A history of the

Observer Dispatch1817 - 2003

There are many people that made up the paper through the years and thecommunity that reads takes part in shaping what the Observer Dispatch isand what it will be.

Credit for keeping all the history in a safe place goes to Jackie Knoblochand everyone who remembered the who, what, when where and why. Thepeople are to numerous to mention.

In a second floor room in a small frame building on a cold, midwinter day, a printer placeda form on the bed of a hand press. He inked the type with a roller, carefully placed a sheet ofpaper over the form, pulled the lever and took an impression. He pulled the paper from thetype, held it up and inspected his work. Across the top of the printed sheet, in bold letterswere the words, “ Utica Weekly Observer.

Thus a newspaper was born.The founder of the paper was Eliasaph Dorchester; the place a building on Whitesboro St.,

near Bagg’s Square, in the Village of Utica, the date, according to a reliable historian, Jan. 7,1817.

Whether Dorchester printed both sides of his sheet we do not know, and we can only sur-mise the contents of that first issue, for no copy of it can be found. Presumably the paper con-tained only local news, because no other news was available, except such as might be gleanedfrom the lips of some traveler or an occasional copy of a paper published in New York or someother big town. News of the most important world events often was a month old when itreached the rural districts.

At that time, 187 years ago, Utica was a cluster of small, frame houses, fronting on dirtroads that were dusty in dry weather and deep with mud in spring. There were one or twotaverns, half a dozen stores, a sprinkling of harness and blacksmith and cobblers’ shops, acouple of churches and a schoolhouse. The only means of communication with the outsideworld were roads that at their best were very bad, and at the worst almost impassable.

The village had a population of about 3,000. and was the center of a farming communityand a stopping point for travelers on the slow, arduous journey to and from the West. It wasno fertile field for a newspaper, but Dorchester kept the Observer going, probably dependingfor his living largely on receipts from job work, and it goes without saying that often he tookhis pay in merchandise or firewood.

After a couple of years the paper was merged with the Oneida Observer and moved toRome, but in a few months it was brought back to Utica to stay.

The village grew and the Observer grew with it, but for the first few decades the growthwas slow. Then the pace quickened. The coming of the railroad and Erie Canal powerfullystimulated business and in 1848, 31 years after its birth, the Observer became a daily.

Morse’s invention of the telegraph conquered distance and the laying of the Atlantic cablemade European news speedily available to American papers. These developments and theformation of The Associated Press were large factors in transforming Dorchester’s puny sheetinto a prosperous and respectable newspaper. By this time steam power had been introduced,rotary presses had been invented and business men had discovered the potency of advertis-ing.The roster of journalists who contributed to the building of this news paper is too long to bepresented here. Only the most conspicuous of them can be mentioned. Augustine Dauby suc-ceeded Dorchester as editor and held the post for many years. When the Observer andDemocrat were combined in 1852, the editor of the Democrat, Dewitt C. Grove, became edi-tor. He remained with the paper for 30 years and was Mayor of Utica at the out break of theCivil War.

Mr. Grove admitted to partnership a young man named E. Prentiss Bailey and then beganwhat might be called the Bailey epoch, a span of about 75 years during which members ofthe Bailey family were more or less dominant in the management of the paper. E. PrentissBailey, who succeeded Mr. Grove and was editor for about half a century, was a journalist ofthe so called “old school,” the Horace Greeley, Henry Watterson type. He was deeply interest-ed in politics, played a part in shaping the national policies of the Democratic Party and hiswritings were widely quoted.

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In 1884 E. Prentiss Bailey admitted to partnership Thomas F. Clarke, who served as businessmanager for 38 years, and the business was carried on by the corporation of E. P. Bailey & Co

The plant was moved several times as more room was needed. Soon after Mr. Clarke acquiredan interest in the business a catastrophe occurred. Fire swept the building in which it washoused on the east side of Genesee St., between the present Oriskany St. and Catharine, anddestroyed the printing plant. Only a Bible, a few files and account books were saved.

It was a crushing blow, but local competitors offered help and the owners of the Observer,undaunted by the disaster, resolved to carry on. They issued the Observer temporarily from theoffices of other newspapers bought a lot and had a building erected with all possible speed. Thenew, four-story structure, with an entrance on Franklin St., stood on a portion of the site of thepresent Federal Building or the old Post Office and there normal operations were resumed onNov.8,1884.

Observer office on 113 Genesee St, circa 1884

Franklin St Office of the Observer builtafter the fire in 1885 and occupied forseveral decades.

The fire may have been a blessing in disguise, for the new plant contained improved equip-ment, including a web perfecting press, which was regarded with great pride and awe. Thispress called a “pony Hoe,” printed from a roll of paper, and concerning it a historian wrote:

“Visitors from city and country are welcomed daily to witness with delight the production of 8-page newspapers, printed on both sides folded and pasted at a speed of 10,000 copies an hour.’

Nothing more strikingly illustrates the enormous strides that have been made in printing andpublishing than the improvements in printing machinery in the last century. The hand press onwhich the first Observer was printed was said to have had a capacity of 300 to 400 impressionsan hour with two men working at top speed with lever and ink roller. Today’s ponderous presscan print 96-page papers. Running at average speed it turns out 28,000 papers an hour and theaverage daily consumption of paper is nine tons.

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In 1900 the Observer boasted a circulation of 8,000. Its editorial policy was violently parti-san. Its editor supported Democratic doctrines and candidates vehemently, but balked whenthe party swung toward radicalism as during Bryan’s “free silver” campaign. This lapse fromparty regularity was costly, a single editorial lopping off 1,000 or more angry Democratic sub-scribers.

For about 75 years the Observer type was set by hand, one letter at a time. Not only wasthis process slow, but it was necessary, after every edition, to distribute the type, that is toreturn each letter to its proper box. About 1893 E. P. Bailey & Co., took a great step forwardby purchasing five Linotype machines, at that time a new invention, and the tedious handcomposition came to an end as far as the body of the paper was concerned.

In addition to the afternoon paper, E. P. Bailey & Co., also published for years the Semi-Weekly Observer, which was made up almost entirely of matter lifted from the columns of thedaily edition, and circulated in the rural districts.

During the editorship of E. Prentiss Bailey, William W. Canfield was city editor for about 20years. Upon the death of Mr. Bailey in 1913, Canfield became editor and held that post untilhis death in 1937. In 1914 the circulation grew to 18,000.

Upon the retirement of Thomas F. Clarke, Prentiss Bailey, son of the editor, became generalmanager and continued in that office 15 years, retiring in 1937.

Although Utica was well supplied with newspapers, having three dailies and a populationmuch smaller than it has now, the publishers of the Utica Sunday Tribune decided in 1898 toenter the daily field. They launched a journal which they called the Utica Evening Dispatch,from an office on Liberty St., a few doors from Genesee. While the Dispatch lacked the venera-ble qualities of the Observer, it was a lively youngster and soon acquired a substantial circula-tion. Before long it was moved to the old building which still stands at the north corner ofLiberty and Hotel Streets, which at one time had housed a dime museum. During most of itslife the paper was edited by the late William E. Weed. When, in 1900, the Utica MorningHerald ceased publication, the owners of the Dispatch bought the name and some of the assetsand added “Herald” to “Dispatch” in the title of the evening paper.

