Wesley Oliver Smith (April 16, 1878October 20, 1951), commonly known as W. O. Smith, was an American newspaper publisher and businessman from southern Oregon. He owned the Klamath Republican and later the Evening Herald, both Klamath Falls newspapers. Smith was a Republican who served two two-year terms in the Oregon House of Representatives, representing what are today Crook, Deschutes, Grant, Jefferson, Klamath, and Lake counties.
Early life
Smith was born on April 16, 1878, in French Lake, an unincorporated area of New Brunswick, Canada. He was the son of George F. Smith and Anna Smith. His family left Canada and moved to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, when he was eight years old.
In 1895, Governor William H. Upham commissioned Smith as a second lieutenant in the Wisconsin National Guard. He served in Company E of the Third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry from the time of his commissioning to August 1897. Company E was based in Eau Claire. With the onset of the Spanish–American War, Smith rejoined the Wisconsin National Guard as a non-commissioned officer. He served as first sergeant for Company E. After the war, Smith moved to Harrison, Idaho, where he briefly worked cruising timber before moving on to Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Life in Klamath Falls
In Klamath Falls, Smith worked for a short time in the lumber business. Then in 1903, he bought the Klamath Republican from W. Huse and Sons. The Klamath Republican was a weekly newspaper that had been published in Klamath Falls since 1896. When he took charge of the paper, Klamath Falls had five newspapers competing for reads in a community of only 3,000 people.
Smith married Jessie Applegate on December 11, 1904. She was the youngest daughter of Captain Ivan D. Applegate, an early Klamath County pioneer. Nine months later, she died in Klamath Falls, three days after giving birth to a son. Smith married his second wife, Lena L. Hargus, on October 24, 1906. She was the widow of Doctor H. B. Hargus, and was also the sister of Smith’s first wife. They remained together for the rest of his life.
In 1908, Smith acquired another Klamath Falls newspaper, the Evening Herald (now the Herald and News), from its founder Fred Cronemiller. After buying the Evening Herald, he purchased and installed a new Linotype machine, the first automated typesetting machine in the Klamath Falls area. Under his management, the Evening Herald became the area’s leading newspaper. Smith continued to publish the Klamath Republican along with the Herald. He eventually changed the Klamath Republican from a weekly to a semi-weekly publication. In 1914, he merged it in to the Evening Herald as a semi-weekly supplement.
Smith also started a printing business in Klamath Falls. His printing firm was called W. O. Smith Printing Company. While it was separate from his newspaper, it was located in the same building as the Evening Herald.
Smith was also a prominent member of the Klamath Falls community. He was active in civic affairs and local politics. He helped finance construction of the local Odd Fellows building, the first large office building in Klamath Falls. He also joined the local Elks lodge and helped raise funds to build the Klamath Falls Elks building. Smith later served as president of the local Elks lodge. In politics, he was a strong supporter of the Republican Party, serving as a recording clerk for the Klamath Falls voting precinct and then as chairman of the Klamath County Republican Central Committee.
State representative
In 1912, Smith decided to run as a Republican for a District 21 seat in the Oregon House of Representatives. At that time, District 21 had two seats that represented Grant, Klamath, and Lake counties as well as Crook County (which at that time, still included what are now Deschutes and Jefferson counties). Smith and Vernon A. Forbes of Bend were the only Republicans to file for the District 21 seats. Since the Republican Party was allowed to nominate two candidates for the two District 21 seats, Smith and Forbes were both nominated in the Republican primary. Since no Democratic candidates filed for the District 21 seats, Smith and Forbes were unopposed in the general election.