The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1923-12-13
Merle CrOwell Is EditOr.In. chief of
American Magazine

American Magazine
The following success OF Merle
Crowell will be read with interest by
his friends In Somerset County:
Maine people had reason for spe-
cial interest in the October number of
the American Magazine, as 1t is the
first published since the appointment
of Merle Crowell as editor. And
Merle Crowell is one more OF Names
sons to win success In the New York
publishing world.
Should you point Mr.. Crowell ont
to a man from Newport, Maine, as
Major Crowell o. r. c., editor of one
OF Americas foremost magazines, the
Newport man would propably say to
you as he said to the writer:
lyon don't have to tell me who
he is--he's VIII Crowell's boy; born
right here in that big white farm
house overlooking Lake Sebasticook.
Know his folks root and branch;
mother was a Coburn. Mighty nice
people all of them, and everyone a
worker
And Merle's worker. too; never
would be where he is IL he hadn't
been one Crowells weren't any
better off than the rest of us and
they couldn't afford to send him to
school unless he did his part
Through four years OF high school
at Cornna Academy he lived in one
small room and boarded himself.
That is, he brought supplies from
home every Monday morning and did
his cooking over a rusty old stove in
his room. Although guess he
didn't do much until the cakes and
pies were about gone.
Merle graduated from Corinna
Academy in 1904. From there he
went to Waterville and entered Co
burn Classical Institute. You see
he had a notion he wanted to be
lawyer or a newspaper writer and
he needed all the education he could
manage. He earned his way, wait
ing on tables and doing anything
else that came along. And with all
this extra work he won a scholar
ship at Colby College. So the next
fall saw him enrolled at Colby.
1.-The end of his freshman year and
the end of such cash as he had ahead
came at the same time; so he spent
the next two years earning money to
go on with his college course. He
did most everything; clerked in a
store, followed the West Branch |
drive, worked on a farm and spent
two winters In the woods.
at was while he was up in the
woods that he was taken with mus |
cular rheumatism. That was the |
end of his college, because getting |
cured OF this disease at New Jersey
he had. Without money to get home |
and too proud for any he landed in
New York with just four dollars and
eighty-five cents; didn't Know soul
In the city and no prospects of
job. It took him two days to get |
one, and while he was hunting he |
didn't lower the food supply of the
city any; In fact, he didn't eat at
all. II New Highlander doesn't |
know where the next dollar is COM
ing from he is pretty apt to hold on
to the one he has, you know.
For two or three years Crowell |
worked at different jobs, but he
wasn't forgetting his main idea all
this time. Newspaper work was
what he was headed for and being
a Crowell he was pretty sure of get
ting there. His chance came when
the editor of The Sun took him on
as cub reporter. During his four
years with that paper he tackled |
pretty near every kind Of reporting !
there Is. reckon not being afraid |
of work helped him there.
IN 1915 the American Magazine |
hired him as special writer and |
editorial ASSISTANT. He has been
there ever since, except for the, time |
of his war service. Made good at |
that, too--started in as second lieu
tenant and came out major-and |
when the war was finished he went |
right back on the job. So now he's
editor and only thirty-five years old. |
They say he's the youngest editor-in-
chief Of any big magazine in the
country.
mo, you can't tell Newport folks
anything about Merle. To you he |
may be Major Crowell, the editor,
but to us is just Merle, Will Crow
ellis boy We know him from the
ground up, and we're mighty proud
of him."
And so. too, are the rest of us who |
hail from Maine.