A turning point in Utica newspaper history arrived on May 1, 1922 when Frank E. (Gannettand several associates effected a merger of the Observer and Herald-Dispatch under the titlenow in use. The Herald-Dispatch and Sunday Tribune names were dropped and both the after-noon and Sunday papers were issued there after under the name Observer-Dispatch. Thebenefits of this combination immediately were apparent. The best features of both papers wereretained and, with an enlarged staff and ample resources, the business expanded rapidly.Upon the retirement of Prentiss Bailey, in 1937, J. David Hogue assumed the office of generalmanager.

Since the merger of the Observer and Herald-Dispatch, the Oriskany St. addition has beenerected, much new machinery has been installed, an engraving department has been added,an auditorium built, a wire-photo circuit provided and many other changes made to improvethe product.

In 1935 the publishers of the Observer-Dispatch purchased the Utica Daily Press and sincethat time morning, afternoon and Sunday papers have ben published under the same roof.

All of the men who founded these newspapers and brought them to maturity have passedaway, but steadily through the years the papers have continued to record events of their ownparish and the world beyond. They have reported the anxieties and triumphs of four wars, theelections and deaths of Presidents, the crowning of kings, the toppling of thrones, great scien-tific discoveries, convulsions of nature, fires, disasters and the doings of humble folk.

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The Erie canal is where Oriskany St. isnow. In the 1800’s Field and Start waslocated on the North West corner of JohnSt and the Erie canal. It consisted of twobuildings due to their growth but in theearly 1900’s the canal was moved to thelocation north of the New York rail tracksin the present location of the canal onNorth Genesee St. The first building(Horses) was left standing and operatedby Utica Merchantising until it was pur-chased by the OD in the 1980’s. Thebuilding on the left was raised and theObserver Dispatch was built there inabout 1927. It was a two story buildingand later the 3 floor addition was addedto the front facing Oriskany St. In 1957the third floor was added to the rest ofthe building. Advertising and the newsroom with a photo lab occupied the entirefloor. The Second floor was composing andengraving. The first contained the press,mailing room, stereo dept., circulationand main office across the front .

The building to the extreme left was owned by Griffin and Hoxie. It was purchased in the50”s by the OD and raised to be used as a parking lot until an annex was built in 1965 whichwas to house the new press room mailroom and stereo departments. Stereo never moved inbecause a change in the printing method forced and end to stereotyping.Changes demandedthe engraving and camera departments be moved in the new area.

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Reception CommitteeDorothy RobertsChairmanLawrence BushLeRoy SeamanTheodore GruszkaJohn LongtinJohn MadaraszJack KellyDonald ClaproodRalph DibbleHarold MooreJack HadleyJames DoyleLen WilburDante TranquilleAlbert FoxThomas PowellWilliam DeVineWalter MarksFrank MihmHoward CaslerHenry FeldmanHenry Feldmann

George KlossnerCharles FischerLena ParkerKate JudsonDecoration CommitteeLena ParkerChairwomanShirley ElySaIIy LechClara WilliamsDorothy RobertsEdna Coe 'Alberta DickinsonAnne KarlenMargaret Hill Esther Therrien Gladys SlaterFlorence WeilhamerMary Wilkinson Organization of 25 year ClubOna Edwards Chairman T. J. Erhardt

E. H. Willard Arthur F. Keilbach Earl Hughes Fred Fleischman Paul WilliamsElmer PierceSouvenir ProgramHarry MooreChairmanThomas Powell Charles Rishel Charles Thompson Joseph Hahn Vincent S. Jones Pins and CertificatesCommittee Ernest B. Leonard chairman Dan Williams John McKennan Charles Gibbons E. A. HolehanLouis SatorHarry Benner

Music CommitteeWalter Schram Chairman Joseph Rettig George Leyh Mason Taylor Arthur VaethOpen House CommitteeEarl HughesChairman

J. David Hogue Arthur KeiIbach Arthur Vaeth Daniel TannerCyrus Favor George Wertz William Baoske Silas Jacobs George Stohrer Fred Fleischman Arthur Cheney Harry Benner Elmer Pierce William Woods

Paul WilliamsEmlyn Evans Vincent Jones Floyd PiperHistorical CommitteePaul Willard Chairman E. A. Spears Dante Tranquille H. Ernest King Leo Hobaica James Armstrong

25 year Club1947

This was the press room of the Utica Daily Press showing Hoe unit-type low pattern Octuplepress, driven by GE AC 100 HP double motor drive with CR23001 full automatic control. Thedate was Feb., 10, 1925. In 1932 the OD purchased Field and Start properities.

This press being much newer at the time of the merger with the Press (1937) was broughtup to Catherine St. and placed in the “old press room” with more units being added as well asanother folder.. The press was changed so the paper feed was from the cellar doing away withthe roll stand seen here. The pressmen and people in other departments were brought up aswell. The OD didn’t do it to be kind.They did it because they needed the people. There weretwo shifts every day except Sunday on which day there was one. This press lasted 47 years, 12at the Daily Press and 35 at the OD.

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In 1941 according to Nat Boynton, author of Media Rare, a young Joe Kelly was working inthe north country for the Watertown Times.Also in 1940 Neal Bintz, copy boy at Watertown was to come to Utica and become managingeditor of the Sunday Observer Dispatch.

Another Joe Kelly, who is now owner of the Boonville Herald, worked for many years at theObserver Dispatch giving people that personal touch with his style of writing.

Some People Along the Way

The Utica Daily Press (a morning paper) was purchased from stock holders , one of which wasPrentis Baily, at 310 Main St in 1937. The building was sold to Doyle in 1938. It was locatedwhere Gaffney communications is now located and continued to be printed at the 221 OriskanySt. location under the ownership of Frank Gannett until 1986. The Observer Dispatch becamethe morning paper because it had the larger circulation.

The Observer survived the strains of its infancy in a primitive, backwoods village, precariousdecades of slow growth, financial difficulties, a fire that wiped out its plant, and periods ofintense competition, when it sold for a cent a copy. Today the Observer-Dispatch stands firmlyestablished and better equipped than ever before.

The publishers and all their employees can look back with pride on the record of 180 years.

The production methods of the newspaper had not changed for almost 100 years. The ObserverDispatch, like many newspapers, used a system of printing that required a large labor force. Thenews was typed on copy paper by either reporters, editors and some clerks as well as teletypemachines running at 33 bits per second or baud which is about 5 characters per second.Photoswere received via Fax and were burned on a electro conductive paper. These were sent to anengraving room to be made into halftones.(dots of various sizes) about 60 per inch. so there was-n’t much detail.The copy was sent to the composing room and set in type. About 135 people worked in this depart-ment which ran 13 shifts, producing the Sunday OD, Daily OD and Daily Press.

