The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1915-06-30

charles Prayer was 20 ye&rs old
: yesterday
That statement does not carry with
I II any great siEniacanc-. for there
are dozens % men IN the Wheeling
district who have passed the three
score and ten milestone. but when -
/ a. stated that Charles Prayer Il the
Oldest printer ia Wheeling. who Was
setting type az the case IA this city
years before Fort Sumpter was fred
B upon; decade before the clicking OF
the guns and the roaring OF the can
non could be heard through the land.
De was feeding foot power Job press
and DE Is stil before the case today.
That means that the birthday OF
3 Charles Prayer. which was most en-
Joyably celebrated last night, Il more
] than mere passing event. He was
settin type on ends" In this city BE-
Tore Horace Greeley. Charles Dana and
other underworld editors names were
written on the scroll OF fame: he was
holdlng the stick IN his youthful
nand when the Washington hand
press was the greatest printing press
in the country. And today he is SIN
holding the stick in his hand while
the echo OF the modern Hoe press can
OF progress and enterprise.
Men who to-day have been married
long enough to celebrate their rink
wedding anniversary" worked under
Mr.. Prayer in various print shops and
newspaper offices OF this city. Some
OF them are now tickling the KEY
boards Of the Linotype. a machine
that was never dreamed OF when
Wheeling's veteran printer made his
initial debut into the printing bust.
ness as a youth.
Relatives at Celebration.
This Is the man. Wheeling's oldest
ana most active printer today. whose
birthday was fittinEly and most pleas
antly celebrated at his home last night
az lOJ Twelfth street. where he has
resided for many years. There were
30 guests. all relatives. who gathered
about the table last night and shower
ed their congratulations on Mr. Prar-
or and wished him many more happy
and active days.
When the veteran printer was seen
last evening by an Inteiligencer man.
standing on the porch and extending
the hand OF welcome and smiling 10
the guests as they arrived. he said
Yes. this is my seventeen birthday.
many years. for I was born here and
have never lived any place else. so nj
suppose / have been in this CITY that
long When asked on what newspap-
ers he had worked. he said: All OF
them Mr.. Prayer said the first news
paper he was employed on was the
old wheeling Times. this citys first
daily. That was before the Civil war.
and from that time on he was on sew
eral other local papers and foreman.
later, OF the job departments Of nearly
every paper OF any pretense in Wheel
ing
For many years he was foreman oil
the job department of The Intelhgen-
Ger. This was just before he embarked
into business for himself Let's have
his own word: "Thirty-two years ago
this month. I started my own job Of
nee George VI. Shook embarked in
the dry goods business about the same
week. He has been in the same BUSH
ness ever since and have pursued the
same vocation in rowing my own
boat"
The Prayer home was beautifully
| decorated for the occasion and IL was
a merry crowd OF relatives and close
| friends gathered together Among the
I happiest and most active was none
other than the principal. Charles
Z Prayer. who has been in Wheeling
when 10 was a village and who has
seen the newspaper business builded
/ up from county weekly edition 10
the largest city and best papers in the
Little Mountain state
Charles Prayer. the veteran printer.
/ Of Wheeling. was honored last night.
| and IL was just tribute paid one OF
Whecling's oldest and most distin-
guished men who ever set a line of
\ type or pied a form.