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Title:
Scott County kicker. : (Benton, Mo.) 1901-1917
Place of publication:
Benton, Mo.
Geographic coverage:
  • Benton, Scott, Missouri  |  View more titles from this: City County, State
Publisher:
Phil A. Hafner
Dates of publication:
1901-1917
Description:
  • [Vol. 1, no. 1 (Nov. 9, 1901)]-v. 15, no. 3 (Apr. 7, 1917).
Frequency:
Weekly
Language:
  • English
Subjects:
  • Benton (Mo.)--Newspapers.
  • Missouri--Scott County.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01217424
  • Scott County (Mo.)--Newspapers.
Notes:
  • Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
LCCN:
sn 89066234
OCLC:
19076832
ISSN:
2166-8132
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Holdings:
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Scott County kicker. November 9, 1901 , Image 1

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Benton Scott County Kicker

A Socialist newspaper, the Benton Scott County Kicker was edited by Phil A. Hafner and published by the Workers Printing Company. Prior to the Kicker, Hafner was editor of the Benton Newsboy, and according to the History of Southeast Missouri, he chose this name in honor of the newsboys who were “always bright and always much in evidence on the street cars.”

Increasingly interested in the rights of farmers and limiting corporate land ownership, Hafner sold the Democratic Newsboy and started the Kicker as an independent publication which focused on social issues, embracing many of the reform and progressive movements that were taking hold in the early 20th century. Hafner began printing the Scott County Kicker in November 1901. The Kicker claimed to be “the ONLY paper in Scott County published by, and in the interest of, those who do Useful Labor.” Indeed, Hafner proclaimed that “The Scott County Kicker is the People’s Paper. It is Not Muzzled. Wears No Man’s Collar.”

The Kicker was published every Saturday, and, initially, Hafner printed a four-page sheet, but he quickly expanded to six pages due to the large subscribing audience in Scott County which was eager for and accustomed to local news. The paper had a long run and did not cease publication until 1917, when Hafner had to “announce the suspension of the Kicker for an indefinite time ”because he was “a very sick man." Hafner passed away on February 15, 1917, and the search for a new editor turned up nothing, so the final issue (April 7, 1917) announced the suspension of publication.

Provided by: State Historical Society of Missouri; Columbia, MO