Lets produce a page.The type was set on linotype machines made by a Linotype which could set 14 lines per minute

for body copy such as stocks, sports scores and stories. Headlines were either done on specialmachines made by Monotype or set by hand , using the California case. A lead slug was createdfrom either the headline machine (made by Monotype) or on a Ludlow from the hand set charac-ters which was cast from the letters selected and this slug and was placed in a frame called achase. Some special letters were made from wood and placed in the frame without casting lead.The body copy which was in galley form, from the linotypes, was placed under the headline in aa chase and packed tightly using lead rules or spacers. Photos were screened and etched on cop-per or zinc plates in an engraving room and trimmed. This room was populated with 6 people. Thecuts were placed on lead base material which brought the finished story ,ads and photos to thesame height called type high.

The finished page was then passed to the Stereo Department (10 people) which placed a softdamp thick paper mat, specially made to be fire retardant and have a controlled shrinkage, wasplaced on top. It was then placed in a rolling machine or press and an impression of the page wasproduced. This was dried, trimmed and placed in a casting machine called an Auto poney or platecaster and locked up in a vault like grip. It was then filled with lead. After trimming the leadplate it went on the press to print the paper. Each printing plate weighted about 45 lbs. and theHoe press we had at the time ran about 28 thousand impressions (papers) per hour.

When cold type was first introduced to the OD it was done on a Photon Type setter and wasused primarily for ad makeup. Six level tape was punched on typewriter (qwerty) keyboards andfed into a tape reader on the Photon. This exposed light sensitive paper and after developing itproduced a photograph of type in the font, size and style required for an ad. Copy was cut andpasted to form a complete ad even with the pictures. This ad was sent to the engraving room andmade into an etched plate.

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1. Jesse Silvernail2. Walter T. Smith 3. Lena Parker* 4. William McGurty 5. James Welch 6. Charles Gibbons* 7. James Dillon* 8. Ralph Vaughn 9. Orville Mellor 10. Dan Williams* 11. James Furlong 12. Frank Kirschofer 13. George Leyh* 14. Gene Lindenberry 15. Carl Iffert 16. Cora Walters 17. Robert Boyd* 18. Charles Dengler* 19. Arthur F. Keilbach*20. Silas F. Jacobs* 21. George Killian* 22. Thomas Jones 23. William Ellis 24. Eldridge Spears* 25. Leon Palmiter 26. Mildred Snyder 27. Frances Essel 28. August Cook* 29. William McCann 30. Stephen Pugh 31. George Nichols 32. George Waldron* 33. George Carroll* 34. Lillian Jobin 35. William Gesser 36. Edward Payne 37. George Martus 38. WiIIiam Weed39. Walter Marks* 40. William Bates

41. Ernest Leonard* 42. H. John Warner 43. Paul Willard* 44. John Appler45. Hugh Warner46. Audrey Bean

47. August Willise 48. Kurt Schafer* 49. Amon W. Foot 50. Walter C. Cheney 51. Theo. Spanzenburg 52. Frank E. Gannett 53. Dennis Sweeney 54. Leon L. Woodworth 55. Lois Sturgess Herpy 56. Myrtle Ellis 57. Elmer J. Pierce*58. James Thomas 59. Horry J. Benner*

81. William M. Baoske* 82. Cecil Procter 83. Louis Jacobs 84. Ann Cadogan 85. Arthur Jones 86. Edward Hogan* 87. Williom Canfield 88. Calvin May 89. John Appler 90. Leo Gossin 91. John McKennan* 92. John Hanrahan 93. Ona J. Edwards* 94. Clara Voll Williams* 95. Ethyl Berkowitz96. Harry T. Moore* 97. Stanley Clark 98. Thomas F. Clarke 99. Ithel Daniels 100. Frank Mihm* 101. Joseph Perkins 102. Richard Hov/land 103. Bernard Fish 104. Alberta J. Dickinson* 105. Lyman Gallegly 106. Fred J. Fleischman* 107. Fink 108. Owen Jones 109. George Bradley 110. Harold Waddel 111. M. Joseph Hahn* 112. William Keller

(Listed in 1947)

60. Wm. E. B. DeVine* 61. Erwin R. Davenport 62. Dr. Fred Douglas 63. Herman Psterson 64. Frank Cocciardi 65. Walter J. Gibbons* 66. Lawrence Miller 67. Ed ith McKeon 68. Helen Fletcher 69. Marie Trunk 70. Sidney Parker 71. Daniel W. Tanner* 72. Earl N. Hughes* 73. Sherwood Clover 74. Robert Georgia 75. Frank E. Tripp 76. Prentiss Bailey77. Sigmond Stiefvater 78. Louis DeBernardis* 79. Edword F. Agne80. Arthur J. Vaeth*

*The above people worked at the Observer Dispatch on May 2,1923 when the first annivesary was celebrated.

Picture taken by JimArmstrong Aug 3, 1955Notice the 3rd floor roofdoes not show. It was puton later in 1957. Thephoto was taken from theroof of the HamiltonHotel where the parkinggarage for the old Bostonstore was and the UticaSchool of Commerce.Notice the windows lookthe same style as whenthe OD was on FranklinSt.(pg. 2) Page 7

There were about 24Linotype and Monotypemachines that set the typein the 50”s. Some were keptfor body text for news orstocks or sports scores.Because they only set 14lines a minute the operatorwas able to read and under-stand what he read. Thepeople that set stocksplayed the stock market.Also the people that set thehorse races played “well youknow”. The long benchesheld the galleys of set typeor stories to be put in aframe called a chase. Thiswas sent to the stereodepartment for platemak-ing.

In the ad alley all ads were made up and packed with lead base and rules. It took a longtime and a lot of skill to make up ads. The finished ad was placed in the pages with thenews placed around them to form the complete page. Pictures or cuts were etched from Zincshown on the right and placed on base material to bring everything to type high. ChuckFischer was the engraver shown here.

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There was a special saw used for a short time which sawed lead caste characters off a lead slugwithout damage and they were placed on base material. The idea was to be able to place type atangles or free form the characters without packing the type in lead spacers which took a lot oftime. The type was held in place with wax applied to the back of the shaven characters and stuckto the base. Holding the characters when sawing proved to be difficult and other problems madethis method short lived.

The stocks, scores and AP stories where later produced on 6 level tape using teletype perfora-tors. Star autosetters were machines attached to the linotype keyboards. This tape was read bythe autosetters and after a setup could produce galley type the same as a person. One personcould now handle about 3 to 4 machines.

This is the first time copy was produced without a printer viewing it. As a qroup they were edu-cated people without getting a degree because setting type at 14 lines a minute they had the abil-ity to read and absorb what they read. They were a filtering system for bad spelling and gram-mar. This lack of a filter is evident even today in many publications. The printer who set thestocks played the stock market and the printer who typed the horse race results played the hors-es. You can imagine how successful they were at these extracurricular activities.

