For over 122 years, The Port Washington News has kept the community informed about business openings, school news, the law and more. The passage of time, however, leads many readers and paper staff alike to forget who came before us, like the Port News’ founder, William M. Hyde.
Using the recently uploaded archive of the Port News from 1903 through 1996, provided by the Port Washington Public Library and Friends of the Library, residents can learn how local hamlets and villages were transformed from industrial hubs to larger suburban communities.
Hyde was born in Port Washington on May 12, 1860, and founded the Port Washington News on Jan. 20, 1903, after working as a reporter for the Brooklyn Times, New York Herald, and New York Record. Hyde created the newspaper to look out for his neighbor, and in his 24 years as editor and proprietor of the Port Washington News, he did just that.
“It is the intention of the management to make a strong exponent of county, town and local affairs, especially the betterment of the community,” the founder’s creed proclaimed in the Port News’ first edition. “Its intention is to at all times advocate measures looking to the advancement of the community and it will work hand in hand with those who favor village improvements.”
In the paper’s early years, Hyde laid out each week’s paper at his home on Jackson Street, folding sections with a large butcher knife before he had the paper printed in New York City. In 1910, Hyde built his own print shop on Lower Main Street. The building is no longer there, but stood near the PAL in Sunset Park.
The paper would relocate to 166 Main St. in 1916, where a plaque commemorating the original paper that was installed in 1930 still hovers near the roof.
During his 24-year tenure as editor of the paper, Hyde would write editorials about his visions for a better Port Washington, such as funding utility improvements and building more public schools.
“It is a strange state of things that rich and prosperous America is so behind in its educational facilities,” Hyde wrote in 1920.
In an era of Gatsby-esque excess, Hyde was said to put the common person ahead of political or commercial interests and would call out politicians by name in his editorials if he thought a public disservice had occurred.
When he died in Nov. 21, 1927, Hyde’s writers would write in his obituary that he was a friend to all regardless of socio-economic background. Hyde is buried under a bolder inscribed with his name at Nassau Knolls Cemetery on Port Washington Boulevard. While few remember his name, his legacy lives on through this paper and anytime Port Washington residents envision a better future.
