SECTION C                       

Idaho Register No. 1- Eagle Rock, Idaho Territory- Wm B. Wheeler,
publisher (Front Page of 1884 the Register)

         Post-Register Files Reveal History of 50 Years
[Note: We have transcribed local and state news, but omitted most
national and world news. For these, consult original.]

1885- August 15- Notice of election for the purpose of voting for
or against a tax of six mills on the dollar on the taxable property
of this school district.
      October 3- Col. E. A. Stevenson appointed to fill vacancy in
governor's chair.
      October 10- Present indications show that there will be a
grand mining boom along the Snake river next spring.
      October 24- Horse thief caught at Jackson Hole with 17 head
of High and Stout's horses.
      December 25- Snake River Gold. What it looks like under the
magnifying glass. Mr. Charles E. Blackburn says "a Grand Sight."

1886- April 10- Prof. Bell's latest production of genius -- his
great mental energy -- the photophone, or the use of electricity to
produce over the wires the image of the person speaking before the
instrument.
      May 1- A murderer captured after evading the officers for
several months. Deputy Sheriff J. C. Kendall arrived in Eagle Rock
Tuesday, and with the aid of Ed L. Winn, who knew the man, secured
him and started for Meeker, Colo.
     
1887- January 8- The Union Pacific people are to build extensions
in Oregon, Idaho and Washington territories, but just what the
plans are the officials are not ready yet to state.
      June 25- Beaver Canyon has ordered fifty-five kegs of Eagle
Rock beer for the Fourth of July celebration.
      June 25- Five cars of the new bridge arrived last night. The
old bridge is now resting on blocks.
      July 2- The Oregon Pacific is coming. Ten millions to be
spent this year on the road to Boise City.
      August 27- Second Annual Fair to be held at Eagle Rock,
Idaho, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 22, 23 and 24,
1887.
      October 8- The Register acknowledges receipt of a copy of the
report of the director of the mint for the year 1886. Referring to
Idaho, the report places the value of gold produced, $122,718,
silver $2,577,830, lead 21,646,398 pounds, and copper 3000 pounds.
      November 19- The Union Pacific Railway company plans to build
a road to the national park during the coming year, and there is no
doubt that it will be built from Eagle Rock.

1888- January 12- A press dispatch says that the bill introduced
Wednesday by Springer provides an enabling act for the admission of
Arizona and Idaho as states.
      January 19- The Boise Democrat says the saloon men would like
to see inserted in the substitute whiskey bill a clause compelling
parents to keep their children home at night, believing that it
would do more towards keeping boys out of saloons than to throw the
whole responsibility on outside parties.
      February 4- Our saloon men say that the beer that is now
being turned out at the Eagle Rock brewery is superior to any beer
ever shipped into Eagle Rock.
      March 10- Ed Winn has set up pool and billiard tables in his
saloon.
      June 9- Delegate Dubois has introduced a bill providing that
the legislative assembly of the territory of Idaho at its next
regular session, may be special legislation for that purpose
authorize the construction of a wagon road from a point in north
Idaho to Little Salmon meadows.
      July 14- The Sells Brothers' great circus and menagerie will
exhibit at Pocatello Thursday next. Arrangements have been made for
running a train from Eagle Rock, Camas and Blackfoot for the
accommodations of those desiring to attend.
     
1889- February 9- James and William Thomas, the Eagle Rock tailors,
have just received the largest stock of suitings ever brought to
Idaho.
      August 31- The Register has received official notice that the
post offices at Lewisville, Lyman and Teton will be discontinued
from today. We are at a loss to understand this, especially in
regard to the Lewisville office, which is a very important one.
      September 7- From the proceedings of the board of
commissioners it will be seen that they are now getting ready to
take action on the proposition of building a bridge at Eagle Rock
and over the north fork.
      October 5- Stage held up 20 miles north of Mountain Home by
four masked men who obtained $1000 from the treasure box and $600
from the passengers.
      October 12- The Idaho constitution will be adopted on
November 5.
      
1890- July 4- Idaho!! The 43rd state! The bill signed by the
President. The battle is won -- we are a full-fledged state.
      September 19- The County Fair. A grand success and credit to
the state of Idaho.
      February 8- No mail has been received from Boise City for a
week, owing to the washouts on the O. R. N.
      February 15- Two thousand bushels of barley shipped into
Eagle Rock during the past year by the Eagle Rock Brewery.

1891- January 2- Idaho Falls Town Company. Purchase old townsite of
Eagle Rock and several new large tracts of land. Change name to
Idaho Falls, "The City of Destiny."
      January 9- Bellevue, Mountain Home, Idaho Falls, Boise,
Nampa, Caldwell, Weiser, Grangeville and Lewiston have preferred
claims to the location of the Agricultural and Mechanical college
which is about to be founded by the state of Idaho.
      April 10- Addition to Yellowstone park. President Harrison
issues proclamation setting aside new territories as an addition to
Yellowstone park.
      May 15- The President in Idaho. President Harrison for the
first time set foot upon the soil of the new-born state of Idaho --
the youngest in the sisterhood, and the last to which he put the
finishing touches of creation by a simple stroke of his pen.
      June 19- The State Flower. "Syringa" selected as the state
flower by a large majority of the vote cast on Arbor Day.
      
1892- April 8- Weather Bureau! Idaho Falls gets the only one in
Idaho. Senator Dubois receives letter stating advisability of
establishing station at Idaho Falls.
      August 5- A Gala Day. Laying the corner stone of the Odd
Fellows' Home- A big day for Idaho Falls- A large crowd- A fine
day, and everyone delighted.
      November 11- The Election. Cleveland again elected President
of the United States. The Democrats carry almost everything.

1893- February 24- New Buildings. Clark & Fanning building is now
under way. The Berry building will be completed in the very near
future. A duplicate of the Johnson & Poulson building is
contemplated.
      December 1- The governor of Idaho pays Idaho Falls a visit-
interested in the experimental station and irrigation.

1894- January 26- Telephone service- a project is on foot to build
a telephone line from Idaho Falls to St. Anthony by way of
Lewisville, Menan, Labelle and Rexburg.
      March 16- Helloing 1300 miles. Long distance and short
circuit telephones. Charges seem high but they permit the use of
considerable conversation.
      April 6- New stage line between Idaho Falls and St. Anthony.
Will run a regular daily stage and express line as well as a
freight outfit.
      June 1- Pictures by telegraph. . . The process of sending
portraits by wire. . . has lately been taken up in Europe for
government purposes -- The Kaiser sends his autograph by it.
      
1895- October 25- The high school boys organize first basketball
team.
      
1896- Who They Are. The business and professional men of Idaho
Falls. C. W. M. Co., G. G. Wright, manager; Iona Mercantile, James
E. Steele, manager; Anderson Brother, oldest business house in
Idaho Falls; Z. C. M. I., Joseph A. Smith, manager; the Clark &
Fanning, N.H. Clark and E. Fanning, partners.
      May 1- The Idaho Canal company, one of the strongest
companies in Idaho. Capital stock $500,000, fully paid up and
unassessable. Headquarters are Idaho Falls, with F. W. Smith
president and A. V. Scott, secretary.
      November 6- William McKinley elected President of the United
States.
      December 18- The suffrage amendment passed.

1897- September 10- The public school opened Tuesday with an
enrollment of 260 pupils.
      December 31- Coal discovered 22 miles east of Idaho Falls by
George Eastman.
      December 31- Bingham County. The garden spot of the entire
Rocky Mountain country- contains over 500 miles of completed
irrigating canals.

