The Parker Brothers
Like many other folks in the newspaper
business, they’ve had a hard road to travel,
but they have won ont and now' control fonr
weekly newspapers.
THE only newspaper publishing
corporation in North Carolina
that has profit sharing features in
its articles is found in Ahoskie. This
town is the headquarters of the Parker
Brothers, publishers of four weekly
newspapers in the Roanoke-Chowan
section.
On July 1, 1940 the partnership
between -T. Roy Parker and his
younger brother, May on. was cor-
porated with the clause that “all em¬
ployees are entitled to a part of the
profits” included in the articles of
corporation.
Employees who have been with the
firm for twelve months are entitled to
buy n certain number of shares of
common stock. There is no compul¬
sion in this matter and none of the
stock is inflated.
The twenty-three employees of this
corporation share in the net yearly
profit in proportion to length of serv¬
ice and to standing salary. For two
and a half years, Parker Brothers
have been operating under this plan.
It is not easy to gain control of four
weekly newspapers but it can be done
and here is the story of how it was
done and how these papers are pub¬
lished in an efficient manner.
Started Early
Roy Parker received his apprentice
newspaper training by working for
the Hertford County Herald while he
was still a student at Wake Forest
College. When he graduated he was
offered a job as principal of the Rock
Hill High School. He turned this
offer down, however, and bought a half
interest in the paper for ?600.
For thirteen years Roy and James
S. Vinson were co-partners and put
out the Herald by means of hand-set
type with a hand-propelled press.
“During this period,” says Roy, “I
spent about 15 percent of my time
holding a flashlight so Vinson and
John Hill, shop foreman, could sec to
repair the machinery.”
Mayon Parker began working on
the paper when he was fourteen years
old. In 1918 Vinson went into the
Army, and Roy joined the Navy.
Still in High School, Mayon, with
the help of a tramp printer, attempted
By beiv McKinnon
to issue the Herald on the usual
weekly basis. His sister, Annie, came
home from Meredith College in May
and together they managed to keep
the paper going through the summer.
In September when Annie had to re¬
turn to school the paper was closed
down.
When the Armistice was signed on
November 11, Roy applied for a dis¬
charge and arrived in Ahoskie about
the middle of December determined
to “put the paper out.”
Acting as editor, pressman, printer
and a complete mechanical force, he
did the almost impossible and did put
the paper out. “I used up all the
matches in Ahoskie,” he says, “try¬
ing to brace type so it would stay in
the chase but I managed somehow.”
Mayon bought out Vinson in 1928
and the Parker Brothers were now
owners of the Herald. The chain was
established in 1929 when they pur¬
chased the Jackson News. "We bought
only the name and the subscription
list,” says Roy.
Immediately Roy and Mayon made
plana to purchase the three papers in
Roy Parker, the senior brother of
the firm. He is now a member of the
faculty in the School of Journalism
at Chapel Hill.
Bertie County. They did this and
consolidated the three into one paper;
The Bertie Ledger-Advance.
The Gates County Index was e-tab-
lished in 1932 by Miss Addie Mae
Cooke, who began working on the pa-
pers while in high school.
“How about a paper in Gates
Couuty?’” she said to Mr. Parker one
day.
"You do the work. I’ll print the
paper and wo will split the profits.”
lie answered, very casually.
She did, much to his surprise, and
made a success of the venture. On the
tenth anniversary of this paper, the
Porker Brothers bought her interest.
Printed in Ahoskie
All four of these papers are printed
at Ahoskie. Harry Hollingsworth is
now editor of the Hertford County
Herald. The Bertie Ijcdger-Adrance
is under the guiding hand of George
B. Weaver; and Lucius Blanchard has
recently assumed the responsibility of
editing the Gales County Index and
the Jackson News. “This is strictly a
war-tiiue measure due to shortage of
trained labor,” says Mr. Parker.
The original idea of the newspaper
chain seems to have been to attempt
to improve agricultural conditions in
that area. This has been the theme of
the newspapers since they were first
organized.
Mayon has been general manager
of the chain since 1934. In addition
to his newspaper work, he is intensely
interested in many agricultural or¬
ganizations in the Roanoke-Chowan
sector. He is President of the Growers
Peanut Cooperative of North Caro¬
lina and Virginia, director of the Na¬
tional Peanut Council, director of the
North Carolina Farm Bureau and
publisher of the North Carolina F arm
Bureau News, which is issued monthly
and has a circulation of 16,000. He is
married and has three children.
Roy Porker, President of the cor¬
poration, is a member of the faculty
of the School of Journalism at the
University of North Carolina and
lives in Chapel Hill with his wife and
son.
John Hill is still the shop foreman
{Continued on page twenty-four )
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