A History of The Free Lance–Star

When the first issues of The Free Lance rolled off the press Jan. 27, 1885, its editors seemed more concerned with printing a newspaper through the next winter than the next century.

If all went well, they predicted, "we will dance an old Virginia reel, rejoicing the while that we were born when and where and as we were." The descendant newspaper, The Free Lance–Star, has more than survived. It has become a staple record of community, state, national and international news.

The Free Lance–Star moved into its second century with expansion of its building at 616 Amelia Street. The multimedia setting is a sharp contrast to the newspaper's humble beginnings at 303 William St., where founders Col. John W. Woltz and William E. Bradley published twice-weekly editions of The Free Lance, with its masthead insignia of a knight on horseback. A yearly subscription cost $1.50. The newspaper was innovative even then as the first in the city to use a power press capable of printing 1,200 papers an hour. It later became the first in Fredericksburg to publish three times a week. Local advertisements shared prime space on the front page with the national and local news of the day. A March 1885 issue displayed pictures and profiles of newly elected President Grover Cleveland and Vice President Thomas A. Hendricks beside a half page of local advertisements.

A part of a local newspaper tradition dating to 1786, The Free Lance competed with The Fredericksburg Star and The Fredericksburg News, which both published twice weekly. As early as its second issue, The Free Lance warmed up to the News while blasting the antagonistic Star. The Star later added a second publication, The Fredericksburg Daily Star, which became the city’s first daily. In 1926, a joint stock company that had earlier purchased both The Star and The Free Lance heralded the birth of The Free Lance–Star. Circulation was now at ´a bona fide, paid up circulation of approximately 5,500. The newspaper was a bargain at 3 cents an issue.

The publication directed its attention to rural readers who, because of new technology, were akin to city subscribers. "The farmer of today is as keenly interested in current news of happenings in all parts of the world as his city neighbor," stated an introductory message from the new Free Lance–Star. The new, more readable editions, with the now familiar old English nameplate, had a mix of local, state and national offerings including stories about a new City Council term and an upcoming paved road from Richmond to Fredericksburg.

Josiah P. Rowe Jr. was editor and publisher of the newspaper from 1925 until his death in 1949 at age 54. Rowe joined the newspaper as advertising director after serving with the Army Air Corps during World War I. He became editor when his uncle A.P. Rowe died in 1925. Sons Charles S. Rowe and Josiah P. Rowe III took over as co-publishers after their father’s death.

The late Lemuel Houston was a reporter when the elder Rowe was at the helm. Before his death in 1998, Houston described Josiah P. Rowe Jr. as a "round-the-clock newspaper man. He was the best typist in the office." The news deadline for the day’s publication was 3 p.m. and the newspaper was in homes by 5 p.m. in the city. Country subscribers paid $3 a year for each edition that was mailed out for the next day’s home arrival. The price was $1 less a year than for city subscribers who received doorstep delivery. Houston once said that Josiah P. Rowe Jr. was the only one adept enough at handling Associated Press reports before the days of the AP teletype machine. He would type in reports as they were phoned in by the AP. "Josiah put on the earphones and typed the news. He was the only one who could type fast enough." Houston remained with the newspaper until World War II broke out and he went on active duty with the Marines in the South Pacific. Even then, his occasional letters about events there appeared in Rowe’s column, "Timely Topics."

Another veteran reporter, the late Warren Farmer, joined The Free Lance–Star. He worked for The Free Lance–Star for 22 years, later becoming its city editor. Before his death in 2002, Farmer described his stark entry into daily city reporting. His first day on the job, Fredericksburg Police Chief Silas Perry showed him what appeared to be a tree stump. It was, in fact, the charred remains of a rumrunner whose car, loaded with illegal whiskey, had flipped over and burned after a police chase across the Free Bridge, now known as Chatham Bridge.

World War II was a hectic time, when capable employees were hard to find. Those like Farmer became jacks-of-all-trades. "There were days when I did the woman’s page, sports, local news and handled the AP wire all in one day," Farmer said.

Another early Free Lance–Star employee was the late Perry A. Thompson. "Mr. T," as he was lovingly known in the community, spent forty years with the newspaper beginning in 1928 until his retirement in 1968. He recalled only two publication days missed during his four decades at the newspaper, a Friday and Saturday during the 1942 flood that hit Fredericksburg. The newspaper published on Sunday to make up for the lost issues.

By 1965, with a daily circulation of more than 13,000, the newspaper moved to its new quarters at its current Amelia Street location with a new offset press that could print up to 40 pages. It also housed radio station WFLS, which went on the air in 1960 to provide a different mode of dispersing information.

Local news coverage that had focused on the city and Spotsylvania, Stafford and King George counties soon reached to outlying subscribers in Caroline and Westmoreland counties. Within ensuing decades, clackety manual typewriters were replaced with IBM electrics and finally a centralized word-processing system.

In 1984, The Free Lance–Star was named by Time magazine as the top small daily newspaper in the country. The newspaper has consistently been recognized as the best medium-size daily in the state by the Virginia Press Association, which holds yearly news, photography and advertising competitions. In 1989, Charles Rowe was inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame, which honors distinguished men and women in the field of communications. Josiah joined him in these prestigious ranks in 1995.

In 1995, the paper converted to a system of complete pagination in which the pages are assembled completely on computers. The press can print up to 80 pages in four sections.

Charles Rowe retired in the fall of 1997 after 48 years. The following January, Josiah became sole publisher by acquiring his brother’s interest. The move insured that the company would remain an independent, family-run business. Josiah’s daughter, Florence Barnick, and son-in-law, Nick Cadwallender, are associate publishers. That same year, the newspaper also shifted from afternoon to morning delivery and added a Sunday edition.

Besides the country music station WFLS, The Free Lance–Star also operates WYSK, an alternative rock station, and WWUZ, a classic rock station.

The Free Lance–Star Publishing Co. has grown to 500 employees and strives to meet the information needs of the community through every facet of the media. Its Internet site, fredericksburg.com, provides updated news and information online. The company also branched out into telephone information with its Star Directory, which is distributed to 140,000 homes in Fredericksburg and the surrounding counties. More recently, the Free Lance–Star Publishing Co. began reaching out to the area’s growing Hispanic community. The parent company leases its AM 1350 signal to a Spanish radio station that broadcasts as Union Radio 1350 AM.