Tyler Morning Telegraph building mug Courier Times (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

The walls of the Tyler Morning Telegraph tell stories of men walking on the moon, aiding wounded presidents and ending world wars.

Framed replicas of newspapers printed decades ago serve as reminders of the publication’s rich history of bringing the news to East Texans.

In 108 years of family ownership, the newspaper has seen news coverage of two world wars, 19 U.S. presidents and Texas flipping from a decidedly Democrat to a Republican state.

Locally, the paper covered the creation of Tyler Junior College, the inception and expansion of what has become the University of Texas at Tyler, and the tragedies including the New London School explosion and Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

President and Publisher of the Tyler Morning Telegraph Nelson Clyde IV, 54, said a commitment to informing readers of the issues that affect the community has been something generations of his family have regarded as essential.

He watched his grandfather Calvin Clyde Jr. lead the business through a period of significant growth. Clyde’s father, Nelson Clyde III, built on the success and found ways to collaborate with other organizations to solve problems and bring issues to the community’s attention.

“They have done a lot over the years to really present local issues to their readers,” said Kevin Eltife, a former state senator and former Tyler mayor who experienced working with three generations of the Clyde family. “My experience working with the locally owned paper is that they have looked at issues and tried to provide both sides and the facts to the community.”

After more than a century of continuous ownership and management by the Clyde and Bothwell families, it was announced Wednesday that the paper is changing owners.

The paper is being acquired by M. Roberts Media, a family-owned newspaper group that operates the Longview News-Journal, Marshall News Messenger, Panola Watchman and Victoria Advocate. The new ownership takes effect Saturday.

Even after an ownership change, residents and community leaders are not likely to forget the family’s contributions.

“I think the impact of the Tyler Paper and the Clyde family is their understanding of their role as stewards of the community,” Barbara Bass, former Tyler mayor, said. “There is a sense of entrustment by the community on the integrity of the paper and the values they have brought to us for many years.”

A STORIED HISTORY

Although the company traces its roots to 1877, Tyler attorney and businessman T.B. Butler acquired the newspaper in 1910.

Judge Butler was the founder of the T.B. Butler Publishing Co., which publishes the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

“He was just a real fierce advocate for the community,” Clyde said. “I feel like that came down through every generation.”

Editorial themes across generations included the free-enterprise system, limited government, gun ownership, property rights and life.

Clyde learned early that just as stories published by the paper could inspire thanks and praise, they could cause anger.

“My grandfather used to tell me if you walk out of here on any given day and half the people think you’ve done a good job and half are angry, you’ve had a pretty good day,” Clyde said.

Much of what Clyde learned about being publisher of the newspaper came from his father and grandfather.

Over the course of growing up, he received experience working in just about every part of the company, from being a paperboy to later writing stories and selling advertisements.

He soon learned his family’s role as owners of the newspaper was to help empower the community. He recalled his grandfather helped convince William Dillard to open his second store in Tyler when another store was put up for sale.

His father led a community dialogue around the expansion of what is now the University of Texas at Tyler from solely a two-year upper-level campus to a four-year school.

“Their legacy is one of outstanding service to the community,” said Jim Perkins, president of Citizens 1st Bank. “They’re builders.”

In a 2004 bond election to replace six Tyler ISD elementary schools, the Tyler Morning Telegraph published detailed stories from the first board meeting when it was introduced until the day after it passed.

Readers were given detailed information about the condition of each school and how the measure stacked up against a previous proposal that failed.

While the stories published before the election were designed only to inform readers, Clyde can’t help but feel the stories may have helped inform voters, too.

“When I drive by the new T.J. Austin Elementary I can still see the old school on that site,” he said. “I wish those parents now could just know what an upgrade that was.”

Henry Bell, chief operating officer of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, said he’s seen the family influence expand beyond the newspaper with the sponsoring of the T.B. Butler Fountain Plaza in downtown Tyler.

In addition, the T.B. Butler Award has been presented annually since 1929 to recognize outstanding leadership in the community. The award is named for Judge Thomas Booker “T.B.” Butler and his son, T.B. Butler Jr.

COMING FULL CIRCLE

After her father’s death in 1919, Sarah Butler took on many responsibilities at the newspaper, ultimately becoming publisher. Her husband, Carl Estes, handled key management duties from the 1920s through 1934.

Soon after Sarah Butler was divorced from Estes, Estes became publisher of the Longview News-Journal.

After the couple’s split, Clyde said an urban legend developed that the Tyler Morning Telegraph would never be sold in Longview and the Longview News-Journal would never be sold in Tyler.

Clyde said with Wednesday’s announcement the companies are coming full circle.

“It’s hard to reach a place where you are going to sell something that for your entire life you’re told ‘you should never sell this,’” he said. “…We made an emotionally difficult but economically necessary decision to do something we never anticipated doing.”

He added that the sale is a reflection of the economic realities of operating a single-site newspaper property.

Clyde believes its legacy of providing a voice to the voiceless and strengthening the community will continue to endure.

“My hope is that the paper, under the new owners, can thrive, flourish and remain a dynamic force in this community and region,” he said.

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