Rupert Talmage Craig

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some men are born to the land, and some are born to the word. Rupert Talmage Craig, it seems pretty clear, was born to the word.

He came into this world on November 17, 1889, in Shiloh, Kentucky, the son of Henry Clay and Dana Craig, Dana being a Moss before she married. And if you're already thinking this sounds like a man with a serious name headed somewhere serious, well, you're not wrong. By the time Rupert Craig was ten years old, he was setting type in a print shop.

Ten. Most boys that age are fishing or getting into trouble, and here's this kid already learning the art of putting words on paper the hard way, one letter at a time. Then, at sixteen, he became the youngest licensed printer in the state of Kentucky.

The youngest. In the whole state. He took that credential and went to work for several major U.S. newspapers, getting his education in the best school there is, which is doing the actual work.

Then, in 1907, he came to work for a paper called the Athens Review. Now, hold that name in your mind, because it comes back around. Because Craig, being the kind of man who doesn't just work for things when he can own them, went and purchased the Kemp News, a small town newspaper, and became its publisher.

He was eighteen years old. Eighteen. He then married a Kentucky woman, Clara E.

Rhodes, in 1911. A year later, in 1912, he and Clara moved to Chandler, Texas, where Craig owned the Chandler Times. Texas had its hooks in him now.

And in 1916, he did something that has a certain satisfying shape to it. He went back and purchased the Athens Review, the very paper he had come to work for back in 1907. He didn't just work there anymore.

He owned it. Under Craig's hand, the Athens Review became a successful daily newspaper. His editorials on politics and local events were distinctive enough that they earned him the respect of area citizens and of prominent state and national politicians.

That is not a small thing. Politicians respect very few people, and newspaper editors who tell the truth are rarely on that list. But Craig made the list.

He served as regent at Texas Woman's University. He was a member of the Texas Economic Commission, the Texas Centennial Commission, and the Texas State Democratic Executive Committee. The man was woven into the fabric of Texas public life.

And then, in 1938, the Southern Journalism Congress named him Country Editor of the South. Country Editor of the South. Out of every small-town editor working in this region, they picked Rupert Talmage Craig, the boy from Shiloh, Kentucky, who started setting type at age ten.

In 1941, after twenty-five years as publisher, Craig sold the Athens Review. He had said what he had to say. He died in Athens on February 15, 1968.

And here is the last detail the marker gives us, quiet and without embellishment: a United States Senator attended his funeral. That tells you everything about the size of the life this man lived.

What the marker says

Son of Henry Clay and Dana (Moss) Craig, was born on November 17, 1889, in Shiloh, Kentucky. He began setting type in a print shop at the age of 10 and at the age of 16 became the youngest licensed printer in Kentucky. He worked as a printer for several major U. S. newspapers before coming to work for the "Athens Review" in 1907. He purchased the "Kemp News," a small town newspaper, and became its publisher at the age of 18. Craig married Kentuckian Clara E. Rhodes in 1911 and in 1912 they moved to Chandler, Texas, where he owned the "Chandler Times" newspaper. He purchased the "Athens Review" in 1916. The "Athens Review" became a successful daily newspaper. Craig's distinctive editorials on politics and local events earned him the respect of area citizens and prominent state and national politicians. He served as regent at Texas Woman's University, and was a member of the Texas Economic Commission, the Texas Centennial Commission, and the Texas State Democratic Executive Committee. The Southern Journalism Congress named him "Country Editor of the South" in 1938. Craig sold the "Athens Review" in 1941 after 25 years as publisher. He died in Athens on February 15, 1968; a U. S. Senator attended his funeral. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845 - 1995