Lufkin Daily News

Duane's take

The way the official marker tells it, here's the story of the Lufkin Daily News. Now, the first notice anybody found of this paper wasn't even in Lufkin. It was in the Nacogdoches Sentinel, February 14, 1907, and the Sentinel had clearly never laid eyes on a copy.

What they wrote, and I love this, was: 'Lufkin has an afternoon daily paper, the News. While a copy of the newspaper has never reached this office, it is said to be a right newsy little sheet.' That's your debut review, friend. Famous before they'd read a word of it.

The man who started the whole thing was Charles L. Schless, out of Chicago. He ran it on his own for its first two years, then sold part of the ownership to shareholders.

The paper then passed to George Watford in 1913. And for a spell, the News came out twice a week, not every day. That changed in 1915, when the owners at the time, Watford, Binion, and Kurth, went out and bought themselves a Mergenthaler Linotype machine.

That machine mechanized the typesetting process, sped up production considerably, and the newspaper has published daily ever since. One purchase, and the whole character of the paper changed. Now, the people running the Lufkin Daily News over the years have had a habit of reaching for new technology, and that habit has paid off in some remarkable ways.

Consider January 14, 1940. That day, the News published a 288-page edition, a record-setter, to mark the completion of Southland Paper Mills Inc. And it wasn't just the page count that was historic.

That edition was printed on the mill's first 1,445-pound roll of white paper, from the first run of commercially produced Southern Pine newsprint in the world. Let that settle in. The paper that told the story was made from the very first paper the mill ever made.

In 1959, the News moved to its current facility, a short walk from its original location on Cotton Square. And then in 1974, it made another first for the area when it computerized its production process. And then, 1977, the Lufkin Daily News received the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Community Service.

From a paper that the Nacogdoches Sentinel had never actually seen, to a Pulitzer Prize winner. That right newsy little sheet turned out to be something more than little after all.

What the marker says

THE FIRST NOTICE FOUND OF THE DAILY NEWSPAPER IN LUFKIN IS IN THE FEB. 14, 1907 NACOGDOCHES SENTINEL: "LUFKIN HAS AN AFTERNOON DAILY PAPER, THE NEWS. WHILE A COPY OF THE NEWSPAPER HAS NEVER REACHED THIS OFFICE, IT IS SAID TO BE A RIGHT NEWSY LITTLE SHEET." CHARLES L. SCHLESS, OF CHICAGO, STARTED THE PAPER AND RAN IT ON HIS OWN FOR ITS FIRST TWO YEARS OF PRODUCTION BEFORE SELLING PART OF THE OWNERSHIP TO SHAREHOLDERS. THE PAPER WAS THEN SOLD TO GEORGE WATFORD IN 1913. THE NEWS WAS PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY UNTIL 1915 WHEN THEN-OWNERS WATFORD, BINION, AND KURTH PURCHASED A MERGENTHALER LINOTYPE MACHINE. THE NEW MACHINE SPED UP THE PRODUCTION PROCESS BY MECHANIZING TYPESETTING AND THE NEWSPAPER HAS PUBLISHED DAILY EVER SINCE. OWNERS OF THE LUFKIN DAILY NEWS HAVE PRIORITIZED A COMMITMENT TO INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY, WHICH HAS ALLOWED THE NEWS TO BREAK PUBLISHING RECORDS AND PLAY A SUPPORTING ROLE IN LOCAL INDUSTRY. ON JANUARY 14, 1940, THE NEWS PUBLISHED A RECORD-SETTING 288-PAGE EDITION TO MARK THE COMPLETION OF SOUTHLAND PAPER MILLS INC. IT WAS PRINTED ON THE MILL'S FIRST 1,445-POUND ROLL OF WHITE PAPER FROM THE FIRST RUN OF COMMERCIALLY PRODUCED SOUTHERN PINE NEWSPRINT IN THE WORLD. IN 1959, THE NEWS MOVED TO ITS CURRENT FACILITY THAT IS A SHORT WALK FROM ITS ORIGINAL LOCATION ON COTTON SQUARE. THE NEWS MADE ANOTHER FIRST FOR THE AREA WHEN IT COMPUTERIZED ITS PRODUCTION PROCESS IN 1974. THE LUFKIN DAILY NEWS RECEIVED THE PULITZER PRIZE IN JOURNALISM FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE IN 1977. FOR MORE THAN A HUNDRED YEARS, THE NEWS HAS PROVIDED RESIDENTS OF LUFKIN AND THE SURROUNDING AREA WITH NEWS OF LOCAL INTEREST AND HAS UPHELD ITS POSITION AS AN IMPORTANT RESOURCE TO THE COMMUNITY. 175 YEARS OF TEXAS INDEPENDENCE * 1836-2011