In 1969 a new invention that came along was a Justape made by Compugraphic. Because textcould be produced faster on a typewriter keyboard it made sense to punch tape and then run thistape through the just tape which would produce justified copy in tape format which was thenplaced on the Autosetters. Again this allowed more type to be set faster and with fewer people. Anadvantage to this was a late breaking story could now be printed within 45 minutes of receivingit.A press called a Goss headliner was secured from Syracuse in 1970 and installed in a newly con-

structed annex to the existing building. The first run was in 1972. From page sized zinc plates,.030” thick, were exposed through a page negative then etched and glued to blank lead plates andthen put on the press. This newer press would run about 36 to 38 thousand papers per hour. About6 months later steel saddles were installed, screwed, in place of the lead plates and the plateswere held on using pins. This process lasted for about 4 years until a new system called Dilitho,made by the Harris press company in New London Conn., was installed on the press in June of1976. This allowed us to use offset plates which were made of aluminum .008” thick and thesewere put on new aluminum saddles made by Beach Machining Co.. The type and pictures wereprinted from right to left because instead of true offset we used direct lithography where the platecomes in direct contact with the paper. This was another labor saving device and produced bet-ter quality print. Plates which cost $5 were now costing $1. It also set the stage for future changesin the page makeup area.

For a few years new equipment flooded the market. Compugraphic made the head setter 7200which would set up to 120 pt or 1.6 inch high type on paper which was then developed. Later camethe Compugraphic 6200 which set body copy at a whopping 60 lines a minute at a width of 1 col-umn or about 2”. The Compugraphic 9000 was used for ads and had several fonts in one machineand could go from 4 to 120 pt. Paper was cut and waxed as fast as it was developed and placed ona heavy sheet of paper called a grid sheet the same size as a news paper broadsheet. This wasthen placed in a large process camera and a negative was made. Some labor was saved and peo-ple were transferred to other departments to fill vacancy positions due to retirement.

New equipment was still being developed and we were there to take advantage of it. In about 1976 the first machine which could set over 2 columns was brought in and this was theLinotron 303. It would set 8”wide 8.5pt. type at 300 lines a minute. Input to these machines whichcould output from 4 to 72 Pt (about 1 inch) with 18 fonts and slant and bold simulated was againpaper tape.

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In the late 60’s and early 70’sthe Associated Press (AP)installed reperfs. Thispunched tape as the teletypegave copy in the news room.Each tape had a code thatwas visible to match thestory or take number. Thetapes were rolled up andready to be selected by edi-tors to be set in type. At firstthey were run through aJustape unit the reproducedjustified tapes and then theywere put on Autosetters thatwould operate the linotype.

As the linotypes went out andnewer machines replacedthem, tapes did not requirejustification. The Photon andthen 2961’s and then 9000’sdid this automatically. Most ofthe new machines exposed filmby use of a xenon strobe. Itflashed its light as the propercharacter went past and whenit was developed out came thetext in photographicformat.Phil Daley is sortingtapes.

Here Everet Bach places a paper tapein a reader that will produce the storyon light sensitive paer that will bedeveloped. The size and linelengthcould be set with the switches if neces-sary. If a new font were selected then aset of gears were changed with thenew film strip containing the charac-ters that matched the unit width ofthat font. This machine would set 60lines of 8.5pt type in a column meas-ure of 12.6 Picas. That was fast for theday. This was about 1972

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It was kind of hard to put outa paper when the walls keepmoving. Here in 1973 the oldcomposing room is getting aface lift. Mason Cox, JohnDoyle and others ignore thewalls and pay attention to thejob. This lasted about a month. On the other side of the farwall was the future home ofthe circulation department.

Fred (Fritz) DeLafleur is seenpunching tape here which wentto the 2961 to be set in coldtype as it was called. That istype on photographic paper.Fritz like some other printerstook a buy out and used theirtalent in other places. Hot typewas used in most job shops atthat time and good craftsmenwere hard to find because of anold work force that was retir-ing. They helped the industryuse the equipment a littlelonger while producing goodprinted material. It was only amatter of time the new equip-ment was popular enough andmany users trained enoughthat job shops could takeadvantage of desk top publish-ing. It meant offset presses hadto be purchased as well butthey are less expensive thanletter presses.

Big changes lay ahead for the newspaper. In 1973 we thought this was going to be it. Whatcame after 1973 put changes to shame. Computers, large computers, were on the horizon. In thenews industry we called them front end systems. Programs that would justify, check spelling(some times), and give the editors the control of the type (even if they didn’t want it) was com-ing. They were big changes but for the most part everyone was up to the task. Unsure what wascoming tomorrow made it scary for people in their 50’s and 60’s. Companies did try to make thechanges as easy as possible if not a little adventuresome.

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Here Art Wiseham checks the filmstrip to make sure it will stay onthe drum. The film strips wereexpensive and could be easilydamaged. The machinists had tochange the way they repaired newequipment. From mostly mechani-cal to mostly electronic. It was nota gradual change but it happenedwithin a few months. And itchanged as fast as new equipmentcame in. New table top developingprocessors and chemestry wasalso something new.

The high speed reperf or burpeewould bring in the stocks at theclose of the markets. This tapewas taken and run on equipmentto be put in type and ready for themorning paper with full listings.After noon close was produced forthe evening paper but it was ashort listing due to time. Alsosome box scores would move forlate games. The speed was 1050baud. The phone was for reruns. Ithad a dedicated phone as did mostwire services.

The Photo to the left has the name of bothpapers on the building.This was in the 80’s.In 1986 the name of the Daily Press wasremoved due to changing to one paper a day.The Observer Dispatch had a larger circulationand more loyal readers. There was muchdebate as to which paper should keep the namebut the history was on the OD’s side. TheGannett Corp. still owns the title for the UticaDaily Press.

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This proved to be slow and input from a computer was then purchased. The input was from PDP8computers made by Digital Equipment. Two forms could feed the PDP8 and they were the Alphascanners, which were able to scan typed copy, and paper tape. Hendrix systems, a fore runner toHastech, allowed an operator to type and see the text on a tv screen before the paper tape waspunched. This helped save on typos, typographical errors, in the paper. The scanners could readtyped copy from the news room if it was typed by IBM selectric typewriters. Special head sheetswere sent in first to set up the style of type. Tape was punched on Star perforators and also onnew Harris 7200 ad makeup terminals.

After 2 years of this process along came the first front-end system at the OD. Two PDP1170’swere installed and in the news room there were 24 terminals, 7 in Classified and 16 in offices. APstories were now collected and stored on the new systems. More newsroom control over the copycoming into the machines meant we often had stories of large type 16ft long. Oops was the by linefor many stories.

In 1980 the upgrade of the AP network allowed us to receive wire service via satellite whichwas a far cry from the headphone worn by a wireservice person receiving Morse code and typingthe stories. Telegraphy gave way to teletype in the 1920’s.

In 1981 Hastech systems were installed. The output of the front end word editing system waspassed to the Hastech system which had pagination terminals used for the assembly of storiesand ads into an electronic page. When sent to the imaging machine which were formally calledtype setters they output a completed page. Still in positive format the pages were pasted up justlike single galley type. Wholes were left for the pasting up of screened photos and art work. Thislasted for a little over a year. Labor was being offered early retirement and placement in otherdepartments.Stereo and engraving were dissolved and only the ITU, Pressmen’s Union and Newsguild were the only negotiating groups left.

