History's Echoes
The Hometown News, Part II
By SHARON BAUMBAUGH

Andrew Rankin's period of ownership was short lived. He sold the local newspaper to C.P. Martin and then Elliott Detrich, Esq., took over as publisher. In November 1855, J.W. McCrory took possession of the office and changed the name of the paper to "Franklin Gazette." The Gazette was sold two years later, in 1857, to B.B. Bonner, Esq., who had been associated with Mc- Crory, and the name changed again, to "The Franklin Ledger." In 1859, Bonner left the business and McCrory again took over as owner. He then formed a partnership with Snively Strickler, Esq., and the name changed again, to "The Pilot." Strickler left in 1861 and McCrory stayed on as owner until 1864, when the paper became the business of brothers Robert and William Crooks. During their ownership, William A. Reid was editor. In 1866, the Rev. John R. Gaff purchased the newspaper and changed the name once again, now it would be known as "The Valley Echo." After only one year, Gaff sold to Col. Benjamin Franklin Winger, Esq., who hired M. Reymer to serve as editor. Reymer was succeeded by George E. Haller, who stayed on as editor until 1876, when he purchased the paper from Mr. Winger. Mr. Haller continued as editor and publisher until 1889, when he sold to George W. Atherton, Esq., who in turn, sold to Charles W. Gaff., who sold to Emmert F. Miller, who sold in 1893 to William F. Kreps. Kreps also purchased from J.H. Strine a new paper, "The Pilot," started in 1891, by Strine and Fred E. Palmer. Kreps combined the Pilot with the Valley Echo and changed the name to "The Echo-Pilot" (ta-dah).

The paper continued for many years as typesetters sat with rails to be filled with each individual letter, then each page was carefully moved onto the press - and woe be to the person who dropped that case of type - all would have to be redone before the paper's deadline.

During all these transactions there were many changes to the community and a Civil War was fought.

Following the sale of the paper by Winger, he again tried his hand at the newspaper business. In 1876 he started "The Greencastle Press," a weekly which became a rival to the original paper, remaining in business for 36 years. Winger also became a lawyer, entering the practice of law and admitted to the Pennsylvania Courts in 1902. His paper was established as an independent paper maintaining a neutral position on political issues. Winger died in May 1907.

William R. Davison, son-in-law of Winger, served as editor for five years following Col. Winger's death, working as his father-in-law had as editor, publisher and business manager. He too had a law practice and saw the need to sell the paper in the summer of 1912. The purchaser was C.C. Kauffman who continued that paper under the name of "Kauffman's Progressive News."

From 1912 until his death in 1929, Kauffman published the "other" weekly newspaper. He worked with his son Micah D. Kauffman and, with the Bull Moose Party of Teddy Roosevelt favored by the owner, the content proved to be unusual. Along with his support of Roosevelt, on the masthead of the paper were the likenesses of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. The newspaper plant of the Greencastle Press was located in the Winger Building (on the southwest corner of the Square, where the Echo Pilot office is now located), when taken over by Kauffman, father and son, it was moved to the Town Hall Building where it remained for about one year, then it was moved to the Kauffman Building on East Baltimore Street. Kauffman's son, Charles C. "Burkey" Kauffman, worked as foreman of the printing office.

It was in the office of the Progressive News that Jerome R. King worked as a typesetter. It was also for this newspaper, a rival of the Echo Pilot, that G. Fred Ziegler's first news articles appeared. He wrote a series of nature stories under the title "The Nature Club."

The Kauffman paper was sold in 1927 to the Grove brothers, who in turn, sold to the publisher of the Echo Pilot at the time, G. Fred Ziegler.

G. Fred had joined the Echo Pilot's staff in 1921, working for then owner William Patton, Esq., an attorney. Ziegler began as an assistant in the general work of the business and in the editorial office and, later, bought the paper from Patton's estate.

There were many changes, in addition to the name, over these years. The paper went from typesetting by hand, to linotype, even adding an electric sign over the front door of the business office.