1898- April 22- War is declared with Spain over Cuban question.
      July 15- Santiago has surrendered. Old Glory now waves over
the Cuban city. The city, with all the fortifications and harbor,
in the hands of Uncle Sam.

1899- February 17- Idaho troops at         (total casualties in the
Idaho regiment, 31, six killed and 25 wounded.

1900- March 16- The following prices have been the ruling prices of
the past week:
          Wheat, new, per 100 lbs.- 55c.
          Oats, per 100 lbs- 80c
          Hay, Lucerne, per top- 6.00
          Hay, Timothy - 8.00
      April 6- Joseph A. Clark elected mayor by majority of 44.
      April 27- Dinwoodey Furniture organized in Idaho Falls. The
shareholders are H.J. Hasbrouck, G. G. Wright, Eugene Wright, Ed.
Fanning, E. C. Dinwoodey, James Kerr, R. Pugmire, Misses Minnie
Gibson and Grace White. The capital stock is $10,000.
      August 31- Census report of Idaho; Population of state,
150,000; population of Boise, 8000; Pocatello, 4000; Moscow, 3000;
Lewiston, 3100; Idaho Falls, 1500.
      September 10- William McKinley's letter of acceptance of the
Republican nomination for President of the United States, was given
to the public today.
      September 19- Theodore Roosevelt delivered a short address to
residents of Idaho Falls.
      November 9- Oregon Short Line builds new depot in Idaho
Falls.

1901- March 7- President McKinley and Vice President Roosevelt
inaugurated with a grand ceremony, participated in by thousands of
people.
      September 3- Attempted assassination of President McKinley by
Leon Czolgosz, a Polander.
      September 4- President McKinley dies at 2:15.

1902- January 10- Consolidation of Cooperative Wagon 
& Machine company and Consolidated Implement company will be
consolidated under title of Consolidated Wagon & Machine Company on
February 1 in Idaho Falls.
      May 23- Mrs. A.V. Scott, chairman of delegation at meeting of
Federation of Women's Clubs at Los Angeles.
      July 12- Farmers' Progressive Canal company organized in
Idaho Falls.
      October 22- William Jennings Bryan arrives in Idaho Falls to
give political talk.
      November 7- Idaho goes Republican by 6000.

1903- March 6- Sugar bounty bill passes senate, which insured the
building of an immense factory near Idaho Falls. Work will commence
immediately.
      May 1- Studebaker company has commenced work preparatory to
the erection of a large wagon and carriage repository.
      May 17- Methodist church dedicated.
      May 22- Dr. T. C. Wilson has just received a case of
electrical instruments that will be a great benefit to his
profession. A tiny electric lamp can be attached to the various
instruments which enables him to see where the trouble lies.
      October 2- Fire visits Idaho Falls and the entire south side
of railroad has narrow escape from destruction. Greater portion of
row of frame buildings of old part of city wiped out.
      November 13- Street known as North Front street, changes name
to Broadway.

1904- January 8- Simplex typesetting machine installed in Post-
Register office, which means an improvement in the paper for the
benefit of its patrons.
      March 18- Crow & Champion building on the corner of Broadway
and Shoup, almost completed. One of the finest buildings in the
state.
      September 16- Fire fiend visits Idaho Falls and causes great
destruction. Loss over $150,000; 20 business houses in ashes.
Everything with the exception of two blocks, for a square north of
Broadway and from Park avenue to the river, swept away.
      
1905- March 10- Big brewery plant now in operation in Idaho Falls;
$80,000 expended.
      March 10- New land firm established in city by name of
Holden, Holden & Holden. All brothers and lawyers. Offices occupy
entire east side of the large B. W. & M. building.
      March 16- New auto for Doctors Bridges and Larue arrived
here. First owned by Idaho Falls parties. It is a seven-horse power
Olds runabout.
      November 10- Idaho Falls Electric Power company organized,
with $250,000 capital. Work will commence at once.
      
1906- September 28- Cement sidewalks work started in Idaho Falls.
All of Broadway will soon boast of new walks.
      November 9- Big dam across main channel of Snake river
started. Will be finished inside of a month.

1907- February 8- New banking institution organized. Will be known
as the Farmers and Merchants bank. Capitalized for $50,000.
      August 2- Idaho Falls is to have a big pressed brick plant.
Will cost $35,000. Site north of town on the river.
      December 6- Porter Hotel completed. Thirty new rooms added to
old part.

1908- January 31- New Elks lodge to be installed here.
      February 7- C. W. & M. company will erect an $18,000
structure on west side of river.
      April 17- H. W. Kiefer donated 50 by 140 foot lot, facing on
Broadway, for library site.
      November 2- New school building dedicated. Called Riverside
school.

1909- March 23- Property on corner of Park avenue and A street to
be improved by modern business block and office buildings.
      October 12- One hundred sixty acres in southeast part of city
bought by local Boosters organization. Site will be converted into
city park, public amusement grounds, fair grounds, race track.
      October 23- From 10 to 20 carloads of potatoes being loaded
out every day. All crops in Upper Snake river Valley averaging
high.
      November 12- Estimated outlay of cash which will be paid by
the three sugar factories of the Upper Snake River Valley for beets
this season is one million dollars.
      
1910- March 29- Idaho Falls district bears enviable reputation of
producing best grown potatoes. Ten thousand cars shipped a year.
      April 5- Local post office to be moved. Will occupy new
building to be constructed on A street.
      October 21- Federal building site recommended. Southwest
corner of Park avenue and C street selected.

1911- July 11- Greatest crop in history of country. Over 70,000
bushels of wheat produced in the states of Idaho, Oregon,
Washington and Montana.
      August 8- Assessed valuation of Bonneville county is
$10,426,211.
      January 3- Oregon Short Line builds new freight depot.

1912- April 12- Site selected for $100,000  high school building.
      May 31- Western Union Telegraph office to open here.
      July 16- County board of commissioners bought property at
head of C street for court house purposes.
      December 10- Odd Fellows Home utilized for General hospital
institution.
      
1913- September 5- $25,000 auditorium building to be built on
L.D.S. church grounds by members of church. C. E. Dinwoodey turned
first spade of earth.
      November 18- Handsome new Carnegie library building to be
built. Fund of $15,000.

1914- January 2- Idaho Falls Yellowstone Hi-way to be official
title of the great new road system planned for the state, extending
from Idaho Falls north through the valley to Yellowstone. Eighteen
thousand dollars appropriated by commission to help build road.
      April 3- Southern part of state attracting an average of
fifty families monthly.

1915- January 5- Idaho grain crop estimated worth over $40,000,000.
      August 10- Plans discussed for national defense. Conference
of governors and adjutants of all the states to be held. Location
of war college similar to West Point may come to western state.

1916- June 27- Several thousand patriotic citizens of Idaho Falls
assemble for the purpose of recruiting local company for guard.
About one hundred left for Boise for final exams, then from there
to the border.
      July 11- Idaho regiment on way to border.
      August 28- Cornerstone of new Methodist church being laid.
      October 10- Joy Drug store opened in the Luxton building on
Broadway.

1917- April 6- War resolution is passed by congress. Vote in house
results 373 for resolution and 50 against it.
      June 12- Active campaign for local Red Cross work. Starting
June 18 for one week, to be observed throughout the entire United
States. A national fund of one hundred million dollars to be
raised.
      December 28- Operation of all railroads by the government
begins at noon today.

