The Stanton Register

Having worked at Stanton previously, it was not a difficult transition when I arrived there again in June of 1955. I was well settled in when I took the week of the Stanton County Fair to get married.

The deal the owners gave me for the Stanton Register was almost too good to be true. As we’ve been told so often, if it is too good to be true, it probably is the case. I was to take over the paper, receive an $80 per week salary and 25 per cent of the net profits. That 25 per cent could be used to buy the paper after five years at a pre-set price of $35,000.

The problem with the deal was that a town of 1,300 in the 1950s economy could not really support a conventional hot metal printed newspaper. Later, with offset technology, computers and a centralized printing plant's labor, costs could be trimmed to make the operation feasible.

Janice and I struggled for nearly five years trying to make a go of the paper. There were many reasons why it didn’t work. My youth and inexperience in running a business and coping with marriage and fatherhood were major factors. The lack of a well-planned business structure was also involved. No provisions for replacing antiquated equipment were made so revenues were not sufficient for much more than paying salaries and other fixed expenses. During our entire time in Stanton, the net profit percentage I received was the grand sum of $400, and even that came under dispute.