ODE to a Century
©regoivlNEmeraUj
A look at putting the Emerald together
It takes hours to put together each issue of the newspaper.
Here, we share two views of what it used to he like, with
different technology in different eras
1942
By the end of
spring term
1942, my fresh
man year, even lowly freshmen were
pressed into duty on the Emerald
staff, allowed to write copy, edit
copy, throw type at the press, (yes,
metal type, you know from your his
tory books — letterpress. There was
even a linotype!), fill coffee cups,
clean latrines, and all that kind of
useful stuff.
The body of the copy was set on
the linotype. But the night-shift crew
at the press set all the headlines in
“sticks,” picking each letter from a
typecase, setting it into a “stick" and
also inserting all the “spacers” for jus
tification.
We had a Goss Comet web press.
After its summer slumber it was re
luctant to run. It had to be oiled and
run a bit, then stopped and oiled
again, then run a bit more. We
thought we had it running and it
would stop again.
From August 1942 on I worked
regularly on the evening shift at the
Press. We had to read proof, and
then read the proof corrections. We
had to set the headlines, and then
read the page proofs.
Sometimes there'd be a lull while
we waited for something to do. Often
we played poker while we waited,
using the “spacers” for chips.
Then, sometime around 1 a.m. we
“went to press.” The Goss began to
roll. Always, always adjusting the ten
sion of the paper in the web was
time-consuming.
The paper was affected by the
weather. Rain offered one set of
problems, a dry east wind another set
ol problems. No two press runs were
ever the same. And, as the war pro
gressed, the quality of the web paper
regressed. The press was getting old,
and press parts were hard to get. ...
We never knew at what time the
first decent copy would roll from the
press. And so we waited. And wait
ed. And watched the clock. And
waited.
Sometimes while we waited we
published the “Three O'clock Whis
tle.” I have a few copies of this mag
num opus tucked into my Oreganas.
Way, way in the back of the Univer
sity Press were boxes of old half-tone
blocks, a few wood blocks, and a
few linoleum blocks.
We'd grab a handful of these “pic
tures” and drop them into a proof
tray; grab several handfuls of discard
ed linotype slugs all mixed up and
throw them into the proof tray; set a
nonsensical, crazy headline to top the
collection; and run off a couple
dozen copies on the proof press.
This, of course, was demanding, cre
ative work.
By the time we got the first copies
of the Emerald, we were famished. ...
—from Carol Cook Sibulsky
Bergen er, ODE 1941-45
courtesy Jeanne smmonas Keei il
Joan Hickey (left), Steve Cady, the Emerald's well-loved
pressman, and Louise Montag check an Oregon Daily
Emerald page late at night. Montag was editor in 1946.
1962
p . m .
and the
4:23
daily rush hour at the Oregon
Daily Emerald is well under
way. A reporter glances at the
clock and continues typing.
First deadline was at 4 p.m.,
and another is coming soon.
The office came alive at 3
p.m., and the pace will accel
erate until dinner time, when
the majority of the routine
work will have been done.
The infirmary list has been
checked for those currently
“observing a spring monsoon
confined therein.” Another
staff member is pacing the
floor of the SU lobby, hoping
that the campus calendar will
be released soon.
Desk editor on this particu
lar day, Dan Pfaff, has just
told a novice, “Well, if you
make a mistake, the best
thing to do is cross it out and
type it again.”
A few minutes later his con
cern has turned to more
pressing issues. Very little
news was breaking on this
day. To news editor Phil
Cogswell: “What have you got
in mind for a lead story to
morrow?” Phil says, “I don’t
know. There’s nothing hap
pening.”
At 6 p.m. the first page
dummies will have gone
down to the press, and the
three or more “standbys” will
be taking a short break, and
will then return for the next
five or six hours before the
paper goes to bed.
They will face the inevitable
last minute delays — “When’s
the lead story coming in?”
And the answer, “I don’t
know, Yvonne (Eggers) isn’t
back from Senate yet.” Some
times crucial editorial deci
sions will be made. If some
thing isn’t right, Keith Powell
may be heard saying, “No, by
God, it has to be changed.”
Finally, the last page proof
is read, and the next day
there is a new issue of the
Oregon Daily Emerald.
— From the 1962 Oregana
Some things never change.,.
l
i
,'<£S, THIS IS A GREAT’ PAWWG PLACE ....THE OWLY TROUBLE IS. WE'RE FARTHER.
AlVAV FROM THE CAMPUS THAW WE WERE WHEW WE STAfZTEP/'
1965Oregcma
mis cartoon by Roy Paul Nelson first appeared in the 1964-5 Oregana yearbook. Nelson was on the Emer
aid staff in 1947, graduated in 1955 and is a professor emeritus at the journalism school.
Ryan Frank
Editor in chief
Sarah Kickler
Section editor
Matt Carton
News Art editor
Nicole Carton
Designer/copyeditor
Laura Cadiz
Copy editor
Special thanks to:
Michele Ross, Becky Merchant and
Laura Goss
Emerald breaks out new look for
its 100th year of publication
Wi
years old.
'ith the start of a new year, we
have a new Oregon Daily
Emerald. One that is now 100
This being a monumental year for the
Emerald, we wanted to do something
special. We wanted a new nameplate that
reflected our independent status and con
veyed a sense of history.
The new design is a near-replica of the
Emerald’s nameplate from the late 1920s
to mid-30s. The only real change is the
seal. The University’s seal was previously
located where the new one now is. Be
cause the Emerald became independent
from the University in the 1971, we felt a
change was needed.
Jeff Eisher, an Emerald alumnus, creat
ed the new nameplate design and seal.
Fisher, 42, graduated from the Univer
sity in 1980 and spent his last two years
working at the Emerald as a graphic de
signer in the advertising department. Af
ter leaving the University, he worked for
several companies before establishing his
current one-man operation called Logo
Motives, in Portland.
He has designed logos for numerous
companies, including the Seattle Sea
hawks and a number of international cor
porations.
Tlie Emerald's seal is designed to reflect
our status as an independent campus
Inside the
Emerald
Ryan
Frank
newspaper in the state of
Oregon.
In one of the eagle’s
claws is a scroll, represent
ing academia, and in the
other is a quill, representing
newsgathering and writing.
Behind the eagle is an out
line of Mount Hood, Ore
gon’s most popular recre
ational mountain, which is
an hour east of Portland.
To complement Fisher’s
design, our graphics staff spent last week
designing the new look. News art editor
Matt Garton headed up our redesign.
Welcome to the new Emerald. We
hope you like what you see and read.
Ryan Frank is the Oregon Daily Emerald's edi
tor in chief.