The Groesbeck Journal
s erving L imestone C ounty s ince 1892
Pictured below is the second oldest copy of a Groesbeck Journal but in much
better condition than the first archived Journal, dated July 16, 1896.
All photos courtesy of microfilm files available at Maffett Memorial Public Library
All Journal Archives are available for viewing at the Maffett Memorial Public Library.
Did You Know?
By Tom Hawkins
Editor Emeritus
The Groesbeck Journal is having a celebration
on this Friday in recognition of 125 years of
publication of the Journal, and did you know these
facts about the Journal?
****
The Great Depression hit Limestone County
as well as the rest of the nation during the early
1930’s. My parents recalled that during that time
people often paid their subscriptions and other bills
with eggs, milk, various vegetables, and sometime
different kinds of meats and various items that had
canned at home plus jellies and jams.
My Dad recalled, “We didn’t have much money
during that time, but we ate very well!”
****
The year, 1936, was the Texas Centennial. The
Journal celebrated the event with a special “Texas
Centennial Edition.” This special issue explored
the history of Limestone County as well as Texas.
It was a 40 page paper, and the largest Journal ever
printed up to 1992. In early 1992 the Journal printed
a paper consisting of some 42 pages with the special
paper highlighting the 1991 Groesbeck Goat football
season as the Goats won the 1991 Class 3AAA state
championship. The Goats beat Burnet, 7 to 0, with
the state championship game being played in the
Astrodome in Houston. Over the years the Journal
has printed other special sections in which a particular
Thursday, June 29, 2017
happening in local history was covered.
****
During World War II, Journals were mailed to all
states and all parts of the world to Limestone County
men and women serving in the military forces of
the United States. Many of service men and women
wrote the Journal and my parents to tell them how
much it meant to them to receive their hometown
paper in such faraway places.
****
The Journal purchased the Thornton Hustler
and the Kosse Cyclone in 1943. Both the Hustler
and the Cyclone were separate newspaper. Upon
purchasing the two papers the Journal carried a page
for Thornton and Kosse in the Journal each week.
For many years my mother, the late Euleta Hawkins,
would go to Thornton and Kosse each Tuesday to
gather news. Sometime, I would go with her. I would
enjoy visiting Bradfute’s Variety Store and having
fountain drinks at Black’s Drug. Bradfute’s Variety
Store always had the most interesting toys. Every
so often at lunch time we would each at the North
Hotel in Thornton.
In Kosse my Mom would rely on the help of the
late Mrs. Idell Bennett to gather the Kosse news.
Speaking of the North Hotel in Thornton, I
recall in the late 1940 numerous members of
the Groesbeck Methodist Church would go to
Thornton to eat at the North Hotel. The meals were
served family style.
****
In addition to publishing the weekly newspaper,
History of the
Groesbeck
Journal By Tom Hawkins
Editor Emeritus
The Groesbeck Journal was founded in 1892 by W. C.Morris.
Groesbeck had other newspapers prior to the Journal but none of them
lasted for a very long length of time. These earlier newspapers in Groesbeck
were the Groesbeck Enterprise, Groesbeck Herald, and the Groesbeck
Clarion.
The Limestone County New Era was a well-established newspaper in
Groesbeck when the Journal was founded with the editor and owner being
Layfette Lumpkin Foster.
Foster served as Insurance Commissioner at one time. Governor Stephen
Hogg appointed Foster as a member of the first Texas Railroad Commission.
Foster later became president of Texas A&M College (now University).
A historical marker in honor of Layfette Lumpkin Foster stands on the
grounds of the Limestone County Courthouse.
Other editors and publishers of the Journal were Henry Ellis, B. W.
Lawley, and Ira W. Lawley.
In January or February of 1930, Jack R. Hawkins bought the Journal
and was the editor-published from 1930 to his death on April 1, 1988.
The Journal remained in the Hawkins family. Thomas E. (Tom) Hawkins
served as editor-publisher until the Journal was sold to Moser Publishing
on January 31, 2014.
Jack Hawkins was ably assisted in operating the Journal all of those
years by his wife, Euleta Ruth Sharp Hawkins. A Limestone County native,
Mrs. Hawkins assistant county school superintendent of Limestone County
at the time of her marriage.
Both Thornton and Kosse had their own newspaper at one time. However,
during World War II with supplies and help hard to come by, the Journal
took over, The Thornton Hustler and the Kosse Cyclone. Both the Thornton
Hustler and the Kosse have had their own pages in the Journal for many
years.
Over the years that the Hawkins family owned the Journal, the
newspaper was blessed to have many outstanding employees. No story
about the Journal under the ownership of the Hawkins family would be
complete without naming Jack Franklin and his wife, Nelta Mae, and Leroy
Lenamon. Each of these individuals were devoted to their duties at the
Journal and were employed at the newspaper for many years. The Journal
has always been fortunate to have numerous other faithful and devoted
employees over the years.
The Journal is currently staffed by Jennifer Paul, general manager, and
Alexandra Cannon is the staff writer. Stephen Farris covers sports for the
Journal. Colby and Tabatha Blacknall assist with mailing of the Journal
each week. Tom Hawkins and Liz McDaniel also submit articles to the
Journal.
For many years the Journal had commercial printing department and
sold a large variety of office supplies, please see details on the printing and
office supplies in a separate story.
the Groesbeck Journal for many years building where the Journal was located
had a printing department in which at the time destroyed the Journal files
many items were printed. These items from 1892 through 1895 and some of the
included letterheads, envelopes, 1896 files.
statements, business cards, and many ****
other small items. The Journal also Up to early 1973 the Journal was printed
printed club yearbooks, football on a very old press at the Journal office. The
programs and other such items. The press had be hand fed one sheet at a time.
Journal was in charge of printing the In 1973 the Journal went to the offset type
program for the Red Stockings Follies of printing the newspaper, and the Journal
for several years. One of my jobs was was printed in nearby printing facilities. The
stapling these book. The foot stapler is old press and the two line-o-types used for
still at the Journal. You had to staple one many years are still at the Journal office.
book at a time. ****
**** The items mentioned above are a few of
The files of the Journal contain many very pleasant memories of being involved
outstanding stories of a particular time with the Groesbeck Journal for many,
in Groesbeck and Limestone County
many years. Be sure to pay the Journal
history. Most of the Journal files may
be seen on microfilm at the Groesbeck- and its current staff a visit on this Friday,
Maffett Memorial Library. A fire in the June 30, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
2 | THE GROESBECK JOURNAL Thursday, June 29, 2017

