Title
- Ayer Annual1
- Publish day: Evenings except Sunday
- Content: Republican
- Established: 1905
- Pages: 4
- Size: 13x22
- Editor: None listed
- Publisher: World Publishing Co.
- Frequency: Daily
- Coverage
- Region: North Cascades
- County: Chelan
- Unique ids
- SN: sn86072041
- OCLC: ocm14402228
Digitization plan
2008-2010 grant
- Text not converted this grant cycle
- Digitized 1905-1910 (13 reels)
TopHistory
- Continues: NA
- Continued by: The Wenatchee World 1971-current
- WSL publish history chart: NA
NEH Approved Essay
The Wenatchee Daily World was founded in 1905 by C.A. Briggs and Nat Ament, as a Republican paper.
The paper was
the town’s first daily newspaper and initially consisted of four pages.
In 1907, Briggs and Ament sold
the ailing paper after threats were made on
their lives over
their anti-saloon stances. Rufus Woods, who had previously published
the Wenatchee Advance [LCCN: sn87093051] and written for
the Republic [LCCN: sn87093278], purchased
the paper with his twin bro
ther Ralph as a silent partner. Woods struggled in
the early years because he decided to support
the Progressive or “Bull Moose” branch of
the Republican Party and many of his advertisers deserted
the paper. Woods relied on creativity and publicity stunts to boost business and canvassed around
the state for subscriptions. By 1910, circulation reached 2,700, a 600% increase over March 1907.
The Wenatchee Daily World’s main competitor in its early days was
the Republic, especially after
the latter became a daily in 1912. On April 30, 1913,
the Republic ran an article titled “
The Sordid Motives of Our Strumpet Contemporary” in which Woods was described as a “crook, briber, cunning knave, brazen blackmailer, shrewd scoundrel, grinning clown” and hinted at unsavory rumors about Woods’ financial dealings.
The Republic eventually folded in 1914, and Woods and
the Daily World recovered. Woods used
the paper as a platform to advocate for development promoting and supporting better roads, mining development, conservation, hydro-electric power, reclamation, local manufacturing, and better government for central Washington.
The Wenatchee Daily World is best known for Rufus Woods’ July 18, 1918 editorial arguing that diverting
the Columbia River would allow for
the irrigation of arid Central Washington farmlands, introducing
the public to
the Grand Coulee dam proposal. Woods and
the Wenatchee Daily World were central figures in
the 23-year fight to complete
the project. Woods remained publisher of
the paper until his death in 1950, when his son, Wilfred Woods, took over
the reins. Wilfred Woods served as publisher until his retirement in 1997, and
the paper was inherited by his son, Rufus G. Woods. In 1971
the title changed to
the Wenatchee World [LCCN: sn86072042] and is still published today.
Essay Notes
Index to Wenatchee World, 1905-1980Research
- N.W. Ayer & Son's American newspaper annual -1907- -915-
- NDNP Candidate Title List (Appendix A1.2)
- Chronicling America record (LOC) - Wenatchee Daily World
- WorldCat record - Wenatchee daily world
- WSL record - Wenatchee daily world
- UW record - Wenatchee daily world
TopReel
- Positives held by: WSL
- Negatives held by: Proquest
Notes
Reels ordered and sent for scanning, will likely include in 2012 grant
lrobinson, 2010/02/08 11:32
- Film eval notes 1905-07-03 1906-06-30: reduction and dimensions determined by information in Ayers guides.
Evaluation
See
Wenatchee daily world eval spreadsheets (Google)Totals
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