The Daily Banner, Greencastle, Putnam County, 4 April 1964 — Page 1
Weather Forecast CLOUDY; COOLER High, 40; Low, SO
The Daily Banner IVe can not but speak the things which we have seen or heard, 'Acts 4:20
STATE LIBRAS? IKDIARAPOLIS, I.VBIAKA "It Waves For All"
VOLUME SEVENTY-TWO
GREENCASTLE, INDIANA, SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 1964. UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL SERVICE NO. 142
BANNER PUBLISHES IN ITS NEW PLANT
Banner Marked 100th Birthday In Sept. 1950 The Greencastle Banner, the oldest continuous business In this city, celebrated its 100th anniversary in September, 1950. The following is a reprint of the history of the newspaper at the time of its centennial: "Forerunners of the Greencastle Banner were founded about the time Putnam County was settled in 1823 to 1825. The first attempt to publish a paper here regularly was about 1834, when John Wesley Osborne succeeded a Mr. Childs as a publisher. He called his paper “The Western Plowboy.” “On file in the public library, with only a few breaks, are copies of The Greencastle Banner dating back to 1852. Prior to 1868, publishers changed the name of the paper several times. At that time it was called The Putnam County Banner. In 1868, a Mr. Brown, who was then publisher, changed it to The Greencastle Banner and it has had similar names since then. “One of the early publishers was George J. Langsdale, who lived in the residence now occupied by the Gen. Jesse M. Lee Post 1550 Veterans of Foreign Wars, comer of Indiana and Popular Streets. “Mr. Langsdale was a Civil War Veteran and an originator of the idea of a Soldiers and Sailors Monument which now stands On the Circle in Indianapolis. He served as chairman of the building commission for this impressive memorial. "Dr. O. F. Overstreet, one of Greencastle’s best known older citizens, recalls some of the things that transpired while Mr. Langsdale was editor. The office at that time was located where the telephone exchange is today on South Indiana Street between Washington and Walnut. "About 1890, the paper was purchased by Harry M. Smith from William J. Beckett and in 1892, fifty-nine years ago, October 17, it was converted into a daily newspaper. "Since 1890, this newspaper has made tremendous strides in keeping pace with the rapid changes find modem advances in all fields during the past sixty years. "The days of the hand set pages of type are now history. The oldtime printer has been replaced by mechanical typesetters such as the Linotype, Intertype and the Ludlow. Local news is still gathered by local reporters and county correspondents. State, national and world events are covered for the Daily Banner by the United Press and the International News Service, two of the largest news syndicates with offices and contacts all over the globe. "The Daily Banner moved from the old Banner block, comer of Franklin and Vine Street to the present site of the Royale Cafe, corner of Washington and Vine, in 1914. In July, 1926, The Banner moved across Washington Street to the room now occupied by Coan’s Drug Store. In 1931, The Daily Banner and The Herald were consolidated and the plant and business offices moved into the present location at 17-19 South Jackson Street, September 1, of that year.
A Salute To
Samuel R. Rariden
THE DAILY BANNER PUBLISHER By James B. Zeis
"Samuel R. Rariden, owner and publisher, has been connected with The Daily Banner for 39 years or since 1911. He assumed the important position as publisher in 1924 when the late Harry M. Smith retired due to ill health. "Three employees of the present Daily Banner staff have each been associated with Mr. Rariden in the publication of the paper for more than 25 years. They are Charles Howard, printer; George Reynolds, linotypist and James B. Zeis, reporter. "The nearly complete files of 100 years history of Putnam County form probably the only complete history of the county covering that period of time and in the years to come will become more valuable as time goes on. They are alive with happenings of every community within the county as well as in Indiana and the nation. The Greencastle Banner has ridden the crest of popularity in good times and has seen numerous depressions, and has seen many businesses in the county come and go. Several here are as old as The Daily Banner or older, but none has reached the century mark to date. “The Greencastle Banner has seen DePauw University, then Asbury College grow from a limited beginning to its present solid position and has attempted to aid the University and the community in every worthwhile enterprise presented. We have many loyal friends who have extended their best wishes despite our attempts to not make too much of nearly 100 years of historymaking along with Putnam County. “To these friends and thousands of others in the community, w r e offer our sincere thanks for their good wishes and hope w r e will be able to carry their trust in us still further in the future.’*
BANNER COMPOSING ROOM Shown wnrking are ad men laying out pages for a Daily Banner paper in the new composing room.
