By GEORGE FJELD
BRANDON—The sudden departure of Mim Welton and the Dateline Brandon paper in April of 1996 left a void in the local news scene in Brandon. Shirley Hill, formerly of the Antique Rose Garden on Marble Street, called Frank Farnsworth saying “somebody has to put out the paper.” Farnsworth had a printing business and he and his trusty employee Phil Keyes were quickly on it.
Their first edition of The Bugle was published just a few short weeks later, on May 1, 1996. They had to get up to speed quickly. Luckily, Farnsworth had a few things going for him. First, he had previously published a weekly paper on the island of Vinalhaven off the coast of Maine. He inherited The Wind, as that paper was called, from a local preacher who was leaving the island. The preacher left Frank a small printing press and just enough information to allow him to produce the single sheet, 8.5” x 17” weekly update for the residents. It provided enough information to keep everyone up to date. Second, he had a press, an AB Dick 360 on which he would print The Bugle for over 12 years! Third, he had spent time with Mim in her studio and darkroom. He’d learned the basics of photo developing in those days before digital cameras. Fourth, he knew the town. More on that later.
However, they did not have a name! Local resident Lisa Beede came to the rescue. She ran a contest to name the paper which got 90+ submissions. It needed to be short and have a catchy nickname. The Brandon Bugle was chosen after lengthy debate.
Farnsworth, with help from many townspeople, and by the seat of his pants published the final edition of the Dateline on April 19, 1996. The first edition of the Bugle was out on May 1st. It would be the community news and event recorder for the next 12+ years.
The Bugle would be Farnsworth’s life for at least 48 weeks per year. He spent evenings and weekends attending various sporting and social events. He was the photographer for the Brandon Police Department. He got called at all hours of the day and night to go take pictures of accidents and crime scenes.
THE VERY FIRST issue of Frank Farnsworth’s Brandon Bugle, dated May 1, 1996. The Bugle picked up where Mim Welton’s Dateline Brandon left off.
Laura Peterson wrote The Recipe Corner each week and would publish a recipe from a local resident. She also wrote Around Town, a musing about events or whatever struck her fancy. Farnsworth wrote Bugle Notes which had a little bit of everything. Nancy Rowe wrote a gardening column. Reprints of historical articles from The Brandon Union, written by E. S. Marsh and published earlier in the 20th century commonly made an appearance. There were many local ads and the lunch menu for the school as well. Off the Shelf from the Brandon Free Public Library debuted in the Bugle. The selectmen’s (an old and discontinued term) minutes were printed verbatim, often before they were reviewed. Of course, each paper had plenty of pictures, for Frank, like Mim before him, always had his camera at the ready.
Each week, Frank and Phil would print the 8-10 page paper on the press. They would then collate, fold, and bundle up all 600 – 1,000 copies by hand. Frank had to guess how many papers he would sell based on the news and seasonal variations. They would put the bundled papers in the back of the car and off he would go to distribute copies to the news dealers all over town.
Farnswoth moved to Brandon in 1989 when he was hired as town manager. He and his wife Francie moved here from Rangely, Maine where he had been town manager. He took care of Brandon’s affairs until 1993 when he started his printing business, Otter Print and Copy, which he initially ran from the old Whippoorwill building. He subsequently moved it to the basement of his house on Wheeler Road. He published a paper called The Advertiser for a brief period while the Dateline was still ongoing. Frank retired a few years ago and is now a self described camera nut and itinerant fisherman.
