Samuel LePage Raddon

Samuel LePage "Dad" Raddon owned and operated The Park Record, Utah's oldest weekly newspaper, for 63 years, and his 65-year association with one newspaper was matched by few western journalists. Born to Henry George and Judith LePage Raddon in Saint Peter Port, Isle of Guernsey, Great Britain, on May 13, 1858, he came to Utah at age ten after his family, converts to the LDS faith, immigrated there. Two years later he became a printer's devil and was among the earliest employees of the Salt Lake Tribune, where he learned newspaper work and became a self-taught writer. He moved to Park City in 1880, worked for two years as a typesetter, returned to the Tribune, and in 1884 rejoined the Record staff as editor and co-publisher, a position he held for 63 years. Under his management, the paper embodied forceful journalism in an early western mining community, and his fiery editorials on local needs and problems, often reflecting his political views, earned the respect of Park City residents and fellow newspapermen. He outlasted three competing newspapers, endured two major depressions and mining slumps that affected the city's economy, and after a disastrous 1898 fire destroyed his plant, newly occupied building, and new equipment along with much of the town, he still did not miss an issue, using the Salt Lake Herald's production facilities and later working for a time from a tent office. Raddon was a positive influence in Park City and an important figure in contributing to and recording its history, served in civic, fraternal, and service organizations, became president of the Utah Press Association in 1908, retired in 1948 and turned the paper over to his son LePage, died less than a year later at age 89, and in 1962 was among the first journalists inducted into the Utah Newspaper Hall of Fame.

Park City, Utah · United States