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Newspaper The Weekly Gazette (East Hartford, Ct) 1885-1942

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About The Weekly Gazette (East Hartford, Ct) 1885-1942

As East Hartford, Connecticut, grew from an agricultural town centered on tobacco production into a bustling suburb of Hartford, the Weekly Gazette grew from a broad agricultural advisor into a distinct collage of community voices. By his own account, Henry Bidwell Hale founded the Gazette in 1885 after being fired from the now long-defunct Hartford Telegram. The paper cost $1.50 per year from its founding until the 1940s, when it gradually rose in price to $2, and then $3 by 1950.

Through its first few decades, the Gazette's front page covered national and international affairs, followed on subsequent pages by local news organized by town, usually including personal updates on the residents of East Hartford, Hartford, South Windsor, East Windsor, and Glastonbury. Later issues introduced a Live Stock column, featuring advice on keeping farm animals and raising quality crops. In the 1920s, the Gazette began enthusiastically covering technological developments in telephones, automobiles, and televisions, alongside the usual local news coverage and farming tips. Advertisements were often specifically directed at farmers and tobacco growers. Agricultural content ebbed during the 1930s, as the Depression hurt demand for cigars, and by extension, tobacco.

In 1929, Frederick Rentschler, head of the Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Company in Hartford, moved his operation into a plant on an enormous 1,100-acre lot in East Hartford, complete with a small adjacent airfield for testing their aircraft. Highlights of early Pratt coverage include an announcement that the manufacturing plant would be constructed and employ 3,000 men, another when the company acquired Sikorsky, and another when Rentschler laid the cornerstone. The airfield would become known as Rentschler Field, which operated from 1931-1999. In 1943, to meet wartime demand for aircraft engines, Pratt and Whitney expanded from its 3,000 employees to 40,000 employees. Pratt and Whitney remains the largest employer in East Hartford, and one of the largest aerospace employers in Connecticut.

In 1930, Henry B. Hale sold the Gazette to Edward B. Stevens, who would go on to serve as the Republican Mayor of East Hartford from 1945-1947. The Weekly Gazette became the East Hartford Gazette in 1942. The World War II years included letters by soldiers from East Hartford, news from the war, and community support for the families of people in the military including fundraisers and childcare for working women.

The West Hartford Publishing Company, headed by Bice Clemow, acquired the Gazette in 1956. Clemow was passionate about broadening access to public records and was a vocal proponent of Connecticut's Freedom of Information Act. The Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information, formerly led by Clemow, presents an annual Bice Clemow Award to Connecticut leaders promoting open and accountable government.

Rolly Charest bought the Gazette in September of 1961 and served as its owner and publisher until 1980. Charest wrote a long, popular, informal weekly column called "Around East Hartford" for the front page of the paper, often musing on local and state matters and answering correspondence from readers. It remained a beloved hometown paper. The masthead in 1963 included the sentiment, "It takes all kinds to make our town great. One is you."

Provided By: Connecticut State Library, Hartford, CT

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Weekly Gazette (East Hartford, Ct) 1885-1942

Dates of Publication

  • 1885-1942

Created / Published

  • East Hartford, CT : Henry H. Hale

Headings

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Oct. 2, 1885)-v. 43, no. 43 (July 26, 1929) ; 43rd year, no. 44 (Aug. 2, 1929)-57th year, no. 48 (Aug. 21, 1942).
  • -  Available on microfilm from Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Conn.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 3 (Oct 16, 1885); earlier issues are damaged.
  • -  Latest issue consulted: Aug. 14, 1896.
  • -  East Hartford gazette (DLC)sn 85009852 (OCoLC)11909820

Medium

  • v.

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn91066932

OCLC Number

  • 24357722

Succeeding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

The Weekly Gazette East Hartford, Ct -1942. (East Hartford, CT), Jan. 1 1885. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn91066932/.

APA citation style:

(1885, January 1) The Weekly Gazette East Hartford, Ct -1942. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn91066932/.

MLA citation style:

The Weekly Gazette East Hartford, Ct -1942. (East Hartford, CT) 1 Jan. 1885. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn91066932/.