The big change that came along in 1982 and 83 was the installation of a laser plate maker.EOCOM made a machine that was attached to a RIP (raster image processor) that took informa-tion from Hastech and imaged a photo sensitive offset plate using a 15 watt Argon laser. This pro-duced about 7 watts of UV light.. In the early stages photos were difficult to rip. To speed up pageoutput wholes were left in the page and placed on a blank grid sheet in the proper locations. Asmall hene laser scanned the grid sheet and merged the photos with the text during the text imag-ing. The making of large page size negatives on the camera was not done for 2 years or more.Many visitors from all over the world came to see the first working computer to plate operation.When the laser plate makers were installed photos were the problem. Large files and poor pro-gramming and slow processors prevented us to output a page in 90 seconds, which was a condi-tion of acceptance. Bottom line was the process was to far ahead of it’s time. Using todays RIPsthere would be no problem.

Because of business changes at Ecom and the contract with us the machines were removed in1984 and two image setters from Monotype were installed and the camera was back making neg-atives. Changes in film and chemistry has allowed many people to make the negatives. It became a shootby the numbers and still produce quality pages.

New equipment in the distribution area allowed us to be competitive in the insert market. Thiswas done with the installation of the Harris 1472 inserter and online conveyor system.In 1986 we lost our production director, Charles Gallagher, due to retirement. He had a grasp of

the future for the OD and was always looking for a better way to produce a better product. Helead us through the change over that brought computers in this news paper. He also had ideas farahead of the time and most are just being used today.

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UTICA DAILY PRESS stereotypers include (from left) Jack Hensel, Thurlow Butterworth,BartonWilgus, Bob Cox, Jack Hinkston and Bill Clarke THE GANNETTEER October 1956

By FRANK JARDIEU Stereotype Foreman, Utica NewspapersStereotype marks “the point of no return.” Beyond this is finality—the presses, and distribution.Channeled into this department is the cumulative work of engraving, composing, advertisingand news departments. Here these efforts are combined and the goal, finished plates for press-es, is reached. Here, in stereotype, is the last chance for alteration or correction; here is thepoint where, despite last minute news breaks, advertisers’ sudden changes of mind, and down-right “boners” which have slipped through, a small competent crew breaks the bottleneck andsomehow delivers the final plates so the presses can roll on time.The hurdles a stereotyper takes in stride are many and varied. The deadline on a color adshrinks to the point of desperation, but the increased revenue and satisfaction in the accom-plishment of a tough job compensate somewhat for the extra effort. Makeovers and replatesrequested by the pressroom after a check of the printed page shows someone, somewhere,slipped on the job . . . rush cuts for current paper . . . duplicates of work requested becausesomeone dumped an ad that should have been saved . . . these emergencies both major andminor, are liberally sprinkled through the work of a routine day. In itself, a “routine day” isbusy enough.

THE GANNETTEER October 1956

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STEREOTYPE . . . what is it ? And who are the stereotypers ?

STEREOTYPE is manned by one of the smallest crews on the mechanical side of the newspa-per, but stereotypers are a mighty power in the production of clean, easy-to-read inviting paperswhich appear twice daily in Utica and surrounding areas. Flat work for future ads, electroplates, patching and casting acceptable plates, catch pages, special borders, blocks of type highmaterial . . . every man is equipped by training and experience to do all this, and more. Heworks hard and often times races the clock and beats it . . . and the presses start on time.

Stereotypers must serve a six-year apprenticeship, the longest required by any internationalunion. In this period they become proficient in all branches of the trade. They familiarize them-selves with composition and characteristics of type metal and learn to tone metal to match aformula. ‘(Marked variation from the formula results in too hard or too soft metal, which addsup to poor reproduction and possible trouble.) They learn flat casting, both shell and type high,sawing, planing, trimming and routing of cuts, molding the made-up page, and eventually grad-uate to casting of plates, and routing of press plates, including color plates.

Changes in production technique have come slowly in stereotype. Probably the most strikingchange locally started about two years ago as a cost-cutting move and it has been advancedlately as a step in newsprint conservation. When we went to a smaller roll of newsprint aHeister ring, (like a double truck ring,but with smalier overhand) was used in our Pony Auto-Plate. Further changes were made recently to reduce the roll size and conserve additionalpaper. This latest accomplishment is due in large part to a new predryer, just installed. Today,with this machine, we are easily getting the additional shrinkage required, we print a cleanerpage because with pre-shrink the mold of the mat is retained . . . and we wish we could; havehad the machine years ago.

And at the day’s end, routine or otherwise, a stereotyper has his dreams still . . . he dreams ofunbroken ad dead lines . . . of flat mats coming down in proper date sequence. . . of an evenflow of work from dispatch and advertising. . . of cuts from the national ad department comingdown with time to spare. So we dream, and work for the cooperation that will make our dreamscome true. Meanwhile, for a stereotyper, it is really true that, “We do the impossible immediate-ly; miracles take a little longer.

Utica Observer Dispatch stereotypers include (from the left) David Greer, Frank Jardieu(for-man), Robert Fogerty, Robert Trask, Leroy (lefty) Marks and Clement Geyh. Page 15

Things stayed stagnant for 6 years and then a new wave of data processing and imaging equip-ment came along. During this period the ITU kept loosing members due to retirement. In largepart the union did not keep up with the times. The lack of training and recruitment left a void inthe labor market. This was filled by training young people in local colleges and simpler process-es as a result of new technologies. A new front end system SII and Scitex Imaging systems wereinstalled in 1992. Also there were improvements in film, chemistry and photo equipment whichmade consistent and high quality negatives.

With the desk top publishing systems graphics and page makeup is possible using off the shelfprinters. Hopefully the process will once again go directly to plate. After 38 years retirement hastaken me out of the publishing business but I try to keep an eye on developments. I feel privilegedto be involved in the rapid changes in the printing trade. More changes took place during the last30 years than in the last hundred. It’s been fun.

I think the next changes will be improvements in the way the paper operates. I don’t believethere will be major changes in the processes. Central composition rooms for many papers andmore automated electro static high speed printing presses may be seen in the future. This wouldallow not only computer to plate but computer to press. Stories could be changed while the pressis running. Cost of materials, labor and higher dividends wanted by stockholders will force many

of the changes tocome about. This iswhat spursprogress just as ithad many yearsago. Necessity isthe mother ofinvention.

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This hoe presswas run forabout 50 yearsat this loca-tion andreplaced by aGossHeadliner pur-chased fromSyracuse andstarted in1972 in theannex whichwas built in1965

The Catherine Stenterance in 1956.Notice the miss-ing third floor.This was added in1957. Griffin andHoxie is leftstanding as wellas National Autofurther up theblock towardGenesee St. In afew years theBarber Shop (bar)on the left willstart up. Paper isbrought in theover head door onthe left.

Ten years later in 1966the Griffin and Hoxieis gone but the thirdfloor is added. UticaMerchandise on theright is still operating.The lot is parking forcirculation, advertisingand other OD people.Note the parkingmeters in front of thebuilding. This is beforethe change inOriskany St. or urbanrenewal.

