gravers. Publisher Voorhies himself was surprised by the spontaneous enthusiasm of the Courier's readers for the daily local pictures. The permanence of the picture feature is assured, and the innovation since has been adopted by other small Oregon dailies.
Wilford C. Allen, Grants Pass business man, was editor for Mr. Voorhies between 1912 and 1917 and again in 1919-20. His son, Wilford C. Jr. (Pete) followed him in this position, holding it for several years.
Like many of the other newspapers of the state, the Courier had its fires, and, as in some other places, well-intentioned fire-fighters once did more damage than the blaze. "Enthusiastic but thoughtless persons," the special edition story relates, "tore down the front of the building and with a rope and man-power were about to pull the press out to the street, never realizing that the drop of nearly two feet from the sidewalk to the street level would certainly have wrecked the heavy machine. Other 'helpers' had folded the 'cap' case over the 'lower case,' and several fonts of type were hopelessly 'pied'."
Four other publications in Grants Pass complete the story for the town.
The Oregon Observer ran for 37 years as a weekly alongside the Courier, at one time for several years being printed in the Courier office. The paper was established by George W. Colvig and F. W. Chausse in 1890. It was finally absorbed by the Courier and discontinued in 1927. For the last 16 years the paper was conducted by A. S. Coutant, former Michigan newspaper man, who retired at the time the Observer was sold to the Courier.
The Oregon Mining Journal, a weekly publication, was established in 1895 by Conklin & Wade. Soon afterward Arthur Conklin became sole owner and conducted the paper until 1909, when the name was changed to the Pacific Outlook by William Brower, who had purchased the property. Later the Outlook was published by Arthur Conklin and edited by H. S. Prescott. The paper was suspended in 1912, and the Courier purchased much of its equipment.
The Grants Pass Herald was a semi-weekly launched in 1904 which lasted only a few months. Its publishers, Robert G. Smith and associates, sold the type to the Courier.
The Southern Oregon Spokesman was established March 8, 1924, as a weekly paper by J. J. Hoogstraat and E. C. Bell. In 1927 the paper, which had supported the Ku Klux Klan movement in Oregon, was discontinued, and the plant sold by the receiver. The new owners of the equipment, D. L. Ewing and George T. Pearce, with Pearce as editor, changed the name to the Grants Pass Bulletin, also changing the policies. This regime was succeeded by Benjamin J. Kimber as owner and editor the next year. Mr. Kimber, who had been a Presbyterian minister, made a fair success with some unorthodox journalistic ideas and sold in October, 1932, to Jay Reeves,