1918- January 4- American army to be made of young men. Men who
have reached the age of 21, since first registration called.
Government makes preparation to immediately place fighting force in
Europe.
      April 23- Local county meets Liberty bond issue. Liberty
bonds to the amount asked for by government have been subscribed.
      May 24- Site selected for new Presbyterian church, at corner
of Ridge avenue and Elm street.
      August 20- Remarkable growth of city shown. Idaho Falls is
the third city in the state and has an estimated population of
9500. Growth is caused by the big territory surrounding city,
producing huge amounts.
      November 12- German government signs peace terms. President
Wilson addresses congress, which meets to hear special message.
Thirty-five sections to the armistice articles. Leaves Germany
conquered. Hostilities have ceased, with Americans firing the last
gun. Victory is complete.
      December 31- Idaho played big part in late war. Over fifty
million dollars in securities and Red Cross. Twenty-five thousand
men in service.

1919- January 7- Bonneville county raised over two and one-half
million dollars' worth of wheat in 1918- according to figures in
the office of the county agent.
      January 16- America is voted dry by required majority.
      April 23- W. A. Bradbury elected mayor by majority of 282.
      June 27- City buys Highland park tract for $7200. Beautiful
eight acre tract in northwest part of city will afford municipal
recreation spot.
      November 4-Opening of New Colonial theatre on A street. One
of the biggest and nicest theatres in Idaho.

1920- April 30- Court house bonds are defeated, 3 to 1. Vote
throughout entire county seemed strong against raising of $300,000
for court house.
      April 9- New Presbyterian church will be dedicated Sunday
with beautiful service.
      April 26- Jack Dempsey comes to Idaho Falls to buy ranch. The
fight fans of Idaho Falls given opportunity to meet a real fighter.
      August 18- Women's suffrage wins. . . Add twenty-six million
votes to nation's list. . . All American women have right of
voting.
      October 31- To build new meeting house Second ward L. D. S.
church, located on Ninth and Boulevard.

1921- April 27- Ralph Louis wins mayorship of Idaho Falls.
      May 2- Rescuer nearly loses life in saving other. Bob Arnold
goes to brink of falls to save Jack Holmes' life. Thousands watch
attempts to rescue man from falls of the Snake river at Idaho
Falls.

1922- January 30- Immense death toll in theatre disaster.
Washington theatre roof falls in under burden of deep snow; 108
dead as result.
      January 31- Joe Morley appointed postmaster. Instructed to
take charge of office morning of February 1.
      September 26- Idaho Falls mill destroyed by fire. Heavy loss.
fire of unknown origin completely ruins huge flour milling plant.
Idaho Falls & Elevator company suffers loss of $125,000.

1923- June 28- President Harding visits Gem state. Guest of Idaho
Falls. City present gala appearance for President. Large crowds
throng the city's streets to greet executive.
      October 20- New L.D. S. hospital opens. Jacob H. Traynor to
direct institution.

1924- December 31- Bonneville looks forward to 1925 as a year of
prosperity. Quality of agricultural production improving, water
supply assured, a diversification of industries providing
employment for every available worker, and banks in fine condition.

1925- April 29- Ralph Louis is re-elected to office of mayor by a
big majority. For the third successive time the Citizens party was
successful in re-electing Mr. Louis for another two year terms.
      June 12- Idaho Falls welcomes Secretary of Agriculture
William M. Jardine. First native born Idahoan to become a member.
Citizens from all Idaho attend banquet in honor of chief of
agriculture at which Senator M. B. Yeaman presided.
      
1926- March 27- Idaho Falls city council authorized the calling of
a bond election for April 29, to float an issue, not to exceed
$300,000, to obtain an underground water supply.
      April 7- Death of William A. Bradbury, former mayor of Idaho
Falls. Was once state senator.
      May 12- J. Robb Brady dies suddenly. Passes away at desk,
shortly after noon. Had been ailing several days. Idaho Falls Daily
Post editor.
      June 18- City will have community hotel. To be named Hotel
Bonneville. A $291,800 structure. Will contain eighty rooms.
     January 19- New Elks temple to be built on Shoup avenue at
cost of $100,000.

1927- February 15- Idaho Falls banks merge. Idaho Falls National
joins Anderson Brothers, with combined assets of three and one-half
million dollars.
      April 13- M. B. Yeaman nominated for mayor on Citizens
ticket. Barzilla Clark leads the People's party choice.
      April 27- Barzilla W. Clark elected mayor.
      May 18- Small town of Kelly, Wyo., completely wiped out when
Gros Bentre dam, 150 miles northeast of Idaho Falls gave way,
letting 100,000 acre feet of water loose.

1928- February 6- Latest census estimate gives Idaho Falls a
population of approximately 11,000 people at the beginning of this
year. A gain of 3000, since 1920.
      February 20- Seventy-five thousand dollar fire guts interior
of local warehouse of Zion Wholesale company.
      May 9- City calls $100,000 bond election. Used to finish the
city's municipal power plant.
      June 19- Elks dedicate $100,000 home.
      October 7- Twenty thousand dollar fire hits sugar mill.
Lincoln plant bags burn; 100,000 sugar sacks burn. Cause unknown.
      October 28- New $100,000 city hall to be built at corner of
Shoup and C street.
      November 26- New Broadway bridge opened to traffic. A $70,000
structure.

1929- March 10- New Emerson school building to be built.
      April 10- Barzilla Clark and E. A. Owen nominated for mayor.
      April 24- Clark re-elected by 670 votes.
      May 5- Joe George's new $150,000 cinema playhouse on Broadway
between Shoup and Cottage avenue opens.
      November 18- New apartment house on Boulevard will soon be
ready for occupancy.
      November 17- Idaho Falls Colonial theatre joins chain of
Publix amusement houses; changes name to Paramount.
      November 24- S. H. Kress & Co. open store on Park avenue.
Built on site of old fire station.
      November 27- Post announces $25,000 expansion. To install new
16 page press.

1930- May 18- Bonneville county shows a gain of 2218 in population
in the last decade.
      November 16- Formal opening of new city hall.

1931- February 6- Local creamery gets $70,000 United States loan.
Idaho Falls plant to start first of month. Announce cream prices.
      April 29- Barzilla W. Clark rode into his third term as mayor
of Idaho Falls on a wave of nearly 1000 plurality.
      June 2- District to lease reservoir storage. Representatives
of canal companies approve government contract.
      November 8- Development Mesa Falls project hits snag. Council
votes against fund. Motion to appropriate $200 to begin survey
defeated.

1932- January 17- Idaho Falls is at top of list. Largest
originating shipping point for agricultural products in region;
8850 cars in 1931.
      February 14- One hundred thirty-five thousand dollar blaze
guts building. The most costly fire in the history of Idaho Falls
Saturday morning completely gutted the Lambrecht building on East
A street. The Lambrecht building housed the Samsel's Dollar store,
the Frock & Bonnet shop, Bossler's photographic studio, and the
professional offices of Dr. Jabez West, physician, and Dr. L. P.
Nielsen, dentist.
      September 18- Roosevelt's trains to swing north into Idaho.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Democratic nominee, will stop briefly in
Idaho Falls tonight at 11:50 enroute from Salt Lake City to Butte.
      October 9- City plans vote on bond issue. council votes 5 to
3 on motion. Ordinance providing for $75,000 issue to be prepared,
council decides, to provide public work for the relief of
unemployment.

