Category: The Swan Song

A Last Minute Gift of Family History

12/20/2019

"Tempers grew short on both sides as approximately 140 met in Walnut to discuss the Neosho County wildlife refuge with Bill Fowler, 4th district Kansas Fish and Game Commissioner from Weir. Fowler's vote as the newly appointed commissioner from this district is necessary to break the commission dead lock and insure completion of the project. Fowler replaced A. H. Alcock of Chanute, a backer of the refuge."

Journal, October 8, 1959 — from page 419 of The Swan Song

Are you still looking for a last-minute gift for history buffs, or an older relative who would enjoy browsing through stories and clips from earlier days of St. Paul. David O'Bryan's "Annals of St. Paul: The Swan Song for the St. Paul Journal" might be a perfect selection. The book includes selected articles from the St. Paul Journal during the time frame of July 2, 1936 through the Journal's last issue of November 16, 1961.[1] The entries are complete newspaper articles or excerpts from Journal articles. All are listed by issue dates that are traceable back to paper or microfilmed issues of the Journal.

In addition to being a great gift, profits from the sales of the book will fund scholarships for St. Paul students!

About the Book.
Swan Song is a 8.7" x 11.2", 516 page hard-bound book. One of the book's valuable research features is a very detailed 55 page index. If friends or family members lived in or near St. Paul there is a pretty good chance they are listed. The index also includes businesses, natural disasters, fires, deaths and other events that shaped our town from the 30's to mid 20th century. There are also articles about other local towns including Walnut, Galesburg, Thayer and others.

Two galleries below give you a glimpse into the index and some of the content of this intriguing historical resource.

Index:
Here is a sample of 17 pages from the 55 page index that illustrates the attention to detail that went into categorizing and listing the contents. The pages will scroll or can paused with the controls at the top. These are low resolution scan images that do not represent the sharp, slick quality of the actual book.

Content:
Shown below are some actual pages from the book that can be enlarged with a mouse click. Again, these are scanned at low resolution to control file sizes.

How Do I Get One?
The book was published by David O'Bryan of St. Paul in 2009. Profits generated from sale of the book will be used to fund scholarships, for St. Paul Students.

Books may be purchased for $40, plus $5 for out-of-town purchases. You can order a book, or get more information at: [email protected].

1. Follow This Link for more information about the book and the Journal. You can also follow This Link for more information about the Journal's long-time editor, historian and publisher W.W. Graves.

The Swan Song - The St. Paul Journal.

12/17/2018

November 16, 1961 Was the End of the Road For One the Longest Running Pioneer Newspapers in Kansas - The St. Paul Journal. Selected Journal Articles are Preserved in a Series of Annals Books, One of Which Was Published in 2009. This Latest Installment May Be Purchased With Proceeds Going to the St Paul Schools Alumni and Friends Association for Local Scholarships. [1]

The End of The Journal
In November of 1961 the 93 year life span of the pioneer newspaper of Kansas came to a sudden and undignified end. The November 16 issue was released as normal with no announcements or signs of trouble. It even included a reminder of how you could tell when your subscription payment was due by looking at the postal label of that issue. That was the last St. Paul Journal.

The only announcement of the demise of the Journal came in the November 30, 1961 issue of the Parsons News that carried the following story of page 7.

“A Long Life - And a Good One.
This week seems to be the “Swan Song” for the St. Paul Journal, as an individual weekly newspaper publication. The Journal was the aftermath of the once famous Osage Mission Journal, probably one of the oldest publications in the state of Kansas. No question, that Osage Mission, now St. Paul is one of the pioneer settlements in the state.

It was in 1938 that the St. Paul Journal, under of guidance of the late W. W. Graves and F. S. Hopkins (a present St. Paul resident), celebrated its 70th anniversary. The late W. W. Graves published the journal for some 65* years.

This last week Kerm Powers of Thayer, who has been publisher of the paper the past 10 years, of from July 1951, turned the subscription list of the Journal to the Parsons News, David Tippet, owner.

Mr. Tippet has indicated that it will be impossible to continue the Journal as a separate publication and further indicates that it will become a section of his picturesque weekly Parsons News.

Dave Tippet is no stranger to the people of the St. Paul community, and his picture appears in the History of Neosho County newspapers, as an Intertype operator for the Journal, when the history was published in St. Paul in 1938.”

* To the best of our knowledge W. W. Graves published the paper from January 1896 through July 1951, or more than 55 years. (Correction noted in David O’Bryan’s “Annals of St. Paul, The Swan Song for the St. Paul Journal - Copyright 2009. Note 1.)

Note:
1. The Annals of St. Paul: The Swan Song for the St. Paul Journal is the third in a series of Journal excerpts captured in book form. Swan Song is a 517 page, hard-bound book that includes selected St. Paul Journal articles from July 2, 1936 through November 16, 1961. This period includes memories of many St. Paul area residents including those who have moved away.

A strong point of the book is a 55 page index that includes family names, businesses, events, etc.. Articles are grouped by Journal publish dates and provide a direct link to full newspaper articles that are available on microfilm and, in some cases, on-line. It is an excellent tool for genealogy or general historical research.

The book was published by David O'Bryan of St. Paul in 2009. Profits generated from sale of the book will be used to fund scholarships, for St. Paul Students, through the St Paul Schools Alumni and Friends Association. The Alumni Association is a non-profit organization

Books may be purchased for $40, plus $5 for out-of-town purchases. You can order a book, or get more information at: [email protected].

The St. Paul Journal was also published as the Osage Mission Journal and the Neosho County Journal during it's long life. More on the Journal Annals Trilogy in a later post.

Thoughts 'n Things

A Last Minute Gift of Family History

The Swan Song - The St. Paul Journal.

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