Joseph Bass
*Joseph Bass was born on this date in 1863. He was a Black teacher, businessman, and newspaper editor.
From Jefferson City, Missouri, Joseph Blackburn Bass taught school for seven years when in 1894, William Pope, editor of the Topeka Call, offered him the job of a newspaperman. In 1896, Pope died, and Joseph Bass became owner, publisher, and editor. In 1898, Nick Chiles purchased the newspaper and changed the name to The Topeka Plaindealer. J.B. Bass worked as Chile's associate until 1905, when he moved to Helena, Montana, to establish The Montana Plaindealer.
In 1911, he went to San Francisco for one year, then on to Los Angeles for a brief visit around October 1912. J.B. Bass decided to stay, and in late 1912 he paid a visit to the California Eagle, which was on 1328 Central in os Angeles. In 1913, Charlotta Spear hired J.B. Bass to do a limited amount of newspaper work, including running the newspaper for two weeks while she traveled north. At the end of 1913, she offered Bass the position of editor of the Eagle; they married in August 1914. Joseph Bass held that position until he died in 1934.
An excerpt from Charlotta Bass's column, "On the Sidewalk," dated April 2, 1937, reads: "My last visit Sunday was to the grave of the late editor of this paper, J.B. Bass. I did not lay a large bouquet upon the grave of him who sleeps beneath, but gardenias three in number, with their fragrance mild but sweet, conveying a message I cannot here repeat."
"Together, we started,
"Together we parted,
"He sleeps, and I go on with the task; he would have me complete.
"Fellow traveler, I do not ask for a lift--
"I can carry my load.
"I only ask that you do not block my path."