1933- January 18- Snow piles up in huge drifts as worst storm of
season hits valley. Idaho Falls in center of blizzard Tuesday
night. City uses plow to open streets. Worst blizzard in years
grips upper valley.
      February 8- 3.2 per cent beer bill passes Idaho house.
prohibition repeal hailed by leaders as step nearer in Idaho vote
was 33 to 27.
      March 7- Idaho Falls banks will join in script plan. Expect
put new medium into use within few days.
      March 10- President paves way for opening banks. Instructs
Woodin allow banks resume business as meet requirements. Local
banks continue business under presidential restrictions.
      March 15- Idaho Falls banks open. Trading here moves ahead at
fast pace. Deposits exceed withdrawals, bankers report.
      September 15- Doors of new Anderson company here will open
Saturday.
      September 20- Idaho votes repeal. Bring total to 31 in favor
of striking prohibition measure.
      
1934- February 1- Devalued dollar greets nation today. Devalued by
40.94 per cent former gold content.
      February 16- Order brings temporary halt to CWA work today.
Await word to continue.
      April 2- New Union Pacific streamline train on exhibition in
Idaho Falls. Cost $200,000. Has cruising speed of 90 miles an hour
and maximum speed of 110 miles an hour.
      April 16- Three hundred fifty men start to work Monday on
F. E. R. projects, the federal employment program, set up to
succeed the CWA.


Photo page: MEET THE POST-REGISTER'S DAILY STAFF!

JAMES M. BRADY, Manager, Job Department
EDWIN F. McDERMOTT, General Manager
M. B. YEAMAN, Editor
HOMER A. BURNETT, Advertising Manager
B. L. MOORE, Managing Editor
FRANK HUNSAKER, Advertising
J. L. FISK, Foreman, Job Department
JOE FLORA, Accountant
G. J. H. BRADY, Proofreader
JACQUELINE GREER, Society Editor
JAMES BEST, Reporter
NITA BETH EARL, Stenographer
C. C. LAMBERSON, Circulation
MRS. H. A. PHILLIPS, Grange Editor
LLOYD SCHOFIELD, Stereotyper
CHLOE PACKER, Stenographer
GEORGE JOLLEY, Linotype Operator
DOROTHY FISK, Job Printing
G. A. LAMBERSON, Circulation
SUSIE POWERS, Classified Advertising
CARL JENSEN, Job Pressman
RAY BREWSTER, Linotype Operator
LAFE BAKER, Printer
GEORGE LARSON, Pressman
THOMAS GREER, Printer
WALLACE MERMAN, Mechanical Superintendent
DEAN INGRAM, Press Helper
JOHN H. KIDD, Linotype Operator

Photos by George M. Scott and Sons

           First Newspaper Plant Reached Here in 1884
        Veteran Printer Details Struggle Early Newspapers
     Coming of First Newspaper to City Was Worthwhile Event;
  Sam Dennis Writes History of Journalism, Its Ups and Downs in
Idaho Falls
By SAM DENNIS (First Printer Employed by The Register)