The Linotype: A Lost Art

the machine before high school.
By Alexandra Cannon “The first and last time I used one
Groesbeck Journal Staff Writer was in 6th grade,” O’Malley said. “Our
class went to the local newspaper and
they showed us how to use it, that would
  In the age of hot metal typecasting, have been in 1976. For a 6th grader, it
Linotype was king. Though the crown was pretty impressive. Look at me now,
was passed to the phototypesetting heir working in print.”
in the 1980s and now is ruled by digital, The Linotype was replaced by newer,
computerized typesetting, line casting more advanced technology, as everything
set the bar high for successful, efficient eventually is. The intertype company
printing. created a photo setter, which shot a beam
Celebrating 125 years of printing of light through a small photo negative
cannot be done without paying homage to in a mat instead of using hot metal. The
machines now obsolete, the inventor who image was projected onto a specialized
created them, and men and women who page that was photographed and sent to
operated them and kept them functioning. offset production. By 1980s, the Linotype
The need for a more efficient method of had been almost totally replaced, and
typecasting came from stenographer a majority of the machines were sold
James Clephane who worked in Lincoln’s for scrap metal. Though the Linotype
cabinet, taking and transcribed notes isn’t used commercially anymore, many
using a lithostone to pass on to lawyers. people dedicate their lives to the machine:
With the help of engineer Charles Moore, repairing broken models, teaching others
Clephane improved on the typewriter how to operate them, continuing small
transfer machine idea, then met German printing ventures, and displaying them
immigrant Ottmar Mergenthaler at a in museums. In 2012, a documentary
machine shop. Mergenthaler, a watch about the typesetting machine was
and clock maker, was the man for the job, released called Linotype: The Film,
educated in electronics and mechanics. and served as a necessary resource in
After creating several inventions writing this article. It provided insight
including a lithography strip machine, from operators, historians, repairmen,
a band machine using paper mache, teachers, and anyone with knowledge or
then one using direct metal casting, passion regarding the machine.
Mergenthaler invented the individual Watching Linotype: The Film,
matrix machine dubbed “The Linotype” learning how the Linotype came about,
in 1884. how it worked and the literacy it quickly
Tom Hawkins, former owner of and boosted across the nation, it is easy to
continual contributor to the Groesbeck fall in love with words and sharing them
Journal was here when the machine was all over again, with fresh eyes and a
in its heyday. more complete understanding of how
“[The Linotype] was a big thing, much hard work went into spreading
it changed printing when it was first information on a larger platform. At
invented,” Hawkins said. “There are one point, the film captured a recent
Though the Groesbeck Journal’s 1949 Linotype is no longer functioning, its mere presence
some places where they still use them for day auction in Boston of these old, to
shines a light on an age in journalism not so far removed from today.
different things. I regret that I never sat
Photo by Alexandra Cannon, Groesbeck Journal some, now USELESS machines, though
down and learned it, but we had plenty of in perfect working condition, and one
people to do it.” efficiency, increasing jobs in print. they did. The Linotype was the primary model, number 31, is the same model
The Linotype was innovative and The Journal acquired its first Linotype way to set type for over half a century, Linotype that we have hunkered down
efficient, setting type six times faster in the 1920s, and by 1928 the Linotype and becoming a skilled typesetter was in our office here at the Journal. The
than a man could. Before it came about, was the primary typesetting device only accomplished through years of machine hasn’t been used in decades, but
type was composed letter by letter, by throughout the world. careful practice. News publications a lightbulb moment led to replacing the
hand. The Linotype allowed operators “They had one linotype machine for sought to make the fewest mistakes bulb over the typewriter that typesetters
to type an entire line of type (hence the a long time but the newest one came possible, but because the Linotype did used when working late into the night
name) at a time, using a typewriter in 1949,” Hawkins said. “I remember it not have a backspace function, errors or if their eyesight was poor. When the
and matrix design that formed letters because of course it was a heavy dude, were inevitable. chain was pulled and the light came
with hot metal as they were keyed. The and whoever delivered it just put it on Larry Reynolds, who works for on, illuminating the strangely laid out
full metal bars, called slugs, were then the sidewalk and left. They had to hire our sister paper The Mexia News in keyboard, excitement swelled. This
arranged in order and imprinted on a local people to get it in and fix the floor advertising sales, remembers typos on industry has changed quite a lot over the
page that could be mass produced. Many right and everything.” the Linotype from his early days in the years, but the love of words and urgency
typesetters feared for their jobs, but the Weighing over 2 thousand pounds, industry at the Houston Chronicle. of sharing truth has remained steadfast
demand for print and literacy rates were some models over three and a half tons, “There was a time when we were for many, including those who never had
boosted as a direct result of heightened the machines were built to stay, and stay typesetting on the old linotype, the letters the pleasure of working in journalism in
were coming down to fall into position,” simpler times.
Reynolds said. “As they were coming While the Linotype machines are no
from wherever they were coming, it’s longer produced, the company is credited
possible that they would fall into position for the creation of several typefaces
in the wrong place. There was a rule and fonts still used today. Though the
that if you find an ad, where the letters Journal uses Times New Roman font for
were in the wrong position, as long as it a majority of articles, this one is in the
doesn’t spell something horrid, that was font “Century Schoolbook,” one created
acceptable. This would have been in the by Type Designer and former linotype
early 1970s.” employee, Matthew Carter. Typefaces
After text was imprinted on a page, including Primer, Metrolite, Opticon,
correcting errors was costly in a time Cloister and Garamond among many
consuming way, and with deadlines others were also created by employees of
to meet, not always worth the effort. the Linotype Company. Through these
Correcting a misspelling or mistake on a fonts, the Linotype legacy lives on.
page usually meant scrapping the entire “I think the invention of the
page and re-typing the incorrect line of linotype enabled the creation of more
type, then positioning it between the newspapers and increased the size of
slugs above and below, which may have various newspapers,” Hawkins said.
already been melted down to form new Because of the invention of the
lines. Linotype, journalism and print
Though the Linotype was widely used production were able to flourish and
for a very long time, it is not uncommon grow quickly, creating demand that
to find people who have been in the print could be met. Though they have been
One of the Journal’s Linotype machines is shown in operation. The late Jack Franklin is shown industry for 30+ years with little to no replaced by newer, more compact
operating the machine. Mr. Franklin worked for the Journal for many years. His wife, Nelta Mae, experience on the typesetting machine. machines, the Linotype opened doors
also worked at the Journal for many years. Tim O’Malley, Managing Editor of the for the world to know news faster than
Derived from 1951 TAOG Mexia News remembers C o m mlearning
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2 0 1 3 M e r i t Aw a r d W i n n e r
Congratulations to the Community Economic Development

