The Lowell Area Historical Museum is offering a weekly feature to explore local history. This week, museum staff is telling us about the Jefferies family who ran The Lowell Ledger from 1930-1977. To learn more about Lowell history, visit the museum website to explore its collection of local artifacts and records.
For forty five years the name behind The Lowell Ledger was Jefferies. From 1930 to 1977 with the exception of a two year stretch, The Lowell Ledger was owned by this father/son team.
The Lowell Ledger was started in 1893 by Frank M. Johnson and sold to R.G. Jefferies in 1930. When Remick Jefferies took over the Ledger it was just in time to promote the Centennial of the founding of Lowell in 1931. He spent a lot of time ensuring the success of the venture, and documenting the history of the area. It was said that his aim throughout his time here was to help make Lowell a better place to live and he lent assistance and inspiration to keep business in all trades growing and progressing. He is credited with being one of the three men who first had the idea of the Showboat. He also was a part of starting the Lowell Rotary Club.
After only six years in Lowell, Jefferies gradually went blind, as had his grandfather. As he had seen in his grandfather, a physician to loggers, blindness didn’t stop his life or his profession. In 1936, he purchased the rights to Lowell’s second publication The Lowell Journal which had published news from1865 to 1936 and was his competitor. On Fridays a secretary was hired to read to Jefferies from all of the area newspapers and take dictation. During his time at the reins of The Lowell Ledger, it was known throughout the state as one of the leading small town weeklies.
When he died in 1953, Gerald R. Ford Jr. said of him, “he was a real crusader for all that was right and good and I have always admired him. Lowell has lost a wonderful citizen and all will miss him.” Mrs. Chase Osborn, widow of the late Governor of Michigan wrote “the Governor had a special affection for him.”
When Remick died his wife Frances took over publishing duties until retiring in 1957. She also served as president of the Lowell Women’s Club from 1939 – 1941 and was President of the Garden Lore Club, and the Kent County Association of the Eastern Star.
Remick’s step son Harold Jefferies bought The Lowell Ledger. He had worked at the paper since returning from the army. Harold served in World War II from May of 1945 until May 1946. Before the war he had studied journalism at Grand Rapids Junior College and served with the Army Press Corps in Japan in 1945 as a correspondent for the ‘Stars and Stripes.’ In 1948 under his father, he became managing editor. Harold operated the Ledger until 1975 when Roger and Therese Brown took over.
Harold was also civic minded and served the Lowell community in many ways. He was a member of the City Council from1968 to 1977. During that time, from 1970 to 1971, he served as Mayor. When he died in 1977, he had served on the Board of Directors of the Lowell Savings and Loan Association, Trustee and Deacon at First Congregational Church, Lowell Board of Trade, Lowell Rotary Club, Lowell Moose Lodge, Michigan Press Association, and was Publicity Chairman and secretary of the board for the Lowell Showboat.
Image: Louis Armstrong being interviewed by Harold Jefferies, owner of the Lowell Ledger, in 1967.
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