LAYTON KAYSVILLE
split. Stahle retained the press and some hand type in the division of assets. He also bought a corner lot on the east side of Main Street at Third North for $100. Stahle felt very unsure of himself at the outset and, after wondering whether to make it look like a store front, built the office in the form of a house so it could easily be rented out if things didn’t go well. New red brick was placed on the outside walls with used adobe from old buildings on the lot were used for interior walls. The bricklayers were given a shotgun in trade for their labors while Stahle and his brother Henry built the roof, made the window frames and hung the doors. Stahle also wondered if he could make a go of the enterprise because he lacked training in the newspaper field, especially the mechanics of running presses. Because the house was right on the street, he built the foundation two feet off the ground so people couldn’t look inside. But Stahle persevered, using the building until 1906, when the office was moved to its long-time site at First South and Main Street. His previous office, built during his days of trepidation, lasted until it was torn down in 1952.
Current Clipper Publisher R. Gail Stahle helps print the Clipper as a young man in this photo taken in 1950.
For a year or two at the new building Stahle had to turn the press by hand once again. With news of new gasoline engines sweeping the West, Stahle was intrigued but was told by experts these would not run at altitudes above 4,000 feet. When he consulted Joe Rich, an attorney from Paris, Idaho, who already had such an engine, the news was not good:“Give gasoline engines a wide berth. Very unreliable. You don’t want one. Yours very truly, Joe Rich” However, a physics professor from Utah State Agricultural College advised Stahle that he could see no good reason why such an engine wouldn’t run here. That advice was good enough for him, so Stahle bought the first gasoline engine in the state of Utah, picked
from a catalog operation in Omaha, Neb. The engine didn’t have a carburetor, but in those days few people would have missed it. Instead, it had a small hole in a wheel that had to be adjusted until the gasoline-air mixture was just right. It also didn’t have spark plugs as we know them today, instead, the gasoline-air mixture inside the cylinder was ignited by means of a three-inch pipe that extended part way into cylinder and was heated by a small blowtorch-
like flame. This early engine was later traded for a larger one that included a battery and a more modern ignition system. It worked very well for a number of years. The Clipper, even then, was not a one-man operation. In fact, it depended on a staff of about three young women to set the type. This freed
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BOUNTIFUL 2651 S. MAIN (HWY 89) 298-0050
CENTERVILLE 285 S. FRONTAGE RD. 296-0222
KAYSVILLE 251 N. 400 W. 546-0622
LAYTON 1270 N. MAIN ST. 544-0777 Davis County Clipper
Clipper 115th Anniversary 5
Current Clipper Publisher R. Gail Stahle helps print the Clipper as a young man in this photo taken in 1950.
For a year or two at the new building Stahle had to turn the press by hand once again. With news of new gasoline engines sweeping the West, Stahle was intrigued but was told by experts these would not run at altitudes above 4,000 feet. When he consulted Joe Rich, an attorney from Paris, Idaho, who already had such an engine, the news was not good:“Give gasoline engines a wide berth. Very unreliable. You don’t want one. Yours very truly, Joe Rich” However, a physics professor from Utah State Agricultural College advised Stahle that he could see no good reason why such an engine wouldn’t run here. That advice was good enough for him, so Stahle bought the first gasoline engine in the state of Utah, picked
from a catalog operation in Omaha, Neb. The engine didn’t have a carburetor, but in those days few people would have missed it. Instead, it had a small hole in a wheel that had to be adjusted until the gasoline-air mixture was just right. It also didn’t have spark plugs as we know them today, instead, the gasoline-air mixture inside the cylinder was ignited by means of a three-inch pipe that extended part way into cylinder and was heated by a small blowtorch-
like flame. This early engine was later traded for a larger one that included a battery and a more modern ignition system. It worked very well for a number of years. The Clipper, even then, was not a one-man operation. In fact, it depended on a staff of about three young women to set the type. This freed
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
BOUNTIFUL 2651 S. MAIN (HWY 89) 298-0050
CENTERVILLE 285 S. FRONTAGE RD. 296-0222
KAYSVILLE 251 N. 400 W. 546-0622
LAYTON 1270 N. MAIN ST. 544-0777 Davis County Clipper
Clipper 115th Anniversary 5
