Sidney Sapp arrived in Holbrook in the winter of 1908 and began setting up a competing paper to the Argus, called the Holbrook News. The weekly began publishing on May 14, 1909, at which time Holbrook had a population of 620.
On the front page of the first issue, Sapp wrote, “To the people of Holbrook and Navajo County we desire to say in beginning the publication of the news that it will be published in the interest of the town first. That we will do what we can for the building up of the town, a good moral town, and the county seat of Navajo, one of the best counties in the territory, that will bring people and business; men who want to do business here, will build beautiful homes, churches and schools. We have a fine county to live in. We will try to print all the news as we know it, and if you know anything, please tell us. Our politics will be Republican, but Holbrook first and politics after. With a good will for everybody and a boost for the town, and hoping to merit your business, we remain, very respectfully, Sidney Sapp.”
Sapp was publisher and editor of the paper until March 22, 1912.
Sapp, his wife, Alma, J.E. Cox, John R. Hulet and W.H. Clark were listed in a legal notice that ran in the Jan. 12, 1912, edition of the paper as stockholders of the Holbrook Publishing Company. The company continued to operate the paper until March 1915, when it sold the paper to G.M. Braxton.
Sapp’s comment about a “good moral town” did not appear to be based on facts present in 1900s Holbrook. Holbrook had several saloons in 1909, and no churches. The Cottage, better known as the Bucket of Blood Saloon, was a popular community hangout where cowboys and other less than reputable persons would while away the hours in poker instead of prayer.
Sapp would work hard to make his statement of a “good moral town” come true. In 1912, Sapp and a committee of church supporters began raising funds to build Holbrook’s first church. On April 5, 1912, the Holbrook News ran a page one story about the community church building program.
Sapp was also elected Navajo County’s first Superior Court judge, and took office in 1912. He served until 1919, when he re-entered private practice, until he retired in 1936.
Snowflake Herald
On July 27, 1913, the first edition of the Snowflake Herald appeared. R.C. Smith was the publisher, and H.B. Thompson was the editor and manager. In the first edition they stated their purpose for starting the paper by saying, “The Herald was not conceived alone with the object in view of filling a long felt want, but rather with the idea of up-building Snowflake and Navajo County and publishing the unlimited and little-known resources and opportunities of this section of Arizona. The Herald will maintain an independent attitude in politics and express itself without censorship upon all public questions…It will be the aim of The Herald to be complete and reliable in all its publications and this in face of any and all opposition with the view of maintaining an up-to-date weekly newspaper of a high standard.”
In 1920, Smith died, so his wife Sarah T. Smith and their son Rick ran the back shop. He set the type and ran the press. Mrs. Smith was publisher for 21 years until the Feb. 9, 1934, edition, at which time the publisher was listed as Herald Publishing Co. There are no stories in the paper suggesting who the new owners were. It would appear that the Giragi brothers purchased the paper. Later in this story you’ll find the reasons cited for this conclusion.
