The "Sherrard Bulletin," now published by the Peterson Brothers, came into existence at the time when the town of Sherrard, in Richland Grove Township, was coming into prominence as the center of the coal-mining industry, the first number being issued under date of January 17, 1895, by F. S. Fullerton, who had been an employe in the office of the Rock Island Union.

The material was largely of the class which had outlasted its usefulness in the Tri­City offices, the early issues of the paper being a six-column quarto, of which six pages were printed in a "patent-insides" office in Chicago. At first the growing town of Sherrard brought Mr. Fullerton a fair return for his venture, but having met with business reverses, on July 23, 1397, he was compelled to suspend publication. On August 6. following, publication was re­sumed under the proprietorship of A. B. Johnson, but being without newspaper experience, the enterprise did not prove successful and, on August 1, 1898, he turned the establishment over to Peterson Brothers, who have since conducted it with marked success

. Before enter­ing upon their newspaper career the Peterson Brothers had been employed in farm-work; but, taking the "Bulletin" upon their hands with a list of less than 200 bonafide subscribers, by a system of industry and strict economy—keeping, for a time, what is called "bachelor's hall"—they have been able to make both ends meet; old, worn-out material has been replaced with new and modern machinery, until the office now has almost an entire new equipment. The paper is printed on a Hoe cylinder-press, conceded to be one of the fastest in the county, the power being furnished by a two and one- half horse power gasoline engine. Nor has the job department been neglected. The circulation has increased correspondingly, and its local and advertising columns are well filled. Its proprietors have given evidence of industry and skill in their profession from the start, and the citizens of that locality accord them a generous patronage.

 

History of Henderson and Mercer Counties

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