UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH, LISBON
MAIN STREET, MT. VERNON
Much might be written about some of the old printers who helped to publish those early Linn county newspapers. There has been a host of them and they have included some notable men. One was no less a personage than Mr. Rosewater, of the Omaha Bee, who once worked as a journeyman printer in the office of the Slovan-Americky. It was when he was on his way to the west. Some of the old printers have long since passed away. One of the latest of them was Stephen M. Jones, who died at Hampton four years ago. Concerning his work here in Cedar Rapids, Captain J. O. Stewart, himself one of the veteran printers of the state, writes interestingly as follows:
"Stephen Jones commenced to learn the trade in the Progressive Era office in this city, in the year 1851, serving a four years' apprenticeship, at the end of which time he went to Vinton and worked in the Eagle office, at that time conducted by Fred Layman, I believe. The office of the Progressive Era was located on the corner of First street and Third avenue, where the Warfield-Pratt-Howell wholesale building now stands, and was the first paper published in Cedar Rapids. It was an old frame building erected by the Greene brothers and formerly used as a store room. At the time of this story the lower floor front was used on Sundays by the Episcopal church for service, the printing office was overhead and the back part, three stories, including basement, was used as a store room for dressed hogs. 'Steve,' as he was called, and your correspondent were what was known as 'printer's devils.' After some years residence in Vinton Steve got about a wheelbarrow load of material and started his paper in Hampton and christened it the Hampton Chronicle, which is still among the live, able newspapers in Iowa. He was later appointed postmaster of Hampton, which position he held for twelve years.
"There is one other who would rank with us if he is still living, and he was a few years ago, on his farm near Lone Tree in Johnson county. His name is Dan Shaffer. Dan, with a Mr. Foster, whose first name I have forgotten, were employed in the office doing the work on the Iowa Supreme Court Reports by Justice George Greene, formerly of this city. This was a book of some 600 or more pages and an edition of 500 volumes. This book can be found on the shelves of many of the Iowa lawyers, especially the older practitioners. This work was all done on a Washington hand press and 500 impressions was considered a good day's work. Steve's principal business, until he was relieved by the writer, was to ink the forms from which the impressions were made. This was done by passing over the type forms two large rollers made of glue and molasses, leaving and returning onto a large wooden roller revolved by a crank at one end, which process equally distributed the ink which was applied to the two rollers by a still smaller one and designated the 'brayer'—old printers will recognize the article. For nearly two years this was the principal part of the writer's duties, interspersed with hunting up and down the banks of the river dragging out floating slabs that got away from the saw mills up at the dam, for fuel for the office, the proprietors being too poor to buy cordwood at $1.75 per cord. The paper was published by Dan O. Finch who later became distinguished as a lawyer of high ability. The last I knew of him, a few years ago, he was still living, making his home with a son some place on the Pacific coast,—Seattle, I believe. The other publisher was William Williams, son of Chief Justice Williams of this state. The material was owned by the Greene brothers. Some time later the Era office was moved to the building that stood on the corner where the Rudolph store now is. The proprietors changed hands pretty often, and finally the paper came into the hands of Robert and LeRoy McCabe, older brothers of the famous Chaplain Charles C. McCabe, who then clerked for Greene Bros. in their store under the printing office. The Masonic lodge room was in the third story of this building. While the McCabe brothers conducted the paper your correspondent graduated and started out as a full fledged journeyman printer. It may be of interest to the craft of the day to give your correspondent's salary. The first year he was to receive $35, second $50, third $75, and the fourth the princely sum of $100. Out of this he was supposed to pay his board and furnish his clothing. The first job he secured after his apprenticeship was $10 per week and pay his own board. This was in the year 1856.