Page:History of Oregon Newspapers.pdf/451

442 from 1905 to 1911; U. N. Hoffman, 1911-1913. George Palmer Putnam purchased the paper in 1910 and continued as publisher until 1917, when he sold to Robert W. Sawyer, who has headed the organization since that time.

The first printer was A. H. Kennedy. The old press on which he ran off the paper was freighted in from Shaniko, 100 miles away, which then looked more like a metropolis than Bend and had its hopes.

The editor was the reporter "&c. &c. &c." in those early days of the Bulletin. It was several months before county correspondence was introduced. Among the early printers were Miss Florence McCann, who later became Mrs. Ralph Spencer, wife of the shop foreman; Miss Marion Wiest, also a printer the first year, who later became Mrs. M. G. Coe of Bend. Mrs. E. D. Belden and Mrs. Grace Hansen did clerical work and helped in the bindery.

After a few years the town grew rapidly as lumbering and irrigated farming were developed. The newspaper status was unchanged, however, with one exception, before 19 16. The exception was a consolidation with the Deschutes Echo in 1904.

The Echo had been started in the rival townsite of Deschutes, now within the Bend city limits, by A. C. Palmer in June 1902. The Grass Valley Journal commented on the advent of the Echo: "Mr. Palmer has started his paper a little early in order to catch some of those always welcome to the printer timber notices."

In July 1903 George Schlecht took charge of the little paper. That same month the plant was destroyed by fire, and the paper was published for the remainder of its career in the Prineville Review office. Schlecht moved away to a more promising job, leaving the field to the young and ambitious Bend Bulletin.

The year 1916 is memorable in Bend and Bulletin history for two reasons: Deschutes county was organized from part of Crook in that year, and the first issue of the daily came off the press December 6. The weekly publication day, which had been Wednesday, was then changed to Thursday.

The Bulletin moved into its first brick building July 27, 1912. The present building was occupied January 1, 1923. In the first twenty years after the first issue the paper's circulation had increased more than tenfold, from 200 to more than 2,000. Increase since then has been heavy.

The paper's biggest local-interest news story was the announcement, May 10, 1915, in the weekly, of the proposed construction of the big Shevlin-Hixon sawmill.

The creation of Deschutes county in 1916 was, in part at least, the result of a campaign waged by the Bulletin, whose policy is said to be "complete, accurate, and fair presentation of the news" and "keeping abreast of the town in equipment, size, service."