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As the nation prepares to celebrate its 200th birthday, the Mesquite Daily News also observes a notable milestone. Today, Wednesday, July 2, marks the 93rd birth day of the newspaper. The Mesquite Daily News is the successor of the Texas Mesquiter, which for about 85 years was Mesquite’s hometown weekly newspaper As the city grew, The Mesquiter became a semi-weekly about eight years ago and was con verted to a daily under the new name of Mesquite Daily News in 1971 On the paper’s birthday, we re-print in the follow ing paragraphs a story that appeared in the Texas Mesquiter in 1938 when the publication observed its 56th birthday. The author is John H. Collum. Fifty-six years is a good long time to think back, but I recall the genesis of the ‘‘Little Mesquiter’’ back in 1882 as well as if it had been last week or last year. I was living on a farm near Haughts Store (near Lawson), five miles south of Mesquite, a green, gawky country boy, living with my parents,Mr. and Mrs. Peter Cullom, who had moved from Tennes see a few years previous. The founder of the paper was R.S. Kimbrough, also an ex-Tennesseean, who was proprietor of a gen eral merchandise store in Mesquite and also interested in other business enterprises. Mesquite, at that time, was just a little village on the T. P. railroad, with two general stores, one or two grocery stores, a lumber yard, cotton gin and a saloon. The popula tion of the town was prob ably 100 souls- -maybe not so many But Mrs. Kimbrough thought the town needed a local newspaper and he proceeded to establish one. He bought a small printing outfit, consisting of a few cases of second hand type, a second hand Washington hand press, and a few other necessary accessories, and launched the Little Mesquiter, the first newspaper ever pub lished in Dallas County, outside of the city of Dal las. And, incidentally, might say that The Mes quiter is the oldest news paper in Dallas County, the Dallas News having been established in 1885, absorbing the Dallas Herald. I got hold of one of the early copies of the little paper, liked it, and pro ceeded to send in local items from our neighbor hood. The cimmunity, by the way, had been nick named ‘‘Slap-Foot,'’ for some reason to me un known, and my weekly items were published under the title, ‘‘Items From Slap - Foot.’’ Of course there wasn’t much to write about in the little farming settlement, but I wanted our community represented in the new paper and persevered in my efforts. One Saturday in the late fall of 1882, I was in Mes quite, and called on Mrs Kimbrough in his store, to ask him how I was do ing as a correspondent In a few minutes, he al most knocked me over by asking me how I would like to come over and learn to be a printer and newspaper man I hastened to assure him that nothing would please me better, so we made the trade right there and then, whereby I was to come to Mesquite January 1, 1883, work in the printing office five days in the week, gathering local items and learning to ‘‘stick-type, and clerk in the store on Saturdays. Mr. Kimbrough was to board me in his own home and at the end of three months pay me $50 for my service. When I began work January 1, I found a young ster named Fletcher Wes son, a nephew of Mr. Kim brough, in charge of the office. He was a couple years younger than I, but he had learned to set type and run the press, so he was to teach me the busi ness. I guess I was an apt scholar, for in a few weeks I had mastered the printing art fairly well. I also learned something of the mercantile business, clerking in the store and I might add that Mrs. J.C. Rugel was bookkeeper and Calhoun Knox a clerk in the store. Mr. Kimbrough di vided his time between writing copy for The Mes quiter and looking after his store and farming in terests. He was’ well pleased with my services and one day he remarked to a friend: ‘“‘There may be men who can write bet ter editorials than John Cullom, but when it comes to writing an obituary of a deceased citizen, John has ‘em all skinned. Kimbrough was a ver satile man, combining keen wit and humor with homely philosophy and business capacity. He was of a friendly disposition: in fact, everybody who knew him was his friend. His editorial column in the Little Mesquiter bris tled with keen quips and interesting comments, which were copied in many city papers of the State, as well as the country press. One of his quaint sayings that I recall was that ‘‘Fletcher and John get out the paper and I do the coarse hand writing and sweeping out.’ ‘The town furnished the paper with very little ad vertising, on account of a few business concerns there, and I am sure the paper was not self sus taining for the first few years of its existence.
Newspaper Details
Mesquite Daily News
Mesquite, Texas, US
Wed, Jul 02, 1975
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
TX, USA 22 Jan 2026
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