Groesbeck Ex-Students Association Groesbeck Journal on 125 years.

2013 Merit Award Winner

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Thursday, June 29, 2017
Plummer’s Grocery & Market when it located in a portion of the Journal building.
The Groesbeck Opera House
The story of the Groesbeck Opera House, which is given be-
low, was submitted to the Groesbeck Journal several years ago.
The story has many quotes from the Journals of yesteryear. No
name was attached to the story; therefore, the actual writer of the
story is not for certain.
****
Groesbeck is in need of an opera house wrote Henry E. Ellis
(editor and owner of the Journal at the time) in the latter part of
1905. Little attention was given to the idea until an editorial ap-
peared in April, 1907, which stated:
“A movement is on foot to build an opera house to be ready for
next season’s engagements, part of the necessary funds have been
secured and it is thought that the remainder will be raised in a few
days. This is an enterprise that the town has needed for many years
and it will prove a paying investment.”
However, little could be done toward raising capital due to the
county becoming embroiled in a prohibition election which re-
ceived more attention than building an opera house.
Ellis began an all-out campaign in 1908 and pressure was put
on the “City Dads” to purchase the Thompson Hotel and give it
and the lot to whomever would build as much as a $10,000 build-
ing or buildings. Three prominent citizens were appointed as a
committee to pass on all applicants: Dr. William W. Brown, Dr.
Samuel Dickens Bugg, and Jackson L. Walker. Still, there were no
takers and it seemed as no one would for lack of experience and
money.
Ellis wrote a scathing editorial stating”
“If the men of our town who have the capital to invest in public
enterprises that will yield a handsome dividend, would take note
of the number of Groesbeck people who attend nearly every per-
formances of high or low degree, in Mexia, surely they could not
stand back on building an opera house here. It is a well known
fact that, oftentimes, the audience in Mexia’s playhouse is one-
half Groesbeck folks, who, being denied the privilege of attending
shows at home are willing to stand the expense of railroad fare
and hotel bill and a half night’s loss of sleep in order to secure an
hour and a half or two hours of enjoyment if only the tightwads
would loosen up a little, we would soon have a town of some con-
sequence.”
Unknown to Mr. Ellis at the time was that a deal was consum-
mated the prior week.
On Saturday, September 30, Benjamin Levi Lenamond, better
know as Ben Lenamond, from Rocky Point, entered S. S. Walker
and Sons Lumber Co. office and said “I heard and read of the op-
era house proposition” and explained to George Fresnley, a Walker
employees, in his own language what he had dreamed about. He
said that he had some children coming on and wanted to get them
off the farm. One of them was Levi. Ben Lenamond had never
been in an Opera House nor had ever seen a picture show. Every-
one knew he was a hard-working man, growing lots of cotton, corn
and sweet potatoes and was “as honest as the day was long.” He
believed firmly in “if you work hard and be honest, you will never
go hungry.”
Jackson L. Walker and no one else believed a man with no op-
era experience, and as they thought, not much money, could build
an opera house. Mr. Walker told Ben to make a trip to the doctors
and what they said was OK by him. Dr. Brown said let him make
a stab at it with the understanding of a cash offer. A contract was
made and signed by Mr. Lemmon who went on his way.
In early October, 1908, Ben Lenamond acquired from J. W.
Thompson the Thompson Hotel property. He began figuring with
contractors for the erection of two, possibly three, brick buildings,
with glass fronts on the lots bordering the alley which would be
ready for occupancy about February 1st. (Groesbeck Journal build-
ing)
On a Monday morning, the caravan of Lenamond wagons
loaded with sand came in. Ben Lenamond gave S. S. Walker and
Sons an order for 10 carloads of brick, one of cement and lime
(each) -- 12 carloads total. Mr. Walker made his price cost deliv-
ered on the Walker siding by the Lumber Co.
Confusion arises over who actually built the opera house. Old-
timers claim Jacob Parson, his son, and grandson, Thomas Parson,
were carpenters while documented evidence show that Ben Lena-
mond contracted with Joe P. Fowler to raise the walls on his build-
ing several feet higher, and to put in a raised floor for parquet and a
dress circle with a balcony above. To the citizenry it meant that at
long last Groesbeck would have an opera house. One of the most
important parts of the contract called for a stage and its complete
equipment save the scenery and chairs.
When the building was nearly completed Ben Lenamond
walked into the Walker Lumber Co. and asked George Frensley to
go to Dalllas with him to buy the scenery and seats -- second hand.
Frensley said he didn’t know a thing about such and Lenamond
responded that he didn’t either. According Frensley, Ben and he
left just as they were with Lenamond going to Dallas dressed just
as he was, fresh out of the lime pit. They returned the next day with
a bargain.
The latter part of January, 1909, J. H. Pritchard leased the lower
story of the building with the view of installing a furniture store
as soon as the structure was completed. Leased were both rooms.
Opening on March 1, 1909, The Lenamond Opera House,
managed by Ben Lenamond, contracted with Curran Comedy Co.,
