The Anniston Star

THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR I’S END

1 day. 4 editions of The Star.

‘The biggest story in

the history of the world’
BY PHILLIP TUTOR
ptutor@annistonstar.com

L
ate on a Sunday night, a little after 9 o’clock, the circulation director of
The Anniston Star told his gaggle of prepubescent newsboys to run home
and rest. Amid rolls of newsprint and barrels of black ink, they’d napped
in the storeroom while waiting since 1 that morning to deliver broadsheets
announcing the end of the Great War.
It was Nov. 10, 1918. The news, like the war, wasn’t cooperating.

A few hours later, at 1:50 Monday morning, the bell affixed to timing mattered, especially for newspapers like The Star.
the United Press wire machine reverberated in The Star’s 11th From its beginning until its move to morning publication
Street newsroom, shattering the downtown calm. The Germans in 1997, The Star followed the trend in Alabama journalism
had signed the armistice in France, the news flash announced. and published five days a week as an afternoon newspaper,
Fighting would cease at 5 a.m., Anniston time. World War I was acknowledging readers’ preferences of that era. (Its weekend
essentially over. Awakened, the newsboys rushed back to work. editions were morning papers.)
That’s how one of the most consequential days in The Star’s The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on a Sunday
history began: with a ringing bell in the middle of the night and after The Star had delivered its morning edition, so editors pub-
boys sprinting downtown to grab newspapers as they churned lished an extra that afternoon. The D-Day invasions in Norman-
off the press, extra editions they’d hawk for a nickel apiece dy began early on a Tuesday, causing editors to rush an extra
before sunrise. Nov. 11, 1918 — 100 years ago today — marked on the streets around sunrise and then publish the afternoon
the end of World War I’s bloodshed. It also proved the winner of edition. Kennedy’s assassination happened on a Friday around
Anniston’s newspaper war had cemented its role as the primary lunchtime, so The Star’s extras were published after the after-
information conduit throughout Calhoun County. noon edition hit the streets. Timing matters, indeed.
Never before had
the world experienced IN FACT, THE STAR’S EDITORS IN 1918 anticipated carry-
INSIDE war like that of the Great ing news of the armistice in the Sunday morning edition on Nov.
War: roughly 40 million 10. For days, the world had waited impatiently for the Germans
military and civilian casu- to accept the Allies’ demands. The end was imminent. When
alties overall, more than that didn’t happen by late Saturday night, editors planned a
2,500 deaths among Ala- Sunday afternoon extra — as they would do for Pearl Harbor —
bama soldiers. And never though German acquiescence remained slow. “Star will hold
before had The Star — the open its wire until Germany answers armistice terms,” read a
newspaper born from the banner atop that Sunday’s front page. Elsewhere on page 1, next
consolidation of The Hot to The Star’s nameplate, editors detailed their plans: “STAR
Blast and The Evening WILL TELL NEWS. The Star is staying on the job day and night
Star six years prior — until the armistice time terminates. The result will be told in an
printed four editions on extra immediately.”
the same day. But it did on And, it did — as did virtually every other daily newspaper in
that Monday. the United States. The Star’s first four-page extra, filled mostly
with reprints from Sunday’s edition, hit the darkened streets
SINCE ITS BIRTH before 4 a.m. The second arrived after breakfast and delivered
IN 1912, The Star has additional information. The third came after lunch, announcing
published extras for pres- the armistice’s terms, and the six-page regular edition rolled off
idential elections, the the presses later that afternoon.
