As they say, the more things change…

What I have always loved about working at the Weiser Signal American is exploring the stash of historic newspapers in the office’s “morgue.” The very earliest copies date all the way back to 1883, and the paper those are printed on has become brittle and delicate over the past 142 years.

 Like many other locals who consider themselves “native,” my family roots here date back into the 1880s through my dad’s family. That first generation joined other pioneers who settled here to grub out sage brush on the Weiser Flat, and a few years later some of them also worked with the crews of men who built the Galloway Canal.

 Needless to say, I sometimes dig in to see if I can find any early-on mentions of the family name, but I’m even more inclined to look in later, mid-century books for information on Weiser and Washington County amenities, institutions, and events that have continued to evolve and are still a big part of our local fabric.

 A couple of early 1950s articles I’ve come across the past couple of years caught my eye for different reasons. Anyone who’s followed Weiser’s fiddle contest for very long is aware the introductory contest was held during an intermission of what had been a very popular square dance festival here.

 Secretary of the Weiser Chamber of Commerce in those days was Blaine Stubblefield, a WW1 veteran and former editor of McGraw-Hill aviation magazines. Stubblefield is credited as the founder of the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest.

 One news article published less than two months before the first 1953 contest had to do with the Chamber not having heard back from the organizers of the square dance festival affirming the addition of the fiddle contest to its intermission. Somewhere in the process, the city fathers at Cuprum had been contacted to see if they held any interest in hosting the event. They might have welcomed it, but their response indicated a concern that folks attending would have to bring bedrolls and camp under the trees due to a lack of accommodations in the small mountain town. Who could have foreseen the vagabond era of the 1970s, or the deep connections people would make in Stickerville and the willingness to camp during the contest all of these years later?

 Another news piece in January of 1953 surrounded Stubblefield’s annual report to the Chamber of Commerce. I guess with a successful background, he was confident enough to not mince any words with a message that could hit home in any small community. He referenced the community’s numerous civic organizations at the time as “competition” for events the Chamber was backing.

 He wasn’t uncomplimentary, but went on, “There is little coordination of effort. They all jump on their horses and ride off in different directions. Just suppose, a whopping big suppose, that all these groups should get together and concentrate, say, on five main objectives. In no time at all, Weiser’s achievements would be national headlines.”

 He seemed to be onto something.