Review finds Citizen Carl ‘compelling’

Chapter 16 — an affiliate of the Library of Congress’s National Center for the Book founded by Humanities Tennessee, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities — just published a review of Citizen Carl. I couldn’t be more thrilled. The review by David Wesley Williams recounts Carl Magee’s rollicking exploits as a journalist… Continue reading Review finds Citizen Carl ‘compelling’

Teapot Dome’s 100th anniversary

I’ve written several guest columns for newspapers about Carl Magee’s life. A few have recently been published in Iowa, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. Each column focuses on how Magee’s story was tied to the local community, but all are pegged to the 100th anniversary of the Teapot Dome scandal. Carl Magee testified before the… Continue reading Teapot Dome’s 100th anniversary

School editors connect after 120 years

The Northern Iowan, student newspaper at the University of Northern Iowa, just published a guest column I wrote about Carl Magee, who was editor of the school’s paper, then called the Normal Eyte, in 1894. Facilitating publication of the column was editor Caroline Christensen, Magee’s successor 120 years later. I suspect Carl would be as… Continue reading School editors connect after 120 years

Citizen Carl available for preorder

I recently got a proof of the entire book cover, including front, back and spine. I also learned that my biography of Carl Magee is available for preorder at the University of New Mexico Press, through Amazon, or, as they say, wherever books are sold. Many thanks to Professors Richard Etulain of the University of… Continue reading Citizen Carl available for preorder

Bit of newspaper lore: The Albuquerque Tribune Nukes

On July 16, 1979, a dam collapsed at the Church Rock uranium mill, spilling more than 1,000 tons of radioactive waste and 94 million gallons of radioactive tailings solution into the Rio Puerco north of Gallup, N.M. The Albuquerque Tribune, then an ardent supporter of the uranium industry, buried news of the disaster in a… Continue reading Bit of newspaper lore: The Albuquerque Tribune Nukes

Museum stocks Forgotten Angels

The gift shop of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine has begun stocking Forgotten Angels, which I co-authored with my daughter, Kalinda Page. The book profiles seven African American women who worked as nurses during the Civil War. The genesis of the project was a paper Kalinda wrote when she was majoring in history… Continue reading Museum stocks Forgotten Angels

The story of Carl Magee

Born in 1873, the son of a prominent Methodist preacher, Carlton Cole Magee was reared in northeastern Iowa. He trained as a teacher and was editor of the student newspaper at what is now Northern Iowa University. By age 23, he was superintendent of schools in Carroll, Iowa. Magee was too restless, though, for a… Continue reading The story of Carl Magee

A journey from journalism

Greetings. Welcome to my blog. I started it to talk about the work I’ve been doing since retiring as a newspaper editor. Mostly I’ve been researching and writing about history. My most recent project is titled Citizen Carl: The editor who cracked Teapot Dome, shot a judge and invented the parking meter. I was inspired… Continue reading A journey from journalism