The Manchester Herald, a newspaper deeply intertwined with the history and people of Manchester, Connecticut, USA served the community for 109 years before ceasing publication on the 27th of June 1991.

Founding and Early Years: Elwood Starr Ela, in partnership with Thomas Pratt, founded the Manchester Saturday Evening Herald in 1881. While its birthday is regarded as October 1st, the first edition was published on the 17th of December 1881, and was distributed for free. In 1885, Ela became the sole owner of the weekly four-page paper, which later expanded to eight pages. By 1895, it became the Half-Weekly Herald, publishing on Tuesdays and Fridays for Wednesday and Saturday distribution.

Early Setbacks and Moves: In 1888, Ela purchased a four-page Cotterel Press and situated the paper in the Rose Building north of the railroad tracks on Old North Main Street. A fire destroyed the Rose Building on the 4th of January 1889, which forced Ela to set up temporary headquarters at Apel’s Opera House. Following the fire, the Herald moved back into the rebuilt Rose Building but relocated again in 1891 to a two-story building on Hilliard Street, which became its home for the next 37 years.

Growth and Expansion: The Herald continued to evolve with the town. It became the first semi-weekly newspaper in Connecticut. In 1914, The Herald entered the daily field. Another fire struck on the 18th of November 1922, gutting the Hilliard Street home of the paper. Despite the setback, not a single edition was missed, with The Hartford Courant and the South Manchester News printing the paper while the operation was being set up in the Herald’s news office on Oak Street. Three weeks later, the paper was back in its rebuilt Hilliard Street plant. In 1928, The Herald purchased the Knights of Columbus building on Bissell Street. As the paper outgrew its home, an addition was built in 1967, followed by a new building in 1972, allowing for the conversion to full offset production.

Key Figures:

• Elwood Starr Ela: Founder and publisher, who had his first taste of newspaper work on the Manchester “Weekly Times”.
• Thomas Ferguson: An Irish immigrant hired in 1889, who rose through the ranks to become owner and publisher. He started a column called “The Observer’s Column”.
• Ronald Ferguson: Son of Thomas, who also had a career in journalism.

Ferguson Family Ownership: Thomas Ferguson gained controlling interest in the paper in 1928 and complete financial control in 1945. The paper continued to grow under the Fergusons, who contracted for a new Goss press in 1951. However, both Thomas and Ronald died within two weeks of each other in 1951. Almost a half-century of Ferguson family ownership ended on 8th of November 1971, when the Ferguson brothers sold The Herald to Hagadone Newspapers, Inc., a division of Scripps League Newspapers, Inc.

Later Years: The corporate title changed to Manchester Publishing Co.. Scripps League Newspapers, Inc. took control of Manchester Publishing Co. from Hagadone in late 1978. During Scripps League’s ownership, the Herald was modernized with a computerized editorial system. The Herald was voted New England’s Newspaper of the Year by the New England Newspaper Association in 1990.

Throughout its history, The Manchester Herald played a vital role in the community, reporting on local events and chronicling the growth and changes in Manchester. Despite fires and changes in ownership, the paper remained a constant presence in the town for over a century before ceasing publication on the 27th of June 1991.

A variety of comic strips were featured in the The Manchester Herald, which were published on a daily basis (except on Sunday) in black and white. The comic strip characters include Captain Easy, Arlo And Janis, Alley Oop, The Born Loser, Frank And Ernest, Winthrop, Blondie, Spider-Man, Ernie, Eel And Meek, Phipps, Robotman, Hagar The Horrible and many more. The line-up of comic strips varied from edition to edition.

The Phantom was also featured in the comics section between the 2nd of December 1985 thru till the end of the newspapers publication on the 27th of June 1991. Below we see an advertisement announcing the coming of Phantom comic strips to The Manchester Herald, printed on the 29th of November 1985 appearing on page 21.

The inaugural comic strip featured in The Manchester Herald on the 2nd of December 1985 is the Phantom classic story ‘The Lake Lady’ by Lee Falk and Sy Barry. The Phantom comic strip is presented alongside a diverse selection of other comic strips, as seen below.

The Phantom was consistently published in The Manchester Herald on a daily basis, with the exception of Sundays, until its final edition on the 27th of June 1991. The last story to be published of the Phantom is titled ‘The Jungle Patrol v The Drug Cartel’ by Lee Falk and Sy Barry. This last comic strip to be printed can be below, with the full story not able to be published.

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