Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016
THE COMMERCE NEWS • THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 3A
1974 issue of The Commerce News
The Harmony Grove Signal
A1974 front page led with the story of Atlanta journalist Reg Murphy being The Harmony Grove Signal served the community from 1884 into 1888. It
kidnapped — and held in a motel at Banks Crossing until his release. was published by W.J. Goss.
Merger... Cont. from Page 1A
The Jackson Herald when the papers merge Jan. 4. Those who
currently subscribe to both newspapers will have their subscrip
tions extended.
HISTORY OF THE COMMERCE NEWS
(Information comes from the History of Harmony Grove by
Thomas Hardman)
The Harmony Grove Age 1889-1891
*The Harmony Grove Echo 1891-1903
The Commerce News 1903-2016
“About 1888 or 1890, Stiles Alexander published a newspaper
a year or two under the name of The Harmony Grove Age. He
sold it to Dr. W.B. Hardman about the year 1891, who organized
a stock company and published the paper under the name of
The Harmony Grove Echo. This paper was leased to John Car-
son who ran the paper for a year.
“Dr. W.B. Hardman then took charge as manager, editor and
owner of the paper until 1895. He then sold it to John F. Shan
non (around 1902), who had moved here from Franklin County
and who continued as owner and editor until his death in 1934.
The name of the newspaper was changed in 1903 to The
Commerce News when the name of Harmony Grove was
changed to Commerce.
“Following Mr. Shannon’s death (1928), the paper was leased
by Luther J. Yarbrough and C.L. Veatch who operated it for
about a year.
“Harry Wise secured the paper from the Shannon estate and
edited it for about a year when C. H. Cook, of Winder, took over,
operating it through 1936 when Mrs. Trawick purchased it from
the Shannon estate. She was editor and publisher until she sold
The Commerce News on December 1, 1943 to Albert S. Hardy,
Jr., of Gainesville.”
Albert Hardy Jr. and his wife owned The Commerce News
until 1978 when his nephew who had been working at the
paper since 1962, Charles “Buzzie” Hardy bought it. In 1987, the
Buffington family purchased The News.
*Note: for a short time in 1897, The Harmony Grove Echo
merged with the nearby Banks County Gazette and was known
as The Harmony Grove Echo-Gazette. But that move created
a backlash in Banks County, so the Gazette was reformed
in Banks County as The Banks County Journal. In November
1897, Mr. D.G. Bickers was named editor of the The Harmony
Grove Echo, but his tenure isn 't known.
HISTORY OF OTHER NEWSPAPERS IN COMMERCE
(Information comes from the History of Harmony Grove by
Thomas Hardman)
The Northeastern Progress 1875-1881
“The first newspaper published in Harmony Grove, as far
as known, was The Northeast Georgia Progress. It was edited
by Malcolm Stafford and printed in a small two-room building
located on the Jesse R Wood lot on the north side of State
Street. Mr. and Mrs. Stafford had their living quarters in the rear
room and the printing in the front room. They had no children
but adopted a boy Willie Jones, who was about twelve years of
age. He was used as a lackey boy or printer’s devil. This paper
began its publication in 1875 and continued through 1881. W.A.
Shackelford, a young man of sixteen years, was the printer from
1876 to 1881.”
The Citizen 1881-1884
“After Mr. Stafford moved from the city, W.J. Goss, the father
of the late Mrs. C.J. Hood, published a newspaper in Harmony
Grove for two or three years, the name of the paper not being
known, but it is believed to have been The Citizen."
The Harmony Grove Signal 1884-1888
“About 1885, a Mr. Atkinson and W.B. Wagnon came to Har
mony Grove from Madison, Georgia, and installed a printing
press and published a paper under the name of The Harmony
Grove Signal and continued it for two years.”
(Note: A copy we have of this newspaper indicates that it
began in December 1885. By 1886, the flag was just “The Sig
nal” with the Harmony Grove having been dropped.)
The Bumble Bee 1888-1889
“For a short time, Harmony Grove was without the services
of a regular newspaper. In the meantime, W.J. Goss published
a small paper called The Bumble Bee in which he gave some
news and social items.”
The Whistler 1888?
“Lonnie and Charlie Mize published a similar small paper
known as The Whistler.”
