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Newspaper Farmers' Champion (Elgin, Okla.) 1912-1922 Farmers champion / Elgin Okla. farmers champion

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About Farmers' Champion (Elgin, Okla.) 1912-1922

The Farmers’ Champion appeared on November 14, 1912, in Elgin, Comanche County, Oklahoma, with the motto, “Free-Fearless-Progressive”. This was a fitting aphorism for the paper’s publisher, Jules Soule.

Soule was an experienced newspaperman with strong ties to the Farmer’s Alliance. Non-Indian farmers in the territory had organized the Oklahoma alliance in 1889, establishing cooperatives and its own newspaper, the Alliance Courier. Jules Soule published the paper in Ardmore, Indian Territory. The alliance cooperatives and newspaper soon failed due to poor management and lack of funds. Alliance members turned to politics in the form of the Populist Party.

Soule moved to Guthrie and began publishing the Home, Field, and Forum in 1893. The paper stated that it was the “Only agricultural journal devoted to the interests of the farmers and material resources of Oklahoma and the Indian Territory.” Soule ran a Progressive Farmer column in the editorial pages.

For reasons unknown, Soule moved his operation to Comanche County in 1910 and established the Indiahoma Champion. Soule stated in the Champion’s salutation, “We come free of all entanglements, political, business or otherwise.” The motto was “Free–Fearless–Independent.” On October 31, 1912, Soule published a farewell, hinting at being run out of town due to lack of support. Soule and his newspaper landed in Elgin.

By August of 1913, the Farmers’ Champion was suffering financial difficulties. In order to keep the paper in Elgin, Soule leased the Champion to a local man named R.H. Wessel. Soule moved to Harmon County to take control of the Hollis Tribune. The Champion continued to struggle financially. Shortly after Wessel leased the paper, publishing interests were turned over to Wettengel and Sons.

The Champion was the first newspaper that Henry Phillip Wettengel and his sons, Waldo, Wendell, and Arthur would publish. Under their management, the Champion pledged no political allegiance and set forth no other agenda than to dispense local and national news. The paper thrived under the supervision of the Wettengels and eventually outgrew the small town of Elgin.

In January of 1922, the Wettengels moved the Champion to Fletcher, Oklahoma. On February 8, 1922, the Champion donned a new name, the Fletcher Herald. Over the next few years, the family acquired the Rush Springs Gazette and the Hinton Record as well. Wettengel and Sons published the Fletcher Herald until 1946. The Herald continues to inform readers of Comanche County under the supervision of editor-publisher Lynn Moon.

Provided By: Oklahoma Historical Society

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Farmers' Champion (Elgin, Okla.) 1912-1922

Other Title

  • Farmers champion
  • Elgin Okla. farmers champion

Dates of Publication

  • 1912-1922

Created / Published

  • Elgin, Okla. : J.S. Soule

Headings

  • -  Elgin (Okla.)--Newspapers
  • -  Fletcher (Okla.)--Newspapers
  • -  Oklahoma--Elgin
  • -  Oklahoma--Fletcher
  • -  United States--Oklahoma--Comanche--Elgin
  • -  United States--Oklahoma--Comanche--Fletcher

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 3, no. 4 (Nov. 14, 1912)-v. 11, no. 11 (Feb. 1, 1922).
  • -  Published in Fletcher, Okla., Jan. 4, 1922-Feb. 1, 1922.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Fletcher herald (DLC)sn 96087588 (OCoLC)34379268

Medium

  • v.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn96087587

OCLC Number

  • 34379252

ISSN Number

  • 2333-0260

Preceding Titles

Succeeding Titles

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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:

Farmers' Champion Elgin, Okla. -1922. (Elgin, OK), Jan. 1 1912. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn96087587/.

APA citation style:

(1912, January 1) Farmers' Champion Elgin, Okla. -1922. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn96087587/.

MLA citation style:

Farmers' Champion Elgin, Okla. -1922. (Elgin, OK) 1 Jan. 1912. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn96087587/.