The Spokane woman. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1921-1935, 1929-08-08
AUGUST 8, 1929
BY Barbara Hofme ister

of the Spokane News Bureau and assistant 10
W. g. owes manager of the publicity department
OF the Chamber of Commerce.
Each day Miss Comley writes from two 10 three
thousand words of publicity for sunny Spokane
Were she to write novels instead of news about
the city, at the rate she is putting out copy Miss
tomiey would produce thirteen novels of 10000
words average length, each year Multiplied by
twenty-one, this gives grand total of two hundred
and seyenty-three novels high figure for even the
most prolific OF writer's. In spite of that, Miss
comley spends much of her time doing research
work and working on ideas for feature articles
and publicity material,
Miss ComIey was born in Ramsgate Kent county
England, small seaport and watering place near
Dover and Canterbury. She went to school in Lon
don and when she was only sixteen years old she
left her native country to come to America. For
a time she lived with married sister liz Phila
delphia.
For nine years Miss Comley was with the r. g.
Dunn Company in Philadelphia and then in 1907
she was transferred to the Spokane branch IN
1905 she changed position and began publicity
work under August Wolf of the Spokane Chamber
of Commerce Since 1912 she has been in the same
department. In thirty-one years, Miss Comley has
been with but two concerns, unusual record.
Today she is editor of the Spokane News Bureau
She sends weekly news letters to large number
oil industrial papers, among them being motor,
financial insurance. fruit, lumber hotel, tourist
travel aviation, RADIO and mining magazines Fea
ture articles describing the various attractions OF
Spokane have appeared in the Pacific Legion OF
Tacoma, Aerial Digest of New York Masonic
Tribune of Seattle washington State Architects
coast inventor, 'Paclnc Coast Dental Conference
Magazine" Railway Journal" of Los Angeles
Northwest Police Journal" and the american
Legion Magazine" of Seattle
One would need special inventive capacity to
vary the articles i'll the way that Miss Comley does
She is always writing about Spokane, but in each
articles she manages to get special slant
angle, making the story distinctive. The titles Of
several signed feature articles by Miss Comley that
have appeared in print Spokane, the City Al
Turing" Marble in Spokane Buildings" History
of Spokane" THE Metropolis of an Inland Empire"
SnOE Tnxitng Won A;,,t. I,., >
Spokane, the Empire City"
In the convention number of the Railway Jour.
mai issued last week, Miss Comey had four fea-
tuTe stories In article entitled "Aii Roads Lead
TO Spokane Miss Comey writes:
Spokane is delightful city of 12S.OOO popula.
ton. When one stops to think that ifty-one years
ago few pioneer trading shacks by the side OF
Spokane Falls the only signs of life this
makes Spokane's achievement unusual in the Unit.
ed States
Another story is entitled "Spokane--the Center of
The Land of Many Lakes" This describes the
hundreds of lakes that may be found within $50.
mile radius OF Spokane "Spokane-The Industrial
City" shows Spokane to be the hub of the Inland
Empire in industry and agriculture. The spirit OF
Spokane is voiced in this paragraph by Miss Com
ley:
Spokane is friendly city It has not reached
the stage, OF metropolitan development in which
huge population dulls the prompings of hospitality
Our policy in writing publicity is to back un
any conclusions about Spokane with facts" Miss
Comley said. "a comprehensive survey of the facts
does moro good than ream of nattering adjec
tives."
The January, 1929 number of Spokane Affairs"
gives the annual report of the publicity depart.
ments work for 1929. A few passages from this re.
port indicate the volume of news that is sent out
each year.
'The Press Bureau sent out four hundred and
sixty news bulletins to four hundred and ffty-six
separate publications with total mailings exceed.
ing 10000 the report reads,
Clippings received carrying our stories total
10 1875 inches. This Is equivalent to six hundred
and twenty-five pages of magazine space and Is
worth $4,000 were this material to be inserted in