In May of 1913, A.G. Waldron began the town's first newspaper, the Tropical Breeze. He enlisted A.E. Shower as an assistant. Shower had previously been the mechanical superintendent at the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison, Wisconsin for fifteen years. He and his family came to Safety Harbor on account of his ill health to heal and drink the mineral waters and he end up falling in love with the town.
One year later, Waldron sold the rights to the Tropical Breeze to Shower, who renamed it the Safety Harbor Herald. For a cost of $1.00 per year, residents of Safety Harbor could get national, regional, and local news and happenings delivered to their door every Friday. Most of the new articles were written by A.E. himself, with a distinct personal style that showed a fearless, often frank, dedication to the well-being of Safety Harbor.
The Herald was a family affair. A.E. wrote the articles, sold ads, and oversaw the business. His wife Edith helped run the business and collected the local happenings and social events. His son Franklin was in charge of all the type settings and job printing. His other son Dwight, before he became Postmaster of Safety Harbor from 1937-1970, also assisted. Together they published and printed the newspaper in a tiny tin shack with a gasoline powered printing press. In 1923 the success of the Herald allowed them to move into a larger and more adequate masonry building at 515 Main Street, directly across from the old workshop. They were also able to purchase more modern equipment.
Franklin Shower took over as publisher in the fall of 1957 after A.E. retired. A.E. Shower eventually died in 1961. During this time the style of the paper changed. The “Local Happenings” section that was a staple of the paper was removed entirely and the news articles became more matter of fact with less personal opinion. Franklin would continue to operate the paper until his death in 1975. In 1976, the Herald was purchased by Tarpon Springs city commissioner and community activist Bea Raynard and her husband Ray. The publication of the paper moved to Tarpon Springs and began to cover the broader Upper Pinellas regional area. Jean and George Graham purchased the paper from Raynard in 1987 and it officially ceased publication in June 1989. The Safety Harbor Public Library digitized the Safety Harbor Herald in 2017 through the generous support of the Chrissie Shull Elmore Safety Harbor Library Fund.
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