LANE COUNTY'S HOME NEWSPAPER.
EUGENE. OREGON, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1962
Our
95th
Birthday
By DAN SELLARD
of the Restster-Guard
The Eugene Register-Guard will be 95 years old Wednesday.
Ninety-five years ago, a reporter for the Eugene Guard was
also a typesetter, pressman, editorial writer and ad salesman.
When he came in from his Willamette Street "beat," he put
his story in type and helped operate the press that printed it.
Today's reporter hardly ever sees a piece of type. He does
his story in a modern newsroom and a score or more of other
people handle it before it's printed.
His local story must compete with thousands of others which
come from other local reporters and from newsmen from all
over the world.
Another of the many differences between today's Eugeiie
Register-Guard and the old Guard which started in 1867 is the
use of photographs.
There were none then, there are many now, and these come
from the newspaper's four staff photographers and from an
Associated Press wirephoto machine which takes only minutes
to receive a photo from the Atlantic Coast.
But there is a spirit which has gone forth through the S3
years the spirit which silently goes with journalistic tradition
truth, accuracy and a feeling for human welfare.
It was there, that spirit, when the Eugene Guard put out
its first edition on Oct. 24, 1867. And it is this same spirit
which has been so carefully guarded down through the years. ,
The Guard continued under that name until 1930 when its
owners bought the Register, a morning paper and combined the
two.. From that purchase came the hyphenated title carried on
the name plate today.
Stability and prosperity came to the Guard in 1878 when Ira
and John Campbell bought the paper and spent 30 years getting
it set on its course of becoming one of the great newspapers of
the West. 1
In 1890, the Campbells took a daring step. They made the
Guard a daily newspaper.
The Campbells added their name to the list of persons who,
through their stint at the Eugene newspaper, made the honor
roll of Oregon journalism.
It was in 1927 that Alton Baker bought the Guard and brought
to Eugene the journalistic standards of a famed Ohio newspaper
family. The newspaper is still owned by the Baker family.
In 1930, it was Alton Baker who bought the Register and
combined it with the Guard.
With Baker from Cleveland came a rugged, outspoken news
paperman, William M. Tugman. He and Baker worked together
for many years to bring the newspaper to its present enviable
position.
These newspapermen thought of their paper as more than
a business. To them, the Register-Guard had to be a leader, a
supporter, a contributor and, above all, an important citizen of
the community.
Both Baker and Tugman died in 1961.
Today more than 200 people work in "putting out the paper."
Modern machines turn out each day's edition at a fasler-thaneye-can-see
rate.
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To meet tight production schedules, the color comics must go to press each
Wednesday night for the following Sunday's paper. This color photo by Register
Guard photographer Phil Wolcott shows the comics for Sunday, Oct. 21 coming off
the press at the rate of 35,000 copies an hour. Persons attending Wednesday
night's open house will see a comic section press run. ,
4 "aiy irr
Everyone Welcome to Attend Open House
The management of the Eugene Register
Guard extends an Invitation to all to attend an
open house at the newspaper Wednesday eve
ning. Children as well as their parents will want
to see all departments of the newspaper, in
cluding the printing of the colored comics
section for the following Sunday's paper.
A route to follow will be marked on the
floor so that visitors will not have to wait for
guides to conduct them on their tour.
Representatives of all departments will be
present through the evening to answer ques
tions. Hours are from 7:30 p. m. to 10:30 p. m. The
building is at 975 High St
is .HTl M m
This is today's modern publishing plant at 975 High St., Eugene.
More than 200 persons work here to produce the Register-Guard every
n day of the year. In addition to offices, the building houses hundreds
of thousands of dollars worth of high speed printing equipment.
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Until 1952, the Register-Guard had always been on
Willamette Street. This is a photo of the newspaper
"back in the old days," at one of its locations on the
city's main street