited. We trust 1 American Fork's new paper will meet with more liberal patronage thar the several which today lie in rest-t rest-t less graves." The American News- 1 paper Directory of 1896 shows: "Dunkley & Scott, editors and pub- ,. lishers." The Item was occasionally ,. quoted by its exchanges, we noticed .. as late as February 8, 1896, but nc copies were found. The next and 2 last news concerning it is in the 1 Wasatch Wave (Heber) of April 24 I 1896: "The American Fork Item has - again changed hands and the new man at the helm has changed the t name of the paper to: " ! American Fork World; "8 pages, 4 columns, every Saturday, $1.50 a year - Independent, W. E. & Eva B. Smitlx editors and publishers" says Ameri- can Newspaper Directory for 18P8; but we found no copies, and no oth- er information. The Advance; First issue, April 25. t 1901; 8 pages, 5 columns, 4 home print, every Thursday, John R. Wal-1 Wal-1 lis editor and proprietor, who has a full file (St. George). Plenty of correspondence, and teeming with local and general news items; fair . advertising patronage. "It will be a paper of the people and for the peo- pie" proclaims the editor in his Sadlutatory. "We hope the people will patronize us and encourage us, if our labors are found worthy of - support." The Salina Sun says: "John R. Wallis, who formerly edited . a bright little paper, at St. George, and had to quit work because of . poor health, is about to start a new ; paper at American Fork. We can': just exactly understand why editing i a paper in American Fork can b( i more healthful than the same kinc - of slavery at St. George. This mucl r will say, however, for a sick man . John Wallis can do more and bette: ; newspaper work than some of th( - pencil pushers in Utah county whe . pose as intellectual giants." (Editoi Wallis told us he left St. George foi i his wife's health.) ' ' Wallis ran an exceptionally finf ' newspaper for three months, the last number, July 11, 1901, bearing " I this Valedictory: "With this issue 1 The Advance will retire. We regret to make this announcement, but ! after publishing for 12 weeks at con-5 con-5 siderable loss, without making anj headway with a subscription list, and seeing no disposition on the part oi the people to subscribe, we have re- luctantly come to the conclusion that it would avail nothing to publish any longer. Our subscription list is sc exceedingly small that we foi shame's sake would not like to pub-' pub-' lish the figures. None of the merch-1 merch-1 ants or leading citizens of the city have subscribed for the paper, ex- cepting two. The leading merch- ants show a disposition to advertise: ' but they very justly demand that the local paper have a local circula-' circula-' tion. Every cent due to subscribers L who have paid in advance will be paid to them. I shall not leave L 1 American Fork until every subscribe: : is satisfactorily settled with. Wallis rebated every subscriber he could ; find, and left funds with the L. D. S ' Ward Clerk to reimburse all others. The Salina Sun of July 19, 1901 1 says: "American Fork, one of the 1 largest towns in Utah county, has ; just demonstrated that it . is the ' bummiest place in the State, a town whose people have no enterprise enter-prise beyond burying silver coins ir old socks, and who do not want il " known abroad that their town poss-" poss-" esses any natural advantages. Three 1 months ago John R. Wallis, a good newspaper man, and a loyal Saint a moral and upright fellow, started 1 The Advance at American Fork. ' He put in an entirely new plant, and at once proceeded to issue one ol 1 the neatest and newsiest local pap-, pap-, ers in the State. It seems that John . made an awful mistake. Last weet - The Advance closed down because oi no patronage. At any rate some i one should take a bucket of black ; ' paint and a brush and blot out the ! name of , American Fork from the - map of Utah." L And the Park Record of July 20 1 1901, says: "American Fork has ' allowed its only newspaper, The Ad-' Ad-' vance, to die of starvation at the tender age of 12 weeks. If you evei I hear of a hearse running over any-t- thing that looks like a man, it is a . 10-to-l bet it hails from Americar Fork." Tri-City Times, first issue, about , April 15, 1903; entered May 27, 1903 , as second class mail matter; 8 pages 6 columns, every Thursday, $1.50 a year; James T. Jakeman, editor; : Gray & Jakeman, publishers. Nc copies of that title found; but it is ; obviously the direct predecessor of ; The Citizen, the May 30, 1908, issue i of which, is Vol. 6, No. 6, 8 pages, t columns, 2 home print, every Satur-jday, Satur-jday, W. D. Loveless, proprietor; en-:;tered en-:;tered May 27, 1903, as second class mail matter. We found no informa-' informa-' tion as to when the new name and , ownership began. The issue of Jan-uary Jan-uary 3, 1914, is all home print, and 1 includes: "The Lehi Department' : and "The Pleasant Grove Depart-, Depart-, ment," both pagewidth headings. ; Shortly thereafter three formal ' headings were run on the paper on ' different pages, namely: The Review, Re-view, Pleasant Grove; The Citizen, American Fork, and The Banner Lehi, (from about 1923 it was the Lehi Sun). In 1915, date not found, ! L. W. Gaisford and S. W. Ross bought the tri-city papers from W. . D. Loveless, and changed the name of the parent paper slightly, to "The J American Fork Citizen," Ross be-; be-; coming editor. Ross sold his interest J to Gaisford in 1919, Gaisford contin-uing contin-uing as editor and manager, but us-jing us-jing the corporate name "Alpine Pub-'lishing Pub-'lishing Co.," until the issue of No-jvember No-jvember 24, 1923, when he writes: "We bid you all adieu. With tins issue l we bid all our readers farewell, for we have sold the American Fork ' Citizen and the Pleasant Grove Re-I Re-I view, with the business and machinery, ma-chinery, to other parties; and A. F. Gaisford and A. F. Gaisford, Jr., both of Leln, will take charge today. 1 Alter twelve years here as a pub-' pub-' lisher and owner, one comes to al- i most think of his publications at I animate things." (It will be noted , ! the Lehi paper was not told, which ! is a part of the Lehi story.) On I December 1, 1923, A. F. GaL-ford. Jr. .'became editor, and has continued ec to date. Editor Gaisford has gathered gather-ed broken files for 1908 and 1903; ! nearly complete files for 1914 to 1916; 'bound file for 1923, and loose files ' for recent years. No other files were ' found. I American Fork Tribune made its 'appearance July 2G, 1919, W. E. ElLs- worth editor and manager. But Ellsworth very soon moved his in-! in-! vestment to Payson, and soon there-' there-' after returned to newspaper work in 'Salt Lake City. There are no files jand no other data available. |