one the best repertoire companies on the road. The first production,
“Brown’s in Town”, played to a full house and from rise to fall of
the final curtain the audience showed the approbation by continu-
Journal File Photo
ous laughter and applause. One of the most amusing incidents of
the first night was that Mr. Thompson, chief of police, and Mr.
Browder had a seat next to the back row and five girls sang to the
audience and as they passed would throw a kiss; Mr. Thompson
and Mr. Browder dodged like they had been thrown a rock.
Other productions the first week included “Charley’s Aunt” on
Tuesday, “Why She Divorced Him” on Wednesday, “The Bosom
Friend of Bowser” on Thursday, “Dora Thorne” on Friday, “The
Old Homestead” on Saturday matinee, and “Only A Farmer’s
Daughter” on Saturday night. Strange as it may seem, Lenamond
did not have to publicize the opening of the Opera House and had a
near “sell-out” at each performance. A wiser choice in the selection
of the company could not have been made with the selection of J.
P. Curran who was well known in Groesbeck, having appeared in
the area several years earlier.
Henry Ellis praised Mr. Lenamond for erecting such a splendid
building, 70 by 63 feet in size, seating 600 people. Lighted by forty
32 candle power electric lights, it had nine switchboards, making
it possible to light any and all parts of the house. There were five
drop curtains, all pretty and attractive, and a nice piano. Following
the opening performances additional seats had to be ordered.
The following week Walllock Stock Co. was engaged to per-
form and presented “Panic on Wall Street” on Thursday, “Seth
Swap or a Yankee in Cuba” on Friday, “Old Homestead” on Sat-
urday matinee and “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” on Saturday night.
By April news releases were referring to the Groesbeck Opera
House and on April 15, Otto H. Kruase presented the Wood Sis-
ters in “Lena Rivers, Thelma, and The Devil”. This was the first
advertising of any production. Admission prices were reasonable
25, 35, and 50 cents.
The Thompson Hotel which was adjacent to the Opera House
was rented by J. H. Pritchard and the lower story was used as a ga-
rage for automobiles and a general repair shop. Pritchard became
the agent for the Maxwell automobiles and Jason M. Chandler be-
came his associate.
“Crazy Idea”, the first home-town production, was presented
April 29, directed by Nellie Jane Wood. Blanche Rawls, Maurine
Anglin, and Terrell L. Dobbs were among the entertainers.
Highlight of the 1909 season was the graduation of the class of
the year from Groesbeck High School: Rosa and Nellie Walker,
Audrey Kennedy, Juanita Scharff and Aileene Jackson being the
graduates. Aileene Jackson and Audley Kennedy were awarded
scholarships to attend Southwestern University. Photographs of
many of the activities in the opera house and the area were taken
by Miss Minnie Cook.
Ben Lenamond continued as manager for the next season and
contracted with major companies for presentations in Groesbeck.
Henry Ellis chastised the people of Groesbeck in ad editorial of
December 9, 1909, stating:
“The opera house is no place to carry on a conservation at least,
while the curtain is up and the performers are acting the play, but
there are those who seem to (come) out for no other reason than to
see how much they can disturb the audience, as well as players, by
their continued talking, these parties have no regard for the others
who go to see the play and be entertained, then the management
should see that they are ejected. It is certainly time enough between
acts to discuss the current events of the day or the merits of the
show, but doing so while the curtain is up and others are trying to
hear what is going-on on the stage. If you cannot wait, then step
down and out and into the street.”
The one production that stood out during the season was Shake-
speare’s “As You Like It.”
The largest production ever presented in the opera house was
the Lilliputian Wedding on Wednesday, August 31, 1910. The cast
was composed of local people, and the names of some of those
folks are still familiar to some local folks today.
Members of the cast were Maurine Anglin, Stroud Jackson,
Joe Thomas Henderson, Lelia Parker, Bonnie Webb, Margaurite
Faught, Freddie Schenewerk, Mildred Anglin, Sanders Stroud,
Johnnie Faught, Mary Gresham, Macelle Rawls, Christine Carley,
Marshall Batchelor, Joe Nubbaum, Gentry Bugg, Willie B. Herod,
Lester Cox, Christene Herring, John Herbert Buchanan, Louise
Brown, Joe H. Smith, Rosamond Blackmon, Hardy Browder,
Leanette Bradley, Bruce Bledsoe, Addie Lou Harrison, Maurice
Gresham, Bernice Nussbaum, Maruce Yeager, Lucille Scharff.
Also, Clayborn Carter, Pauline Allen, Theresa Ellis, Kathryn
Ruth Brown, Mary Padgett, Evelyn Allison, LaFay Bond, Erwin
Eubanks, Josephine Cochrum, Marcella Lazarus, Juliet Allison,
Evelyn Roberts, Bruce Whitcomb, Mamie Thompson , Mary B.
Thompson, James Thompson, Ruby Adams, J. T. Cox Jr., Mary
Beth Bugg, Mattie Wolverton, Marcus Stroud, Addie Thetford,
Margaret Cochrum, Lela Browder, Mary Webb, Ben Gresham,
Herbert Martin, Terrell Louise Dobbs, Kathryn Batchelor, Mary
Walker, Ada Thetford, Lula Browder, May Rivers Smith, Alma
Groves, Eddie Wimbish, Mary Herring, Mary Helen Brown (pia-
nist).
Also, Preston Rawls, Kathryn Batchelor, Nollie Holton, Emma
Boyd, Eddie Oliver, Addie Parker, Lucy Carley, Rita Bond, Juliet
Blackmon, Sarah Stroud, and Dellia May Anglin.
Admission to this largest production of the Opera House was
