Yes, the Mountain Echo has been officially sold. And it's not the first time in it's long history. Dale and Jane Estes, owners of the Flippin-based Mountaineer, have bought it. As many of you know, Estes is an old name in these parts. The family has been here since before 1850. So it's not as if someone "from off," with no roots nor ties to Marion Co, has jumped in to do their own thing. The first issue of the Mountaineer Echo went to press less than a week after the purchase - a few things got lost in the shuffle, I guess, like Frankie Seay's column. And the Yellville post office disallowed the Yellville bulk mail permit (Flippin post office was a bit more lenient) so your copy (like mine) may have been a day or two late. I doubt Jane and Dale got much sleep those first few days. Because the Estes' have merged the two operations, they have also merged the names. Thus the Mountaineer Echo. They have also merged several of the similar columns, retaining the familiar Mountain Echo title or the not-so-familiar Mountaineer title for these columns. Retained "as is" are columns such as Elda Powers' "This and That," Doretha Dillard's "Old Dillard Settlement," Frankie Seay's "Yakima Valley (WA) News," and others. As a matter of fact, Kerm Powers, Elda's husband, owned the Echo from 1963 to 1975 and sold it then to Rupert Phillips. Check "History of Marion Co" by Earl Berry for more info on the history of the Echo and it's various owners and editors. You'll find it at http://www.rootsweb.com/~armarion It's sad to have an old friend of 115 years lose part of it's identity, but the content won't change much more than the county itself will, and the familiar nickname "the Echo" will no doubt survive - again and again and again. Mysty shakerag@mtnhome.com

You are losing your position as the original Armenian Red ASS, you are now the Marion County Diplomat. Don At 01:40 PM 20-10-01 -0500, you wrote: >Yes, the Mountain Echo has been officially sold. And it's not the first >time in it's long history. Dale and Jane Estes, owners of the >Flippin-based Mountaineer, have bought it. As many of you know, Estes is >an old name in these parts. The family has been here since before >1850. So it's not as if someone "from off," with no roots nor ties to >Marion Co, has jumped in to do their own thing. > >The first issue of the Mountaineer Echo went to press less than a week >after the purchase - a few things got lost in the shuffle, I guess, like >Frankie Seay's column. And the Yellville post office disallowed the >Yellville bulk mail permit (Flippin post office was a bit more lenient) so >your copy (like mine) may have been a day or two late. I doubt Jane and >Dale got much sleep those first few days. > >Because the Estes' have merged the two operations, they have also merged >the names. Thus the Mountaineer Echo. They have also merged several of >the similar columns, retaining the familiar Mountain Echo title or the >not-so-familiar Mountaineer title for these columns. Retained "as is" are >columns such as Elda Powers' "This and That," Doretha Dillard's "Old >Dillard Settlement," Frankie Seay's "Yakima Valley (WA) News," and >others. As a matter of fact, Kerm Powers, Elda's husband, owned the Echo >from 1963 to 1975 and sold it then to Rupert Phillips. > >Check "History of Marion Co" by Earl Berry for more info on the history of >the Echo and it's various owners and editors. You'll find it at >http://www.rootsweb.com/~armarion > >It's sad to have an old friend of 115 years lose part of it's identity, >but the content won't change much more than the county itself will, and >the familiar nickname "the Echo" will no doubt survive - again and again >and again. > >Mysty shakerag@mtnhome.com > > > > >============================== >Visit Ancestry's Library - The best collection of family history >learning and how-to articles on the Internet. >http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library