Glacier County chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1931-1940, 1940-12-27
little Brown Gingerbread Man" and Memories
OF Its Author Still Linger With Montana People

On Christmas eve, 1929, the Great
Falls Leader printed for the first time
what was later come to be known in
Montana as one of the best loved of
al! 4uletide poems-"The Little Brown
Gingerbread Man" 1t was written by
a man who during his long life in
the Treasure state did more than any
other Great Falls resident to portray
the little joys and the little tragedies
of our everyday life-the late Edward
H. Cooney. then editor of Great Falls
evening newspaper.
Since that time the Leader has pub
llshed this CHEEKY little verse by pop
ular request in nearly every Christmas
edition. In fact, it has been demanded
SO often that the poem and the mem
DRY of its author have become as
much part of the holiday season as
Christmas day itself
The tragedy connected with the
story is that few months after the
poem was written its author passed
away. and today rests beside his wife
and three children in Highland Gene
terry at Great Falls, but his memory
and his poem are still with us.
With the death of Mr.. Cooney, the
Montana newspaper fraternity lost
one OF its ableSt members and the
state. a citizen who had served its
people conScientiously and efficiently
during a lifetime spent in the COM
monwealth.
Mr. Cooney. who was born in At
kinson. Ia, Feb. "a 1865. came to
Montana in July Of the same year
with his parents. Mr.. and Mrs. Thorn
as Cooney. who located in Alder gulch,
then in the heyday of its gold mining
activity. 1t was among the scenes OF
that feverish camp and other pioneer
settlements of Montana that young
Cooney received his education and
grew TO manhood.
Smell of News Ink Got Him
The Cooney family lived in Meagher
county in the early days where as
boy going to school in White Sulphur
Springs Ed Cooney got his first Whit
of type. after school hours. on the old
White Sulphur Springs Rocky Noun
tain Husbandman, of which R. N.
Usher for more than so years and
which newspaper had the largest cir
culation of any newspaper in Mon
tana territory.
Later Mr. Cooney went to Butte
where he became engaged in news
paper work on the old Montana Spec
tator and later as a member Of the
Butte staff of the Anaconda Standard.
In 1896 he went to Great Falls to
manage the DTaIlCN Office al lllaL TIME
maintained there by the Anaconda
Standard. but after three years re-
signed his position to become city
editor of the Great Falls Leader. of
which he afterwards became editor
and part cwner. in which capacities
he continued for many years.
Postmaster Two Terms
Mr.. Cooney filled the position of
both manager and editor Of the paper
until 1907 when he was appointed
postmaster of Great Falls by President
Roosevelt a position to which he was
reappointed by President Taft. serv-
ing two full terms.
Mr.. Cooney was also a member of
the first state legislature and candi-
date for governor in 1912 and 1916.
During his lifetime Ed Cooney suf-
fered more sorrows than usually come
to the average man, in the death of
his children and his wife. but despite
that no one ever heard him lament.
His grief was his own and he never
asked his friends to help him bear his
burdens.
The poem reproduced here was
copyrighted by Mr.. Cooney and later
appeared in song form with music by
r. w. Stevens Of Great Falls and IL
Illustrated by Fanny Cory Cooney.
sister-in law Of Ed Cooney and well
known newspaper syndicate artist spe-
cializing in children's features.