A HISTORY
of the
PRESS
ASSOCIATION
to
Compiled and written
By
Bert N. Bostrom
Assistant Professor of
Journalism
Northern
DEDICATED TO:
The Four Co-Founders of the
Association:
Herman Schweikart
Edmund Lewis
G.T. Young
And to
The Late
Whose leadership and
dedication
to the Association
inspired us all
And to my wife, Marcia, who
has been a writer’s “widow” during the past several months, a special
expression of gratitude for the chance to complete the task.
Twenty-two Association years
have been recorded. I am confident they will serve as a guide to the real
meaning of Arizona Interscholastic Press Association for those who will write
the next 22 years of history.
Let it be!
Bert N. Bostrom
Assistant Professor of
Journalism
Northern
Foreword
(Chapters 1 through 13)
Arizona Interscholastic Press Association is
something unique. It is more than an association of
It is a spirit.
Founded by high school journalism teachers, fought
for over and over by high school journalism teachers, and built to a position
of national respect by high school journalism teachers, it has never leaned or
depended on anyone but high school teachers.
There are those of us who cut their teeth on an
established association, have since moved out of the high school teaching
ranks, and have felt at one time or another that there was an end to the
potential of the high school journalism teacher to carry on the work. I’m sure
there are those within the Association today who may feel the same way.
But on the completion of the writing of the history
of the first 22 years of Arizona Interscholastic Press Association, I see no
end of that potential, nor should there be.
It would be a hopeless task to thank those who have
made the Association what it is today. This history lists the names of many who
have participated, but it has omitted, inadvertently, some of them.
But I can express my gratitude to those who have
helped in preparation of this history.
To those who kept the records over the years, your
work has been my mainstay of information.
Herman Schweikart’s memory and research have been of
invaluable assistance in preparing the story of the early years.
The work of Freeman Hover and Earl Stinson in making
other items available from the Association files was of great help.
James Coffroth provided records, his memory, and
encouragement when they were needed most.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
AIPA—Its Birth and Early Years
(1949-1958)................................................................................ 1
A Major Step—Workshop Begins
(1958-1959).............................................................................. 9
One, Two, Recycle, Whew!
(1959-1960)...................................................................................... 14
Finally, a Chance for
Reflection (1960-1961)................................................................................. 17
A Year to Expand Services
(1961-1962)....................................................................................... 20
Tradition Is “Out” (1962-1963)...................................................................................................... 23
Chance Brings Growth
(1963-1964).............................................................................................. 26
A Change in Command
(1964-1965)............................................................................................. 29
More Growth, More Change
(1965-1966)..................................................................................... 32
AIPA Influence Expands
(1966-1967)........................................................................................... 35
A Hole in the History
(1967-1968)................................................................................................. 37
A Year of Appraisal and
Recovery (1968-1969)............................................................................ 39
Twenty-One Plus In-Service
(1969-1970)..................................................................................... 41
AIPA—ITS
BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS
1949-1958
It may have happened over a glass of root beer or as an aside during a telephone conversation. It may have happened because of the recognition of common problems or just because it seemed to be an idea worth trying.
But sometime in the late summer or early fall, 1949, Herman
Schweikart (
“The idea
needed a broader base, and Willard suggested the inclusion of other advisors in
final preparations. Edmund Lewis (
One of the first four contacted Ernest J. Hopkins, professor of journalism at Arizona State College at Tempe (now Arizona State University), and the College agreed to act as a host for a conference, a date was decided upon and invitations were issued.
It was
The name of the Association and the election of Willard as first president came prior to the Nov. 12 meeting, for both names appear on the mimeographed first program.
The Scottsdale High Beaver reported in late November that “nearly 300 students attended the first annual meeting—and the SHS sponsor and 13 of his students were there.”
Following welcomes by J.E. Zimmerman (Special Services, ASC-Tempe) and Hopkins, an address by Jack Cannicott of Los Angeles Engraving Company on “Yearbook Production Problems” filled the morning hours.
Luncheon in the College Dining Hall preceded the afternoon General Assembly. Topics for discussion, led by Willard, were, according to the program:
“Press associations, editorial policy, snoop columns, sports, features, make-up, finances, pins, press cards, election plans, and association finances.”
Moving into the nearby
Mimeograph
Division: Herman Schweikart, chairman
Letterpress
Division: Edmund Lewis, chairman
Yearbook
Division: Jack Cannicott, chairman
Yearbook and newspaper editors were called to the
B.B,
Again, Schweikart remembers the pre-planning dealing
with officers:
“Mainly
because of the insistence of Willard, a dual slate of officers – student
officers and faculty officers—were elected. In the earliest years, it was not
deemed necessary for student officers and faculty officers to be from the same
schools. The main responsibility of the students was to assist with the details
of the annual convention and to act as moderators, chairmen, and public
relations figures as the need arose.”
No record is available of the names of those students
elected, but the program indicates that each newspaper and yearbook editor was
allowed to cast one vote in those elections.