25 cents with reserved seats being an additional 10 cents. More
than 80 young people participated in the production, directed by
Miss Zada Sanders, assisted by Mrs. Elizabeth Jackson. The Chap-
ter House netted $81.50 after paying all expenses.
In September 1919, Ben Lenamond sold the Opera House to
THE GROESBECK JOURNAL | 3
Journal building has
housed a number of
businesses
By Tom Hawkins
Editor Emeritus
The Groesbeck Journal building, located on North Ellis
Street in downtown Groesbeck, has housed a number of
businesses over the years.
In a separate story in the “Legends of Groesbeck” will be
found a story on the Groesbeck Opera House. The Groesbeck
Opera House building is now the Groesbeck Journal building.
The building was built in 1908 by Benjamin Levi
Lenamond with the main purpose for the building being to
provide a home for an opera house. It is understood that in
January 1909, J. H. Pritchard leased the lower story of the
building for a furniture store. The Opera House was on the
top floor.
For a time the lower floor of the building included not only
offices or the Journal but also for the Stroud Gas Company.
For many years the Journal used only the bottom floor of the
northern half of the building. Up to 1973 the Journal was
printed in the building on a hand-fed press. The Journal also
did commercial printing and sold offices supplies.
After being remodeled from being an opera house, the
upper floor was a rooming house with various individuals and
some families renting rooms in which to live.
In the late 1930’s a large portion of the 1940’s the lower
half of the downstairs of the building was rented by Lynn
Hiller for his business which was known as Lynn’s Café. In
the early 1930’s Lynn’s Café or Lynn’s Sandwich Shop as it
was then called was located in a smaller building across the
street from the Journal building. Lynn’s Café later moved to a
building on the corner of Navasota and Ellis Streets.
Lynn Hiller’s recipe for pie crust is still written on one of
the back walls of the building. Lynn’s Café provided good
food but was especially noted for its breaded veal cutlets and
its delicious hot cutlet sandwiches.
After Lynn’s Café moved down the street, half of the
bottom half of the building was occupied by Plummer’s
Grocery & Market. It was owned and operated by the late Mr.
and Mrs. Orion Plummer, a very friendly couple and longtime
residents. Mr. Plummer as well as his son, Koochie, could
always carry on a very interesting conversation with you.
In 1958 the Journal move its office supply and business
office into the other half of the bottom floor of the building
which had previously been occupied by these other businesses.
For a time the late Ray Hudson had a photography studio
in a portion of the building.
The Groesbeck Chamber of Commerce also had its office
in a portion of the building for several years.
Even though it is generally known as the Journal building,
the old brick structure on North Ellis Street in Groesbeck has
served as a home for several businesses and one organization,
the Chamber of Commerce.
James Key Stroud in exchange for Mr. Stroud’s timber pasture.
Stroud leased the facility to Wiley and Clarence Anglin who took
over management January 1st. The Anglin Brothers then leased to
W. Karl Cayton and John R. Runnels, purchasing it on October 5,
1911. Tandy Buck Stroud took over from Cayton and Runnels and
on June 13, Fred and Frank Oliver became operators, establish-
ing a picture show in the Opera House. The show became most
popular and only one production is known to have been presented
during the 1912 season,
Frank Oliver and J. P. Jones became proprietors of the moving
picture show and erected the airdome, a 50 x 70 foot building, on
the lot north of the Opera House -- corner Ellis and Trinity Streets
-- having a larger seating capacity than the Opera House. The show
moved into its new quarters on September 18, 1913. And the short
lived airdome became history.
December 25, 1913, the genuine “Edison Talking Pictures”
was given at the Opera House “where the apparently impossible
will be achieved, the audience hearing and also seeing a musical
performance, a minstrel show an getting an explanation.”
For all practical purposes, the “picture show” replaced the Op-
era House. A production would be presented occasionally in the
old Opera House, not more than one or two engagements per year.
No record of a production during 1917, 1918, or 1919 have ever
been found.
In April 1929 Abraham Franklin Therrell, better know as Abe
Therrell, purchased the two story building “known as the opera
house building” which housed the Groesbeck Journal and the
Stroud Gas Co. and carpenters began remodeling the flooring of
the uperstory. It was Mr. Therrell’s intention to cut off a part of
the upper wall and put a new room on the building. He refloored
the upper story and cut it up into small rooms suitable for roomers
or for offices. The destruction of the upper stories of the building
ended the life of the Groesbeck Opera House, per se.
Ben Lenamond made a success of his operation of the Opera
House and brought many excellent companies to the area.
(NOTE: The Groesbeck Journal continues to occupy the entire
building today, and the building is a two story building.)
Congratulations
Groesbeck Journal
on 125 years of publishing.
LIMESTONE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Dennis D. Wilson
SHERIFF
912 N. TYUS ST. Office: 254-729-3278
GROESBECK, TEXAS 76642 Cell: 254-747-0130
email:dwilson@co.limestone.tx.us Fax: 254-729-4568
4 | THE GROESBECK JOURNAL Thursday, June 29, 2017

