The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1916-03-23
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young man from the country with
some Iowa dust still sticking In the
seams of his trousers, approached
and asked for a job. An average OF
ten or fifteen a week did the same
thing, and as was his habit. after
taking down the young mans street
and number, he was just about 10
saw Il will file your name and IL
need some one | will send for you.
But the young man got there hrst
and said, Il want job and I'll get
you a $4,000 contract within a
week" Mr.. Lasker hesitated5 and
/, the young man stood pat. If your
! firm does not care for the business
| | will take 1t elsewhere" Here was
! young man out of the ordinary,
| and his remarks might have been tax
en- for impertinence in any other line
| of business, but an advertising man
! is born, not made, and Mr. Lasker
thought he saw symptoms OF one I'M
der the young mans hat. He hired
| him for a month with the under
standing that if he made good he
would keep him. That was easy as
| the young man had the contract in
his pocket at the time, and before the
week was up he sprung it on the firm.
| The result was that Tom Kester, erst-
! while reporter on the old Oskaloosa
Daily Times, had a steady job, and
is now vice president and manager
of one of the biggest advertising
houses in the world" ...a.
| - - =:
George William Shockley came to
town in 1883 and in 1884 he organ
lied the Mahaska County Old set
tiers Association,-no, that is not
typographical error, the dates are
as written. He. was secretary for
long time and is now president of the
Oskaloosa Country Club, and when
other pressing social engagements
will permit he plays golf. He is al
so president of the OskaloOsa ,Chau-
tauQua association, member of the
x. of p lodge, eX-Worthy Patron of
the Order of Eastern Stars, goes to
the Methodist church and in his leis-
ure hours he edits the Saturday
Globe. But he carries his cares
well, and when he cannot get away
to go back to his old home in New
Vienna, Ohio, for a rest, he gets
recreation by telling what he thinks
of certain members of the legislature
who voted against a state appropria.
ton for the Iowa building at the Pan
anna Pacific Exposition in San Fran
cisco. He has two good running mates
in Tom Shockley and |. w. Cook, and
we want to say right here and now
without any qualification, that these
three fellows have given of their
time and talents to public affairs in
OskalOoSa, in a measure exceeded by
no other three in our recollections.
And since we have drifted into
newspaper row we might as well
take a shot at H. j. Vail. He is
Iseveral thousand miles away and we
can dodge ii he shoots back. There
may have been more brilliant and
fmore conspicuous editors in the har-
ness in Mahaska7 county than Mr..
Vail, but we do not recall better
example of the real successful Coun-
try editor. He started the Star at
New Sharon, when New Sharon could
not be found on the map with field
glass He made success of it, &C
formulated some money, caught the
California fever, sold out and went
west. He established the Pasadena
Star and run metropolitan paper as
long as the first boom lasted. When
the bottom fell out of California, af-
ter the gold had all been picked up
out of the gravel, Mr.. Vail found him
self stranded with an elephant news
paper plant on his hands. He sold
Out,-Or more properly speaking,
gave it away-and came back to
Iowa. He got a fresh start and got
sambtiOus again and went to Ottum-
wa to edit the Ottumwa Daily Press.
The venture proved too big an under
taking for Ottumwa, and Mr.. Vail
again returned to New Sharon and
bought back his, old paper, the New
Sharon Star. Here he made anOth-
err fortune, but this time was wiser
than before, curbed his ambitions and
retired from business. He Is now
C! jOying the fruits of his labor and
living in. California again, almost
within stones throw of the Pasa-
dena Star which he started years
ago. And while the Pasadena Star
is now rated as a 100000 property,
Mr.. Vail is happier and enjoys life
more, than he would if he owned the
plant.
THE ROUSTABOUT.
Continued in our next)