Clyde L. Stanley, who at times was called the “Boy Publisher,” published the first edition of the Erie News on June 26, 1903. He was just 16 years old. He would continue to publish the paper until 1906 when he merged the News with his newly purchased paper, the Lafayette News-Free Press.
Clyde L. Stanley, born on November 18, 1887 in Henry Co., Missouri, arrived in Colorado with his family in 1989 and settled in Boulder. After living in Boulder for a short time, the family moved to Lafayette, where he graduated from the tenth grade in 1903. That same year he purchased a print shop in Erie, where he published the first issue of The Erie News. In 1905 Clyde bought the Lafayette News from its founder.
In 1911, Clyde and his father chose homesteads near the prospering town of Keota where he moved his printing equipment so that A.C. Hammond could start The Keota News. Shortly after, Clyde took over the paper which he continued to publish until 1923 when he changed the name to the Pawnee Herald. He published the Herald until 1926. Clyde spent the next 50 years in Keota serving for a time as the the U.S. Land Commissioner, owner of the general store which housed the library and post office, and was owner and operator of the Wayside press, a mail job printing business. Clyde was one of Keota last remaining residents where the population dwindled greatly after the Great Depression. It is said that renowned novelist James Michener based a character in his book Centennial on Clyde. Clyde Stanley died on January 8, 1976 in Greeley.
Clyde’s editions of the Erie News were recently uncovered. In an effort to save and share this important Erie history with a wide audience, the Erie Historical Society is adding this paper to the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The Historical Society is raising funds to support this endeavour of preserving the newspapers for future generations. To learn more about this important work, visit the Erie Historical Society website. The Historical Society is also looking for a few missing editions of the Erie News. Please contact them or me at ljeremias@coloradovirtuallibrary.org if you have any information on issues of the Erie News.
More information about Clyde Stanley, including related collections, can be found at:
University of Northern Colorado
Denver Public Library Genealogy, African American and Western History Resources
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