Charles Dwelley

Evans and Dwelley assumed ownership of the newspaper and its debts, reincorporating it in 1930.[21] Shortly afterwards, the Depression struck. The financial situation for the newspaper remained dire throughout the 1930s. In one incident, Dwelley invited his readers to pay for the newspaper issue that he couldn't publish due to medical reasons in order to help pay for his medical bill.[22]

Living with his wife and newborn son in the same building where he operated Linotype machines,[23] young Dwelley worked hard and managed to make the newspaper work,[2][24] eventually paying all the debts and buying out Evans' share.[7] He is credited with "rescuing the failing Concrete Herald."[18] Many of his peers, including fellow editor and politician Sim Wilson, noted the accomplishment of maintaining a profitable newspaper in a small town.[19] From 1930 to 1943, the population of Concrete declined slightly, but the number of Herald subscriptions rose by 67%.[25][26]

On March 27, 1944, Dwelley learned that his younger brother William had been killed in the European theater of war, and voluntarily enlisted in the Navy.[27][28] He received bootcamp training at Farragut, Idaho, and graduated with honors as Torpedoman Third Class from the Torpedo School at Naval Base San Diego as in December 1944.[29] Dwelley was assigned to the Seventh Fleet and stationed in the Admiralty Islands. As it became apparent that the Navy has a surplus of torpedomen, in April 1945 he was assigned to Manila, Philippines, as a shore patrol officer.[27] Dwelley returned to Seattle on a liberty ship on December 10, 1945, and was discharged at Bremerton, Washington, on December 16, having served 21 months.[27]

During this time, Dwelley's wife, Helen Lyle, edited a truncated version of The Concrete Herald from April 1944 to November 1944, but couldn't keep up. From November 2, 1944, to May 31, 1945, the newspaper's publication was completely suspended.[30]

In 1956, The Concrete Herald and Dwelley personally were sued for libel by Jacob Koops, a police judge of the city of Lyman, Washington, in connection to Dwelley's July 1955 editorial comments on the conduct of Koop's office.[31] At that time, a Washington State Supreme Court decision imposed serious limitations on criticism in newspaper columns.[32] The proceedings lasted almost three years, but the court eventually acquitted Dwelley and his paper,[33] which Dwelley celebrated with an 80-point bold headline "WE WON," surpassing the size of the headlines proclaiming the end of World War II.[2][34]

From 1949 on,[35] Dwelley's editorials were cited on the radio nationwide, reprinted in nationwide publications such as Reader's Digest and The New York Times,[2][7] praised for their "wry sense of humor,"[36] and referred to among professional journalists as "Dwellisms."[8]

Dwelley believed that editorials were an integral part of a local newspaper, and that editors should express their personal opinions to make local newspapers interesting and worthy. He also advocated short editorials as more effective at delivering the point to the readers.[37]

In 1951, over 75% of the Herald's subscribers were local residents of Concrete,[38] but throughout the 1950s, The Concrete Herald subscription base rose to include all of upper Skagit Valley, from Lyman in the west to Newhalem in the northeast.[23] In 1956, the Herald was believed to be "one of the finest edited newspapers in the state."[9] By 1957, the circulation of the Herald exceeded the population of Concrete.[39]

Dwelley's editorials won first-place awards from the Washington State Press Club two years in a row,[40] in 1949[41] and in 1950.[42] In 1952, he was at the center of attention again, labeled a "Ladies' man" by his colleagues when Ladies' Home Journal picked Dwelley as among the four best editorial writers in United States.[43] In the same year, Dwelley won the second-place award for Distinguished Reporting from the Washington State Press Club.[44]

In 1951, Dwelley published a special 44-page edition of The Concrete Herald commemorating the 50th anniversary of the paper,[45] for which he received a first-place award from the National Newspaper Association.[7]

From 1953 until 1957, Dwelley and his wife Helen served as judges for the Washington State Press Club contests.[46] In 1958 (when he was off the panel of judges) Dwelley won another first-place prize for Excellence in Community Service.[47] The last award Dwelley received for his work on The Concrete Herald was first place in Newspaper Leadership, in April 1970.[48]

The Concrete Herald building on Main street in Concrete, WA, occupied by local stores.[49] It still carries the embellishments and the distinctive green color that Dwelley applied in the 1950s.[50][51]

In September 1970, having marked 40 years of editing the newspaper, Dwelley retired, selling The Concrete Herald to Robert and June Fader.[5][36][52] Dwelley corresponded with the paper's new editors, praising occasional "scathing" editorials.[2] In 1989, however, Herald readers were "shocked" when the paper was sold to an opportunistic businessman with no experience in publishing, John Falavolito. In two years, The Concrete Herald had failed and ceased publication.[23]

Eighteen years later, in 2009, Concrete resident Jason Miller revived the newspaper in both paper and electronic formats.[53] The successful resurrection of the paper version in the digital age came as a surprise for the publishing industry[54] and reportedly "rejuvenated" local community.[55]

After Dwelley's editorials received national attention in 1949, he was asked to share his thoughts on newspaper editorials with the members of the Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association (WNPA).[37] In 1950, he was elected secretary of the association.[56] On November 17, 1950, at the University of Washington, Dwelley was initiated in Sigma Delta Chi.[57]

Dwelley served on the Advisory Committee for the WNPA in 1952–1953[58] and on its Finance Committee in 1954–1955.[59] He was elected to serve as the vice-president in 1956–57,[60] and, finally, its president in 1957–58.[9]

Dwelley represented Washington State on the National Editorial Association's Freedom of Information Committee in 1953–1954[61] and on the Editorial Page Committee in 1956–1957.[62]

After the Herald's sale in 1972, Dwelley's family moved to La Conner, Washington, where he continued writing and editing.[17][18] For years, Dwelley wrote a column called "The Bridge Tender" for a local newspaper, the Channel Town Press, and published and edited a few history books, including a history of Concrete (And They Called the Town Concrete) and Skagit Memories.[6][19][17] He was also elected an honorary lifetime member of the Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association, and occasionally attended its gatherings.[63]