The Howard L. Hindley Papers

Howard L. Hindley, son of John Ingram and Hannah (Lister) Hindley, was born in Frome, Ontario, on July 23, 1870. His formal education was obtained in the Frome schools and at McGill university, which he attended for one year. At the age of 16, he began work as a telegraph operator on the Central Vermont railroad. For 13 years, he worked as a railroad man, serving as a train dispatcher for the Central Vermont and the Rutland railroads from 1888-1899. During that period, he married Mary Caldwell of St. Albans in June 1893. In 1899 he became editor of the Vergennes "Enterprise," which was part of a chain of weeklies in Addison County. He remained as editor of the "Enterprise" until 1901, when he switched to the Vermont "Tribune" in Ludlow, as editor. He started and directed the first political publicity bureau in Vermont, while he was helping Clement in his unsuccessful campaign for govenor in 1906. In 1911, he left Vermont and went to the state of Washington where he worked on the "Spokesman Review" in Spokane, writing a column and handling political and dramatic subjects. In May of 1914, Howard Hindley was called back to Vermont to work on the "Herald," and remained in Vermont from then on. He began writing his column in 1920. He first column was of political comment and the information was picked up while traveling with the Frank Agan campaign party. The next column covered every subject and was characterized by Hindley's humor. Hindley's interest in drama and in music, as well as all kinds of literary effort, was reflected in his writings. Hindley was believed to be the inspiration for the newspaper editor, Doremus Jessupin, in the novel "It Can't Happen Here," published in 1936 by Sinclair Lewis. Hindley wrote plays and skits for amateur production, and managed a theater on the side in Vergennes while editing the paper there. In 1908 his play, "The Gentleman from Hayville," was published. He retired as editor of the "Herald' in May of 1941, and severed his connection with the paper as an employee in February of 1942, although he remained a stockholder and director until his death in 1943.