     Eagle Rock's first newspaper equipment, crated in rickety old
boxes, arrived here in 1884 aboard a puffing, steam spitting old
narrow gauge train of the Utah and Northern railway.
     Although the equipment was anything but pretentious it was an
eager and happy, though small, crowd that watched William E.
Wheeler superintend the unloading of the small presses and few
cases of type at the old wooden station. Anxiously they followed
the wagons that hauled the shipment to The Register's first office
. . . the front room of a residence that still stands at the corner
of Capital avenue and Cliff street. The crowd milled about the
room, asking questions, offering suggestions, and, occasionally,
giving a "lift" to Mr. Wheeler as he set the machinery in position.
     The printing of the newspaper, the first in the valley, was an
event long to be remembered by the old timers. When the first
edition came off the press the entire population . . . and that was
not much . . . was there to receive a copy of the paper. The
railroad had moved its shops here; a few business houses had
followed it, and now with a newspaper it seemed that Eagle Rock was
destined to be the first city of the territory of Idaho.
     That was the humble start of the newspaper publishing business
in Eagle Rock, which later became Idaho Falls. The Register had a
stormy and somewhat difficult existence in its early years. In 1890
the Times came into existence, and after 30 years this paper, which
got into difficulties with the courts at the very outset, merged
with the Register, and published as the Times-Register until its
purchase by The Post company in 1931. The third paper to enter the
field was The Post, which blossomed forth as a daily in 1905, and
has never changed from that frequency of publication.
     Started in Evanston, Wyo.
     The old Register got its start in Evanston, Wyo., in the early
seventies, and proudly blazed forth under the name of The Evanston
Age. A few years later, after the Utah and Northern had connected
Utah and Montana, Mr. Wheeler loaded his equipment on a flat car
and headed for Blackfoot, then the county seat of all this section. 
That was in July of 1880 and Mr. Wheeler changed the name of his
paper to the Blackfoot Register. After four years there he saw
possibilities at Eagle Rock, came here, built his combination home
and print shop, and in 1884 moved bag and baggage to this new boom
town.
     Much to the chagrin of Mr. Wheeler and others of that day, the
railroad decided to change its location to Pocatello, and despite
protests loaded all its office buildings, shanties, etc., on board
flat cars and left. As the train pulled out an official of the road
shouted that "it will not be long before Eagle Rock is nothing but
a flag stop." That, however, didn't seem to worry the handful of
people that remained here, for already settlers who had located on
Willow and Sand creeks had demonstrated what was possible in an
agricultural way. The threat of that official never materialized.
Under the leadership of Mr. Wheeler and others here, irrigation
districts were formed, and soon the railroad, which has since
become the Union Pacific, was dependent in a large measure upon
this section for the bulk of its business.
     Worked for Register
     A year or two after this I came to Idaho, and got my first job
with the Idaho Register. Mr. Wheeler, at that time, was postmaster
and the postoffice and printing plant occupied the front end of the
building while the Wheelers lived in the rear. There was only one
other paper in the Idaho territory that had a better printing
plant, and that was the Boise statesman. The equipment was very
meager compared to that of the Post-Register of today, but it met
all the demands made upon it.
     As I remembeer, The Register boasted two foot power job
presses, one a letter head size and the other large enough for
legal blanks and small posters. Then there was what the printers
called a lemon squeezer. . . a little hand thing that you fastened
upon the table or wall, something similar to the "do your own
printing" kind frequently advertised now-a-days, but it sure could
eat up the envelopes and cards. For pick up and speed it had the
foot models beat a mile. The newspaper itself was printed on an old
Washington hand press, and while it wasn't so speedy it did good
work and was sufficient for the times. There was a good assortment
of job type and cabinets for most of the series, and The Register
made a feature of job printing.  
     Stockroom Equipment
     The stockroom was equipped with a small paper cutter, a large
card cutter and a stapling machine. Also a more or less improvised
assortment of binding equipment. The paper was set in brevier, with
primer for editorials and nonpareil for legals. The legals were the
big [part] of the business as there were lots of ranches being
proved up on at that time. 
     Mr. Wheeler took great pride in keeping The Register a little
ahead of the developments of the country. He was that kind of a
man. He wanted to be in the fore of anything in which he was
engaged. Four years after the shops left he put in a new cylinder
press and added other useful equipment. Before the year 1900 he had
installed a gasoline power plant and also an acetylene lighting
system. The business grew, and in December of 1903 the plant was
moved to a new brick building at the west end of Broadway. Here a
typesetting machine and other equipment was added.
     A few years after this M. B. Yeaman, now editor of The Post-
Register, came here from Missouri and purchased a half interest in
The Register plant. Later he bought Mr. Wheeler's holdings in the
paper, and moved it to the east end of Broadway, where he started
to issue as a semi-weekly.
     Meantime another paper, The Times, bobbed up in the local
field. Its first issue came off the press on July 10, 1890.
     I happened to have something to do with that myself. R. C.
Bonney, a young man holding down the job of telegraph operator at
Eagle Rock, who had gone to school with me in a little old town in
Indiana, wrote me the Idaho canal and the New Sweden canal were
going to open up a big country right away. I came out. Together we
had a few hundred dollars. The rest was made up locally. Gib
Wright, Jack Anderson, Nels Just, Joseph A. Clark, Louis Elg and a
few others subscribed a hundred dollars each. I think we had a pot
of about two thousand dollars cash. We bought an outfit in Omaha.
It was about on a par with that of The Register. It included a
cylinder press and a regular size paper cutter. I believe the paper
cutter gave us a little edge over The Register, as we could cut a
ream of flat paper in two without using the axe.
     Career Was Short
     As editors of the Times our career was short but stormy. At
the end of about 18 months we were facing a charge of contempt of
court and a heavy suit for libel. We attacked the record and
character of a clerk of the court and ex-officio auditor and
recorder. The Times devoted about three-quarters of a column to
this particular official and the libel suit immediately followed.
James H. Hawley defended us. The trial was sensational. Mr. Hawley
afterward became one of the greatest attorneys of the state and
also one of its governors. The official received a judgment of
three thousand dollars against The Times, but this was of small
moment to us. Judge Berry was holding our undivided attention both
day and night. He wanted to get his fingers on us awfully bad and
the sheriff was doing his best in the performance of his duties.
However, we got a break. The judge's time expired and he went back
to Illinois before he got us. He was a territorial judge, appointed
by the President. The government in the territorial days usually
sent the judges out from the east. Judge Berry was rather old and
had acquired somewhat of a mania for long sentences as well as long
lectures to prisoners. It would have been "just too bad" if he had
got hold of us. I remember distinctly the way the article about the
judge ended. The last paragraph said, "Bury Berry and let the name
be forgotten." I have often thought of that time and just as often
wondered how big a fool can a young fool be where there is no one
to put on the brakes.
     Ready to Sell
     Blackfoot was the county seat at that time. When the verdict
of the libel suit came up to Idaho Falls, Jack Anderson tossed a
twenty dollar gold piece over to Nate Clark and said, "Nate, I'll
sell you all my interest in the Times for twenty dollars." "You're
on, J. C." said Nate, as he passed the coin back to Mr. Anderson.
Gib Wright and others got out from under. But just in the nick of
time a good samaritan arrived. George Chapin had sold his ranch on
Goose creek, down near where now stands the Albion State normal,
and he came up here looking for investment. He got The Times at a
bargain, and continued as owner of The Times for several years,
when he sold out to Farley Dare. Mr. Dare and then Mr. Diehl were
short time owners and then the paper fell into the hands of Bert P.
Mill, who ran it for quite a few years. More than 20 years ago I
got back into the paper again, forming a partnership with W. S.
Snyder, and it was run under the firm name of Dennis and Snyder
until its merger with The Register in 1920. At that time I retired
from the newspaper field and Mr. Snyder went to The Register.
          Post Started in 1905
     The Post, which came into existence in 1905, was the first
daily paper in this section. Charles G. and Ernest Sumner and Henry
Gabbe were the originators of this new venture. They shipped a
plant, which included a linotype machine and a fairly fast press,
in from Colorado. They found a location in an old wood building at
the corner of Broadway and Shoup, where a service station now
stands.
     All three of these parties were practical men. Charles Sumner
was editor, while Ernest Sumner and Henry Gabbe took charge of the
mechanical and business end. The Post started off with a bang. A
home-printed daily was new and novel, not only to Idaho Falls but
to a large portion of this end of the state. The business
flourished for a year or so and then it commenced to dawn upon the
business and other interests that probably three papers were a good
many for a town of this size to support. The Register had then been
established for a period of 25 years and The Times for 15. It has
often been found hard to cut in on an old established paper. At any
rate, after a few years The Post found it pretty hard skidding, so
the two Sumner boys concluded to sever their connections with the
institution. Charles G. Sumner went to Pocatello and took a
position as editor of The Tribune. Henry Gabbe remained with The
Post for several years and finally sold it to Mr. Butsoe. Mr.
Butsoe was a small town banker in Illinois, who had a son Frank who
wanted to make a few marks on the journalistic field and out to
Idaho Falls Frank came. However, the daily deficit to The Post,
which seemed to be its besetting feature at that time, did not make
a hit with the elder Butsoe, so he did not let too many of those
deficit days elapse before he boarded the train and came out to
Idaho Falls. In a short time Mr. Butsoe succeeded in trading The
Post to C. C. Wilson for a 120 acres of land on the big bend of
Snake river in the vicinity of Roberts. Mr. Butsoe got me to go
along with Frank and Mr. Wilson to see the land. I remember
distinctly that trip. We had to cross the river and Mr. Wilson had
provided an old canvas boat. When he pulled it out from under the
seat and unwound and commenced to put ribs in it he found that two
or three were missing. Anyway we all got across in the thing and
also got back, but we were all so badly scared that the land
entered very little into our doings. The bargain was closed right
now and Mr. Wilson became the sole owner and editor of The Daily
Post. Mr. Wilson struggled along for a few years until the Read
boys, Ben and Cliff, came to its rescue. These boys gave all they
had to it and made a commendable showing. They sold to J. Robb
Brady in 1925, and the paper continued under his management until
his death a year later. The merger of The Daily Post and The Times-
Register in 1931 was a good move, not only from a newspaper
standpoint but from a civic view as well. It united Idaho Falls'
old newspapers into a bigger and better paper. One good daily is a
better advertisement for a city of this size than two or three poor
ones would be.
     Thus concludes the history of the old newspapers in Eagle Rock
and Idaho Falls; their history closely entwined with that of the
community they have served during 50 years.

photo caption:
                  PLAYED PART IN FIRST REGISTER
              (photos by George M. Scott and Sons)
  MRS. WILLIAM E. WHEELER (right), widow of the founder of the
Register, who is still a resident of Idaho Falls. Center the first
plant of the Idaho Register. The old wood building still stands at
the corner of Capital and Cliff streets. Left is Sam Dennis,
prominent local citizen, who was the first printer ever employed by
the Register. Bottom is a picture of the late William E. Wheeler,
who was one of the city's leading citizens was active in the
development of Eagle Rock and Idaho Falls. Although his plant was
small, he ran a first class paper for his time and was rated as one
of the state's outstanding editors and publishers. Early files
reveal him in the role of champion of the welfare of the large
community his paper was destined to serve.
                PAPER EMPLOYS 120; PAYROLL LARGE
          Yellowed Pages Of Files Relate Tale of Growth

       More Than $65,000 Paid Out in Payroll During 1934;
           Total Local Expenditure Amounts to $83,000;
                       Income Spent Here.

