The year was 1884, when the West was still a frontier. The Nez Perce War had taken place less than a decade earlier. Chester A. Arthur was President, and Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was about to be published. The Civil War was still a not-so-distant memory and local residents had lively discussions about whether they should be in Union – Union County, that is.

I know this because I’ve been looking over Vol. I, No. 1 of the Chieftain, since today we publish our annual “Then and Now” section saluting longtime businesses and institutions serving Wallowa County. Although the Chieftain initially supported the region staying in Union County, Wallowans voted to break free and form Wallowa County three years later.

As one of the county’s newest residents, I find myself particularly privileged to look back at the history of this newspaper, the county’s oldest surviving business thanks to our readers and those businesses that choose the Chieftain as an advertising tool.

Our first issue was published on May 15, 1884. S.A. Heckethorn, a Joseph lawyer and notary public, founded it as the “Wallowa Chieftain,” and from its inception didn’t mince words.

The county jail “is a disgrace to any county,” Heckethorn opined. He had Annie Winters Conley of Joseph start a column promoting women’s suffrage. Oregon rejected votes for women later that year and didn’t give them the vote until 1912.

Although much of the paper contained news from across the U.S., reprinted from larger papers, he assigned A.W. Gowan to write a column of local news in every issue and hired local correspondents from throughout the area.

“Any thing of grave, public importance will appear just as correctly as possible under the circumstances; the exact truth will be aimed at,” Gowan wrote in his introductory column. “If the broken elements of incidences cannot all be gathered and united at once they can be supplied afterwards.”

These days we call that writing a “follow-up story.” At its core, newsgathering hasn’t changed much, though technology has replaced handset lead type with computerized page layout and readers can phone and e-mail the editor rather than ride their horses to town.

As the spiritual descendant of the aforementioned Mr. Gowan, I can verify that we still work hard to provide a truthful, balanced and fair account of newsworthy events and employ correspondents from such far-flung locales as Imnaha. (I’m still looking for someone from the Flora-Troy area, by the way.)

Our opinions? You’ll find them on page 4, the opinion page. Another stand Gowan took that stands to this day is our editorial impartiality.

“Politically, the editor is neutral, and the editorials will be independent,” he wrote. “In the coming campaign, he will support the candidates in either party whom he conscienciously considers the best qualified for the office.” You can say that again.

Chuck Anderson is Chieftain editor and publisher.