Mercedes Enterprise

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Mercedes Enterprise. Now, every town worth its salt has got a paper, and the story of how Mercedes got its goes back further than most folks think. On October 8, 1908, a man named Isadore Moritz published the very first issue of the Mercedes Enterprise.

Just like that, a voice for that corner of Hidalgo County was born. Moritz kept the operation going himself until 1914, and that's where things get interesting, because that same year, Ben E. Brooks and L.T.

Hoyt stepped in and started a competing paper called the Mercedes Tribute. Two papers in a town. You can almost hear the typewriters dueling at midnight.

Then, in 1922, a third contender showed up: the News-Item. Now, the News-Item didn't stay a loner for long. Seven years after it started, it merged with the Tribune to form the News-Tribune.

Consolidation. It's a word that makes printers nervous and readers curious. But here's the turn nobody saw coming.

Paul Netz bought the franchise in 1941 and restored the original name. The Mercedes Enterprise was back. All those years, all those mergers, all those mastheads, and the name Isadore Moritz put into the world in 1908 was the one that survived.

Since then, the Enterprise has chronicled major national and international events right alongside community stories, documented local history through special anniversary editions, and offered printing services including bilingual publications to area school districts, businesses, and agencies. Some papers just print the news. This one became part of it.

What the marker says

On October 8, 1908, Isadore Moritz published the first issue of the Mercedes Enterprise. He continued the operation until 1914; that same year, Ben E. Brooks and L.T. Hoyt began the Mercedes Tribute. Another paper, the News-Item, started in 1922 and merged with the Tribune seven years later to form the News-Tribune. Paul Netz bought the franchise in 1941 and restored the original name. The newspaper has chronicled major national and international events, as well as community stories. The Enterprise has documented local history through special anniversary editions and has offered printing services, including bilingual publications, to area school districts, businesses and agencies. (2007)