A Look Back Before Going Forward

By Shelby Lindrud 

(Originally published February 28, 2008 in the Olivia Times Journal)

For hundreds of years newspaper have witnessed everything from wars and revolutions to victories and independence. Newspapers were the eyes and ears of the public for some of the worlds biggest news events. 

But sometimes, the newspaper itself is the news, as it is today in Renville County. This is the last issue of the Olivia Times-Journal (OTJ). It only seemed fitting to look back at the history of newspapers, along what is now the 212 corridor, before we turn the page and welcome the Renville County Register. 

The first newspaper in Renville County was the Beaver Falls Gazette, first published in 1870 by J.A. Wells. Like many first time papers it lasted only for a short time, in this case one year. The next paper, the Beaver Falls Globe, folded after only one issue. 

Another Beaver Falls paper, the Renville County Times, began publishing in 1872. As the old saying goes, the third time was the charm. 

The Times existed for over 30 years and was one of only a few papers in Renville County during the 1870s and 80s. 

In 1890 the owner, Henry Kelsey, moved the plant to Olivia and then sold it to Wilson & Soule, who changed the name of the paper to the Olivia Times. 

Other towns started their own papers, but only a few survived long The Bird Island Post ran from Oct. 1879 through June 1880 and the Bird Island Blizzard lasted only one year, April 1881-82. Both papers were sold to B.B. Herbert, who called it the Renville County Union. It ran under this masthead for almost twenty years, with several different publishers, before the name was changed to the Bird Island Union, under the control of C.H. Sherwood in 1903. 

Danube attempted several times to start a town newspaper. The Danube Herald began in 1904 and continued for some time before ending. There was also the Danube Review. 

Besides the Times, Olivia was home to many different papers. The Olivia Weekly began publication in 1897 but ceased publication by 1901. The Olivia Press lasted two years from 1901 to 1903. Then there was the Olivia Times-Press from 1903 to 1905. From 1904 to 1909 the Olivia Review printed the news. In 1914 a new paper moved to Olivia, the Sacred Heart Journal. The paper began in 1899 when W.B. Strom bought the Hector Sentinel and changed the name. The paper was published in Sacred Heart until the new publishers, the Non-Partisan League, moved it to Olivia. 

The paper's name was changed to the Renville County Journal. It was published until 1941 before being consolidated with the Olivia Times, creating what is now the Olivia Times-Journal. 

Sacred Heart has been home to some very interesting publications over the years. The very first Sacred Heart newspaper was the Sacred Heart Bladet, which first began reporting in 1890. The newspaper was published by Hans Ristvedt, a newspaper man from Norway, and was printed entirely in Norwegian. It lasted for less than five years. 

The Sacred Heart Posten was a bi-lingual publication, printed in both English and Norwegian. Knute Holien founded the Posten, though it only lasted four years. Holien also published the Sacred Heart Republican from 1897 to 1901. 

The People's Watchman, a populist party paper, was founded in 1895 by Captain John R. Lowe. By 1901 the paper had left Sacred Heart, for Renville, where it was published as the Renville Record before folding in 1905. 

After the Journal moved to Olivia, Sacred Heart was paperless until 1920 when the press started running issues of the Sacred Heart News. The paper lasted for 69 years before joining another well-known area paper, the Renville Star Farmer. 

The city that is now Renville was founded in 1878 and the newborn town quickly started up its first news-paper, the Renville Station Weekly News in 1879. The paper was printed at the Granite Falls Journal office, and it lasted until 1881. 

Six years later, the Renville Weekly News, published by C.L. Lorraine, began. It ended quickly, surviving for only a year before closing in 1888. 

However, Renville was not without a paper. The Renville Star was founded in 1888 by none other than M.J. Dowling. Dowling stayed with the Star until 1890 when he sold his part in the paper to his partner J.C. Spencer. 

In 1891, Welch & Childs established the Renville Farmer. They ran it for only one year, before Dowling stepped in and purchased both the Farmer and his original paper, the Star. He consolidated the two, creating the Renville Star-Farmer in 1892. The first edition was printed on Sept. 23, 1892. 

The Star-Farmer continued publication throughout the 20th century, bringing the end to several other area papers such as the Sacred Heart Republican and the Wood Lake News. The Sacred Heart News joined the Star Farmer in 1989, creating the present day Renville County Star Farmer News (SFN). 

The OTJ was purchased by Rose Hettig, Bill Ramige and Tom Hauer in Oct. 1988 and the SFN in Nov. 1997, and printed by Renco Publishing. 

Starting next week the Olivia Times-Journal and the Renville County Star Farmer News will cease to exist, but the Renville County Register will strive to continue those papers' rich past as it begins to carve out its own place in Renville County history.