MOVING HISTORY FORWARD: The Culp Family Story — The Tribune Years

Part Two of the Culp Family Story Concluded with David and Mary Jane Culp selling off their farm near Thompson Falls and preparing to make one last move, this time about 105 miles to the northwest to Rathdrum.

The record shows that Mary Jane visited friends in Rathdrum on May 3, 1902, mentioning the family’s plans to buy property there. Sixty-two days later, on July 4, W.N. Miller, editor of Rathdrum’s Silver Blade, announced the newspaper’s printing plant and fixtures had been purchased by David W. Culp. And two Fridays later, it was revealed that David Culp bought the paper for his sons to operate.

When the Friday, July 25, edition of the Silver Blade was printed, the “CULP BROS.” was positioned prominently on the editorial page, signaling that a new era for the weekly paper had just begun. Charles and Joseph had been the first of the family to make the move, and they were followed to Rathdrum on Aug. 29 by David, Mary Jane and their daughter, Jennie. The entire family had taken up residence in a house that had been purchased on Rathdrum’s east end. One of the first major changes Charles and Joseph made to the paper was to rename it as the Rathdrum Tribune. The first issue under the new name was published April 28, 1903, and they soon expanded the business to include commercial printing.

The young men quickly established a platform for the paper: It would emphasize local news of greatest interest to their readers, and a pro-Republican political stance, reflecting Rathdrum’s majority politics.

The Culp brothers’ roles were well defined from the start. Joseph was editor-in-chief, while Charles managed the business and led the reporting. It was said that Charles gathered news by being present in the community, walking the streets of town and talking to its residents. He thus never needed a reporter’s notebook.

Charles and Joseph often had their younger sister, Jennie, join them on a part-time basis. She worked several days per week, setting type and doing other duties.

As their business expanded, more room was needed, so the brothers acquired a late 1800s wood-frame building in 1907 on Main Street. It served as the Tribune’s home until its closure.

Into the 1950s, the Culps continued using the 1890s-era platen press that came with their purchase of the newspaper. This required them to manually set the type, making the Tribune the last hand-set newspaper printed in Idaho. For much of the paper’s existence, the subscription rate remained at its 1902 level of five cents an issue and $1.50 a year. In 1906, Joseph began to take on side hustles, first as the city clerk and later as a justice of the peace. Since the Tribune building doubled as City Hall, he didn’t have to travel far from the printing press to fulfill his duties. He finally gave up the city clerk position upon his retirement in 1960.

That same year, Joe and Charlie sold the Tribune and retired from publishing. Despite the 58 years they spent publishing, the brothers never missed going to press and were rarely late in producing the paper.

The three Culp siblings never married, and throughout their time together, Jennie took care of her brothers and acted as their housekeeper. In life, the three were also rarely apart, and it is not surprising then that they are buried side-by-side in the same plot — Block 2, Lot 161 of Coeur d’Alene Memorial Gardens in Hayden.

Charles died June 19, 1966, at a nursing home in Coeur d’Alene at age 87. Jenny followed, passing in Spokane on March 17, 1972, at age 88. Joseph was the last to expire, going on Nov. 28, 1976, 19 days after his 96th birthday. They are gone, but their desire to produce quality local news coverage lives on to this day in the region's newspapers.

    Hand Setting the Type: Joseph Culp is shown hand setting a line of type using a composing stick. All of the Culps set type for the printing of the Tribune, and it required arranging individual metal letters (or sorts) upside down and in reverse into a text block. MONI Photo -- RAT-03-011
  

    Together In Life and Together in Passing: Joseph RM, Charles, and Jessie Culp were rarely apart throughout their lives, living together and unmarried in a house near downtown Rathdrum. When they passed, they were buried together in Plots 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Block 2, Lot 161 of Coeur d’Alene Memorial Gardens as seen in the photo of the three grave markers. -- Stephen Shepperd Photo