The Mears Newz

The Mears Newz (earlier known as The Mears News) was a twentieth-century newspaper published in Mears, Michigan.

Typical front page
Lathers' poem "The Harvest Moon"

History

The Mears Newz was published by Swift Lathers, its founder and editor. Lathers was well-skilled in English and grammar, benefiting from training by his mother, an English teacher. Lathers worked as a stringer for a Detroit newspaper, where he grew to dislike the constant editing of his writing by others. He was then motivated to start his own newspaper where no one else could edit his writing. Moving from the Detroit area to Mears in 1909, Lathers started The Mears News (he initially spelled the word News in the name with an s) and believed it was his life's calling to report on items related to Mears, his adopted hometown. His simple meager lifestyle sacrificed personal financial gain to keep his newspaper going. Lathers wrote all his own stories and reports. He printed the newspapers on a foot-operated printing press. Lathers would hand deliver the newspapers himself locally.[1]

The newspaper, printed and published from Lathers' home, was known as The Smallest Newspaper in the World.[upper-alpha 1][2][3][4] It was published on a paper that was smaller than the normal size bond.[3] Its size was approximately that of a postcard at about five by seven inches and consisted of four pages.[2] The weekly newspaper was published every Friday from 1914 to 1970.[3] Lathers had paid subscribers in 38 states.[2] Sometime after 1916 and before 1919 the News name was changed to Newz on the suggestion from a subscriber to add more flair.[1]

The Mears Newz in its height of production during the 1940s had a worldwide circulation of over 2000.[upper-alpha 2][1][5] Lathers had a circulation at one time of over 2,700 when he voluntarily cut the list. Those whose name started before D and all those after S no longer received his newspaper. This way then he could keep his subscription circulation manageable.[upper-alpha 3]

Lathers had forthright remarks and candid comments in each of his newspapers.[2] Because of his plainspoken approach the newspaper had enthusiastic readers interested in this type of journalism.[7] Lathers often would have one large paragraph of advertisements in the newspaper written end-to-end.[8] Occasionally there was poetry written in the newspaper.[8]

The subscription cost for the newspaper was 50 cents per year and 1 dollar for a six-month subscription. Lathers was once insulted when he first started publishing his Newz paper when a local businessman told him that his publication would not last even six months and offered him 25 cents. Then and there he set his subscription fee at 50 cents a year, 1 dollar for six months and 2 dollars for 3 months. The newspaper was in production for 56 years and the subscription cost never changed.[1]

The Mears News[upper-alpha 4] made its debut July 24, 1914. In this first issues were suggestions for the first Golden Fair of Golden Township in Oceana County, Michigan. The "af-fair" was the only township fair in the county. Mort Wiegrand, the Mears Historical Society's director believes that it was the first township fair in the state of Michigan. The concept of the fair was to gather the school children of the area together in competitive events for awards. It included crowning a "queen" and a "king" for the township. The annual fair was disrupted and stopped in 1918 for sixteen years. Then on October 5 of 1934 it was reported by The Mears Newz that "The Golden Fair is ripe in the Land of Mears." The continued annual fair event was the subject of reportage until the newspaper folded in 1970.[1]

Front page
Gardens Scratchers are ripe in the Land of Mears: front page cover example

The front page format nameplate wording of the title changed in the 1930s from A Magazine of Mirth Founded A.D. 1914 By Swift Lathers to the more recognized line of The Smallest Newspaper in the World—used on its masthead until the paper stopped publication in 1970.[1]

The newspaper usually said on the front cover that something was "ripe in the Land of Mears."[1]

Examples of these Lathers' personalized sayings were:

  • Cherry Pickers are ripe in the Land of Mears. (July 30, 1920)
  • Garden Scratchers are ripe in the Land of Mears. (May 18, 1922)
  • Goldenrod is ripe in the Land of Mears. (August 18, 1922)
  • Cutters are ripe in the Land of Mears. (January 4, 1923)
  • Just Dust is ripe in the Land of Mears. (July 13, 1923)
  • Assorted Calendars are ripe in the Land of Mears. (December 28, 1945)
  • Bridal Bouquets are ripe in the Land of Mears. (April 10, 1953)
  • Returning Lawns are ripe in the Land of Mears. (April 11, 1969)
  • High Flying Kites are ripe in the Land of Mears. (March 20, 1970)

Examples
Swift Lathers' 1914 foot-operated press

The Mears News September 10, 1915:

The Mears News August 13, 1915:

Lathers' 1916 hand-set foot-operated printing press for publishing Mears Newz

The spelling of the paper's name was changed to The Mears Newz in 1917 or 1918.

The Mears Newz August 18, 1922:

The Mears News next to a standard United States Post Office issued postcard.

The Mears News of August 7, 1914
  • pages 2 & 3 with postcard
  • USPS postcard over pg 2

The Mears News newspapers next to an everyday modern items.

  • Mears Newz pages 2 & 3
  • Mears Newz by # 2 pencils
  • Mears Newz by thumbdrive
  • Mears Newz by laptop PCs

See also

References

Notes
  1. "When he was asked to defend his claim, he cited the U.S. Postal Service definition of a newspaper—a publication printed at least once a week—and challenged anyone to find a smaller paper that fit that definition. No one ever did."[1]
  2. "Although the population of Mears has never exceeded 300, in its heyday over 2,000 weekly issues of the Newz were printed. They traveled outside the country, throughout the state, the country and — during wartime — to soldiers stationed throughout the world. From the cities of Europe to the jungles of Korea, there was always someone who wanted to know what was ripe in the Land of Mears."[1]
  3. "No one knows how big a subscription list he might have compiled, because one day, when the circulation hit 2,740, Swift made himself immortal among editors by voluntarily cutting the list in half-literally-with a pair of scissors employed at both ends. Everybody whose name began with a letter up to D or after S stopped getting The Mears Newz."[6]
  4. Original spelling of the newspaper's name; see above.

Citations
  1. "Centennial Celebration". Oceana's Herald-Journal. Jim Young: 3–16. July 17, 2014.
  2. Hoogterp 2006, p. 350.
  3. Scott 2005, p. 125.
  4. "Lathers Family Offers Home For Historical Museum". Newspapers.com. Ludington Daily News. April 17, 1971. p. 7. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  5. "Pleasant Afternoon celebrates 100 years of Mears Newz". oceanacountypress.com. Oceana County Press. August 18, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  6. Yakes, Daniel J (March 19, 1986). "Swift Lathers". Muskegon Chronicle. Muskegon, Michigan.
  7. Books 1941, p. 529.
  8. "Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame". Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame. Michigan State University. 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.

Sources
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