The advisors held their own informal meeting in the
offices of the ASC State Press at
Willard continued as president and Lewis was named vice-president
but names of any other officers were not available.
(EDITOR’S NOTE:
1950-51
Ed Lewis’ letter of
In his comments on the early Association years,
Schweikart noted:
“…a
considerable effort was made to build good will between all three colleges—U of
A, ASC-Tempe, and ASC-Flagstaff—by holding joint conferences, co-sponsoring
“J-Day” at the U of A and inviting U of A participation in AIPA affairs…for the
veterans among us who recall the seal which existed between the three schools
for high school patronage, this was quite innovative. Journalism heads at the
time were Douglas Martin (U of A), E. J. Hopkins (ASC-Tempe) and Melvin
Hutchinson (ASC-Flagstaff) and it was not uncommon to have all three of these
gentlemen attend Association convention dinners.”
The distance to Flagstaff from the Valley of the Sun
and the Southern and Eastern parts of the state was a recognized fact by 1950
convention planners (in those days you went to via Prescott, Ashfork or Jerome
to Flagstaff). The welcomes and opening sessions were scheduled for
Dr. Lacy A. Eastburn (President, ASC-Flagstaff)
provided the welcome along with Willard and Lewis, and Wallace Hurley,
president of the Hurley Company,
Following the evening meal and a film, “The Newspaper
Story,” students and advisors held their business sessions and attended an
all-college dance honoring AIPA delegates.
Lewis moved up from the vice-presidency to become
president for 1950-51 and was joined by Norm Borg as first vice-president,
Young as second vice-president; Carol Lauer (
Student officers included Charles Spezia (
The convention delegates decided that a central
office, preferably at ASC-Tempe, would help in the dissemination of information
and George C. (Pappy) Yates of the ASC-Tempe Journalism faculty, was asked to
serve as Executive Secretary of the Association.
In other business, the Convention called for the
development of a “nameplate” to be distributed to all high schools for the use
in the masthead of school newspapers. While the official seal of the
Association did not appear in any Association papers until four years later,
that seal probably was developed in response to the 1950 Convention action.
That second Convention program called for optional
trips to Sunset Crater and the
1951-52
The Association’s only spring semester Convention,
“The Arizona Republic
of Feb. 10 reports Pyle, a former radio journalist, told the 400 plus
delegates, “A responsible press is one that doesn’t take liberties with the
truth of facts.”
A demonstration newspaper, written and produced by
Scottsdale High students during the Convention day, was a special feature. More
than a half dozen student-led seminars were scheduled.
Borg moved up to the Association’s presidency for
1951-52 with Young named vice-president and Mrs. Lauer elected
secretary-treasurer. Yates continued as executive secretary.
Student delegates elected Malcolm Stricklin (Marana)
as president, Miss Rhoton as vice-president and Dianne Dutton (school unknown)
as secretary. Financially, the only source of income was a moderate membership
fee, while expenditure was usually for a printed program and occasionally
identification ribbons, Schweikart recalls.
The Association’s co-founder said:
“I
still recall the incredulous look on the face of several
Breaking the “tradition” of holding alternate
conventions at
“The
belief on why we met at
But the ASC-Tempe news bureau story covering the 1952
meeting says that only 130 students from 30 schools attended and the
alternating sites was back in vogue.
Phoenix Gazette columnist Bert Fireman and
ASC President Grady Gammage were speakers at the morning sessions.
Although no minutes are available from the business
session, the advisors apparently suggested that an official Association
Constitution be written. Schweikart took over the reigns as president with
Young as vice-president and Mrs. Dorothy Hiatt (Marana) as secretary. Graham
French (Amphitheater), Gussie Edwards (
“The
teacher-officers encountered difficulty reaching student leadership and in
conveying the true picture of what was needed,” Schweikart remembers, and at
the 1952 Convention, a change of election procedure for student officers was
made.
The student and faculty officers were to be elected
from the same schools with the student elections to determine the advisors who
would serve as faculty officers.
John Poer (
Whether or not the 1952 Convention called for its
development, the first AIPA Constitution was presented to the Association
Executive Council on
1)
The Executive Secretary was appointed by the Executive Council.
2)
Five special geographical regions were set up according to Arizona
Interscholastic Association boundaries and each of the five officers—president,
vice-president, secretary, district one representative and district two
representative—were to represent one of those geographical regions. For
example, the president would be from the West Central District in 1952-53, from
East Central District in 1953-54 and from the Northern District in 1954-55.
3)
And, of course, student officers and their duties were outlined in
detail.
The minutes of the Jan. 31 meeting also carry the
note that each school would have only one vote rather than having editors of
both the newspaper and yearbook entitled to vote.
1953-54
More than 400 registered for the fifth annual
convention which returned to
The Convention program lists a general session,
delegate session and eight seminars, but does not indicate that any special
speaker was present. The Phoenix Gazette of Oct. 13 reports that
a special award for the best yearbook produced in 1952-53 was presented to
Ezra Norris (Casa Grande) led the student officers
for 1953-54 with Tim Beck (Holbrook) as vice-president; Olivia Chavez (
1954-55
“Journalism as a profession” themes the 1954 AIPA
Convention held Oct. 23 on the ASC-Tempe campus.
