Panhandle Herald

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. You're rolling through Carson County, and there's a story here that starts way back in 1887, which, if you know your Texas Panhandle history, is about as far back as the stories go out here. The Panhandle Herald.

Oldest newspaper in the Texas Panhandle. Second oldest business in the area, full stop. That's not a small claim.

That's the kind of staying power that outlasts droughts, booms, busts, and every other thing this country could throw at a printing press. H.H. Brookes founded it, and whatever he set in motion in 1887, it held.

Then along comes David M. Warren. Oil man.

Banker. Regent of the University of Texas. A man who wore a lot of hats, and apparently wore them well.

Warren became principal owner in 1926 and held that position until 1958. That's a long stretch of one man's hand on the wheel of a community's newspaper. By the time the Herald reached its 75th anniversary, Don and Norene Peoples were the owners, carrying the thing forward into a new chapter.

The marker itself was placed in 1965, and it carries something else, something quieter. An in memoriam. For David M.

Warren, 1894 to 1958. Offered by Mrs. David M.

Warren, David M. Warren Jr., and Randolph J. Warren.

A family remembering a man through the pages of the paper he loved. A newspaper that started in 1887 is still the oldest in the Panhandle. Some things, you just don't let go.

What the marker says

Published since 1887. Oldest newspaper in the Texas Panhandle, second oldest business in the area. Founded by H.H. Brookes. Principal owner 1926-58, David M. Warren, oil man, banker, a Regent of the University of Texas. Don and Norene Peoples owners at 75th Anniversary. In Memoriam - David M. Warren (1894-1958) by Mrs. David M. Warren, David M. Warren, Jr., Randolph J. Warren.