In 1930, the Ridgeway Journal hosted a contest to increase the number of annual subscriptions to the paper. An annual subscription was $1.50 and candidates received “votes” when someone sent in and entry form with the candidate’s name with their subscription to the paper or paid an outstanding balance to the contest. The more people the candidate could get to buy a new subscription or renew one, the more votes they got and they received extra votes during the first week of collecting and for new subscriptions. The calculation of votes seemed to be rather complicated but the winner of the contest would receive a 1930 Imperial Chevrolet Sedan, fully equipped including bumpers and spare tire. The car could be viewed at the Bartlett Chevrolet Co. in Ridgeway. (Ridgeway Journal, Feb 20, 1930)
The contest didn’t quite do as well as the Ridgeway Journal hoped, but the Journal did get a good number of new subscribers. They didn’t get as many renewals or payment of outstanding balances as they wanted but conceded that the roads were bad due to the late winter weather and rural subscribers were hard to reach. They also had some drama around candidates who didn’t seem to put in as much effort as others and a few that tried to bribe the editor and/or contest manager for votes. They found the attempts at bribery to be the most disappointing. Still, they did raise enough to give out all the prizes. Mrs. Jessie Buzzard won the car. Dorothy Booth won the second prize of $100 cash, Gilbert Champlin won $50 and Jake Cocklin won a Corona typewriter. (Ridgeway Journal, Mar 3, 1930)
