Putnam patriot., 1919-05-16
PUTNAM PAPERS
 REPRESENTED
Connecticut Weekly Press As- .oeiation Formed In 1SS6.- Founder Wa. Souvenir" Taylor.
L. O. Williams, Patriot" N. w. ken- nedy sf Standard" Among the
 Organiser

OrzAnHers Tn sznday's Hartford "Courant~ appears an article on Newspaper As sociatiora of Connecticut" by E.. G.. Hill of Hartford The formation of "The Connecticut Weekly Press As- sociation, which later developed into the "Conneeticut Editorial Associa- rion,v is of interest to Windham coun- ey. as Souvenir" w H. Taylor, for merly of Putnam. was it's founder, and L. O.. Williams of The Patriot and N. W Kennedy of the Putnam Standard" attended the first meet ng at which the association was or ganized. gr. Williaras still maintains his membership in the association.
 While we give verbatim the au thor's story, 1t is only fair to make enc correefaon. The Patriot never entered the field of dailies This was done by the Standard At the time press association offered free plate service for SIX months to any weekly that would change to daily MT. Kennedy tired 1t and ran the Stand ard as a daily as long as the offer held good He subsequently return ed to the weekly issue. The article by Mr Hin is as follows; The Connecticut Weekly Press As
 sociatiao-
 "The sturdy and independent week lies of Connecticut had been making cheir own history, aXld in natural or der we come to their association. There came down to Connecticut from Massachusetts Tn 1887 Thomas 5. Pratt, who acqu5red the Rockville Journal Coming from a land where the surburban newspaper flourished, he was surprised 70 find nothing of the sort m Connecticut His express sion of that surprise took effect on William Harrison Taylor, who was as soeiated with hTn on the Journal But MT. Pratt declined to help start anything. and even expressed doubt that any such association would live in Connecticut, so MT. Taylor went it alone. On December 3l, 1887, he sent out to the weekly newspapers of that state circular in whieh he pro posed the formation of an association of the editors, proprietors and report CTS of weekly newspapers only, and asked for opinions as to oheir desira- bility
 "The response was so favorable that such a meeting was called at the City Hotel in Hartford for January 16, 1888. That was the blizzard year. The weather seems to have been all right in Hartford, but the same news papers which recorded the first meet ing told of an unprecedented blizzard raging with Kansas as its center, Tn which at least seventy persons were blocked in five states.
 Nineteen of the bidden were pres
 
 ent at that meeting. They were:
 "E. F. Bigelow. 'Middlesex County Record, Portland.
 "Thomas $. Pratt. Rockville Joar- nal
 "Wilham II. Taylor, Rockville Journal
 IS. T. Addis, Windsor Locks 1onr- nal
 "C. H. Riggs, Bristol Press, "W. C. Sharpe, Seymour Record.
 "J. H. Whiting. Seymour Times
 "Charles A. Kirkland, Deep River New Era
 4Fred G. Hammond, Deep River New Era
 "E. M, Jerome. Shore Line Times, New Haven.
 "C. s. Haviland, 'Southington Phoenix
 Henry E. Hale. East Hartford Gazette
 "Elwood s. Fla. Manchester Her ald.'
 Allan Wiley, Hartford Globe
 "I.. o. Williams. Putnam Patriot.
 "F. s. Tower. West Haven Bud get
 "J. H. Vail, 'Winsted Herald
 IN. W. Kennedy, Putnam Stand ard
 HI. Nj. White, 'Torrington Regis ter
 "Of these four, Messrs. Sharpe, Hale, Fla and Williams. are still, as they have been since the beginning, members of the association. The founder and original secretary. Will liam II. Taylor. for some time out of active newspaper work. continues as an honorary member. The original members are with the same papers they represented then, now proprie- tors of them. MT. Ela's Manchester Herald has since moved on to the daily field. The Bristol Press then represented by the Rev. c. H. Riggs, it's founder, now chiefly owned by Arthur s. Barnes. past president and present secretary of the association, has also become a daily. Another, Mir. Williams Putnam Patriot, had