Harry Montgomery, assistant to the publisher of the Republic and Gazette; Ivan Mashek, chief photographer for the R & G; and
Hobart Franks, national advertising manager for the newspapers, were keynote
speakers.
Faculty advisors led 11 panel discussions during the
afternoon hours and tickets for the
Election of student officers followed the directives
of the Constitution, but there is some doubt that either the regional
representation or matching student officer with faculty advisor from the same
school was considered in the faculty elections.
The 400 student delegates named Barbara Strode
(Winslow) as president; Edwina Sainz (
French became the faculty president with Willard
named vice-president, Harry Goldstein (
1955-56
Two items of historical significance highlight the
records of the Seventh Annual Convention convened in
While it is buried beneath notices of elections and activities
for the day, the first mention of a young Forest Martin is made in the
Major speaker for the Convention was Arthur M.
Sanderson, assistant director of the National Scholastic Press Association and
in charge of NSPA’s critical services in
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 1956 Convention program lists
Forest Martin (Winslow) as district representative, but the ASC-Flagstaff
yearbook, La Cuesta, shows Martin
graduating from college in spring, 1956. Martin held several student offices
and was editor of the yearbook in 1955-56. Your editor has not been able to
determine just how Martin’s place on the Executive Council representing
Mike Monsegur (
1956-57
More than 500 delegates arrived on the ASC-Tempe
campus
While no keynote speaker was scheduled, morning
clinics in newspapers, yearbook and photography were headed by professionals
Tom Anderson, publisher of several Pinal County weekly papers; Sam DeWitt of
American Yearbook Company and Forrest Stroup of the Arizona Republic.
Student-led panels took their regular place in the
afternoon schedule.
Co-founders Willard and Schweikart were returned to
office by the convention, with Willard, the association’s first president,
assuming that role again. Schweikart became executive secretary. Dale Long
(Santa Cruz-Eloy) was named vice-president, but his name does not appear on the
1957 program. George Reeves (Gila Bend) was announced as the 56-57 president of
the student delegates but his name is also missing on the 57 program and Joyce
Van Reened (Amphitheater) is listed there as student president. Other student
officers were Elva Warner (
Willard and Schweikart, noting the inconsistencies in
practice and the constitution in early 1957, revised the document and sent a
new constitution to the membership for consideration.
Major changes in the constitution were:
1)
Elimination of district representation by geographical areas and
elimination of parallel officers for students and faculty.
2)
Provision for the election of the executive secretary by the
Association—a person used for three years but not therefore constituted.
1957-58
A twice-postponed 1957 Convention drew only 150 students
to the ASC-Flagstaff campus
Originally scheduled for Sept. 28, the date was
changed to accommodate football enthusiasts who wanted an ASC home game on the
Convention program. A second postponement was forced when ASC officials notified
AIPA officers that a genuine flu epidemic had broken out on the campus, and the
Nov. 16 date was settled upon.
Schweikart’s Executive Secretary’s report for 1957
gives some insight on the poor attendance caused by:
“…the
only snow storm of the months of October, November or December and singularly
poor mailing service from the Scottsdale Post Office. The small group did,
however, approve the revised constitution which seemed to be the answer to some
of the confusion and bitter feelings that had generated through the use of the
outmoded constitution.”
Main speakers for the convention were Bill Cameron,
publisher and editor of the Verde Independent;
and Platt Cline, editor and publisher of the Arizona Daily Sun.
Jim Leonard (
Student officers were Jim Spahr (
Schweikart’s historical notes include this final
assessment of that 1957 convention:
“With
a blizzard in full force in Flagstaff, the effectiveness of the Convention as a
teaching or learning agency was considerably minimized, but was compensated for
in a large was, especially for Phoenix-area kids, who really has a time with
the accumulated snowflakes.
A FINAL NOTE:
Co-founder Schweikart is undoubtedly accurate when he
says, “…the major and probably only activity of the Association was the
planning and execution of the annual convention.”
But Schweikart, Willard, Lewis, Young, French,
Goldstein, Freestone, Cooley, Borg, and others had brought the Association
intact to the end of the 1958 school year.
A MAJOR STEP—WORKSHOP
BEGINS
1958-59
It was almost as if the words were places in the
Association minutes as an afterthought. But the 29 words at the end of the
paragraph; three words were to signal a change in AIPA affairs, turning the
Association from a sleeping giant to a vigorous, enthusiastic organization
whose impact would be felt throughout the West and across the nation.
Executive Secretary Forest Martin (Winslow) wrote:
“
Bert Bostrom’s (Tolleson) suggestion that AIPA begin
its own newspaper and yearbook-judging program received more notes in the
minutes. So did the election of early AIPA officers Graham French and Roswell
Willard to the life membership in the Association.
And the 30 advisors at that 10th annual
Convention went home remembering the re-election of Jim Leonard (
For the 364 students attending the Convention there
was the election of Alex Padilla (