Ringgold County IAGenWeb Project ~ Record-News' 149th Year

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, January 10, 2013, Pages 1 & 2

As 2013 now has arrived, it is a time not only to look forward but also to look back.

This year marks the 149th consecutive year of publication for the Mount Ayr Record-News. (Other area businesses commemorate their years of service in special advertisements running on pages 6 and 7 in this edition of the Record-News.)

To mark the occasion, here is an history of the Record-News as compiled by local historian Sharon Becker. This account appears on the IAGenWeb Project website.

"The Ringgold Record, was established in April of 1863 with W. R. TURK, publisher, and I. S. BEALL as editor. The Ringgold Record was a weekly news and political paper that was succeeded around the 1st of June in 1866 by George B. ROBY who was both publisher and editor. The paper was sold to D. D. Pratt, editor and proprietor.

"In 1873 George R. STEPHENS bought half interest in the Ringgold Record. The Twice-A-Week News was also published in Mount Ayr.

"The 1875 History of Ringgold County, Iowa noted, 'The Record is a newsy, enterprising Republican sheet of four pages, eight columns to the page, published weekly, and enjoys a prosperous business and a liberal patronage.'

"In 1887, Mr. Robert WILLIAMS and Rev. J. H. TEDFORD purchased the Ringgold Record and combined its publication with the Ringgold County Republican.After a period of several years, Rev. TEDFORD purchased Mr. WILLIAM's interest in the paper and was the editor until 1907, operating with his son Henry "Howard" TEDFORD when Sam SPURRIER bought a half interest. Then, Rev. TEDFORD and Mr. SPURRIER purchased the rival newspaper, The Twice-A-Week News [published from circa 1892 to 1907], combined the papers and renamed the publication The Record News. Rev. TEDFORD sold out his interest to Mr. SPURRIER in 1910, and Mr. SPURRIER continued to edit the paper as late as 1936. SPURRIER and his son, Franklin SPURRIER, owned the newspaper for 55 years between them from 1911 to 1966."

From 1966 Jack TERRY owned The Record-News for 15 years until selling an interest to Alan SMITH in 1981.

SMITH became the sole owner the following year and had been editor and publisher of the Mount Ayr Record-News for the last 30 years before selling the newspaper business to Tom HAWLEY in August 2012.

New Mount Ayr Record-News banner, January of 2014

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, July 03, 2014

By Mike Avitt

This photo appeared in the October 5, 1972 edition of the Mount Ayr Record-News. The article explains the picture was recently discovered at the newspaper office so the photo was run along side of a modern-day picture of the building, with employees standing in front, taken by Jack Terry. Standing left to right are: Reverend J. H. Tedford, Sam Spurrier, Stanton Tennant, Alex Maxwell, Hattie Kelley, A. B. Worley, Carroll Spurrier and James Lawhead.

It's an easy guess this photograph was taken in March of 1907. Rev. Tedford and Sam Spurrier had just merged their newspapers in early March to for the Mount Ayr Record-News. We see mostly long-sleeved employees so I think this picture was taken immediately after the new "Record-News" was picture was taken immediately after the new "Record-News" sign was painted on the office at 119 North Taylor.

This building was previously the Ringgold Record newspaper office and was built before 1892; I'm guessing the 1880s. The Ringgold Record newspaper got its start April 7, 1865 with Warren Turk as publisher and Ithamar Sry Beall as editor. Mr. Beall was the father of Randolph and Walter Beall and those two would play a part in the merger with the other newspaper, the Twice-A-Week-News.

On August 4, 1892, T. F. Armstrong issued the first copy of The Weekly News, a Mount Ayr paper. Randolph Beall joined the firm in December 1892 and bought the paper in January 1893. Randolph's brother Walter bought half interest in the News in March 1893 and changed the name of the paper to the Twice-A-Week News. Editions were printed on Tuesday and Friday of every week. Walter bought Randolph's interest in the paper in 1899 an dsold the Twice-A-Week News to Sam Spurrier on March 1, 1907.

In the meantime Rev. J. H. Tedford and his son Howard were now the owners of the Ringgold Record. Rev. Tedford came to Mount Ayr in 1879 as the pastor of the United Presbyterian Church. With the merging of the two leading newspapers in Mount Ayr, the last issue of the Ringgold Record was published February 28, 1907.

The last issue of the Twice-A-Week News was published February 26, 1907 and the old newspaper office was sold to H. C. Beard, who used the office and equipment to publish the Weekly News until 1912. The building still stands today and is Lefty's Club Tavern.

The first issue of the Mount Ayr Record-News was published March 5, 1907 and is the oldest business in Ringgold County going back to the first edition of the Ringgold Record. The former Ringgold Record office at 119 North Taylor, served as headquarters for the Record-News and the paper was published on the old Twice-A-Week News schedule, Tuesdays and Fridays. This ended in 1916 when the paper was published weekley on Wednesday. Sam Spurrier, who had bought out the Tedfords about 1911, wrote an editorial explaining subscription rates and advertising rates would increase if the paper continued to be published twice a week.

In 1936, the Record-News building got a new facade of tile and plain brick. The Mount Ayr Record-News moved to its new location in 1988 and the former office was purchased by Steve and Cindy Mitchell. Mitchell's Jewelry Store opened here in May 1989.

One of my favorite parts of the paper is "From the Early Files." This feature got its start on march 5, 1936, taking us all the way back to 1886.

Transcriptions by Sharon R. Becker, September of 2013; updated January of 2014; updated July of 2014