The Star published four beginnings of wars, the In 1918, The Star averaged a daily press run of 6,750 copies.
editions — including three endings of wars, military It sold more than 20,000 total copies that Monday — more than
extras — on Nov. 11, 1918, actions and presidential Anniston’s population of roughly 17,000.
as news trickled in from assassinations. Before the In the day’s second extra, editors explained why they kept
Europe that the armistice merger, The Evening Star their journalists, pressmen and newsboys on the clock all week-
halting hostilities of World published an extra in 1900 end. “The biggest story in the history of the world was expected.
War I had been signed. at the end of the Boer War It might come at any moment, then it might not come for many
Look inside this section for between Great Britain and hours, but it was sure to come and every man and boy wanted to
reprints of The Star’s front two Boer states of South be there when it did come. Anniston was never better protect-
pages that day to see how Africa. The Star flooded ed.”
editors delivered the news. Anniston with extras in The Star’s final edition announced that night’s celebration
1923 when President — a parade beginning at 7:30 at the post office (now the federal
Harding died, in 1931 courthouse) on Noble Street. With Judge S.W. Tate directing
when the Calhoun County Courthouse burned, and on sever- the festivities, organizers planned speeches and fireworks that
al occasions during World War II, including the Pearl Harbor would continue “until the happiness incident to the great occa-
attack and the D-Day invasion. On Nov. 22, 1963, The Star print- sion has spent itself and the people of Anniston have satisfied
ed three extras when Lee Harvey Oswald killed President Ken- themselves by giving vent to the feeling of victory.
nedy in Dallas: the first featuring only a large portrait of Kenne- “Get out your old tin horn, the drum, shot gun, pistol or any-
dy, the second a wire photograph of the presidential motorcade thing else that will make a noise like victory.”
just after the shooting, the third with details about Oswald. The
Star published its most recent extra on Sept. 11, 2001, when ter- AS DARKNESS FELL, NOBLE STREET FILLED with joyous
rorists attacked New York City and Washington, D.C. Americans elated that the Allies had prevailed. At least 41 Cal-
(Quirky World War I newspaper fact: Miscommunication houn County men had died in the war from sickness or battle
between U.S. commanders in Europe and an American war cor- wounds, and Camp McClellan had played an oversized role in
respondent caused a number of U.S. papers — including The training U.S. soldiers for France. Around 8 Monday night, amid
Star — to announce the war’s end on Thursday, Nov. 7. “Great- the fireworks and pageantry, James Richardson pulled out a
est War in All History Comes to Close when Germany Accepts .38-caliber pistol and shot his son-in-law, John Baxter, at 10th
Armistice Terms,” The Star proclaimed. It even sold 3,000 copies and Noble streets in a domestic argument involving Baxter’s
of an extra edition celebrating the end of a war that wasn’t over. wife. Baxter was taken to Sellers Hospital. He would later die,
Much hand-wringing and finger-pointing ensued in American and Richardson would eventually receive a 25-year sentence to
newsrooms, including The Star’s.) the state penitentiary.
In 21st-century parlance, extra editions are the Google News “The big peace celebration was at its height when the shoot-
alerts or Twitter notifications of the previous century. Before ing occurred,” The Star wrote.
the invention of electronic media, newspapers used extra edi- That story made The Star’s front page Tuesday afternoon.
tions when the details were too important to wait. That practice
continued even after the rise of radio and TV news stations. And Phillip Tutor is The Star’s commentary editor.

