“Newspapers should have no friends.”

” Joseph Pulitzer

Henry J. Holmes was a passionate newspaper man. He believed any visitor could ascertain a community’s vitality though the reading of the town’s newspaper. In addition to recording events, Holmes also believed newspapers had the duty to hold public officials and businessmen accountable for their actions.

When Holmes came to Glenwood Springs in 1887, he had more than a decade of experience in the newspaper business. In 1889, he purchased Carbondale’s Advance newspaper, changing the name to the Carbondale Avalanche. His paper served the Carbondale community until 1891, when he moved the newspaper to Glenwood Springs.

Once in Glenwood Springs, Holmes’ Avalanche operated as the town’s predominant newspaper until the late 1890s. On Jan. 1, 1898, Holmes’ newest competitor, the Glenwood Post, published its first edition. With Amos J. Dickson as editor, the Glenwood Post brought a decidedly conservative and pragmatic approach to news reporting. This new paper’s affiliation with the Republican Party struck a contrast to the Democratic slant familiar to the Avalanche readers for nearly a decade.

Economically, Glenwood Springs was limited. The Avalanche and the Glenwood Post fought for readership and for advertising dollars. Along with the economic fight for survival came political warfare. It was guaranteed positions taken by both papers could not be more opposite, producing a fiery split of public opinion within Glenwood Springs.

Failing health forced Holmes in about 1925 to lease his enterprise to Westly Curtis and to Melissa Bailar, a reporter, proofreader and typesetter for the Avalanche for more than two decades. The partnership continued printing the Avalanche as a weekly paper. However, Holmes died in 1926, leaving with his death a lack of advice and guidance to Bailar and Curtis.

Additionally, the newspaper business was changing in post-World War I America. Increases in material and labor costs cut newspaper profits. Glenwood Springs continued to be limited economically, and the fight for advertising dollars and readership continued. Gone, too, were the days where newspapers catered to the political affiliations of its readers. A consolidation of resources was needed to produce a single, strong, politically nonbiased newspaper. Without consolidation, both newspapers faced financial ruin.

The Glenwood Post announced the merger of the Avalanche with the Glenwood Post on Jan. 5, 1928. With the Post’s acquisition of the Avalanche, Glenwood Springs became a one-newspaper town. Dickson’s editorial did not recap the newspapers’ histories, but instead looked to the future, promising a successful publication as well as a “journal that will record matters of interest … and to make it a mirror of local events.” “Merged with the Avalanche Echo” appeared on the Glenwood Post masthead until Sept.18, 1947.

The Glenwood Post continued to serve the community until November 2000, when it was merged with the Glenwood Independent. The resulting newspaper with its roots deep in the pages of Glenwood Springs history is today’s Glenwood Springs Post Independent.

Willa Kane is former archivist of and a current volunteer with the Frontier Historical Society and Museum. “Frontier Diary” is provided to the Post Independent by the museum, 1001 Colorado Ave., Glenwood Springs. Winter hours are 1-4 p.m. Monday and Thursday through Saturday. For more information, call 945-4448. “Frontier Diary” appears the first Tuesday of every month.