Frank W. Mayborn 1903-1987 Editor/Publisher, Temple Daily Telegram President, Killeen Daily Herald

October 29, 1929, is a black-letter day in American history, but for anyone interested in the history of Temple and Central Texas the following day stands out as a red-letter day that heralded the beginning of dynamic change for the community and the entire region.

On October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed. It was the day that the U.S. and the world entered into the long economic tailspin known as the Great Depression.

The Temple Daily Telegram dutifully reported the catastrophe the next morning, October 30, 1929.

Although significant for that reason because of the crash, that edition of the Telegram carried another report, one whose significance would not become evident until years later.

On October 30, 1929, a small Page One story announced that Ward Mayborn and his sons would be taking over operation of the newspaper on November 1.

The elder Mayborn and two of his sons would move on to other ventures within a few years as the newspaper faltered under economic hardships. The oldest son, Frank W. Mayborn, stayed on, fought through the hard economic times with a small cadre of hard-working staff members and eventually turned the small daily newspaper in the struggling Central Texas community into a thriving operation — the linchpin of his communication holdings.

Using the Telegram as his foundation, Mayborn established a reputation as both a communications pioneer and a community builder. He went on to own radio stations in Texas and Tennessee; put one of Texas’ first television stations on the air; and acquired several other daily newspapers within the state. During his nearly 60 years in Central Texas he was recognized as quite possibly the single most dynamic force for growth in the region.

Temple and the Telegram were always his base of operations and he worked tirelessly for the betterment and benefit of the city and the region.

From 1933 to 1950, the Telegram won a number of major awards for excellence and public service. In the early 1930s, the paper launched a successful campaign to establish the Brazos River Authority. Since its inception the BRA has been active in the creation of numerous lakes and reservoirs, including Lake Belton and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, through the construction of dams along the Brazos River watershed.

Frank Mayborn played a pivotal role in the future development of the region when prior to World War II he served as chairman of the Temple Chamber of Commerce War Projects Committee. In that capacity he was instrumental in the location of Camp Hood (now Fort Hood) near the then small town of Killeen; McCloskey General Hospital (now Olin E. Teague Veteran’s Center) in Temple; the Bluebonnet Ordinance Plant in McGregor; the Bob Poage Brazos Electric Co-op Plant between Temple and Belton; and the Army Auxiliary Airfield (now Temple’s Draughon-Miller Central Texas Regional Airport).

After the war, the Telegram, under Mayborn’s direction, helped the area consolidate those gains. Temple leaders with the Telegram’s help set out to save Fort Hood and have it designated as a permanent Army post; have the Veterans Administration take over the Army’s 3,000-bed amputation center, McCloskey; assisted in negotiations to put the bomb loading plant at McGregor to use for making rocket fuel and turn over part of the unused base to Texas A&M for an Experiment Station; and secured Draughon-Miller Army Airport for the City of Temple and the funds to refurbish the facility and make it usable as a civilian airport. The Telegram’s community efforts also extended into Temple industry. With backing and promotion in the paper, civic leaders raised $200,000 to establish the Temple Industrial Foundation. A substantial number of manufacturing plants have located over the years in the foundation’s 400-acre Temple Industrial Park.

With the aid of Congressman W. R. “Bob” Poage, civic leaders started a successful drive to locate the state headquarters of nearly all federal farm agencies in Temple. In 2000, the dream of having all the headquarters located in Temple came true with the announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that all state headquarters for its agencies would be located in Temple. While the Telegram was supporting community expansion, the newspaper itself experienced growth and innovation.

The job of rebuilding the audited circulation from a depression low of 7,800 to the present nearly 25,000 paid subscribers has been a gradual, but gratifying, development which reflects both the acceptance of the Temple Daily Telegram, improved economic conditions and the significant growth of the population in the area.

In 1978, the Telegram moved from its 118 West Avenue A location, where it had been published since 1928, across the street to its 10 South 3rd Street plant, the first ever designed and built specifically to house the newspaper.

The Avenue A building had at one time been an Opera House which had been converted for producing the newspaper.

With the move to the new building came all new furniture and equipment, including a 10-unit Goss press capable of printing up to 50,000 papers per hour and up to 80 pages per press run. Also, added was an automated mailroom.

The paper soon added a mainframe computer system for its editorial and classified advertising operations and a high speed AP wire service.

The Temple Daily Telegram has always been dedicated to enriching the lives of its readers and the communities it serves.

The “routine” for the Telegram is to report actions of city councils and school boards and other governmental entities which impact the daily lives of Telegram readers.

The Telegram provides the information necessary to make informed decisions on everything from presidential elections to bond issue proposals and city charter changes.

Its Partners in Education (PIE) program, which began as Newspapers in Education, offers papers at a discounted price for use in the classroom as teaching tools. Members of the community pay for the papers which are then distributed to the classrooms. In addition to the papers, PIE classrooms are given numerous printed tabloids and other material for use in teaching tomorrow’s citizens.

Also through PIE, the Telegram sponsors a countywide spelling bee open to 6th-, 7th- and 8th-grade students. The bee established in the early Mayborn years celebrated its 69th birthday in 2000.

Five outstanding teachers are recognized each year with the Temple Daily Telegram’s Golden Apple Award. The winners are selected from nominations made by Telegram readers who are asked to nominate either current teachers or teachers who had a profound effect on them sometime during their education.

The Telegram also sponsors the Pioneer Day celebration at the Frank W. Mayborn Civic and Convention Center. Pioneer Day scheduled each year for the Saturday prior to Temple’s June 29 birthday honors Central Texans who have lived in the area for 50 years or longer. It is an outgrowth of the Temple’s 1931 Golden Jubilee Celebration beginning the next year under the sponsorship of the paper.

The most significant and prestigious award sponsored by the Telegram is in conjunction with its sister paper, the Killeen Daily Herald. It is the Frank W. Mayborn Humanitarian Award. The award recognizes civic and/or humanitarian service at its highest form in Central Texas and is given for an outstanding selfless act which occurred in the previous year. The award honors the longtime editor and publisher of the Telegram, who set a standard of service to the community and region which is nearly unparalleled. Frank Mayborn died in 1987 and was succeeded by his wife, Sue Mayborn, who had worked with him for many years in the management of the newspaper.

In 1998, the Telegram under the direction of Mrs. Mayborn underwent an extensive process of self-analysis which included gathering hundreds of comments from readers and non-readers in the form of telephone and mail-in surveys. The process resulted in a number of changes which were implemented beginning September 13, 1998.

There were some cosmetic changes in the appearance of the Telegram and a number of new features were added, including a color weather page, Spotlight on Youth, Youth Sports Scoreboard and a pictorial feature, “Life in Central Texas.”

The self-examination also resulted in refocusing the editorial effort on the core values which had been successful throughout the history of the paper — the delivery of accurate local news. Included were more follow-up stories and more local news overall. At the same time, computer systems were updated in the advertising, editorial and circulation departments and new inserting equipment installed in the mailroom.

The Telegram also has an Internet edition which is updated daily at www.tdtnews.com.

Throughout Temple’s steady growth during changing times, wars, depressions and booms, the Telegram has weathered the tide of events and helped the city and area grow. Frank W. Mayborn’s firm belief that a good newspaper does not limit itself simply to reporting the news, but that it also must work to build the area it serves continues today. Whether it is through direct financial support, active endorsement or publicity provided in its news columns, there have been few, if any, worthwhile community projects in Temple which have not been aided or supported by the Temple Daily Telegram. This is a philosophy shared by Sue Mayborn as the Telegram moves into the 21st Century with a renewed commitment to serve its readers and the community.