The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 104, No. 67, Ed. 1 Friday, August 20, 1999 Page: 60 of 88
eighty eight pages : ill. ; page 25 x 14 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
48 - BOSQUE COUNTY, U S A., FRIDAY, AUG. 20, 1999
THE CLIFTON RECORD
Bosque County, Texas, U.S.A.
The Clifton Record Oldest
Newspaper In County
Award-Winning Newspaper
Has Significant Historical Background
CLIFTON - Now in its 104th year, Thk
Ci.ikton Record continues to serve the
citizens of the greater Bosque County
area During the expanse of time, numer
ous newspapers in Bosque County have
come and gone, but none have outlasted
The Ci.ikton Record.
The year was 1895 Grover Cleveland, a
New Jersey lawyer and a Democrat, was
completing his second term in the White
House Baseball great Babe Ruth had just
been born;
and two nov
els, with
great fan
fare, had hit
the drug
store shelves
Stephen
Crane’s The
Ik’d Badge of
Courage,
which with
raw texture
chronicled
the fears and
stamina of a
youth caught
up in a civil
war that was
still on everyone's mind, and H.G. Wells'
The Time Machine, which boldly trans
ported readers deep into the 20th century
as it questioned the survival of civilization
Earlier that year, a 39 year old lawyer
and weekly newspaper publisher in
McGregor, who possessed an unquench
able urge to improve civilization in this
part of the Old West, had, with other mem
bers of his family, developed a plan. They
would start newspapers — a chain of
them — in the communities that lay in
the heart of Texas They would also pro-
vide legal services in the cities they
served, and would strive to render a posi-
tive influence on various levels of govern
ment
In the summer of 1895, Col W.C.
O'Bryan, with funds that came from his
wife's holdings, invested about $1,500 to
start a newspaper in Clifton, a growing
city of about 500 population. The news-
paper was produced on small hand
presses, with all the type being set by
hand.
When The Record was bom, it came
into the world not alone in the forest of
newsprint in Bosque County, for other
newspapers predated it, a notable one
being The Bosque Banner, which ended
soon after The Record began.
At the time The Record was founded,
travel to and from the town was largely
accomplished by horsedrawn flatbed
wagons or by single-horse surreys. Gen-
eral stores were popular as places to ob
tain a wide variety of goods, and hotels
were popular, for people traveling to town
often could not return home during the
same day
The Record was a Saturday paper, hit-
ting the streets when they were most full.
In its early days, J.C. O’Bryan, brother
to founder/publisher WC. O’Bryan, was
its editor. ‘
It might be noted that W.C. O'Bryan
-★-.
TEXAS PWSS |
ASSOCIATION
AHN a«4«A lL
went on to serve as an advisor to a Texas
governor, served in the Texas legislature,
and helped found Baylor University One
of his grandsons is world-famous classi
cal pianist
Van Cliburn.
who was
named
Texan of the
Year by
Texas Press
Association
in 1962.
Following
the O’Bryan
tunure, The
C i. i e t o N
Record was
owned and
published by
t h e
Baldridge
family for
about 64 years, first by Robert Baldridge,
Sr, from 1901 until his death in 1946, then
by his wife, son, and daughter
In more recent years, the newspaper
has changed hands several times, being
owned in the mid-1960s and early 1970s
by James W. Smith, Sam D Logan, Jr. and
Bart Ivey.
William T. Jordan was publisher in the
mid-to-late 1970s
James W Smith and son, W. Leon
Smith, bought the paper in 1979 and have
published it continuously the past 18
years
Following the publication of a monu-
mental 100-page Souvenir Centennial
Edition in the summer of 1995, The
Clifton Record expanded its frequency
to twice a week. It is now published on
Wednesdays and Fridays.
Under its current ownership, The
Record has been a frequent award win-
ner in both the annual Texas Press As-
sociation and South Texas Press
Association better newspaper contests.
Its editors strive to publish a positive,
useful product that benefits the citizens
of Bosque County. This year, The Record
placed first in the state in advertising
design, plus won awards in column writ-
ing, editorial writing, page layout, and
others.
The newspaper has, during the past 18
years, strived to remain on the cutting
edge of new technology to better serve
its readers. In a few days, The Clifton
Record will have available for viewing its
own web page on the internet.
Although The Record is a semi-
weekly newspaper, the Smiths also
publish a sister newspaper to The
Record known as The Bosque Globe,
a weekly, which, when combined with
The Record, offers a wide circulation
in Bosque County and in the greater
Bosque County area.
A turn-of-the-century press used to print
The Clifton Record in its infancy.
For the second
year in a row,
The Clifton Record
placed first In
advertising design
in the 1999
Texas Press Assn.
Better Newspaper
Contest.
The newspaper
competed in the
small semi-weekly
division.
Publisher
W. Leon Smith is
shown with the plaque
the newspaper won.
' J f • : ? )
iitWil'lli
in .<* i
We Do
Mastercraft
Oil Changes
Tires
Made By
& Lubes
Cooper
Hwy.22
Meridian, Texas
(254) 435-6263
Hours:
Monday - Friday
8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
8 a.m. -12 noon
Owner: Bill Bruton
BOSQUE TIRE CENTER
Call Us For All Your
Tire Purchases & Repairs
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Smith, W. Leon. The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 104, No. 67, Ed. 1 Friday, August 20, 1999, newspaper, August 20, 1999; Clifton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth791182/m1/60/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Nellie Pederson Civic Library.