The story begins in 1885, when Charles E. Mason founded a publication known as the Calumet. Just a year later, in 1886, Mason partnered with Harry L. Bushnell and rebranded the paper as The Delta.

On April 30, 1886 — a year before the founding of the city of Gladstone — the first issue of The Delta was printed from a plant in Escanaba, located above English’s Music Hall on the west side of Fourth Street, just north of Ludington Street.

In 1886, The Iron Port – the oldest newspaper in Escanaba — speculated on the Mason-Bushnell venture as follows: “Harry Bushnell and Charles Mason will soon issue a new paper to be called, ‘The Delta.’ The new enterprise has an eye to the new town proposed on Saunders Point, whither their plant will be removed in the fullness of time.”

Archival records state that Mason “denied to his death” that he had no plans to move the plant to Gladstone when The Delta was founded, but “former publisher Joe Sturgeon talked to Bushnell… [who] told Sturgeon that the intentions to move the newspaper to [Gladstone] had definitely been discussed.”

In this Daily Press file photo, Melodie Anderson, a former Delta Reporter staff member, inputs information into a computer model from 1995.

Records further indicate speculation that the objective of the early start of the paper was to establish a mailing list to promote the new city.

By June 14, 1887, the paper expanded its reach, issuing two editions — one serving Escanaba and another for the growing community of Gladstone. The plant then moved to a building not yet complete on the northeast corner of the 8th and Delta in Gladstone.

Despite working under what was described as “serious handicap,” printing continued until the structure was destroyed by fire before completion.

In the early 1890s, The Delta moved into the Scott building on the northeast corner of 9th Street and Delta Avenue. Disaster struck again in 1900 when the building and all of its contents were lost to yet another fire.

During the rebuilding period, publication continued in Escanaba until a new facility at 11 N. 9th Street was completed. That address would become the paper’s first permanent printing plant and official home for the next 75 years.

Luckily, some of the newspaper files from the first issue of The Delta until the move to the Scott building were being stored at the Mason home and were untouched by the fire.

In 1905, Bushnell left the paper to join the Herald Leader in Menominee, leaving Mason to lead the paper until his death on Dec. 22, 1917.

Mason’s son, Carl, briefly carried on the publication before enlisting in military service in January 1918. Ownership transferred to William R. Jaeger, a publisher who had established The Delta County Reporter in 1909.

Jaeger then merged his existing paper with The Delta, combining their legacies under new names — the Delta County Reporter and The Gladstone Delta — until he sold in the fall of 1920 to H. F. Ulsh and Frank Kraus of Escanaba.

By 1921, a trusteeship of Gladstone business leaders assumed control of the business, ushering in a period marked by frequent editorial turnover.

Stability returned in 1922 when John P. Norton, publisher of the Daily Press, took over operations. The following year, Joseph A. Sturgeon was hired as editor and, by October 1923, he had assumed ownership.

Under Sturgeon’s leadership, the paper entered a long era of consistency and local focus that would define its identity for decades.

In 1947, Sturgeon sold The Reporter to R. A. Watson of Detroit. Watson, who brought nearly two decades of printing experience, shifted the paper’s emphasis toward Gladstone while maintaining its broader county coverage.

He was joined by his sister, Genevieve Watson, who served as office manager, while George Mathison continued as editor for several years.

The Watson family would lead the publication for 28 years before selling it in 1975 to Frank and Leann Senger of Manistique, publishers of the Manistique Pioneer-Tribune. During this period, the paper underwent operational changes, including relocation of its printing plant to the former State Bank building on Delta Avenue.

Ownership shifted again in 1978, when the Sengers sold the paper to Dave Rood, a former Daily Press editor living in Gladstone.

In 1980, the paper was purchased by Tom and John Torinus of Menominee, who expanded its reach by launching The Action Shopper in 1977, a free publication delivered throughout Delta County. By 1987, it was reported that The Action Shopper was being delivered to 16,789 area homes.

A major transition came in 1985, when the Torinus family sold to Thomson Newspapers, who also owned the Daily Press. In the years that followed, operations were gradually consolidated.

By 1992, The Reporter had moved into the Daily Press offices at 600 Ludington Street in Escanaba. That same year, Robert B. Gregg, publisher of the Daily Press, was named publisher of The Reporter, and the paper produced its first Sunday edition on Sept. 13.

Despite its long and influential run, the final chapter of The Reporter came in May 1995. Thomson Newspapers announced the closure of the publication, with its last issue published on May 31.

The Daily Press and The Action Shopper — now known as U.P. Action News — continue to inform the community of Delta County.

From its humble beginnings above a music hall to its role as a trusted voice across Delta County, The Reporter remains a powerful reminder of the lasting importance of local journalism.

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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.