Wasco-Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Litfin, Ben R. February 20, 1887 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com April 17, 2008, 1:11 am Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company BEN R. LITFIN. Beginning his business career as a newsboy, Ben R. Litfin has steadily advanced and is now classed with the leading journalists of Oregon. He has devoted his life to the newspaper business and exerts a strong and beneficial influence as the owner and editor of The Dalles Chronicle, which has a record of thirty-eight years of continuous service. His birth occurred in Stillwater, Washington county, Minnesota, on the 2d of February, 1887, and his father, Frank Litfin, is a native of Germany, in which country he learned the millwright’s trade. In 1873 he made the voyage to the new world and for a time was employed as a wheelwright in Wisconsin, afterward going to Minnesota. In the early days he aided in building many sawmills in the lumber districts of Wisconsin and Minnesota, becoming an expert at his trade, which he followed until a few years ago, and since his retirement has lived in the city of St. Paul. His wife, Emma (Kollertz) Litfin, was born in Logansport, Indiana, and passed away in 1924. To their union were born three children: Frank, who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Joseph, a resident of Hudson, Wisconsin, and Ben H. The last named was reared and educated in his native state. Said Mr. Litfin when conversing with Fred Lockley, one of the editors of the Oregon Journal: “I earned my first money selling papers when I was ten years old. I also picked up quite a bit of money shining shoes. When I was older I carried a route on the Daily Gazette. I started what has proved to be my life work when I was fifteen years old by landing a job as printer’s devil at three dollars a week. By the time I was nineteen years old I was getting eight dollars a week and was a pretty fair compositor. “When I was nineteen I went to Yakima, Washington, with a pal of mine and from there we went to Seattle. I had a union card and thought I could land a job, but work was scarce. We had enough money to buy a ticket for each of us to Portland, Oregon, after which we found that our total resources amounted to seventy-five cents. The conductor on the train when we asked his advice said, ‘Go to the Oregon Hotel and say I sent you; they will put you up for the night.’ In the morning my pal got in touch with his aunt, so he was “hunkydory,” and I was out in the cold. Next morning at 4:30 o’clock I arrived at the Oregonian office and went into the mailing room. The man operating the Dick mailer was having trouble with it. He said, ‘Can you operate this mailer?’ I told him I could and he said, ‘Well, get to work then.’ After I had cleaned up the mailer he took me out to breakfast and told me that he thought I could land a job on the Telegram. The foreman of the Telegram put me to work in the ad alley.” In December, 1906, Mr. Litfin made the journey from Portland to The Dalles and became connected with the Chronicle, which at that time was owned by a stock company. His proficiency in setting type and in make-up work was soon recognized and at the end of a year he was made foreman of the plant, on which he secured an option in 1909. Soon afterward Mr. Litfin and his partner, H. G. Miller, purchased the paper from the Chronicle Publishing Company and remained its proprietors until 1915, when C. Hedges, of California, acquired the business. Mr. Litfin was retained as manager and acted in that capacity until 1920, when he was joined by W. P Merry in purchasing the business from Mr. Hedges. Mr. Merry, a Portland business man, was a silent partner in the enterprise and in 1923 sold his holdings therein to Mr. Litfin, who has since owned the paper. Established in 1890, it now has a large circulation and ranks with the leading dailies of eastern Oregon. The paper has United Press leased wire service and is connected with the Audit Bureau of Circulations. After acquiring full ownership of the Chronicle, Mr. Litfin installed up-to-date machinery at a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars and now has a thoroughly modern printing plant, equipped to do all kinds of job work. He also publishes the Weekly Chronicle, a ten-page journal, filled with good reading matter. This is one of the best smaller town weeklies in the state and has a large list of subscribers, drawn from the rural districts of eastern Oregon. Mr. Litfin was married July 20, 1916, to Miss Elizabeth Knappenberger, the former now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Litfin have become the parents of a son, Richard, who was born September 9, 1918, at The Dalles and is attending the public schools. Mr. Litfin is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and in 1915 was the youngest exalted ruler ever elected by the members of The Dalles Lodge. He also belongs to the local lodge of Masons, the Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis Club and The Dalles Golf and Country Club. His standing as a journalist is indicated by the fact that he has been chosen vice president of the Oregon State Editorial Association, which office he is now filling, and is also vice president of the Northwest Circulation Managers Association. An eloquent advocate of good roads, he is largely responsible for the building of the Sorosis boulevard —- a beautiful road overlooking the city and the majestic valley of the Columbia. His editorials are forceful, timely and well written and through the columns of his papers he has fostered many movements for the development and betterment of the community and the state of his adoption. Mr. Litfin is a man of high ideals, with the courage to uphold them, and his worth is uniformly recognized. Additional Comments: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, Pages 430-431 Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/wasco/photos/bios/litfin439gbs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/wasco/bios/litfin439gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 6.4 Kb