McGregor Mirror
McGregor, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1904, the McGregor Mirror was founded by T.E. Streight (1870-1910). A young type setter, Charles “Chas” B. Hall (1887-1964), went to work at the Mirror when it opened. Later, he and his wife, Lillian “Lillie” (Spross) Hall (1890-1955), purchased it in 1918. Their daughter Bonnie Hall) Mooney (1925-1998) and husband Thomas E. Mooney (1924-1994) published the Mirror from 1956 to 1992. Their children continue publishing the award-winning newspaper marking three generations in the same building where it was established in 1904. The building houses one of the earliest Model 14 Linotypes in Texas, which was purchased at the State Fair in 1925 and was used until the 1990s. for generations, the Mirror has documented and preserved important, personal community events through the years.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1904 by T.E. Streight, the McGregor Mirror soon drew a young typesetter named Chas Hall, who with his wife bought the paper in 1918 and launched a family dynasty that has now run it for three generations. The Mirror still operates in the same building where it began, which houses one of the earliest Model 14 Linotype machines in Texas, bought at the State Fair in 1925 and used into the 1990s. For over a century the paper has chronicled the life of its community.
Why it matters
A small-town newspaper is a community's memory, and the Mirror's endurance — and its historic Linotype — preserves both local history and the vanished craft of hot-metal printing.
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Related people
- · T. E. Streight
- · Charles B. Hall
- · Lillian Spross Hall
Themes & tags
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