Tom Hawkins Looks Back on Time at Journal

By Alexandra Cannon
Groesbeck Journal Staff Writer
Tom Hawkins is a familiar name to
many in this community. As former
owner of this publication, which had
been owned by his parents since 1930,
his name still graces our pages every
week as a writer and contributor to the
Journal. He has worked for The Journal
for over 50 years and though he is now
retired, he pays a visit to the office
daily, sometimes more than once!
I sat down with Mr. Hawkins to
talk about how things were done at
the Journal from as early as he can
remember, and how advances in
technology changed the process. The
sharing of news started for him at the
tender age of 4 years old, when his
mother brought him to the office daily
while his brother and sister were in
school.
“Lynn’s Cafe was here and I would
come in and they’d give me a drink and
let me carry on and do what I wanted
to,” Hawkins remembered. “On press
day they would set me up a little table
and I would sell papers. Press day was
a big thing because we didn’t have
Internet or anything like that so they
couldn’t wait to get the news.”
It is a world foreign to this younger
generation, myself included, who have
news updates on our phones, texting
for when something happens and you
immediately feel the need to pass a link
on to a friend or family member, or
hear about an article a friend just read
online. The importance of that physical
newspaper was unparalleled when
Hawkins was growing up. Like much
of the early technology when it came
about (think televisions that are not
flat screens, computer monitors that
took up the entirety of a desk, etc.,) the
machines used for printing were not
very portable.
“We’ve always done commercial
printing. They had one linotype
machine for a long time but the newest
one came in 1949. I remember it
because of course it was a heavy dude,
and whoever delivered it just put it on
the sidewalk and left. They had to hire
local people to get it in and fix the floor
right and everything. That was called
hot type then.”
In the large room connected
to today’s Journal office, the two
linotypes still sit stoically on their
individual cement foundation blocks.
The machines are outdated now, but
ruled the printing world for at least the
first half of the 20th century. Compared
to a Rube Goldberg machine by some,
the machines included a typewriter
with letters arranged according to the
most usage and took hot, molten lead
to form a single line of type that would
be checked for spelling and grammar
before being imprinted on a page.
“It was a big thing, it changed
printing when it was first invented. I
regret that I never sat down and learned
it, but we had plenty of people to do
it. It was hard work. They had to melt
the lead. In fact for a while, they had a
big watch pot and they melted the lead
out back and poured it into the forms
outside to keep the heat down in the
building.”
Once the typesetting was done to
create complete pages, they still had to
be mass produced because as the only
form of local news, everybody wanted
their own copy.
“We did typesetting on the linotype,
and we did handset type. The folding
part of it is no longer there, but you
would hand feed one large sheet at a
time (to the printing press), and if you
printed both sides, after you folded
it, there were 8 pages. That’s why
we always had probably 2 sections,
because usually we had at least 12
pages.”
When Hawkins started high school,
he also started doing some reporting
for the Journal. After graduating from
college and serving in the Air Force, he
came back in 1966 full time. In January
of ‘68, his air force reserve was called
to active duty when North Korea took one or few subscribers lived, rolling printing press is still very much alive,
the Pueblo [a US submarine] for 14 up Journals in single sheets of paper, as producing a 10+ page newspaper
months, after which Hawkins returned addressed and sealed with liquid glue. can only be accomplished with the help
to the Journal for good. “The glue came in powder form and of a large monster of a machine. The
“During World War II, Journals were water was added to it. It was sometimes Groesbeck Journal is printed on a Goss
mailed to all states and parts of the a messy process. During World War II, Community SS Press machine at the
world to reach the Limestone County the powder glue was hard to get, so my Mexia Daily News office, and according
men and women serving in the military mother would make the glue by adding to Goss International’s website, “It
forces of the United States. These water to glue, and it worked.” has won popularity throughout the
people often wrote my parents to say As technology was developed to world for its ease-of-use and flexible
how much it meant to them to receive make the printing process simpler, performance for newspaper coldset,
their hometown paper in such faraway changes had to be made at the Journal heatset and UV printing applications.
places.” to keep up with the times, and Hawkins More Community® SSC presses have
Hawkins’s parents worked hard was involved every step of the way. been installed throughout the world
to ensure that feat was successful by “We started doing cold type or offset than any other press type across all
using single wrappers for towns where printing in about 1973. Up til that time manufacturers.”
we always printed here, but in 73 we Someday, those both compiling and

Congratulations
outsourced printing to other places.
After we went to cold type, I don’t
know if you use that word but it wasn’t
linotype anymore, we bought what
digesting news will marvel at a time
that news was created solely through
hot type without the help of computers
and digital advantage. That day is fast

to the
they called compugraphic material. approaching. Speaking with a news
It had a certain tape or paper you had veteran like Tom Hawkins provides

Groesbeck Journal
to use. That was pretty good. We did valuable insight into a different time
that in the 70s or 80s, it was before and way of doing things, and we at the
computers were really involved. About Journal are so proud and lucky to have

on its 1988 you had to buy film for those and

it was pretty expensive, so we went
a resource who can look back and teach
us how things used to be done.