Ten years later in1976 UticaMerchandise,Rosotos Applianceand the Barber shopcome down to makethe parking lot onthe east side of theOD. Work had to bedone inside the ODdue to a commonwall between thebuildings. Page 17

1975 This roomwill be the mailroom in thefuture. First thecirculation willbe here whilethe buildings arerazed on the eastside of the OD. Also the compos-ing room is goingthrough somechanges at thesame time. Thisfloor has beenraised about 4feet from the oldstereo dept floor.

Dorothy Zielinski, Bill Mootzand John Miller are working inthe temp office now in 1977. An inserter has been in theworks but room is the big con-sideration. It will be furtherdown the road before it comesin.

In the lower photo the NationalAuto is in operation. In thefuture the OD will purchasethis and level the ground.Parking and a Goss Signatureoffst press is being thought of.

The wall on the eastside of the buildingis warping. There isconcern the panelswill loosen and fall.The OD never let itget that far and itwas replaced.

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The heart of any press is the fold-er. 60,000 copies a day wereprinted and 70,000 on Sunday.It had to be maintained daily.

To keep balance on the presswhen running, dummy platespictured here were put on.These were blank plates withno raised characters on themand used as counter weights.Ink was supplied by pipe fromtanks in the basement whichhold 2000 gallons of press ink.(oil and carbon black)

Ink is dried by the paperabsorbing the oil, like ablotter. The top speed ofthis press was 24000 papersper hour straight run or12000 on a collect run.When the press wasremoved it was going toPort Elizabeth in Africa butwound up in a local junkyard.

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The printing platesweighed 45 pounds eachwith 8 plate on one cylin-der. With a collect run aunit could produce 16 pagesor 8 with a straight run.The web width was 60”thus giving a paper 15”wide. That was large fortodays standards. A roll ofpaper weighed 1400 poundsand was 36” in dia.

The lead pots in the backgroundkept the lead at 860 degrees andheld 10 tons of molten metal.The auto pony’s were printingplate casters which also trimmedthe plates and cooled them,ready for the press.

As the plates were trimmedthe long tail that was trimmedoff went back to be remelted.For a 30 page paper and astraight run it required 60plates and 2 for each color.Only spot color could be print-ed on one unit. Process color (acolor picture) was not done onthis press.

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The Year is 1971. This is thebase of the press from Syracusebeing installed. The roll tracksare next and then more cement.

The low left photo shows thefoundation for the Y columnsand press pit ready to be pouredwith cement.

The low right shows the unitsbeing set with some pipe rollers.Units are set with close meas-ures of .010 thousands of aninch.

On the left are workers from theGeorge Hall press installers. It washard work and took many months. Thewiring was done by Dick Evans ofKogut Electric.

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Next a new erea for the OD Press room

Automatic pastors are played withbut it uses a solvent that is outlawed.manual pastors will be used untilautomatic pastors can be found thatwill fit. In later years the idea isfound to be an expense and isdropped.

Painting and rolls put in the reelsmakes this is a finished press. Nextcome the shakeout runs. It is now1972 and the problem come on whatwe will print from because the cutoffis shorter than our old equipment ismade for. it becomes a problem thatwas solved for a time by castingdummy plates and gluing on theetched zinc plates. Later shims orsaddles were used and plates wereclipped to the saddle. Dilitho wasadded later and the use of offsetplates were used from then on.

The press was originally made for a62 inch wide full roll of paper. It iswas cut down to 58 and then to 55inch paper or web. Color (process)was added by using units 6 & 7.This meant the loss of 16 pages butthe times call for color and smallerpapers. Later units 3&4 were usedto give more color positions.

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1882Edward L.Mainwaring1884James W. Thomas1886George Kenyon1890Ona J. EclwardsThomas G. Jones1891T. Eugene KellyJoseph Kinney1892Thomas J. Erhardt1893Edwin H. Willard ..1894John J. Yeckel1898Daniel W. TannerDaniel J. Sweeney1900Wendelin KnellerDennis A. Sweeney1902George T. Carrol1903Charles H. Dengler1905Silas F. JacobsCharies E. Wilkie1906Arthur F. Keilbach1907Paul C. WillardGeorge H. WaldronHenry G. Feldmann1908 Eldrigge A. SpearsArthur F. Wiseham 1909M. Joseph Hahn Charles M. Gibbons 1910 Robert V. Boyd 1911John P. McKennan Russell C. Price Earl N. Hughes Francis J. Mihm 1912 Henry V. Schmalz 1913 Lena A. Parker John J. Walker Charles M. Steates Frank C. BuehlerJohn W. Gerstner Edwin F. Dolin 1914 Harry T. Moore August G. Cook George J. Killian Joseph P. Cahill 1915 Howard J. Casler Alberta J. DickinsonOwen F. Roberts Lawrence R. Bush

1916 Dan O. Williams Leonard W. Jones Edwin Stuttard 1917 Evan W. Jones1918 William E. B. DeVineWilliam L. HeydeggerElmer J. PierceClara V. WilliamsClarence J. FieldingJames B. Pepper George P. MontenaHenry R. GraystoneWalter J. Gibbons Kurt E. Schafer Wesley R. WilliamsWalter L. Marks James J. Dillon 1919 George c. Wertz Jr.Thomas L. Kinsella Fred J. Fleischman R. Forrest Evans 1920 Harry J. Benner Francis B. HamsherErnest B. Leonard Fred D. Pierce Edward R. HoganRichard McCabe Joseph J. Taylor 1921 Arthur J. Vaeth William M. BaaskeArthur C. Cheney 1922 Floyd A. Piper Emlyn Evans Sylvester J. HolehanPaul B. Williams Joseph E. Rettig SIan F. Walkuski Walter F. Brown1923Edna R. Coe George R. Leyh Amos A. Schultz Charles F. Rishel Ivan J. Collins Louis V. DeBernardisRobert C. Tuttle Charles W. Trunk Arthur E. Pflanz Joseph E. Kinney1924Mark A. Hagadorn FrankS. Pohorecki William J. WoodsArthur G. McLoughlinEdward J. StarkThurlow ButterworthJoseph J. Foley John T. Norris William D. Carey1925John W. Kelly, jr.Clarence G. LaPointeJames J. O’Toole Robert F. Cox Esther G. Therrien

John F. MadaraszAugust Witzel LeRoy J. Seaman1926Ellis K. Baldwin Charles G. McHargSylvester S. HoffmanEdwin H. Tanner Joseph R. Leddy Louis O. Sator1927Milton B. FeldmanGeorge D. Walker Frank J. Cleary Arthur N. D’AprixWilliam J. GerstnerWalter R. Schram1928Charles D. BriggsThomas O. PowellRaymond A. Gerstner1928 Thomas H. GrovesLeonard F. Wilbur1929Anna B. Karlen Jomes E. Doyle Clarence R. MillerFlorence E. WeilhamerAnthony R. Isaac Rae B. Candee1930Francis L. Roth Vincent S. Jones Francis J. Greer Michael D. LaureyThomas H. MorrisseyWayne F. Ashcroft1931Walter F. Snyder Katrina 1. JudsonAnthony M. Rabice1932George E. MishalanieKendall G. SmithBoleslaus A. AbramowiczJames E. Hill George A. KlossnerFrancis P. JardieuEdward F. Agne1933Paul Lupia T. Albert HowardMargaret A. Hill John J. Phillips Robert E. Dolan William G. Hodge1934Evan R. Jones Louis J. RalchelSam S. Falbo John J . Garceau1935Howard D. Dillon John A. Urbanek Clifford D. Rivers John R. Bathrick