More than half a century ago—53 years to be exact—in 1911, an energetic and ambitious young man from Bedford joined the rather small staff of The Daily Banner. At that time, the Banner office was located at the northeast corner of Franklin and Vine Streets in what was then known as The Banner Building. These same rooms are now occupied by the Currie Tin Shop, owned and operated by Joe Ellis, Jr. It was during those pre-World War I years that Samuel R. Rariden, owner, editor and publisher of today’s Daily Banner, learned the rudiments of the printer’s trade. He also learned news writing and the value of news stories insofar as the readers were interested. The Banner then moved to the present site of the Royale Cafe f corner of Washington and Vine Streets. World War I passed and The Banner subscribers began to increase, and in 1923 this newspaper was proud of its 1,850 paid subcriptions. In 1924, Harry M. Smith, owner and publisher of The Banner, became ill. It was then that Sam Rariden took over the helm to direct the destiny of the paper in the years ahead. In July, 1926, The Banner moved across Washington Street to the site of the present Coan Drug Store. The paper was now printed on a press capable of handling eight pages an issue instead of only four pages. This change was necessary due to increased advertising. Five more busy years rolled by and in August, 1931, The Daily Banner, which had purchased the Greencastle Herald, moved into the Herald Building at 17-19 South Jackson Street. Time passed and advertising and subscribers continued to increase as Greencastle’s population also became larger. More years passed and with the growth of Greencastle’s population and business firms, The Banner’s advertising also increased. Instead of eight pages, several days each week, the paper had 12, 14, and even 16 pages. The paper’s staff also increased from six or seven employees in 1911 to 18 and then 20 in 1963. All this time, it was the guiding hand of Sam Rariden that kept The Banner on course on the sea of journalism. During all these years, Sam Rariden, in newspaper lingo, has “covered” all kinds of happenings and he and his camera have become quite familiar over the entire Putnam County community. He has never been too busy that he couldn’t cover a lodge installation, a church supper, a wedding in some rural church, a golden wed(Continued on Page 2)
A RED LETTER DAY! Year Of Progress Culminates 114 Years As Paper Today, Saturday, April 4, 1964, The Daily Banner formally announces that it is publishing in its modern new plant on South Jackson Street almost directly across on the west from its former location for nearly 33 years. This announcement follows a year of progress and intensive preparation to give Greencastle, Putnam County and surrounding residents the very latest and very best in a daily newspaper. The new Banner plant boasts an ultra modern business office, an engraving department, a modem composing room, a modern job printing department, a high speed rotary press, a modern sterotyping department, and a circulation department. No expense has been spared to give Greencastle the very latest in equipment for a newspaper to keep pace with a progressive community. The Banner is now equipped to print 16 pages at one time at the rate of 25,000 an hour. Over the years, since 1926, it has required at least two hours to print 5,800 papers on the old style flat bed press for The Banner subscribers. The Banner is now able to print with color on certain pages in the same manner that large, metropolitan newspapers are published. The Banner's new job department can handle all kinds of letter heads, envelopes, invitations, business and candidate cards as well as sale bills and various other forms of job work. This modern plant is the culmination of 114 years of service by The Banner in Putnam County. There has been a Greencastle Banner since 1850. The Banner has been a daily paper for the past 72 years. The Banner staff is looking forward to the 73rd year as a daily and the 115th year as a newspaper with the motto, “It Waves For All.” With this in mind, The Banner takes great pleasure in announcing that Open House will be held in the new plaint on Saturday and Sunday, April 18 and 19, starting at 1 p.ra. each day. A cordial invitation is extended to everyone to be the guests of The Banner and visit this modem newspaper office.
BEFORE AND AFTER
These two pictures show the building and final stage of the wm Bunwr eCneo b»
fore and after completion.
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