     Dust covered files...their sheets yellowed with the age of
half a century...tell the story of The Post-Register's growth from
a "one man shop" to an outstanding position as one of the
intermountain west's largest dailies.
     Weathering the hardships of the frontier era with the same
dogged persistence that characterized the handful of pioneers that
made up the first circulation list, the paper has continued to
reflect the community's pulsations...its existence pinned on the
rise and fall of business conditions in eastern Idaho.
     After 50 years a doubtful "investment" of a few hundred
dollars has been developed into a $100,000 institution that employs
a full time staff of 35 men and women as well as 30 outside
correspondents and 55 carrier boys...all engaged in the task of
writing, editing, printing and distributing news and advertising
messages to the more than 6000 homes that receive The Post-
Register.
     Today the newspaper's weekly payroll is one of the largest in
the city. During 1933 The Post-Register paid out more than $45,000
in salaries, all of which went back into circulation in Idaho
Falls. Another $18,000 was spent locally for light and power,
taxes, rent, supplies and other miscellaneous expenses, making a
total annual expenditure in the city of more than $63,000. Eighty-
one per cent of al monies paid out by The Post-Register in 1933
went into local channels. The only outside expenditures of the
paper were for ink, newsprint, metal, outside correspondents and
carriers and news and feature services, none of which were
obtainable through local sources.
     Dedicated to Service
     From its inception The Post-Register has been dedicated to the
service of its readers. As early as 1884 the files reveal William
E. Wheeler, founder and first editor, in the role of defender of
the community's institutions. He took up his pen in a war against
territorial officials who were unworthy of their trust; he fought
to keep the Utah and Northern railway from being moved to
Pocatello; he pleaded for a united citizenry on such things as
schools, churches, irrigation ditches and other projects that have
influenced the development of eastern Idaho. HIs successors have
carried on where he left off. They have been foremost in the
battles for paved highways, municipal power and light, sewage and
water systems, improved sanitary conditions, better water rights
for agriculture and every undertaking that has tended toward
community betterment. While the policies of the paper have not been
right in every instance, the motive behind them has always been
prompted by a desire to serve better the Upper Snake River Valley.
     In Editor Wheeler's day the newspaper's responsibility was
primarily one of editorializing. News stories, aside from those of
a local nature, were scarce. Often they reached his hands many
weeks late, and often they came from unreliable sources. As a
result, the first files show, he had to depend largely upon his own
initiative to create editorials and articles that would hold the
attention of his readers. The function of the newspaper has changed
very decidely since that time. Today the newspaper's big job is to
report with accuracy and detail the news happenings not only in the
city, valley and state, but also in the nation and in the world.
Small space is devoted to editorializing in modern day journalism,
and although the editor continues to interpret the news happenings
and express his views on all subjects of major import to his
community the trend is more and more in the direction of unbiased
news reporting.
     Much Detail Involved
     To carry on this changed condition involves much detail,
manpower and expense. Today The Post-Register is served with a
special leased wire of the Associated Press, and a supplemental
service of the United Press, which brings thousands of words of
world news into the paper's editorial rooms within a few minutes
after events happen. Within a comparatively few minutes after
congress takes an unusual action, after Chancellor Dollfuss is
slain, after Mussolini moves troops to the Austrian border, after
some Asiataic potentate abdicates or takes unto himself his thirty-
third wife, the news is flashed to The Post-Register editorial
rooms. It has been written by one of the army of Associated Press
correspondents who was "on the ground" and got the information from
reliable sources.
     The same dispatch that characterizes the collection of
national and international news by the Associated Press is found in
the city, sectional and state collecting organizations of every
live daily newspaper. The Post-Register obtains its news from Idaho
towns through a corps of Associated Press reporters, who give
special attention to happenings that are of interest here. At Boise
a special bvureau of the Associated Press reports all affairs of
state government, and at Washington special men are on the job day
and night watching for news "breaks" for Post-Register readers. In
the Upper Snake River Valley 30 correspondents contact their local
news sources daily and get their stories to the paper's editorial
rooms by telephone and telegraph. A trained staff of reporters
handles all local events each day, assist in the giving of such
special services as fight and election returns, and edit down the
reams of news copy to meet the special needs of the people of this
valley.
     No Gumps 50 Years Ago
     There were no Gumps, no Will Rogers, no "Out Our Way" or any
of the dozens of other comic and feature services now used in The
Post-Register in Editor Wheeler's early days here. Today these are
an important and expensive part of the newspaper. Each of these
features has thousands of readers, who follow with deep interest
every word of the written articles and every picture of the comic
characaters each day. In 1884 there was no such thing as photo
services or telephone equipment. Photos of important events in New
York, Chicago or Los Angeles now are made available in The Post-
Register for publication 24 hours after they occur. The Post-
Register, keeping abreast of the times, is giving its readers all
these features...with as much dispatch as though they lived in any
of the metropolitan centers. While all these services contribute
greatly to the expense of the publication they are none the less
essential to the newspaper that attempts to carry clear, concise,
up to the minute word and picture reports of everything of
importance that happens.
     Newspaper service to readers is not confined to the collection
and editing of the news any more than it is to the distribution of
the news after it has been printed. Each afternoon The Post-
REgister's big tubular press turns out four thousand printed copies
that are delivered by the paper's own carriers direct to homes in
Idaho Falls, Shelley, Firth, Blackfoot, Roberts, Dubois, Spencer,
Ririe, Rigby, Rexburg, Sugar City, St. Anthony, Ashton,
Maraysville, Parker, Teton City, Newdale, Tetonia, Driggs and
Victor. In addition, two thousand more papers are carried each day
by the rural mail carriers direct to the farm homes that subscribe
for the paper.
     In years gone by little thought was given to the distribution
of the printed product, but today this has become one of the most
important and essential factors in the newspaper world. Without
that distribution ...and it must be prompt and efficient...no
advertiser would use the newspaper to carry his advertising
message. He could not get a return on his advertising unless he had
an assurance that his message reached the people. The advertiser's
guarantee of this in the case of the Post-Register is the Audit
Bureau of Circulations, which not only checks and audits the
circulation records but refuses to give credit for subscriptions
that are not paid for, holding that what is worth having is worth
its price.
     "Paper Must Go Out"
     The old saying, the "show must go on," so well known in the
theatrical world, can be paraphrased for the newspaper, to read,
"the papers must go out." If the trains carrying papers to the
Yellowstone are missed, trucks rush The Post-Register to towns so
that subscribers will have the service they are paying for. Just
after the press starts to roll out the first edition, the mail room
of the daily paper becomes a veritable mad house. In The Post-
Register room half a dozen men and boys rush pell mell to get
bundles wrapped, then to the post office for weighing, and then to
the trains. The "forms" are always held until the last minute to
guarantee the latest news in every edition of the paper.
     The advertising department of the newspaper has undergone a
complete change since the time Publisher Wheeler called upon the
pioneer merchants of Eagle Rock, and asked them for support. In
that day advertising was considered in the light of a donation.
There was no such thing as price merchandising, and the store owner
usually bought space as a part of a community contribution to keep
the paper operating. The modern merchant, however, buys advertising
in much the same manner as he buys dresses, shoes, hats or whatever
it is he sells. He wants to know that advertising will get results
for him, sell his merchandise. Therefore, he insists that the
newspaper must have reader interest, so that his ads will be read.
He also wants to know that the newspaper has circulation, and that
it is delivered regularly in the homes in his trading area. He is
buying space now where his predecessor made "donations."
Advertisers not only support the paper financially, but their
insistence upon a newspaper with reader interest and upon
distribution have become contributing factors in the development of
the publishing business.
     Giant Press of Today
     The small presses of Colonel Wheeler's ear are in sharp
contrast to giants similar to the Duplex tubular plate press that
turns out The Post-Register each eavening at a speed of 30,000
copies an hour. These mechanical marvels, representing an
investment of many thousands of dollars, are al a part of the
service program of the daily jewspaper. They must be in first class
condition, and must be ready to "run" the moment the switch is cut
in. The delay of a minute would result in the paper missing the
mail trains and a consequent expeeeeeeenditure for trucks to make
the delivery. Too, their speed is such that a paper can wait until
the last minute to get the latest news "breaks" before sending the
"forms" through to the press room.
     Colonel Wheeler and his assistsants set their type out of the
"cases" by hand. This laborious, slow process was relegated to the
discard years ago, and now modern typesetting machines do the work.
In The Post-Register plant three Linotypes, one Intertype and one
Ludlow, each an intricate, expensive piece of equipment, set the
type for the daily paper.
     Proud of Achievement
     And so the fiftieth anniversary edition of The Post-Register
goes to "bed," its management proud of what has been achieved in
the last half a century. Its style has changed; its type faces are
different; its machinery is the most modern; its methods of news
collection and circulation distribution are much changed from the
first issue a half century ago.
     But the dominant desire of Colonel Wheeler for service still
imbues the organization. That alone has not changed down through
the years...and will not change so long as the doors of the
newspaper are open for business.
     Whether in 1884 or 1934, service is the dominant note of Post-
Register activity. Editor Wheeler sounded it 50 years ago. It is
sounded again today with the hope that 50 years hence the
management will again sound it, and again renew the dedicatory
pledge of Mr. Wheeler that The Post-Register exists and hopes to
exist only so long as it gives a genuine service to its community.

