Grimes served as editor for 42 years until his passing in 1961. During his tenure circulation jumped 2,700 percent from 2,000 papers sold per day to 56,000. Duff grew into a newspaper fixture after an admittedly failed career as a schoolteacher. Among her best pieces was her take on the new fire hydrant in her hometown of Sylvester, a tiny burg that at the time lacked even a fire hose. But some things have stayed the same.
Truth is still truth.
The Reporter-News often crusaded for what it believed was right, including the construction of water supplies, the landings of Camp Barkeley and Dyess Air Force Base, the racial balancing of local schools and many bond issues. Perhaps the power of the press was best reflected in 1968 when a financial crisis had the West Texas Rehabilitation Center, one of publisher Stormy Shelton's pet causes, teetering on the brink of extinction. Current Publisher Frank Puckett said that while the mission remains the same, the newspaper game has changed vastly. Computers have replaced hot metal type. Most mechanical applications are fully automated.