Ozona Stockman, The

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about The Ozona Stockman. Now settle in, because this is a story about a little weekly paper that just kept on living, no matter what you called it. It started in 1892, when a young man named Claude B.

Hudspeth put out the first issue of a weekly newspaper he called the Ozona Kicker. Now that is a name. Hudspeth was born in 1877, and he ran that paper for three years before he set his sights on something bigger.

Politics. He went on to serve in the Texas Legislature, and then he kept right on climbing, all the way to the United States Congress as representative from the Sixteenth Texas District. The Kicker, meanwhile, passed into other hands, and those hands had opinions about the name.

It became the Enterprise. Then the Courier. Then the Optimist.

Four names in the span of a few decades, which tells you something about the ambitions, or maybe the temperament, of everyone who touched it. Then in 1913, County Judge Charles E. Davidson bought the operation, and he settled the question once and for all.

He called it the Ozona Stockman, a name chosen to reflect what he saw as the backbone of Crockett County and the surrounding area: cattlemen and the ranching industry. That name stuck. And in 1926, a man named W.

Evart White came aboard as publisher and editor. White was a native of Tom Green County, and he had already worked newspaper staffs in Austin, San Angelo, San Antonio, and Cuero before he purchased the Stockman. He knew the craft.

Under his leadership, the content and format of the paper were changed to match the style of leading daily publications. Not bad for a weekly out on the West Texas range. Then came 1941.

White directed the work on an 88-page special edition, printed in honor of Crockett County's 50th anniversary. Eighty-eight pages. For a weekly paper, that was considered a major achievement.

White kept at it for decades more, finally retiring in 1972 after 46 years with the Stockman. Four names, one paper, and a run that would make any old-timer tip his hat.

What the marker says

In 1892 Claude B. Hudspeth (1877-1941) began publication of a weekly newspaper called the "Ozona Kicker." Following his three-year ownership, Hudspeth entered politics, serving first in the Texas Legislature and later as representative from the Sixteenth Texas District to the United States Congress. The newspaper was published by later owners as the "Enterprise," "Courier," and "Optimist." When County Judge Charles E. Davidson purchased the operation in 1913, he changed the name to "Ozona Stockman" to reflect the important role of cattlemen and the ranching industry in the development of Crockett County and the surrounding area. W. Evart White took over as publisher and editor in 1926. A native of Tom Green County, he had served on newspaper staffs in Austin, San Angelo, San Antonio, and Cuero before purchasing the "Stockman." Under his leadership the content and format of the paper were changed to match the style of leading daily publications. In 1941 White directed the work on an 88-page special edition. Printed in honor of Crockett County's 50th anniversary, it was considered a major achievement for the staff of a weekly paper. White retired in 1972 after 46 years with the "Stockman."