Photo captions:
WHERE POST-REGISTER IS PRINTED
UPPER PICTURE SHOWS THE TWO STORY building which houses the plant
of The Post-Register, East Idaho's Home Paper. The building faces
on Capital avenue.

THE MIDDLE PICTURE shows the battery of four typesetting machines,
which turn out the type for the daily editions of the newspaper.
The photo (reading from left to right) shows Ray Brewster,
operator, George Jolley, operator; John H. Kidd, operator; Arthur
Evans, operator. In the right foreground (reading from left to
right) are Wallace Merman, superintendent; Lafe Baker, printer;
Thomas Greer, printer.

IN THE LOWER PICTURE may be seen section of the job printing
department, showing five of the presses that daily turn out
commercial work for the business houses of Idaho Falls and
vicinity. Reading from left to right are John L. Fisk, foreman;
Mrs. J. L. Fisk, press feeder; Dean Ingram, press feeder; Carl
Jensen, pressman.

(Photos by George M. Scott and Sons)
     

      Publishers, Advertisers, Organizations Send Greetings

A P Sends Message
     I have just learned that The Post-Register is celebrating the
fiftieth anniversary of its coming to Idaho Falls, and on behalf of
The Associated Press, of which The Post-Register has come to be so
familiar a part, I want to extend heartiest congratulations.
     The progress of The Post-Register is as well known to many far
from Idaho as to the people it serves, and we like to feel that The
Associated Press has shared in and has been a part of that growth.,
     That the future of your great newspaper may be as fruitful and
as interesting as its past is the sincere hope of all of us here.
     With best regards, I am, 
               Sincerely yours,
                    ASSOCIATED PRESS
                         Kent Cooper.

C. of C. Congratulations
     The measure of a community is shown by the stature of its
public servants. In this respect Idaho Falls ranks high. Paramount
among those who are bringing credit and good-will to this vicinity
is The Post-Register.
     The Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce congratulates you upon the
caliber of the messages you have carried to the reading public
during the past fifty years. The Chamber appreciates the splendid
co-operation you have always extended to this organization, another
one of the public servants serving Idaho Falls.
     The community's prospects can be accurately foretold by its
growth in the past. The Post-Register will be as strong a factor in
that development as it has been in the laying of the foundation
upon which must be erected our future.
     The Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce upon this, your 50th
birthday, takes this means of expressing to you our felicitations.
                    Sincerely yours,
                         H. B. SHEPPARD, 
                    President, Chamber of Commerce


[Note: Although we did not transcribe the contents of the
greetings, we have copied the headings and the names as follows:]

SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF...
MATTESON FOGARTY JORDAN COMPANY, Thomas W. Davis.

PLAYED IMPORTANT PART...
IDAHO FALLS KIWANIS CLUB, Jack W. Holmes, President.

SERVICE EQUALS SUCCESS...
IDAHO FALLS LIONS CLUB, Lloyd Hart, president.

TRIBUTE TO CHARACTER...
N.W. AYER & SON, C. L. Riota, Assistant to the President.

TANGIBLE EVIDENCE...
MINIDOKA COUNTY NEWS, Albert H. Lee, Publisher.

HOPE FOR ANOTHER 50
DAKE-JOHNET ADVERTISING AGENCY, F. S. Johanet, President.

A FOCAL POINT...
IDAHO FALLS ROTARY CLUB, M. W. Smith, President. Wm. C. Parker,
Secretary.

WIDE VISIONED SERVICE...
IDAHO FALLS BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN, Irene Fuller,
President.

FROM MICHIGAN...
THE DUPLEX P[RINTING PRESS COMPANY, By Geo. W. Watraus, Sales
Manager.

ENVIABLE RECORD...
STANDARD EXAMINER, A. L. Glasmann, PUblisher.

GOOD WORK!
IDAHO EVENING TIMES, R. S. Tofflemire.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE'S TRIBUTE
CHICAGO TRIBUNE SYNDICATE, Arthur W. Crawford, Manager.

FROM COEUR D'ALENE
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS, H. F. Kretchman, Editor.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE...
SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, J. F. Fitzpatrick, Publisher.

DEMONSTRATING ITS VALUE...
THE LEWISTON TRIBUNE, By A. L. Alford, Managing Editor.

STATE WIDE ESTEEM
WALLACE PRESS-TIMES, Henry L. Day, Vice President

REAL PLEASURE TO READ...
THE TRIBUNE-JOURNAL CO., William S. Cady, General Manager.

O. O. McIntyre Sends Greetings...
O. O. M'INTYRE

WHEELER AGGRESSIVE EDITOR
THE BLACKFOOT BULLETIN, Byrd Trego.

PROGRESSIVE NEWSPAPER...
THE CAPITAL NEWS, Rodney L. Brink, Publisher.

NEA'S GREETINGS
NEA SERVICE, INC., Herbert W. Walker, Vice Pres.

FROM IDAHO'S OLDEST PAPER
IDAHO STATESMAN, Margaret Cobb Ailshie, Publisher.

A SPLENDID RECORD
UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATIONS, Frank H. Bartholomew, Manager, Pacific
Division

50 YEARS A LONG TIME
AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATION, O. C. Harn, Managing Director.

A PROGRESSIVE NEWSPAPER
KLAU-VAN PIETERSOM-DUNLAP ASSOCIATES, INC., L. I. Archer,
Secretary.

AN UNDENIABLE TOKEN
INLAND DAILY PRESS ASSOCIATION, John L. Meyer, Sec.

WHOLE-HEARTED CONGRATULATIONS
J. STIRLING GETCHELL, INC., W.J. Davis.

CONSTRUCTIVE SERVICE
BOTSFORD, CONSTANTINE & GARDNER, Stanley S. Swanberg, Vice Pres.

FACTOR IN COMMUNITY
TWIN FALLS NEWS, Roy A. Read.

MAKES GOOD IMPRESSION...
L. S. GILLHAM COMPANY, M. C. Nelson, President.

PLEASANT RELATIONS
EMIL BRISACHER AND STAFF, Emil Brisacher.

MINISTERS SEND GREETINGS...
CHAS. M. DONALDSON, Pres.;  CAPT. DUEILL, Secretary.

INTEGRITY, SERVICE, CO-OPERATION...
THE TWENTY-THIRTY CLUB

MEMORABLE EVENT...
THE CRAMER-KRASSELT CO., Walter Seiler, President.

SINCERE CONGRATULATIONS
RUTHRAUFF & RYAN, INC., L. M. Malitz, Space Buyer.

