The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1913-06-12
MIR. BLYTHE TELLS OF
EARLY GLACIER DAYS

Solicited by Mr.. Thomson to give a
sketch of the early history Of the Gla-
cier, | will attempt to tell what |
know about it's start and struggles for
existence up to the time il was pur-
chased by MIR. Moe. the present pub
| Usher.
Along about the year 1883 Geo. T.
Prather conceived the idea that Hood
River was entitled to have a newspaper
to let the world know of its wonderful
resources, then lying dormant. and of
its ambitious citizens, also more or less
in state of dormancy. Knowing me
to be printer Il then held cases on a
Portland paper, where | worked during
the summer months and spent the win
ter with my family at Hood River) he
asked me to join him and start pa
per. Our conversation was held in
front of Geo. Z. Crowell'S store. Ell.
Smith and some others were present.
Mr.. Smith pulled a shiny twenty-dol-
lar gold piece from his pocket and of
fered it as starter if we would start a
newspaper. The late s. G. LaFrance,
| think, offered to do rs we'll. The
shining gold pieces were tempting, but
having had some experience in starting
and publishing newspapers before that
day, and considering the sparse popu-
lation of the town and valley, knew
something of the cost and hard work of
getting out even country paper. By
the next spring, in 1885,, Mr.. Prather
could resist no longer his strong desire
to give Hood River newspaper. He
went to work, soliciting subscriptions
for three months, at 80 cents, for a
Hood River paper. People of the town
and valley responded literally. Every
body could afford to put up four bits to
have home paper. J. II. Cradlebaugh
was then publishing the Wasco County
Sun at The Dalles. Mr.. Prather made
arrangements with Cradlebaugh to
print the paper and mail it to subscrib-
ers for three months. | never heard
MIR. Prather say how he came out on
the venture, but at the end of three
months he was willing to give the pa
per over to MIR. Cradlebaugh, who
bought hand press and type. pur-
chased lots at Third and Oak streets,
set up his press and began the publica-
tion of real home paper that has
never missed publication day from
that date to the present. MIR. Cradle
baugh named the paper at its start.
when published in The Dalles, and
gave it its motto: ''1he Hood River
Glacier-lt's Cold Day When We Get
Left" Mr.. Cradlebaugh run the pa.
per, with the help of his wife who was
a cOmpositor, for five years. Being a
lawyer he managed with his legal prac.
tice and the revenue from the paper to
make living. For a while he had
good run of land notices. But in 1894,
when the real hard times for Hood
River came, caused by the loss of the
strawberry crop on account of the big
flood in the Columbia destroying the
railroad, he found it impossible to
meet his expenses out of the Glacier
and the slim legalspractice at the time.
he went to The Dalies and engaged to
edit the Daily Chronicle, leaving his
wife to manage the Glacier. 1t was at
this time, July z. 1894, he gave me lib
eral terms to purchase the Glacier. To
sell the plant and good will to anyone
outside of Hood River at that time
was entirely out of the question.
During the last year of Mr.. Cradle
baugh's ownership of the Glacier il
was my pleasure to be his hired man
and set most of the type for the paper.
He is a ready writer, and since his
work on the Glacier he has acquired
fame from his literary productions.
he never was known. while editing the
Glacier, to have line of copy ready
for the compositor before the hour ar
rived for the compositor to go to work.
| would walk in from my ranch to 20
to work at the case at 8 ocluck tht
day before publication day. Cradle.
baugh would be in his house, probably
at breakfast. He would go to the print
shop, next door, start fire, light his
pipe, and then his pencil would fly,
making copy for the compositor. Items
occurring during the week he had gath.
cred in his head. Getting copy enough
ahead to keep me busy for an hour or
two he would start in to spin yarns.
Listening to jokes and stories told by
Jonh Cradlebaugh makes a person glad
he is alive. My intimate acquaintance
with him must have added ten years to
my life. And what bunch of copy he
could turn out when he set himself to
It. When enough type had been set to
fill the paper, or the time had come to
go to press, the copy hook was emptied
into the waste basket Some of his
best productions, as he said himself,
had to go that way.
To follow writer like John Cradle
baugh, as editor of the Glacier, was
serious undertaking for me. If |
didn't purchase the plant he threatened
to box it up, send it back to the type
foundry and let it go at half price.
Right then and there my local pride
loomed up equal to that of Geo. T.
Prather. 1t would never do to let the
light of the Hood River Glacier die
out and plunge the town and valley
again into the darkness of the Middle
Ages. So | made the purchase by Civ
ing my note. Cradlebaugh was owing
me near a hundred dollars for labor,
which fact probably helped me to
make up my mind to purchase, fearing
might always have something coming
to me. | went to my ranch home feel
ing rather sheepish and guilty as | told
my wife what had done. She tried. |
think, to console me by saying some
thing about white elephant. / found
my boy sick abed and had to hike back
to town that Saturday evening for the
doctor. Doctor Brosius came and said
there were symptoms of typhoid.
Monday morning went to the office,
cleaned up the pi. hustled around for
items, wrote them up. set them in type
and got out the paper on time for that
week. was farming that year. and
besides getting out the paper all alone
that week, walked home for my
meals at noon to see how my boy was
getting along. Had three cows to
milk evenings and mornings and tended
my crops when necessary. Henry York
pulled the Arm strong press for me
that first week. while did the rolling
act. My boy was better the next week
and did the printers devil share by
linking the forms for me.
Business houses in Hood River at
that time were scarce, and those we
had didn't know how to advertise.
had no home ado from