1936Charles R. . Hauf Walter D. WampilerGladys G. SlaterHoward J. HartWilliam J. Brown1937Warren H. RishelEdward J. UrbanicArthur J. WisehamTheodore P. GruszkaJames A. Vallee Patrick F. Rabice John P. Longtin Dante O. TranquilleHarold E. Whittemore J. David Hogue1938Jay C. Cook Donald L.Pratt Ray E. AnableCyrus H. Favor Frances P. OwensDorothy S. Roberts1939James P. Armstrong John C. Hadley Mason C. Taylor John F. Deep Jeremy Lane1940Shirley M. Ely Walter Hrab George R. Stohrer1941Ralph L. Dibble Jr.Earl S. Cackett1942G. Clayton BuckinghamE. Clifton Moore Stephen W. ClapsaddleShirley H. HaslerJames A. Williarnson Lloyd R. Latterman Harold E. Moore

A record of uninterrupted service onthe Utica Newspaper

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1943 E. Stewart DiehlRobert A. DunnFred McAberyGrace E. PiersonFrancisJ.Swartwout Charles P. FragettaDorothy E.Williamson Dorothy M. TrittenClair W. HayesCharles A. KingPhyllis J. ShawMary L. PostiglioneEvelyn C. JonesAlan J. MooreLeland G. Hughes1944 Emma R. SlawsonH. Ernest King Lena Arcuri Mary E. WilkinsonFrank P. BochenekGeorge E. BarberEverett G. BachAlbert N. FoxGloria E. TomainoRobert G. TraskFrancis J. RobertsHarry L. EldredgeTheodore R. Bean1945 Kenneth W. SchaefMariangela LuornoPhilip R. SpartanoLeo McGinley

Palma A. MiccoliWill C. TruexHarold F. McEwenBasil E. EndeanJohn Mason CoxLee H. CramerCharles E. FischerDorothy E. HotchkinWallace C. RobertsMary B. HerbigVincent F. MigliaccioAmedeo J. LupiCharles E. ThompsonStella S. LechRosemary A. LanganElizabeth B. BrownTina S. NigroDavid R. EvansEmil C. HansmannGiuseppe ZinicolaDonald E. ClaproodJohn F. Diefenbach1946 Agnes F. DoyleRobert A. DelaneyWilliam A . C a r p e n t e r1946 Frank R. HullWalter F. MarksBenedict M. LupiaRobert P. EmmittLeo F. HobaicaJoseph M. SizooHoward S. SilberSarah R. Owen

Harry F. RuhmJohn GehringerElizabeth A. Wa g n e rJean C. KimballGeorge F. KammerlohrKathleen M. WhiteDora Rosi Veronica E. MisiewiczNorbert T. GreeneVincent CardoneMargaret J. LambertCharles J. P. GallagherFelix T. RalchelHoward W. Manore1947 Eleanor A. ZielinskiEverett L. BoutilierC. Millicent HustedCalvert L. AsherEmma MazzaraGeorge K. DeGraffDolores B. RiccoJohn R. Walters

OTHER RECORDS OF SERVICE RECORD OF UNINTERRUPTED SERVICE ON AUTICA NEWSPAPER

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This is the startup of the press for it’s first Utica edition. Herm Moecker, Publisher; MasonTaylor, Executive Editor; Ed Schmidt, Circulation Director;Frank Jardieu, Stereo Forman;Lee hughes, OD press forman; Pressmen John Griffin and Don Stearn; and Ron LindenProduction Manager. This Photo was taken October 2, 1972 by Jim Armstrong an OD photog-rapher.

Here we see Rodger Fischer, presssupervisor; Ed Ratcliffe and Don Stearnchecking out pages on the new Dilithoprinting system that uses offset plates.It was installed in 1976.

There is a Fischer legacy at the ODChuck Fischer Father and engraverRodger, Gary Sons of Chuck, Ed Duckson in law and pressmen, Aaron Fischerson of Rodger,distribution manager;Sylvia daughter of Rodger, office;Ericson of Ed Duck left press room tobecome police officer. Page 25

The power board for the newpress looks like a science fic-tion movie from the 50’s. Thisis because it was built in thelate 1940’s and there were nosolid state devices then.The board on the right wasinstalled by the press erectorand later in 1976 we installedthe board on the left to alloweach folder to run independ-ently and for backup.Thedilitho power is on the backwall.

The camera department (bel-low) moved from the oldbuilding in 1970 to the newannex in which was going tobe stereo.A new Chemco Marathon(left) and the Model F (right)shot negatives of all the pagesand photos from Cold typepages which were eitheretched or later exposed on off-set plates. Here Jack Henselmakes a screened photo.

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This is the new look for page makeup. This is where all the linotype machines operated. Red(Don) Foley, the second from the right, over saw the composing operation. It was during thistime period all newspapers were looking for more efficient and less expensive ways to produce aproduct. In this respect we set an admirable standard. Working conditions also changed fromfoundry to well light office atmospheres. Hard floors to carpeting.

In the mid 70’s the OD etched all of the printing plates. It was an acid etch that took 8 minfor two pages. A process that was hasardous to humans and the enviroment was made cleanand safe by the equipment and people involved. The owner of Ball Metal stopped to say thiswas the cleanest etching process he had ever seen. He also owned ball canning jars.

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There were a fewsteps to place aplate on the pressafter it wasetched. Here DickCox trims theimage that wasetched on aMagnesium plate(the metalchanged from zinc)and then sends itto the press room.

After etchingplates were fedthrough a bendingmachine by BillBowers that putsthe curve in theplate to match thearch of the leadshim cast before-hand that will fitthe press.

Bill Clarke and JohnGriffin spray the plateand shim with contactcement. For a time weput 3M on the map usingso much #77 spraycement. This was a stepthat didn’t last long but isworth mentioning. Ithelped carry us over pro-duction bumps.

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Lets run the new press in 1972.The device used to hold the plate and shimso the image held register while applying itwas home made. This finished plate whichwas done by Bill Clarke will be rolled on acarpet covered table to make sure good con-tact is made. When it is on the press it willwithstand a speed of 30000 papers perhour or about 500 RPM. Because of thecost and length of time to make a plate weran most runs in a collect mode whichment only one plate per position or page onthe press. These plates weigh about 40pounds and are locked on the press usingclips.

After the run the plates sre sent to theshim casting area (old stereo department)and there the image was peeled off and theschim remelted and then cast into moreblank schims. Graphtronics Inc.madeSteel saddles that stayed on the press andheld the imaged plate on with pins. Theseproved heavy and moved on the press whileprinting.New aluminum schims made by BeachMfg. were secured to the press using over1200 screws. This is mentioned because wehad to drill and tap all the holes. We wentthrough 3 changes to date. Each hole isfilled and filed smooth to accept the offsetplates we use today for dilitho.The dilitho was installed in 1976.