PAPER PLAYED BIG PART...
CARPENTER PAPER COMPANY OF UTAH, By A. P. Spitko, Vice Pres.

UNTIL GABRIEL BLOWS
WESTERN AUTO SUPPLY CO., By H. Press, Advertising Mgr.

REAL ACHIEVEMENT
FRANK PRESBREY CO. ADVERTISING, Charles Presbrey.

A LONG SPAN...
THE ARCO ADVERTISER, C. A. Bottolfsen, Publisher.

AMPLE EVIDENCE
STACK-GLOBE ADVERTISING AGENCY

VALLEY SPOKESMAN
THE ASHTON HERALD, W. A. Lansberry, Editor.

UNDERSTANDING HAND...
EDITOR AND PUBLISHER NEW YORK, Arthur T. Robb, Managing Editor.

HOPES FOR ENERGY...
ASSOCIATED PRESS SALT LAKE, UTAH, M. E. Barker, Chief of Bureau.

Captions:
WRITE VALLEY NEWS FOR POST-REGISTER
ABOVE ARE PICTURES of a representative group of correspondents in
communities throughout the Upper Snake River Valley who write news
each day of their respective cities and communities. The Post-
Register has 30 correspondents scattered throughout the valley.
Reading from left to right (top row) Mrs. Virginia Wilson of
Coltman, Miss Beth Adams of Rigby, Mrs. Bert Higgins of Roberts,
Mrs. H. A. Englund of Terreton. (Bottom row) Mrs. C. W. Hansen of
Iona, Mrs. Edna Oswald of Coltman, who is also the oldest
correspondent from point of service now writing for The Post-
Register, Mrs. F. S. Adams of St. Anthony and Jack Jardine of
Lewisville.


          Widow Recounts Husband's Plan For Paper Here

   William E. Wheeler Had Faith in Fertility of Upper Valley.

                       ACTIVE FOR SECTION

Sage Brush Wastes Failed to Dampen Enthusiasm of First Publisher.

     Before the eyes of a young visionary traveling across country
54 years ago with printer's supplies, dusty miles of sage covered
desert stretching into infinite distance faded before a mirage that
rose from empty wastes and revealed a verdant country with vast
possibilities as a center of progress and civilization in the new
west. The visionary was William E. Wheeler, first newspaper man in
the Upper Snake River Valley. Today, although he has passed on, his
widow is here to see the fulfillment of his dreams of a daily
newspaper. A modern paper that brings news from every corner of the
world stands today as a monument to his early efforts.
     This man, who was instrumental in much of the development of
this section and of Idaho as a whole, was born at Peacham, Vt.,
August 29, 1843. When he was 17 years old the family moved to
Rockford, Ill., about 80 miles from Chicago, and it was there he
finished high school and worked at night in a hardware store to
assist his invalid father in the support of the family. He later
took a short business course at the Bryant and Stratton college in
Chicago.
     When he was 21 he enlisted in the 146th regiment, Illinois
infantry, and was honorably discharged from service in 1865. It was
three years later that his pioneering spirit brought him as far
west as Omaha, where  he accepted a position with an Omaha firm
selling printer's supplies.
     Traveled in West
     During his travels through this section of the country was
born the idea to make the west his home. Endless deserts, winds
that raged over treeless wastes and hardships before which others
would have stood baffled and defeated left him unwavering in his
purpose, and in the early 70's he established the Evanston Age at
Evanston, Wyo.
     At this time romance entered his life. It was while living at
Evanston that he traveled to Denver for special reports for his
paper and a Cheyenne newspaper during a session of the legislature
at Denver, and there met Elizabeth Dougherty, eastern bred, who was
teaching in the schools at Denver while living at the home of a
brother. Their wedding, however, did not occur until December 19,
1883, after he had established a paper, known as The Blackfoot
Register, at Blackfoot. They moved to Blackfoot immediately after
their marriage, and arrived at their new home in the valley on
Christmas eve.
     New Experience
     "I had never lived in any place just like it before," Mrs.
Wheeler replied to questions regarding her impressions of the
little valley settlement. "There were only about 200 people in the
town. There was the great desert on the west and Indians on the
south and east. But we were just newly married then, and nothing
seemed to matter."
     Seeing the possibilities of a broader field in the little town
of Eagle Rock, Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler moved the paper from Blackfoot
and set up business in Eagle Rock in 1884. The name was changed to
the Idaho Register in view of the larger field of expansion the
owners planned. The old hand press and other equipment of a
newspaper office were set up in a little frame building on South
Capital avenue and the couple made their home in an annex adjoining
the office. It was not until 1904 that the paper was moved to a
spacious building erected by Mr. Wheeler on the corner of Broadway
and Capital, where the old city hall was afterward located. At this
time a representative of the Western Newspaper Union at Omaha, said
of the office, "It undoubtedly is the best equipped office in the
Rocky mountain region." The building originally occupied by the
town's first newspaper and later by the city hall, is now a
creamery station, representative of one of the valley's most
important industries.
     Lives Here Today
     Mrs. Wheeler, who still makes Idaho Falls her home although
she has traveled much of the time since her husband's death in
1919, remembers that in that time there was a good deal of social
life here.
     "There was a community hall where dancing parties were given
and where women entertained small groups of friends," she said. "It
was all just like one family, there were only a few of us and we
spent muchSECTION C       
     Style Shows Then
     "The styles now," she reminisced, "are not a great deal
different from what they were when I was married. My wedding dress
was of brown broadcloth with a redingote much like they wear now.
My hair was brown then," she smiled.
     Asked if she had duties to perform in the office, Mrs. Wheeler
said that she "attended to much of the legal forms brought to the
office, and read proof."
     "I used to try to remember everything of news value when I
went out," she said, "and I would tell Mr. Wheeler any items I
could get for the paper. At that time printers were mostly
transients, out to see the country, and would stay a few days or
perhaps one day and be gone. It was easy to get others to take
their place. It was I who insisted to Mr. Wheeler that we learn to
set type so that if the time came when we should find ourselves
without help we could get out a paper of some kind. "That time
came, too," she said, "but together we put out the regular paper.
We always had special papers if there was anything of unusual
importance."
     Grew with Community
     Both Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler grew with the community. Mr. Wheeler
was active in the Joe Hooker post of the G. A. R. here for many
years and at one time was commander of the post. He also served as
postmaster at one time when the postoffice was located across the
street from the newspaper building. He was a member of the board of
the Albion State Normal school, the Idaho Industrial school for
five years and a member of the school board in Idaho Falls for four
years. He wqas a member of the Elks lodge and held the office of
chaplain at the time of his death. He also served as a justice of
the peace for many terms.
     Mrs. Wheeler was equally active in civic affairs. She is a
charter member of the Village Improvement society, the first
women's service organization in the city, and a charter member of
the Women's Relief corps. She is the oldest member of the First
Presbyterian church now living in Idaho Falls.
     Cared for Sick
     In the first few years of the 90's there were only two doctors
in the entire vicinity and there were no nurses and no hospitals.
At this time Mrs. Wheeler, Mrs. A. V. Scott and Mrs. Paul Rounds
were active in caring for the sick. They were not nurses in the
sense of registered nurses of today, but they were typical pioneer
women with strong minds, strong bodies and souls that reached out
to all depths of human misery, and they gave freely of their time
and services.

Files of the Post-Register Reveal News of the Past Fifty Years
[continuation of chronology. See excerpts relating to Idaho Falls.]

Caption:
 HIGH SPEED TUBULAR PLATE PRESS PRINTS POST-REGISTER DAILY--RUNS
AT RATE OF 30,000 COPIES PER HOUR