[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 30, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1611]]
         IN HONOR OF THE OBSERVER-REPORTER'S 200TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN P. MURTHA

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 30, 2008

  Mr. MURTHA. Madam Speaker, on August 15 of this year, the Observer-
Reporter will celebrate its 200th anniversary of providing accurate and 
reliable news to the people of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
  In 1808, printers William Sample and William B. Brown were on their 
way to Kentucky when they stopped in The Sign of the Swan Tavern in the 
small village of Washington, Pennsylvania. There, they were convinced 
to set up shop, and on August 15, 1808, The Reporter, a weekly 
newspaper, was born. Ownership of the paper, as well as its name, 
changed hands over the next century, until John L. (Jack) Stewart and 
George E. Acheson formed the Observer Publishing Company on July 24, 
1902.
  Acheson retired in 1912, turning over ownership and the presidency to 
Stewart. When Stewart died in 1940, the company was turned over to his 
wife, Margaretta. Her grandsons John L.S. and William B. Northrop 
became co-owners and president and vice president, respectively, 
following her death in May 1966.
  In 1967, the Observer Publishing Company merged its morning paper, 
The Washington Observer, and its afternoon paper, The Washington 
Reporter, into the Observer-Reporter.
  Over the last three decades, the Observer Publishing Company acquired 
additional newspapers throughout Washington and Greene Counties. On 
April 17, 2000, John and Bill Northrop's sons, Tom and Bill Jr., became 
co-publishers of the company. Tom became sole publisher and president 
of the Observer Publishing Company in 2004.
  Madam Speaker, today the Observer Publishing Company is one of the 
largest employers in Washington County. Their talented and hardworking 
staff produces a daily paper that reaches tens-of-thousands of 
subscribers in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The company is active in both 
the local community and the newspaper industry. I would like to 
acknowledge and congratulate the award-winning Observer-Reporter for 
printing a quality news product that has been part of Southwestern 
Pennsylvania since 1808.

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