by Worcester P. Bong
Since the founding of Fort Whipple in 1863 and the town of Prescott in 1864, local citizens and military personnel have enjoyed reading locally printed newspapers. Newspaper names ranged from Arizona Miner to Prescott Journal-Miner, and from Prescott Evening Courier to today’s The Daily Courier. Fort Whipple started printing the Arizona Miner in March 1864. Two other newspapers, The West’s Recall and The Whipple Echo, were also published locally.
The West’s Recall was published between March 1919 and January 1920, when Fort Whipple became Whipple Barracks, US Army General Hospital No. 20. After hospital operations were transferred from the US Army to the US Public Health Service in February 1920, a different monthly one-page newsletter was published, but was discontinued shortly thereafter. It was not until the Veterans Bureau took over hospital operations in April 1922 that the hospital again published a weekly newspaper.
Restarting a hospital newspaper was proposed by A.W. McMillen, then director of the Red Cross House at Whipple, and Fred J. Koch, head of the Occupational Therapy department. Financial contributions were received from the local Red Cross, the Knights of Columbus and the YMCA.
Published weekly, the first issue of The Whipple Echo was printed on August 18, 1922, as a six-column, six-page newspaper. The Whipple Echo was one of the suggested names from a 1919 survey conducted among staff and patients at Whipple Barracks. Many of the newspaper staff were patients at Whipple hospital. Menton G. Baker, a patient, was named editor-in-chief.
Patients at the Whipple hospital were given free subscriptions. Many copies were sent to the patients’ hometowns throughout the U.S., which promoted knowledge about the largest tuberculosis facility in the country and magnificent climate of central Arizona.
Articles addressed national news, national veteran’s affairs and local events at Whipple hospital. “Ward and Personnel News” added a humorous perspective on hospital life. A September 28, 1923, article described a “snake charmer” patient with a lizard-chasing hobby and celebrated another patient’s pink checkered pajamas, useful as a checkerboard, candy advertisement or barbershop sign. An October 24, 1924, article named the winners of a “talking in their sleep” contest. Throughout its run, the section used colorful nicknames, such as: “Salty Stewart,” “Old ’Bronchectasis Pete’” and “Sir Harry Lipstick the male vampire.”
In July 1923, Forrest E. Doucette, another patient, became editor-in-chief and continued promoting the newspaper’s growth.
On October 11, 1923, the greatest number of printed copies was published. 7,000 copies of the now ten-page newspaper were printed for distribution in advance of the October 14th-19th American Legion National Convention in San Francisco. This edition contained information about Whipple hospital and Prescott. Special articles by Grace M. Sparkes, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, and James H. McClintock, former state historian, were included. Efforts to distribute this edition were substantial; Forrest Doucette took a train north from Prescott to Williams to meet westbound trains filled with legionnaires traveling to the convention. A similar arrangement was made to meet westbound trains passing through Tucson. In addition, a copy was placed on every seat on a special train of Arizona legionnaires leaving from Phoenix.
The Whipple Echo continued publication through 1926. Reprinted articles were published in the Prescott Evening Courier in the 1940s. Today, only a few original copies of The Whipple Echo remain and are archived at the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson, and at Sharlot Hall Museum Research Center in Prescott.
Learn about Fort Whipple’s newsworthy artifact collections, including military firearms and medical tools, by attending demonstrations by Fort Whipple Museum Living History interpreters the first Saturday of each month, April through November, from 10am to 3pm. For more information visit the Sharlot Hall Museum events calendar at: sharlothallmuseum.org/event-calendar/
“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1. The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.