OPC a business that’s been all in the family
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
A rubble plate and wooden letter that were once used to print the Observer-Reporter newspaper.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Tom Northrop holds lead and wooden letters and numbers that were once used to print the Observer-Reporter newspaper.
There is the top hat, one Fred Astaire could have donned in the curiously named movie “Top Hat” – except the chapeau probably was too timeworn to be used in the 1935 classic.
There are the lead plates, wooden letters, cameras Fred Flintstone might have invented, all elements in the process of delivering news to your doorstep. There is a ladle that once spooned out hot lead, a onetime staple of the newspaper industry. There is a page from an edition in 1941, with this ad: pocket watches $2.95. There is even a device called a wing mailer.
“I don’t want to throw anything away,” said Tom Northrop, his sunny smile compromised by a dash of regret. “I’ve spent a lot of years collecting these things.”
The longtime leader of Observer Publishing Co. has been rummaging through the drawers and shelves of his office in recent weeks, taking stock of his possessions. He tosses some, but keeps many. They rouse memories – which outnumber the items of memorabilia by a formidable margin.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Tom Northrop holds the hat of his great-grandfather, John L. Stewart, who launched Observer Publishing Co. with a partner in 1902.
Northrop is cleaning out his workspace on the third floor of 122 S. Main St. in downtown Washington. He is taking items home and placing the overflow in a storage unit. “I want to preserve as much history as I can.”
His cranium will store the memories.
Today – Sunday – is his final day as OPC publisher. This also is the final day of Northrop ownership of a company that publishes this newspaper, the Observer-Reporter, on a daily basis; the weekly Almanac; and the niche publications it circulates.
Northrop, a fourth-generation publisher, announced recently that OPC shareholders voted to sell the operation to Ogden Newspapers of Wheeling, W.Va., which will assume ownership Monday. He is retiring.
That will end an era of family ownership dating to 1902, to the Teddy Roosevelt administration, to before the triple tragedies of the Titanic, World War I and the global flu epidemic.
John L. Stewart, Northrop’s great-grandfather, and partner E.F. Acheson launched OPC on July 24 that year to publish the Washington Observer, a morning newspaper, and the afternoon Washington Reporter. Stewart became controlling owner in 1912, when Acheson retired, and ran the company until his death in 1940, when his widow, Margaretta, took over. She died in 1966, and John L.S. Northrop – Tom’s father – became co-owner with John’s brother, William B. Northrop Sr.
Tom Northrop and a cousin, William Jr., were named co-publishers in 2000. Tom became sole publisher in 2004.
Other family members have worked there, as well. Tom’s sister, Lucy Northrop Corwin, 56, a 21-year employee, has been director of news at the Observer-Reporter. She is leaving. Tom’s daughter, Grace Dalmolin, is a fifth-generation employee who is remaining with the company.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
These are lead plates that were once used to print the Observer-Reporter newspaper.
There are 116 years of memories and pieces of memorabilia in the publisher’s office, which is why Northrop has a voluminous treasure trove of both, and why he has difficulty pitching anything into the can. Some items, literally, are priceless to him.
“I haven’t thought about having anything appraised,” he said. “I think some of it is sentimental – certainly sentimental to me. It doesn’t matter if anything has value to it. This represents the history of our newspaper.”
One item goes back to when OPC was a mere month old, and it is an amazing document that Northrop found in a basement vault: original minutes from the first shareholders meeting on Aug. 23, 1902. The paperwork is from the law office of Alex M. Templeton, a shareholder then.
For Northrop, 61, the gathering of memorabilia provides more than a corporate history. Those items have enhanced his knowledge of the city and region where he was born, grew up and still resides.
“Except for college, I’ve always lived here,” he said. “I like it here, and I like the people. I have no intention to move.”
Northrop has no post-OPC itinerary, but will remain busy. He is chairman of the board of Washington Health System, and is a director with the Washington County Community Foundation.
“I bought a bicycle. I plan to ride that,” he said, smiling. “Lucy and I will stay in the community.”
The family perspective of “community” extends beyond a specific town such as Washington or Canonsburg or Waynesburg. All of those areas, actually every acre in Washington and Greene counties, comprise their “community,” and managing a daily newspaper has been their way of serving residents there. That’s why the Northrop clan continued to operate in an industry in which the family-run newspaper – once a common entity – has become virtually nonexistent.
Selling was a difficult decision for Tom Northrop.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
A wing mailer that was once used at the Observer-Reporter newspaper.
“It’s really bittersweet,” he said. “I am proud of the work we’ve done. I think we’ve lasted a lot longer than other (newspapers of this size).
“We were innovative. We started events, started Reimagine Main Street. I’m also very proud of what we’ve done in the community, working with a lot of charities and nonprofits.
“I’ve always felt if we’re a community newspaper, we should participate in the community.”
They have … for 116 years.