Drumright Newspapers

• Drumright Gusher Inc.
  127 E Broadway St.
  Drumright, OK 74030-3801
  918-352-2284
  obits beginning Aug 2001 [offsite link]
• Drumright Derrick
• Drumright News
• Drumright Post
• Drumright Journal
• News-Derrick-Journal

 

 

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The Early Newspapers ^[1]

The Drumright Derrick was established on March 7, 1913, with Tom Fields as publisher. The first issues of the new weekly were four pages each. Fields remained only two months and was succeeded by Robert J. Wilson. Wilson's tenure was also short. After three months the newspaper was taken over by H. S. Blair. The Derrick became a daily in 1914. In 1916, Lou S. Allard and his wife, Ida, purchased the paper from Blair and the publication remained in the Allard family for many years.

The Derrick faced its first competitor in 1914, when N. W. Hibbard established the Drumright News. The News started as a lively weekly and its special edition of March 26, 1915, preserved much of Drumright's early history. For awhile it operated as a daily, starting in 1916. On April 5, 1918, the News went into receivership. The Drumright State Bank became its owner and Bart Foster, city clerk, became manager until it was purchased by the Derrick.

In 1919, a group of citizens, whose names were never disclosed, gave backing for a daily newspaper called the Drumright Post. They were angry at Mayor W. E. Nicodemus and the Derrick for supporting the mayor. R. L. Moore was editor and publisher of the Post. No copies of the Post are available. It lasted until late 1922, and was known for its campaigns against Nicodemus, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Derrick.

The Drumright Journal, a weekly, traces its beginning to 1919, but it did not publish under that name until 1923 or later. It is believed to have started shortly after the Daily Post and considered its beginning date as that of the Post. The Journal operated until 1935, with Ed Little as publisher. During this period it engaged in many word battles with the Derrick. In 1935, the Journal was taken over by Kenneth Brown, who had been associated with the Kingfisher Times, and Orville von Gulker, a Drumright High School journalism instructor. The latter sold the paper in 1940 to the Rockett family. Harrill Rockett was publisher in 1940, and he was succeeded by his brother, Gordon, in 1941. The Journal was located in the basement of the Canfield Building at Broadway and Pennsylvania streets where the Post had been published.

Many changes came about to Drumright newspapers as World War II began. The Derrick changed from daily to weekly publication. Lou S. Allard died in 1944, and in 1946, his widow, Mrs. Ida Allard, sold the Derrick to Lou S. Allard, Jr. Paper shortages and other factors caused the Derrick and the Journal, in 1946, to merge and become the Drumright Publishing Co. The Journal facilities were moved to the Derrick plant. Lou S. Allard, Jr., died in 1974, and in 1976, Rockett became sole owner as he purchased Allard's interest. In 1976, the newspapers were purchased by Jim and Jane Head. In 1983, the Drumright newspapers were merged with the Mannford Lake Keystone News. Donald R. Beene became publisher for the publications, which became known as the News-Derrick-Journal in 1978.

Drumright Gusher began publication on November 29, 1989, and has been the only newspaper in town since that date. The only remaining paper at that time had filed for bankruptcy and closed only a few days or weeks prior to that. [Source: Barbara Vice, Publisher, Drumright Gusher, January 2001.]

D. Earl Newsom, "Drumright! The Glory Days of a Boom Town" (Perkins, OK: Evans Publications, Inc., 1985) p. 72-75.

1. Contributed by Robert A. Penland  - D. Earl Newsom, "Drumright! The Glory Days of a Boom Town" (Perkins, OK: Evans Publications, Inc., 1985) p. 72-75.