- 1953 —Tornado rips apart Lake View
- 1954 —Deadly flood hits West Texas
- 1955 —Crime shocks town; trial changes history
- 1984 —Jury convicts serial killer
It’s been 133 years since the second mayor of San Angelo, J.G. Murphy, and business partner W. A. Guthrie, set the type on the inaugural edition of the “San Angelo Standard” newspaper May 3, 1884.
Its pages have carried news to readers across West Texas since, from the comfort of the finest homes in town to the most remote bunkhouses of the Pecos wilderness.
Cast on the historical marker on the Standard-Times building at 34 W. Harris Ave. is the salutary address from the pair, who worked at the "San Angelo Enterprise" before purchasing and renaming the newspaper.
“Our earnest endeavor will be to conduct the Standard on the principle of justice and truth, and we will ever uphold right and denounce wrong," the pair noted.
1884 — Documenting history
Business was brisk, and after six months, the four-page paper had expanded to eight pages and continued to publish weekly through 1905, when the “Evening Daily Standard” debuted.
The business was acquired by Houston Harte in 1920, who made the Standard-Times one of the leading newspapers in the Lone Star State, and a flagship of the Harte-Hanks newspaper chain.
As the decades passed, the front pages of the newspaper have chronicled the major national and world stories of the day, along with the news from a vast swath of Texas, and what follows is an assortment of front pages from some of the big-news days of the past two centuries, which show the evolution of the newspaper industry, as well as the changing times.
If one were to view the unfolding pages of the Standard-Times at high speed, as though in flip-book form, they would see the slowly changing tides of our unique American culture.
Scroll on for a trip through notable moments in history.
1912 — Titanic sinks in N. Atlantic
The Standard had been publishing for almost 28 years when the Titanic disaster dominated headlines for several days in April 1912.
The Titanic luxury liner sank off the coast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic after striking an iceberg on its maiden voyage. More than 1,500 people died.
While most newspapers were primarily text, emerging photoand printing technology allowed readers to see theevents with their own eyes.
The images printed in the days after the disaster included the ice field,survivors huddled under wraps and passengers helping each other. They werecaptured by photographer(s) aboard the rescue ship Carpathia and given to the National News Association when the ship docked in New York and"were immediately dispatched to San Angelo."
1917 —Going to war
As the First World War began for America, The Standard covered a local rally at the courthouse as citizens spoke in support of President Wilson and Congress' decision to fight Germany.
The war resolution passed at 3 a.m. April 6 with a 373-50 vote. President Woodrow Wilson signed the war resolution that afternoon, formally declaring the U.S. at war with Germany. The resolution also put in motion naval and military reserve calls to arms.
The president also asked citizens to give their support to all measures of the government, and the residents of San Angelo did not disappoint.
1920 —Women and voting
A few years later, the giant headline across the front page told of our nation’s decision to enter the First World War, reporting that a rousing rally at the courthouse led a majority of locals to back President Wilson and Congress in the effort to fight Germany.
Women in Texas had been voting for two years when the Sunday, Aug. 22, edition of 1920 informed of Congress’ ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting females suffrage constitutionally.
A news item from that day read:
“CAN WOMEN VOTE?”
“Whether the federal suffrage amendment when finally adopted will nullify the provision for poll tax receipts for voters in general elections, if provisions are not extended to women is now under investigation by the governor and the attorney general.”
1923 —San Angelo says no to Klan
The pages are not free from prejudice, but a record of people standing up for what is now agreed to be right also is typeset into history.
The May 21, 1923, EXTRA edition commemorating the 5th annual West Texas Chamber of Commerce convention includes an item about the Ku Klux Klan.
The article is about a Klan rally San Angelo decided it would rather not have.
A local Klan chapter wanted to have a parade in conjunction with the convention, but the city’s board and convention planners decided it would be better if that didn’t happen.
The paper reported the local Klan leader called the Standard at 8:10 p.m. to conrm they were OK with the decision.
Also of note is an early example of Gen. Rainz, who still struts across the front page after significant rainfall.
1923 — Strikingblack gold
Through these pages, we see the first oil strikes in West Texas, when the Texon Oil & Land Company's Santa Rita No. 1 well gushed as the drill bit passed 3,050 feet May 28, 1923.
Under the headline "BIG LAKE REPORTS GOOD OIL SHOWING," the article notes the well on the Ollie Parker ranch in Reagan County, 87 miles west of San Angelo, "blew in at 6 o'clock Monday morning with a showing of oil claimed to be the most promising yet obtained in this section."
Santa Rita No 1 sprayed for about 10 minutes and put 10-15 barrels of 40 percent pure crude in the slush pit, the article notes.
No one could have guessed this was the first in a series of strikes that revealed the existence of the Permian Basin’s vast oil and gas reserves, which delivered about 9million barrels of oil per day in 2017, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
1945 —Residents cheer end of war
On Tuesday, Aug. 14, 1945,the Standard-Times printed an extra edition to announce the formal ending of the war with Japan.
