About The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940
Wolf Point, Mont. (1913-1940)

Wolf Point Herald

The Wolf Point Herald began publication in 1913 after its founder, Charles M. Hanson, came to Wolf Point from Ray, North Dakota. Hanson ran the eight-page, six-column newspaper out of his home using a George Washington hand press and a list of less than 50 subscribers. On July 3, 1914, a fire broke out in the original quarters of the Herald, destroying the paper's archives of its first two years. Despite this loss, the paper continued, setting up in a new location with new equipment. Hanson was appointed postmaster in 1915, and the second editor, Judge Charles Gordon, began work that March. Gordon was succeeded for a time by the publisher, John P. Weist. As the paper grew, Weist recognized the need for a full-time editor and business manager, and in 1917 Charles L. Marshall came to the paper to fill those positions. Marshall would go on to be the major stockholder when the paper was incorporated in 1919.

The paper focused principally on local agriculture, printing wheat market reports, livestock news, and other industry issues. News of oil discoveries and subsequent development efforts in Montana and North Dakota made frequent appearances alongside "Great Northern Railroad Notes," a section dedicated exclusively to the activities of Great Northern employees and their families.

Warning signs of the oncoming Great Depression cropped up occasionally, such as businesses struggling and frequently changing hands, but times were not recognized as particularly tough. The Herald adopted a hopeful and mostly cheerful attitude concerning agricultural markets, proclaiming that the harvest of 1921 would be the best in years despite falling wheat sales.

As an Independent paper, the Herald tended to maintain a neutral political stance. Even in the election coverage of 1924, it is difficult to find many positive or negative sentiments about the national and local elections. Summing up the paper's views after the local primary elections of 1924, editor Charles L. Marshall wrote:

"During the campaign The Herald remarked that it 'was glad of the opportunity to leave the issues to the judgment and the justice of the people.' The result of the primaries, while not final, expresses none the less the people's verdict. It is hoped that the minority will gracefully bow.

We can fight and fight hard and long in the right cause, and will if fighting is necessary. But personally we believe that the continuation of needless strife, the harboring of revenge and fostering of narrow prejudice is the most useless and futile way of wasting the precious years of life. The developing of our virgin resources, the building up of our communities, the betterment of our homes--in short the pursuit of the things that bring peace and joy and comfort appeal to us as far more worthy of our time and talents."

The Wolf Point Herald was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Joe Dolin in 1940, and its new owners consolidated the Herald with the Roosevelt County News to form the Herald-News. The paper was again sold in 1945, this time to Harry Downs Sr. and Mike Vukelich. In 1955 the paper moved into a new building, and in 1960 Vukelich sold his interest in the paper to the Downs family. Harry Downs Jr. died in 2018, leaving the Herald-News to a single owner. After a run of 106 years, the Herald-News published its last issue on May 9, 2019. The paper's former staff moved to another location and immediately began publishing the Northern Plains Independent.

Provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT