History of Early Amateur Journalism in Kansas

 

KANSAS JOINED OTHER States several times in organizing interstate associations, but such bodies are always short lived. In July, 1884, an Interstate A.P.A. was formed at St. Louis covering the States of Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas. On December 27, at Kansas City, Mo., Albert E. Barker was elected President and Fred H. Bowersock, Official Editor. Meeting at Lawrence, Kan., on July 6, 1885, Bowersock was made President, but the Association ceased its activities with the convention. Next year a Kansas and Missouri A.P.A. was organized with F. D. Johnson as President, but it failed to maintain itself. A local club was organized in Topeka in 1909 and held meetings for several months.

 

Edward S. Hutchinson, of Burlington, published a paper in 1870 called Amateurs' Own. In Burlington in 1874 E. P. Mickel published the Western Youth, and in 1875 J. B. Long the Kansas Grasshopper. In 1876 Will Hoadley issued the Amateur Reporter from Lawrence, and in 1877 he with Frank L. Webster published the Rising Age. In 1879 John T. Nixon issued a paper called Our Ideas from Mulvane and later published the Kansan and the Aspirant from Wellington. In Topeka in 1881 A. J. Stranger published the Stranger, and in that city Charles F. Goodrich issued the Bee a few years later. In 1881 at Osage City C. C. Hollenback published the Western Amateur; and the Bowersock Brothers, Fred and Justin, commenced publishing the Kansas Zephyr, a paper which gained much prominence for its interest and regularity for several years. In 1910 Bertha Hempstead issued the Argus from Topeka.

 

 

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