Page:History of Oregon Newspapers.pdf/372

363 were in the Post headlines. North Bend and Marshfield business men were advertisers. The paper soon stopped. A copy of the issue of September 7, 1904, was found by Pinkey Anderson and noted in the North Bend Harbor, July 16, 1936.

Bandon.—The Recorder, Bandon's first newspaper, was founded, not at Bandon but at Denmark, where Chilstrom & Upton (J. M., son of J. H.) launched it in 1883. It was started as the Curry County Recorder, then (in 1884) the name was changed to the Southwest Oregon Recorder, and the publication day changed from Thursday to Tuesday. The next year it was changed to Saturday. Then the Portland Weekly World announced that "The Recorder, published by P. O. Chilstrom and J. M. Upton, has appeared at Bandon, Coos county, where it has been recently removed from Denmark." As the Independent Recorder, it is listed in Ayer's Directory for 1887, with Chilstrom as editor and publisher.

David E. Stitt was at the helm from the late eighties, succeeding Mr. Chilstrom, until 1906, when George P. Laird became publisher and S. W. Scottin editor. Irving S. Bath was editor in 1907, G. T. Treadgold in 1908, and C. E. Kopf from 1909 on through 1916. Under Kopf's direction the circulation went up to 1,000. The paper ran as a twice-a-week for three years (1912, 1913, 1914). It was a weekly again in 1916.

Kopf had come from Iowa as a school-teacher and learned most of his printing in Oregon. Old-timers say he never cared much for the mechanical end, for which he had less capacity than for promotion and management. For a time, about 1914, Kopf had a partner named Stuart who handled the printing. When Stuart sold out and left, Kopf got in touch with R. B. Swenson, then in Riverside, Calif. An effort to sell Swenson an interest failed, but he came north in January, 191 5, to take charge of the printing end. Meanwhile Kopf's brother-in-law had purchased an interest. The paper was having financial trouble, and went bankrupt in March. Mr. Swenson was then made manager for the creditors, and he carried on for a year. Among those who helped him get out the paper was Harry Crain, now of the Salem Capital Journal, then a youngster just breaking in. In 1916 Mr. Swenson went to Monmouth and bought the Herald.

Meanwhile the Western World, which has come down to the present, had been established in 1912 and soon had the field to itself, the Recorder having given up the struggle, suspending June 27.

A. J. Weddle & Co. were the founders of the Western World, which they launched in 1912. The paper, independent in politics, proved popular, and in 1916, under the new direction of Felsheim & Howe (James H. Howe), gained ascendancy in circulation over the older Recorder, with 1160 as against 725, and the Recorder was suspended June 27. Five years later Louis D. Felsheim became the