DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, most folks who go into medicine, they stay in medicine. But Dr.
J. M. Terry had other ideas.
In 1887, he set down his medical bag and picked up a pen, and he established the Weekly Fannin Favorite right here in Fannin County. That alone is a story worth tellin. But Terry wasn't finished.
Five years later, in 1892, he expanded, and he started a daily paper, what would become the oldest daily publication in Fannin County. You've got to appreciate a man who makes one bold move and then doubles down. The paper set up shop in the 500 block of North Main, and there it stayed for forty-five years.
Forty-five years of headlines, of ink and paper and the particular smell of a working pressroom. Then in 1953, the offices moved to where the marker stands today. Ownership changed hands over the years, more than once, more than twice.
But here's the thing about the Daily Favorite. through all those changes in ownership, through all the years, the paper kept its standards. Award-winning coverage. That's not something you stumble into.
And through all of it, the Daily Favorite was there to record the public career of one Sam Rayburn, born in 1882, died in 1961. Congressman from this very district. Longtime Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
The paper watched him rise, and it kept the record. That's what a great local paper does. It shows up every day, and it remembers.
What the marker says
In 1887 Dr. J. M. Terry, who gave up medicine for journalism, established the "Weekly Fannin Favorite." He expanded in 1892 by starting this newspaper, the oldest daily publication in Fannin County. For 45 years its offices were in the 500 block of North Main before moving here in 1953. Although ownership has changed many times, the award-winning newspaper has maintained high standards of news coverage. The "Daily Favorite" recorded the public career of Sam Rayburn (1882-1961), Congressman from this district and longtime Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.