San Angelo rejoiced with a war-weary nation as news of the official surrender of Japan was announced by President Truman, bringing to end the war that began Dec. 7, 1941, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Along with the announcement from the president, the newspaper printed the transcript of the message from the Japanese government stating Emporer Hirohito wouldacceptthe terms of surrender.
To mark the occasion, San Angelo residents began a holiday. The Merchants Board of Trade announced businesses would be closed and a religious program was planned.
1953 —Tornado rips apart Lake View
There have been 49 tornadoes recorded in Tom Green County since 1950, resulting in 15 fatalities and 175 injuries.
Thirteen fatalities and 159 injuries were reported after the most powerful storm to hit San Angelo on the afternoon of May 11, 1953, which flattened the Lake View area.
The tornado was first sighted at Chester's Package Store on Big Spring Highway shortly after 2 p.m. west of San Angelo, then moved south and east across the North Concho Dam and struck the area around the Rocket Theatre and the Fairgrounds and the Lake View School.
The damage was immediately estimated at $3 million. More than 360 families were affected, 190 homes destroyed and 165 other damaged, the article said.
1954 —Deadly flood hits West Texas
Big rains are always big news in West Texas, and when torrential rains caused massive flooding in Crockett County in June 1954, Standard-Times reporters were on hand to keep readers informed. Thirteen people were killed in the floods.
As the downpour continued, stories of its impact covered the front page of the June 28, 1954, edition. Johnson Creek in Ozona had violently swept away homes. Reporter Ed Freitag detailed how the Steph family survived, including how E.M. Steph held his toddler-aged daughter over his head over his head for nearly two hours in the flood waters.
Rain reports came in from ranches across the west, including Loma Alta, which was cut off by flooding, Langtry, which was hit by 22-inches of rain in 24 hours, and as far south as Laredo, where flood preparations were beginning.
Five San Angelo teen boys who told their parentsthey were going on a local overnight fishing trip had some explaining to do after becoming stranded in Ciudad Acuna asthe Rio Grande had swelled to 40 feet in 24 hours and washed away bridges. A helicopter pilot in Del Rio reported back to the boys' parents they were safe.
1955 —Crime shocks town; trial changes history
The Evening Standard carried the shocking news of a car bomb, which claimed the life of Helen Harris Weaver, a well-known 52-year-old San Angelo woman in January 1955.
Her former son-in-law, Harry Washburn, was identified as the prime suspect, though his intended target was Weaver's architect husband. His motive was to kill her husband, then extort money from Helen Weaver by threatening to harm her family.
The case drew so much attention in San Angelo it was moved to Waco, where it made history as the first live televised court proceeding. Washburn wasconvicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Presidential moments
1957: EISENHOWER VISITS President Dwight D. Eisenhower made headlines when he visited San Angelo in January 1957 to view the damage associated with a long-term drought.
1963: KENNEDY ASSASSINATION The assassination of President John F. Kennedy was reported in the evening edition Friday, Nov. 22, 1963.
1974: NIXON RESIGNS On Friday, Aug. 9, 1974, the Standard reported the resignation of Richard M. Nixon, informing readers Gerald Ford would become the 38th U.S. president.
1969 —Space travel through time
When Murphy and Guthrie were typesetting the first issue with horse-powered traffic passing by in the streets, they couldn’t possibly imagine where the future would lead.
Sometimes the pages of the Standard-Times document history before it happens. Such was the case on Sunday, July 20, 1969, when the newspaper announced the impending moon landing of Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong made the historic “giant leap for mankind” on that date and it’s been a topic of conversation on conspiracy theories since.
Other times, the newspaper notes tragedies like the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion that shocked the world as many of us watched on live television in January 1986.
1984 —Jury convicts serial killer
Serial killer Henry Lee Lucas was convicted by a Tom Green County jury in 1984. Lucas claimed to have killed 360 people during a 33-year period.
While documenting the trial Standard-Times reporter Rex Henderson wrote, "He can discuss the vilest of acts the way other people discuss the weather."
The trial was moved to San Angelo from Williamson County near Austin because of pretrial publicity.
San Angelo archives:Murders like those by Henry Lee Lucas live on, but not all do
History buff? Here are some resources
Although not entirely complete, Tom Green County’s Stephen’s Central Library has the bulk of the collection in its microfilm archive, and trained staff members can help patrons find issues from auspicious dates, such as birthdays.
There is also a fine resource for viewing historic Texas newspapers online at https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/TDNP/
This massive online collection has some of the earliest journals in state history available, and the scans are remarkably clear. Some of the specimens have been damaged, but they offer a wealth of information, and many names from early Texas.
The Abilene Reporter-News’ collection is part of this online project, but for San Angelo, the Portal only has about 180 issues of the San Angelo Press from the early 1900s.