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Hastech was a pagination sys-tem that would allow the textand graphics to be merged ona page and then imaged on atypesetter. The rips were notperfected yet and placing pho-tos on any media was difficult.This system was attached tothe editorial pdp1170 systemand output first to theCompugraphic 8600 typesetterand also to the laser platemaker. After the platemakerwas replaced with Monotypeimaging devices standing pho-tos were used but requiredpastup of the pages.

Monotype on the right was usedas the primary output devicefor a few years. The paper orfilm was 14.5 inches wide andwas cut and pasted on a gridsheet. This was then shot on acamera and developed. Theresulting negative was thenused to expose an offset plate. This is the entire plate makingdepartment.It served us duringthe 80’s and early 90’s.

During the change over of all the systems the work of Bob Trask, Al Chiffy, Bob Bean, JoeDerella, Carl Seifried and others made sure the paper was produced. It was done mostly out ofpride that the paper was on time and looked professional. The paper being the ObserverDispatch as the morning paper since 1986. The equipment was maintained by a small staff.Bill Groom, Bob Cleveland, Bob Bean, John Ingalls and Bob Mundrick.

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In 1962 the only insert wecould carry was the sundaymagazine in the Sundaycomics for the SundayObserver. Soon a fewinserts started coming inand these were hand insert-ed. It was piece work and ifyou were fast a young schoolperson could make goodmoney. Soon more insertscame in and became toocumbersome to do by hand.The od purchased a HansMuller inserter and ran itfor a few years. The Harris1472 came in 1981.

Here Stan Villeneuve, who took overrunning the mail room due to the retire-ment of Anothony Castello, looks overthe installation. We installed it using inhouse people and Harris inspectors saidthey don’t get it as close to perfect as thepeople involved at the OD. There wasbuilding, tech service and mail roommechanics involved. Aaron Fischer is themanager due to Stan retiring. Aaronwas also involved during installation. Itreplaced a Hans Muller insertingmachine. Stackers, conveyors, and mail-ing machines all have been added.

Ann Nowack is operating a “head station”which opens the main section allowing insertsto be placed inside. There are two input orhead stations and two deliveries. This allows 5inserts to be used on line at the speed of thepress. On the Sunday, which is done inadvance, 12 inserts can be done off line. Thetable is a jogger to aline inserts so stops areless frequent.

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1975 This roomwill be the mailroom in thefuture. First thecirculation willbe here whilethe buildings arerazed on the eastside of the OD. Also the compos-ing room is goingthrough somechanges at thesame time. Thisfloor has beenraised about 4feet from the oldstereo dept floor.

Dorothy Zielinski, Bill Mootzand John Miller are working inthe temp office now in 1977. An inserter has been in theworks but room is the big con-sideration. It will be furtherdown the road before it comesin.

In the lower photo the NationalAuto is in operation. In thefuture the OD will purchasethis and level the ground.Parking and a Goss Signatureoffst press is being thought of.

The wall on the eastside of the buildingis warping. There isconcern the panelswill loosen and fall.

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In the press room the supervisor is responsible forupkeep, labor, supplies and make sure the paper goesout every day. The earliest Supervisor we find is EarlHughes hired in 1911. David Evans took over afterEarl and served until he retired at age 70 in 1972. In1972 Rodger Fisher took over when the Goss Headlinerwas ready to roll. He saw the big changes in how thepaper was produced. He was there through the 5 majorchanges on the press from 2 cut downs (reduce thesheet size), to Dilitho (going to an offset plate), processcolor and many saddle changes. He also took control ofthe plate making department. He served until 1994and passed away due to heart failure. Ron Mullinserved for a time and left on disability. Phil Suracebecame manager in 1995. He started in the press roomas an apprentice in 1988. He holds the job today in2003. There was a new Dilitho system installed, morechanges for process color and ink pumps for colorinstalled.

Phil Surace

Aaron Fischer

The mail room or now Distribution Center was run by LeRoy Seaman from 1925 until StewartDiehl. He retired in the early 60”s. Ray Gerstner ran the room for a short time and TonyCastello took over as mailroom supervisor in the late 60’s and served until he retired in the1979. Al Devito took over for a time until illness set in. Stan Villeneuve was made Supervisor in1982 retired in 1989. Bill Blackshear operated it nights and Aaron Fischer operated days. WhenBlackshear died of heart failure Aaron became managerof both cycles.

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J. David Hogue 1937-1958Henery Leader 1958-1965Herman Moecker 1965-1974George Dastyck 1974-1981Sal Devivo 1981-1985John McMillan 1985-1988Fred Foster 1989-1993Donna Donavan 1993-Present

A guy with an Idea

It may be noted that in 1965 the cost of film was starting to rise. Some of this was due to theever growing cost of silver. Gannett, like other papers, invested in ways of producing pages with-out film. One was a laser unit which was in Elmira, NY. This included a scan-scribe unite and anablation unit. It burned an image on a plate ( photo polymer ) that was thinly coated with copper,from a mechanical (completed paper page pasted up from cold type). Then the plate was placed inthe ablation unit. Here a co2 laser blasted away the substrate leaving a raised image that wastype high ready for the letter press. This was pushing the technical envelope at the time. Manyunforeseen problems occurred and the project was closed down after investing about $5 million.

Along came a man in Utica by the name of Charles Gallagher who was production manager atthe time. He found a means of producing an electronic image and putting it directly on the plate.Computer to plate was a new buzz-word and Utica was the place it was going to work.

Dilitho was already installed that allowed us to run offset plates. It was difficult to over comethe sticker shock of the previous projects but he had all his information at hand and the projectwas a go. Computers in the year 1979 were large, expensive and slow. There was a word process-ing system that operated on a main frame and a few systems that could produce type in sizes andfaces ( fonts ) on photographic paper for reproduction.Hastech produced a system that was WYSISWYG. What you see is what you get. By outputtingthe page produced on the Hastech to a Laserite plate maker we had the computer to plate sys-tem. Graphics at this time were large files and computers to slow to do a good job of reproduction.The photo was placed on a positive paper and placed on a blank news page which was then placedin the plate maker and merged with the text on the plate when the page was being scanned. Fortwo years we did not purchase film and came to realize a cost savings. The contract that CJPG(Gallagher) called for complete pages even the photos. The Laserite company was sold and nolonger supported the machine. It called for a return to standard methods. The time and effort waswas spent but very little dollar loss in putting the system in place. Visitors from Sweden, Japanand other countries came to see this new system. After 25 years and the advent of small desk top units it is now possible to accomplish what CJGP

started. There were other people to assist him but the idea was his. He was able to put his ideain front of the people who could make it happen and a company that has become one of the largestpapers in the country through good news reporting and innovative production methods, Gannett.Frank Gannett was a newspaper and business man. I would like to think he would be proud ofUtica and its people..

The Line of Publishers

Compiled by Bob MundrickPage 34