Our speaker for our November 15, 2016 meeting was Colleen Doggett. We thank Colleen for being available since our designated speaker, Chad Pate, was unavailable.

 

Teddy Hopkins opened the meeting with the pledges of allegiance and a prayer.

 

Colleen gave to the group a brief history of the newspaper the "East Texas Press". The first paper was The Timpson Times started in 1885 by G.S. Espy as a weekly paper. The editors were J. H. Truit and J. M. Truit with a subscription rate of $1.50 per year.

 

The paper changed hands several times in the early years. In 1900, the new owners, Mr. And Mrs. J. D. Ford changed the name to The Timpson Weekly Times. In 1911, Syl Winfrey and Tom Molloy brought the paper and continued publishing a daily and a weekly paper until June 1945.

 

December 1962, Joel D. Milner brought the paper and in 1985 it was again sold to Rex Bell and Luna Bell who changed the name to the Timpson News. When Douglas and Florence Reeh brought the paper in 1993, the new name for the newspaper was the Timpson & Tenaha News. After Mrs. Reeh’s husband passed away, she sold the paper to Hilda Pena on June 17, 2010.

 

The name of the paper changed again to "Our Town Times" in 2015 after the paper was brought by Chad Pate in 2014. Mr. Pate was born and reared in Timpson and was he was a graduate of SFA University. Chad brought the paper into the 21th century by putting the news online. This not only put the news in the hands of subscribers but also made history as being one of the first newspapers in east Texas with a fully functional mobile app. Even with all the different owners throughout the history of the newspaper, it has always strived to share the local news with readers so they would know what was happening in the area.

 

After Colleen’s speech there was a discussion on designations for historical cemeteries for Shelby County. Fairview received a historical designation from the state of Texas this past year. A new gazebo was recently built in Fairview cemetery with a map plat inside for easier grave location. Anyone wishing to know more information on obtaining historical designation for local cemeteries, places, or buildings can go to the state website www.thc.texas.gov for additional information.

 

Ms. Doggett, current chairperson for the Shelby County Historical Commission, will assume the position of chairperson for the cemetery committee for the coming 2017-2018 year.