125 Years of Publication

computer.” “The love he has for “his newspaper”
The change was necessary, and and “his town” is truly amazing,”
ushered in a new era of print. Though General Manager Jennifer Paul said.
many people today turn to online news “To be able to have such memories
organizations to keep up with current and passion for what he has always
events and their favorite columns, done is something not many people
The Journal has for some, the reading of a physical can declare today. I will always hold
been an important newspaper is the most authentic way to a special place in my heart for Tom
part of the history digest news. and I thank him for teaching me so
“Well, my dad wasn’t real familiar much and helping me get to where I
of Groesbeck and with it, but after he got into it, it got am today in this industry.  Without the
Limestone County. okay. But I think it’s about the only Hawkins family, our beloved Journal
Members of my way you can do it now. It’s a lot easier couldn’t have made it to 125 years of
really, that was hard work.” publication and for that, I honor them.”
immediate family Today, the pages are all composed For more information about how
--- Jack W. and digitally. Software like Adobe InDesign the Goss Community Press machine
Susan Hawkins allows users to drag and drop content, operates, be sure to check out the story
fitting it to columns and pages in a way “Printing Press in the Present,” also
of Dallas and much faster than past days allowed. found in this special tab celebrating the
Martha (Hawkins) Though the process for organizing century and a quarter The Groesbeck
and Jack Stone of pictures and stories has changed, the Journal has been printed.
Groesbeck join me
in congratulating this
longtime newspaper on
this special occasion.
Congratulations
Our parents, Jack
Ross and Euleta Sharp Groesbeck Journal
on 125 years of publishing.
Hawkins devoted many
years in making the
Journal a real hometown
newspaper. The couple contributed to the betterment of the town
and county in many ways. This couple was fortunate to have
many devoted employees over the years. However, longtime
workers Jack and Nelta Mae Franklin and Leroy Lenamon
especially assisted in the publication of the Journal in those
LIMESTONE COUNTY TITLE COMPANY
early of the Hawkins ownership of the newspaper. Serving Limestone County Since 1887
For the present I want to wish Jennifer Paul, General
manager, and Alexandra Cannon, Staff writer and copy editor JEFF MELASKY R.SCOTT WILSON
the best of luck. And, to sports editor-writer, Stephen Farris, PRESIDENT ATTORNEY
keep those stories about the Groesbeck Goats coming.
Be sure to visit the Journal on it’s special day,
Friday, June 30. Again, congratulations on 125 years of 118 SOUTH ELLIS OFFICE: 254-729-3806
continuous publication. P.O. BOX 127 FAX: 254-729-5655
Tom Hawkins GROESBECK, TX 76642 EMAIL: service@limestonetitle.com
Thursday, June 29, 2017 THE GROESBECK JOURNAL | 5

CAPTURING &
PRESERVING
OUR HISTORY
PICTURED TO THE RIGHT is the earliest copy of a
Groesbeck Journal on Microfilm. This is not the first
newspaper printed, but the earliest archived copy.

PICTURED BELOW Though we expected to find a

bigger headline and focus on the Texas Centennial,
the historic state moment did make the front page
above the fold on March 6, 1936.

BOTTOM LEFT CORNER is microfilm January 2,

1992, The Groesbeck Journal dedicated several pag-
es to congratulating the GHS Football team for win-
ning State Championship at the end of 1991.
*All photos courtesy of microfilm files available at
Maffett Memorial Public Library

All Journal Archives are available for viewing at

the Maffett Memorial Public Library.