The Commerce Observer 1909-1922
“The Commerce Observer was a splendid newspaper. It
was owned and published by Paul T. Harber from December,
1909 to July, 1922, some twelve and a half years. This paper
together with The Commerce News gave Commerce at this
period a wide range of publicity. It was during this time that
the State Press Association was held and royally entertained at
Commerce.”
“Mr. Harber is a natural publicity man and added much force
and vitality to our city’s progress. He was quite active in the New
York to Atlanta auto tours in 1909 and 1910. He publicized the
Four County Fair in a great way.”
(Note: Paul Harber was president of the Georgia Press Asso-
ciation in 1917 and on the executive committee of the National
Editorial Association in 1921. He left the Observer in June 1922
to become general manager of the Rome Tribune-Herald in
Rome, Ga. He left the Observer for others to continue, but
apparently it folded shortly after his departure.)
Hardy Family Ownership
Of all the owners of The Commerce News, none had more
impact on North Georgia than the Hardy family who owned the
paper for 44 years (1943-1987).
The family’s newspaper roots began in the late 1800s with
Albert S. Hardy Sr. who worked on the newspaper in Barnes-
ville, GA before moving to Gainesville in 1877 and buying an
existing newspaper, which he renamed it Gainesville News.
Albert Sr. was widely regarded in the newspaper world, serving
as president of both the Georgia Press Association (1907) and
the National Newspaper Association (1943). Albert had two
brothers who were also in the newspaper business: James with
The Thomasville Times, and Benjamin with The Barnesville
News-Gazette.
Albert Sr. had two sons who became newspaper publishers:
Charles, who followed his father as publisher in Gainesville,
and Albert Jr. who became publisher of The Commerce News
in 1943.
Charles had an interesting newspaper career establishing the
first offset newspaper in the state and only the third in the nation
in 1955 in Gainesville. Unfortunately, that venture didn’t last very
long as his attempt to convert his weekly newspaper to a daily
failed. Charles was about a decade ahead of his time — by the
mid 1960s, offset printing revolutionized newspaper production
around the nation.
In 1962, Charles’ son, Charles “Buzzie” Hardy began work
ing for his uncle, Albert Jr., at The Commerce News while a
student at UGA. Buzzie continued working at The Commerce
News for the next 25 years, buying the newspaper from his
aunt in 1978. (He also published The Banks County Journal
from the late 1960s until it was merged with The Banks County
News)
He sold The Commerce News and The Banks County
Journal to the Buffington family in 1987, but continued his
commercial printing business and also served as mayor
of Commerce for 22 years. He died in November at age
75.
A lucky winner
Minnie Nell Archer of Jefferson was the winner of the Goodmark Chevrolet
drawing for a New Chevrolet Sonic on Dec. 17. She is pictured with owner
Tom Owen.
At 4.0 percent, Jackson's
jobless rate tied for lowest
Although Jackson County’s
jobless rate inched up a tenth
of a percent to 4.0 between
October and November, it’s
still tied with four other coun
ties for the lowest unemploy
ment rate in Georgia.
Figures released last week
by the Georgia Department
of Labor estimate 4.0-percent
jobless rates for Jackson,
Oconee, Cherokee, Forsyth
and Echols counties. The
statewide rate of 5 percent for
November is down from 5.2
percent in October.
Unemployment numbers
are estimates based on con
tinually ongoing household
surveys conducted by the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics, with data regarding
unemployment benefits and
calls to employers about job
numbers factored in.
Other area counties and
their jobless rates include:
• Banks, 4.3 percent, down
from 4.7 percent
• Barrow, 4.7, up from 4.5
•Athens-Clarke, 5.5, up
from 5.1
• Hall, 4.1, down from 4.4
• Madison, 5.0, up from 4.6
Wheeler County with an
8.9 percent jobless rate, had
the highest unemployment
rate in Georgia.
Forty-five Georgia counties
had jobless rates less than 5
percent, while 19 had rates of
7 percent or higher.
Commerce council changes Jan. meeting dates
The dates of both of its
January Commerce City
Council meetings will be
moved, due to holidays.
The “work session” will
be held on Tuesday, Jan.
3, because New Year’s Day
falls on Sunday and the city
will take Monday, Jan. 2, as
a holiday. The regular (vot
ing) meeting will be moved
to Tuesday, Jan. 17, because
the Martin Luther King Jr.
holiday falls on Monday,
Jan. 16.
