Centennial: Oldest Business Celebrates Centennial, Coke County, TX Contributed by Jo Collier 25 September 2003 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tx/txfiles.htm *********************************************************************** The Observer/Enterprise, Robert Lee, Coke County, TX - 21 July 1989 The Observer/Enterprise is the oldest business institution in Coke County, celebrating one hundred years of continuous service to Coke County on July 13, 1989. The Robert Lee Observer, one of the forerunners of the present publication, had its beginning in Hayrick, the first County seat, exactly three months from the date that Coke County was created by the Texas Legislature in June of 1889. The paper changed hands with almost every issue for a while. Perhaps they couldn't get the business deal settled, or couln't make up their minds as to who was to serve as editor or publisher. At any rate, the first issue, which was called The Coke County Democrat was a four-column, four-page paper, "published by Warren and Edgar, at Hayrick, Texas." The second issue of the Coke County Democrat named Warren and Mathews as editor and publisher, while a short time later Brady and Shores were proclaimed as editor and publisher. J. S Brady bought Shores' interest in the paper and became both editor and publisher. Mr. Brady moved the plant to Robert Lee early in 1891, when the county seat moved there. Then the new paper in the new town in the new county was given the name of Coke County Rustler. The name of the paper was changed to the Robert Lee Observer in 1904, when the editor J. T. Rankin put on a subscription drive. A person could submit a name with each one dollar subscription. The person submitting the winning name was to receive a prize of five dollars cash and five year subscription to the paper. "The Robert Lee Observer has never missed an issue"; however, there are gaps in the files, some of which were destroyed in a fire some years ago. Throughout its many years the Robert Lee Observer has carried the story of the changing times, of success, of failure, of sorrows, and of joys-the stories of the weal and the woe, printing from week to week word pictures of Coke County as it changed, always seeking to be entertaining, informative, and of service to all who have read its pages and to all Coke County. That service was not always easy. During its first eighteen years, the paper was produced on a "George Washington" hand press, under tribulations that lack of adequate machinery brought. In those days the type was set by hand, and in some cases the printer's whole family was pressed into service to get out the paper. The Robet Lee Observer, including its predecessors, had a long list of colorful editors, some of whom spoke their own minds in no uncertain terms. George Beeman, editor and publisher of The Rustler in 1902, often broke forth in rhyme. "A while ago was awfully dry, 'We cannot plow', was all the cry. But now the ground is pretty wet We're goin' to raise a crop, you bet. His business grew to be a Buster Through advertising in The Rustler." George Cowan, who owed and edited the paper for eighteen years, was known over West Texas for his dry wit. Readers watched for the entertaining, good-natured, three-way banter carried on between George Cowan and "Uncle" Bill Kellis of the Sterling City News-Record, and D. M. West of The Bronte Enterprise. A. W. Puett, who became the publisher in 1925, was one of the most independent in spirit. He called a spade a spade and spared nobody. Once when a group petitioned the Robert Lee City Commissioners to call an election to vote off the incorporation, Puett published a list of petitioners giving the amount of city taxes that each had paid, showing that some of the petitioners had paid no tax. He fairly "roasted" the people who went away from home to trade with "chain stores" in near-by cities. A list of editors and publishers who at one time or another were connected with the ROBERT LEE OBSERVER includes: J. S. Brady, Sam Wilkins, Gray Reed, Tom Durham, Irvin and Pritchard, Merchant and Reed, Hubert Pearce, J. C. Newton, G. A. Beeman, M. H. Davis, J. T. Rankin, George Cowan, J. G. Berryman, Berryman and Lamb, A. W. Puett, F. W. Puett, Bob Hall, S. R. Young, Mr. Hunter, A. J. Kirkpatrick, Ulmer Bird, Ben and Pat Oglesby, Rick Styles, and current owner publisher Hal Spain. THE BRONTE ENTERPRISE was first published at Bronte in 1907, by C. H. Bentley, who came to Bronte from Tennessee. Bentley owned The Bronte Enterprise from 1907 to 1910, when he sold to D. M. West, who sold to T. R. Butler in 1912. The plant which Mr. Bentley installed was fairly modern. Mr. West used the same plant, but he brought in an experienced newspaper- man, C. W. Goff, to edit the paper. The Enterprise had done well under Mr. Goff, and he was retained by Mr. Butler and the next owner, A. J. Nelson. The Bronte Enterprise suspended publication in 1915, and resumed publication in 1918, with J. D. Scott as editor and publisher. Mr. Scott sold to W. D. Redmond, who re-sold to D. M. West. Mr. West published the paper until November, 1944. He was succeeded by J. H. Mullane, Exton Talley, and Ed Nunnally, Jr. Ben Oglesby, Jr. bought The Bronte Enterprise on July 1, 1948 and in 1965 added to it the Robert Lee Observer, and for the first time in history both the Observer and the Enterprise were published by the same owner. Mr. Oglesby published both papers until his death in 1982. Thereafter, for over a year, his widow, Pat Oglesby, assisted by Eddie Alexander, kept the presses rolling until August, 1983, when both publications were sold to Rick and Kay Styles. A year later, another monumental change lay ahead, as both papers were purchased by Hal Spain. On August 17, 1984, the first issue of the Observer/Enterprise was published, and both papers were combined to serve all of Coke County. This change in format, which combined the papers of the two major communities in the county, received the enthusiastic support of most, and was met with apprehension by others. The combined paper prompted one well-known older businessman to remark, "we take the good news with the bad", referring to the "bad" news as that which originated from the other side of the county. As a marketing tool, the combined product has definitely made an impact on local economy. The "Coke County Hunting & Fishing Guide", published annually by the Observer/Enterprise, is recognized as one of the premier publications of its kind in West Texas. The Observer/Enterprise has followed this combined format for the past five years (until the present time), with office locations which still serve both communities, and a staff of a half-dozen professionals dedicated to serving the residents of those communities. Permission granted by The Observer/Enterprise for publication in the Coke County TXGenWeb Archives.