Profile written and provided courtesy Nowell Briscoe ( nowellbriscoe@bellsouth.net )

ERNEST CAMP

FOUNDER OF A NEWSPAPER DYNASTY

 1880 - 1957

        Central to any town or city, regardless of its size, is one business which keeps the residents and citizens current on the news and events of the community; the “voice of the town”, if you will….the local newspaper.

        Stanislaw Lec once mused: “The window to the world can be covered by a newspaper.”

        Monroe has seen many newspapers come and go since its founding in 1818. Of the ten other papers whose light burned bright and flickered out, thanks to the ingenuity, determination and dedication of a young man, new to town, from Swainsboro, by the name of Ernest Camp, the Walton Tribune, founded on February 19, 1900, remains today, in its 112^th year of service, Monroe’s official voice of the county. As an old advertising slogan prominently displayed on the mast head said, “The Tribune covers Walton County like the Sunshine.”

        When young Ernest Camp came to Monroe in January of 1906 to take over the editor’s chair of the paper, he brought with him quite a bit of experience having been the editor of papers in Swainsboro, Brunswick and Dublin. In assuming the top chair at the Tribune, his beginning salary was the whopping sum of $50 a month.  He took his time settling in, getting to know the folks in town, the businesses up and down the street and where folks lived. After assimilating all these facts in his head, he then began creating one of the best small town newspapers in the state.

        Ernest Camp was born in Swainsboro, Georgia on October 14, 1880.  He attended the Swainsboro Public Schools and at the age of 11 he entered a local printing office where he worked until the age of 17 when he began publication of the Swainsboro News, a weekly newspaper.  Several years later, Mr. Camp began working for the Atlanta Constitution as a traveling representative, serving in this capacity for several years.

        In 1903 he went to Dublin where for two years he edited The Dublin Times, a semi-weekly paper.  It was during his time there he met Miss Irene Sanders, whom he married in December of 1904.  They became parents to three children: Ernest Camp, Jr., Sanders Camp and Martha Camp who later married Harry Burns of Atlanta. After the death of his wife in 1932, Mr. Camp married Miss Marguerite Joiner of Tennille.

        In 1905 Ernest Camp moved to Brunswick where he succeeded the late Sam W. Small as editor of The Brunswick Journal and moved to Monroe in 1906 to become editor and publisher of The Walton Tribune, which he later purchased.

        Mr. Camp’s talent for writing became apparent at an early age when his poems, which were later to earn for him the title of the “Wiregrass Poet”, began appearing each week in the Swainsboro paper where he worked.

        From 1925 to 1927 Mr. Camp served as president of the Georgia Press Association, bringing that organization to national attention by leading its members for the first time on out-of-state trips to Cuba and the New England states in the interests of recreation and international good will.

        His interest in political affairs landed him friendships with former President Franklin Roosevelt, Frank Knox, Woodrow Wilson and Senator Oscar W. Underwood. From his seat in the editor’s chair, Mr. Camp achieved considerable influence in political affairs of the state, especially his involvement with the Democratic Party.  He served as a delegate to the Democratic Convention in Baltimore in 1912 which brought about the nomination of Woodrow Wilson for President. Twenty years later, in 1932, he was a delegate to the Chicago Convention that nominated Franklin Roosevelt to office.

        Ernest Camp’s poems, stories and sketches were published in many newspapers and periodicals and for a number of years he was a staff contributor to The Atlanta Sunday American.  He published a brochure of poems, “Autumn Odes” in 1923, “Autumn Anthems” in 1938 and “Sojourns in Song” in 1940. His poetry was so well received by his friends and followers he was named “Poet Laureate” of the Georgia Press Association.

        The Walton Tribune was the first weekly paper in the state to carry a front page personal column written by the editor.  The column, “Tenting on the Old Camp Ground”, was started by Mr. Camp in 1932 and with the exception of two years when written by associates, appeared until his death under his byline.  The column won many journalistic honors for its creator and was widely quoted for years by those who read the paper throughout the state. The final column written by Mr. Camp appeared the week before his death, with the lead article being devoted to October, his favorite month of the year, which also was recalled in his poems reflecting the beauty and color of this time of year.  And here we are, two days shy of the 55^th anniversary of his death as we pay tribute to him on this beautiful, crisp autumn day.

        Ernest Camp died on Tuesday, October 22, 1957 at the Walton County Hospital from a heart condition. Funeral services for the beloved editor, publisher and poet were held the next day from the First Baptist Church with long time friend, Dr. Walter S. Robison, officiating assisted by Rev. W. W. Richardson. The exceptionally large attendance for Mr. Camp was visible testimony to the esteem and affection Walton County and the state held for this man. Although his gentle voice and pen were stilled, the ink that ran in his veins were passed along to sons Ernest, Jr., Sanders, and grandson Randy, who carried on the Tribune’s legacy until 1976 when the paper was sold outside the family.  A portrait of Ernest Camp hangs in the offices of The Walton Tribune and I feel sure his spirit still pervades the rooms and crevices of the offices he so loved, just to keep an eye on the newcomers writing the stories of today to make sure they continue some of the practices he set up long ago to ensure the paper continues well on into the future.