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Page 2D Sunday, November 11, 2018 THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR I’S END The Anniston Star

THE STAR’S FIRST EXTRA EDITION MARKING THE END OF WORLD WAR I
PUBLISHED AT 3:30 A.M., MONDAY, NOV. 11, 1918

‘The armistice has been signed. This is official.’

‘EXTRA’ EARS
The Star replaced its
normal front-page
‘ears’ with these
labels.

THE BIG NEWS

7-column, 2-deck banner
head confirmed that the
war was over.

FLASH, 1:50 A.M.

Editors at The Star used
this prominent spot
on the front page to
detail the efforts their
staff took to deliver the
impending news of the
war’s end. Staff waited
by the United Press wire
Sunday and into Sunday
night without word. The
flash arrived at 1:50 a.m.
Monday. This edition
was in newsboys’ hands
on Anniston’s streets
before 4 a.m.

IT’S OK
These marks were
written by advertising
employees who checked
that all ads scheduled for
that edition were indeed
printed.

2ND EXTRA COMING

This extra edition
delivered news of the
war’s end but no other
details. It contained 4
pages — the front page
and reprints of Sunday’s
editorial page, classified
advertisements page and
society page.
The Star announced here
that it would publish a
second extra edition as
soon as it received the
terms of the armistice.

INDEPENDENT
APARTMENTS

Supporting
$1500
Veterans
Veterans’ Day in the
November 11th Past—Present—Future
The Anniston Star THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR I’S END Sunday, November 11, 2018 Page 3D

THE STAR’S SECOND EXTRA EDITION MARKING THE END OF WORLD WAR I
PUBLISHED AT 11 A.M., MONDAY, NOV. 11, 1918

“The ending of the world war will be celebrated by Anniston people ...”
MAKE NOISE
The Star added
this boxed banner
that wasn’t on the
first extra edition.
It appeared on the
third extra and the
regular edition,
too.

ON CAPITOL HILL
Editors updated the
main headline telling
of President Wilson’s
upcoming speech
before Congress later
in the day. The Star
also printed Wilson’s
first statement on the
war’s end.

WAKE UP, W.W.

Editors replaced a
story from the first
extra edition with this
one detailing how
President Wilson was
aroused from his bed
at 5 a.m. and told the
armistice had been
signed.

FOCH’S ORDERS
Editors updated the
main news story on
the signing of the
armistice on each
extra edition. The
second extra carried
the statement of
Marshal Foch’s order
to all allied
commanders to stop
hostilities later that
morning.

PARADE PLANS
It didn’t take long for
Anniston to plan the
local celebration. The
Star added this story for
the second extra edition
telling that stores would
close at noon and the
Noble Street parade
would begin at 7:30 p.m.

&

Valid 11/11-11/12, 2018 only with Military ID.

Page 4D Sunday, November 11, 2018 THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR I’S END The Anniston Star

THE STAR’S THIRD EXTRA EDITION MARKING THE END OF WORLD WAR I
PUBLISHED AT 2 P.M., MONDAY, NOV. 11, 1918

“God ... must frown upon the cruelty which has brought about so much suffering.”

LET’S DO 3!
The front page’s
‘ears’ were
updated to note
this was the third
extra edition. (For
some reason,
editors used ‘3d’
instead of ‘3rd.’)

THE TERMS
Editors wanted
this news — the
armistice terms —
for the second extra
edition. It didn’t
arrive in time and
was pushed to the
third extra.

SMILE, MR. PREZ

The first two extra
editions used no
photographs. Editors
finally added this
photograph of
President Wilson
with this caption:
‘This is (the) man
responsible for
Kaiser’s downfall
and German’s (sic)
surrender.’

THE FINE PRINT

Want to read the
armistice’s terms?
(They’re long!) The
Star printed all of
them and Wilson’s
message.

SIGNED, W.W.
The Star took this
from the top of the
second extra and
anchored it on the
bottom of the third.

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The Anniston Star THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR I’S END Sunday, November 11, 2018 Page 5D

THE STAR’S REGULAR DAILY EDITION

PUBLISHED AT 4 P.M., MONDAY, NOV. 11, 1918

‘The war thus comes to an end ...’

NOT A 4TH
The ‘ears’
returned to their
normal format for
the regular daily
edition. The extra
editions were
four pages each;
the regular daily
edition contained
six pages with no
reprints from the
Sunday edition.

PEACE, FINALLY
Editors added this
blurb of highlights:
Wilson’s
proclamation,
end of draft calls,
suspension of rules
forbidding lights at
night.

NO MORE DRAFT
Editors added this
important story: Men
scheduled to be
drafted in November
had their draft calls
cancelled.

AT THE FRONT
Prefer narrative
writing? Good.
The Star included
this war corre-
spondent’s take on
U.S. soldiers’ final
moments of the
fighting.

US A

We sharpen your world!®

Page 6D Sunday, November 11, 2018 THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR I’S END The Anniston Star