The Press in Snyder

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of the press in Snyder. The first newspaper to print in Scurry County was the Scurry County Citizen, published by A. C.

Wilmeth before 1887. That's where it all started. Eight different nameplates, under thirty-nine different owners, would eventually roll ink in Snyder.

Thirty-nine. That's not a newspaper town, that's a newspaper convention. Then came Dick Lively, who founded Coming West and began publication in 1887.

After that, the names kept changing like the West Texas weather. The News. The Western Light.

The Signal. The Times. The Times-Signal.

All of them county papers, all of them printed weekly, with one notable exception. For a period in 1911, the Signal went daily. Daily.

Out here on the plains, that was a statement. It didn't last, but somebody made the call and ran with it. Then on May 1st, 1950, Harte-Hanks Newspapers founded the Snyder Daily News, with Herbert Feather as publisher.

And the story didn't stop there. In 1957, the Feather Printing and Publishing Company acquired the News. Eight nameplates, thirty-nine owners, and one town that just kept on reading.

What the marker says

The "Scurry County Citizen", published by A. C. Wilmeth before 1887, was first of 8 different nameplates (under 39 owners) to print in Snyder. "Coming West", founded by Dick Lively, began publication in 1887, followed by the "News", "Western Light", "Signal", "Times", and "Times-Signal". All of these were county papers printed weekly, except for period in 1911 when "Signal" was published daily. "Snyder Daily News" was founded by Harte-Hanks Newspapers, May 1, 1950, with Herbert Feather as publisher. Feather Printing and Publishing Company acquired the "News" in 1957. (1971)