(Photo by Calvin Shepherd - Use By Permission)
Alderson West Virginia - A History
Alderson’s Newspapers
The
first
newspaper
in
Alderson
was
The
Alderson
Enterprise
in
1878.
John
M.
Ferguson
was
editor.
It
is
not
known
how
long
this
paper
was
published.
In 1883 The Alderson Statesman was started. It was owned by Rufus D. Alderson. The last issue was in May, 1886.
About
1894
The
Alderson
Man
appeared.
It
was
a
Populist
newspaper
and
strongly
supported
that
political
party
whose
aim
was
to
champion
rights
of
the
people
against
the
great
business
monopolies
and
combines
of
the
time.
Its
editors
were
Houston
Warren
and
Hubert
Houston.
After
the
Populist party lost, and probably due to the Panic of 1896, this paper folded.
J.
Alfred
Taylor
acquired
The
Alderson
Man
and
changed
the
name
to
The
Alderson
Advertiser.
Taylor
took
a
partner,
Alonzo
C.
Nelson,
an
expert
printer,
in
1909.
In
1911,
A
Selders
bought
the
paper
and
published
it
until
1913.
Then
George
Werkheiser
bought
the
paper.
Werkheiser
was
a
Pennsylvania
Dutchman
and
an
intelligent
man
who
printed
a
good
paper.
Although
George
Werkheiser
was
not
a
prohibitionist
he
called
his
paper
a
Prohibition
paper.
He
was
a
Democrat,
but
in
order
to
get
county
advertising,
and
as
the
law
required
public
advertising
in
papers
of
opposing
political
faith,
he
could
no
call
his
paper
a
Democratic
paper.
There
was
already
a
Democratic
paper
in
Monroe
County.
He
was
certainly
not
a
Republican.
That
left
the
Prohibition
party.
Werkheiser
published
his
paper
until
1928
when
he
sold
to
Malcolm
Johnston
of
Union,
editor
of
The
Monroe Watchman. (Click on photo for larger view)
The contents contained in this series is copyrighted and the sole property of The Greenbrier Historical Society - Lewisburg, WV Used by permission - November 18, 2008
Main Index
The History of Alderson, West Virginia
From The Journal Of The Greenbrier Historical Society On Alderson, West Virginia
Written by Kenneth D. Swope - Compiled and Transcribed by Barry Worrell
The
Aldersonian
was
first
published
by
the
Alderson
Baptist
Academy
from
1922
until
approximately
1931
when
the
school
closed
and
Alderson
High
School
took
over
the
paper.
For
the
succeeding
years
it
was
the
senior
class
that
was
responsible
for
getting
it
to
press.
Although
not
a
town
newspaper,
it
did
include
bits
of
news
of
the
community
and
of
course,
ads
from
the
businesses.
In
1968
Alderson
High
School
closed
and
the
paper
lie
dormant
until
In
1998,
Barry
Worrell,
a
1957
graduate
of
Alderson
High
School,
revived
The
Aldersonian
on
the
internet.
With
the
new
media,
it
is
a
interactive
format
and
boasts
hundreds
of
pages
(and
still
counting)
of
articles, history, news, photos, and writings and comments from the alumni. Visit
The Aldersonian
(Click on photo for larger view)
Mrs.
Agnes
Cooke
was
news
editor,
or
associate
editor,
during
the
nine
years
and
nine
months
the
paper
was
published,
with
eight editors and five publishers. She wrote a clever farewell obituary for the little paper.
All
the
five
papers
were
weeklies
and
some
were
of
good
quality.
Between
the
time
the
Advertiser
and
the
Times
started
Alderson had no paper for thirteen years. It has had no paper for nearly four years. Agnes Cooke
(Click on photo for larger view)
Alderson
had
no
paper
until
march
9,
1951
when
The
Alderson
Times
appeared.
Charles
J.
Eib
was
the
publisher,
John
R.
Kenney
was
editor,
and
Agnes
Cooke,
news
editor.
It
was
a
republican
paper.
there
were
several
editors
in
rapid
succession.
Eib
sold
to
Don
Hubbard
Montgomery,
who
got
some
used
printing
equipment
and
published
until
about
1956.
He
sold
to
the
White
Sulphur
Sentinel.
Samuel
D.
Mason
became
the
editor.
The
Alderson
Times
published
its
last
issue
Thursday,
December
8,
1960.
(Click
on
photo
for
larger
view)