Groesbeck Lions Club Limestone County

Salutes the
Historical Museum
Groesbeck Journal Congratulates
on its The Groesbeck Journal
125 Years of on its
Publication
The Groesbeck Lions Club was founded
125 Years of Publication
****
254-729-3281
in 1923. The local Lions Club is active
in many community activities and Thanks for helping to preserve
endeavors. The Club is also active in the the history of Limestone Co. and
affairs of Lions Clubs International and 701 McClintic Drive, Groesbeck, Texas 76642 reporting the Museum’s news.
the Texas Lions. The Groesbeck Lions
Club is especially supportive of the Texas www.lmchospital.com *****
The Museum is located on West
Congratulations Groesbeck Journal
Proud to be part of the Groesbeck
Lions Camp in Kerrville, Texas. The Club
meets every Wednesday at 12 noon at Navasota Street in downtown
on 125 years of publishing. Groesbeck and is opened every
Community & its Heritage!
Mi Rancho Restaurant in Groesbeck. All
interested persons are invited to join us! Thank you for your news coverage. Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
6 | THE GROESBECK JOURNAL
Pictured above is the old press on which the Journal was printed for many years. The late Leroy
Lenamon is shown running the press. Mr. Lenamon worked at the Journal for many years.
Printing Press
in the Present
By Alexandra Cannon,
Groesbeck Journal
Staff Writer
The Groesbeck Journal
is celebrating its 125th
birthday this year, and with
the many decades that have
passed, many changes and
technological advances have
altered the way that news is
brought to the people. From
handwriting in the beginning
of knowledge sharing, to
typesetting by hand in the late
1800s, to the game-changing
Linotype that became a
necessity for printing by
the 1920s and into the 70s,
photo-typesetting in the
1970s and 80s and into the
digitized method of today,
journalism is in a new era.
Through the many changing
methods of getting type to
page for mass printing, the
printing press has remained
steadfast and necessary.
In the room where the
Groesbeck Journal is stuffed
with inserts and labeled for
mailing, several of the once
integral machines remain
as reminders of how news
was once created. Linotype
machines, paper cutters,
photoset machines, foot-
pedal staplers, and smaller
tools with uses that are hard
to discern can be found
throughout the room. The
printing press in the back
right corner is no longer in
use but was functional for
many years.
The Journal was printed
on the printing press here up
to 1973, when they went to
offset type printing.
“We did typesetting on the
linotype, and we did handset
type,” Tom Hawkins said. He
remembers using the printing
press at the Groesbeck
Journal in years past. “The
folding part of it is no longer
there, but you would hand
feed one large sheet at a time,
and if you printed both sides,
after you folded it, there
were eight pages. That’s why
we always had probably two
sections, because usually we
had at least twelve pages.”
Now, a machine exists
that doesn’t require feeding
a sheet at a time and folding
by hand, but prints from a
massive spool of paper, one
single sheet, that is folded
and chopped mechanically
after it runs through all the
colors and content is layered
on in a continual run through
four inkwells. Mexia uses
a GOSS Community SSC
Printing Press, one of the top
presses worldwide.
Seeing this machine
in action is an incredible
experience. Mexia News has
three pressmen who monitor
the machine as it prints,
because such a multi-faceted
device requires careful
attention.
“These are big specialized
pieces of machinery and
these guys are craftsmen,”
Publisher Harry Darby said.
“Dean knows that machine
better than his own body.”
Dean Mooney has been
working for the Mexia News
for several years, and helped
install the GOSS Community
Printing Press seven years
ago.
To better understand the
undertaking of publishing a
newspaper, the full process
is as follows.
Content for the newspaper
is laid out using software
like Adobe InDesign, and
sent over to a pre-pressman.
The pages are dropped
into a proprietary and
specialized Kodak software
system which transfers the
information onto metal
plates that are bent around
a cylinder. Those cylindrical
plates are placed in ink
wells. The four colors used
for newsprint are yellow,
magenta, cyan and black,
and the colors are layered to
create any and every color
you see in your newspaper.
Printing starts with a
huge spool of paper, most
averaging about 600 pounds
or more. The width of the
paper on the spool is the
same as what you see when
you open your newspaper to
see two pages at once. This
is how each page is created.
After the paper runs through
each ink well, it is folded
and chopped by the machine.
Pressmen use magnifying
glasses and bullseyes found
along the center of every
page to check that the colors
are all lined up, which
produces sharp images and
clean type.
“At the beginning of a
run, the guys are trying to
make sure the color is lined
up right. We trash a bunch of
stuff before we get it right.”
When the pages are
printing correctly and the
machine is running smoothly
under the watchful eye of the
pressmen, the machine churns
out about 15,000 copies an
hour. Mexia News, under
the umbrella of Limestone
County Publishing, prints 16
different news publications
for cities in the area, because
a printing press of that
caliber comes with a multi-
million dollar price tag that
not all news organizations
can afford. The press runs
congratulations
GROESBECK
JOURNAL
on 125 years of publication.
519 E. Yeagua St, Groesbeck, TX 76642
Thursday, June 29, 2017
From 1951 TAOG
Pressman Dean Mooney watches the GOSS Community Printing Press closely for errors as
they begin a press run.
Photo by Alexandra Cannon, Groesbeck Journal
four days a week, and some
weekends when the need
arises.
“If there is a problem with
the pre-press, the computer
part, we have a service
contract with Kodak, so we
can pick up the phone 24
hours a day with Kodak.
But, the problem is, if a print
machine is down on Tuesday,
you are out of luck.”
Because printing presses
are pricey, an issue with
any of the moving parts
can really put you in a jam.
There aren’t other printing
presses nearby that use the
same technology or software
as our publication, so in the
past, Limestone County
Publishing has had to rely on
sister papers a good distance
away to help out in a bind.
“We’ve had to drive to
San Marcos in the middle of The hand-fed printing press in the Groesbeck Journal office has not been used since 1973, but
the night,” Darby said. “We is an immovable printing giant.
met at a Starbucks in Austin Photo by Alexandra Cannon, Groesbeck Journal
and exchanged metal plates
with a guy in a parking lot
at two in the morning, which
must have looked strange.”
With journalism being in
the digital age that it is, a time
Congratulations
where news was compiled
line by line with molten hot
metal seems like a lifetime
before us, but there are many
to the
active journalists today who
feel like that method was
used just yesterday. What the
Groesbeck Journal
future holds for journalism
and printing methods has
yet to be seen, and perhaps
printing presses will become
on its 125 years
as obsolete as Linotypes, and
news will shift to an online
format only. Regardless of
how it is shared, the purpose
of journalism is to make
truth accessible to all, and
the various mediums through
which it has been and will be
of publication.
presented tell a deeper story,
if only you take the time to and thank you for
learn it.
your continued
For more information
about how printing was done
support of the
in the past, be sure to check
out the story “Linotype: A
Lost Art,” also found in this
Groesbeck Chamber
special tab celebrating 125
years The Groesbeck Journal
has been printed.
of Commerce.
We appreciate you.
Chamber of Commerce
Groesbeck Convention Center
inside
106 E. Navasota, Groesbeck
254-729-3894
www.groesbeckchamber.com
brookshires.com