Heppner Weekly Gazette
[LCCN: sn97071041]
Heppner, Morrow County, Or.
1883-1890

The Weekly Heppner Gazette
[LCCN: sn94049697]
Heppner, Morrow County, Or.
1890-1892

The Heppner Gazette
[LCCN: sn94049698]
Heppner, Morrow County, Or.
1892-1912

The Gazette-Times
[LCCN: sn97071038]
Heppner, Morrow County, Or.
1912-1925

Heppner Gazette-Times
[LCCN: sn97071042]
Heppner, Morrow County, Or.
1925-current

The Gazette first appeared in Heppner, Oregon, in 1883 as the Heppner Weekly Gazette [LCCN: sn97071041].  The publisher, John H. Stine, relocated from Portland, bringing with him a Washington hand-press and other printing equipment. Stine sold the paper after a short tenure, beginning a trend of many editors and publishers cycling through the staff.  Future proprietors came from a variety of backgrounds, including former scout and Colonel John Redington, Reverend Henry Rasmus, and a teacher, Otis Patterson.

The paper reflected the rotations in staff, itself going through a few changes in name.  In 1890, the title changed to Weekly Heppner Gazette [LCCN: sn94049697], which ran for two years before assuming the title Heppner Gazette.  In 1910, Vawter Crawford, formerly of the Morrow County Record [LCCN: sn2002060529], bought the Gazette and consolidated it with the Heppner Times [LCCN: sn97071040], forming the Gazette-Times in 1912.  A final change came in 1925 when the paper became the Heppner Gazette-Times [LCCN: sn97071042].

Regardless of the frequent name changes, the paper remained a consistent supporter of the Republican Party.  Perhaps not as vitriolic as other periodicals, the Gazette still criticized neighboring editors and newspapers.  An 1898 article accused the Dalles Times-Mountaineer [LCCN: sn93051669] of being inconsistent in its denunciation of bossism.  According to the Gazette, the Mountaineer “encouraged the democrats and populists to unite with the ‘boss’ to defeat the will of the republican party.  Now it should take its medicine if the ‘little boss’ gives the popocrats a few hard raps.”  As a self-described “straight republican” organ, the paper was not reluctant to advertise its political affiliation.  Even after its consolidation with the Times, it continued to show a partisan slant.

The Gazette offered coverage and analysis of national and local news.  One article illustrated a degree of suspicion of the American Federation of Labor.  In reference to the principle of equal opportunity espoused by labor leaders Samuel Gompers and Frank Morrison, the Gazette asked, “Would either Gompers or Morrison allow any free born American citizen to work at his trade beside one of their union members if he did not have a card in the same union?”  The editor found it unlikely.

On a more local level, the Gazette celebrated the work of a women’s organization in beautifying the community, writing, “there is no end to the good things for Heppner that we may confidently look forward to.”  Examples of other local topics included public ownership and development of hydraulic power, mescal use among Native Americans, and a growing coyote problem in Morrow County. Sections titled, “Resume of the Week’s Doings” and “Here and There” provided succinct summaries of national and regional events for busy readers.  Advertisements featured dry goods dealers, dentists, attorneys, and products such as pianos and beer.  Short stories such as “The Iron Pirate” and “The Chauffeur and the Jewels” would appear as serials, helping balance the political content of the paper.

Prepared with reference to:

Turnbull, George S. History of Oregon Newspapers. Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort, 1939.

— Written by Daniel Rinn