The KENDALL brothers erected a one-story frame building on the west side of Block 18, approximately Lot 20, in 1881. Here, they established The Kellerton Mentor which was in publication about a year. George R. STEPHENS, publisher of The Ringgold Record, purchased the Mentor from the KENDALL brothers. About a year later, the Mentor merged into publication with The Ringgold Record.

J. W. KENDALL, one of the publishers, was Kellerton's second postmaster, succeeding Frederick A. BROWN.

The KENDALL building was later moved to Lot 6 in Block 14 where B. W. and F. W. RICHARDS, who came from Lucas, Iowa in 1883, established The Kellerton Independent. The Independent was published until July 1, 1884 when it too merged with The Ringgold Record.

W. W. PEASLEY purchased the KENDALL building in 1884 and it was converted into the first home of the Kellerton Bank. In October of 1900, W. A. HOPKINS and other citizens from Lamoni purchased the building, using it for the Ringgold county Savings Bank until their new building was completed.

Around the year of 1887, Dug HIGGINS and Ben SCOTT began the publication of the Palladium, a weekly newspaper. After the first year of publication, Ben SCOTT sold out to his partner. The paper continued for another year with C. J. McDONALD as one of the employees.

J. W. GRAVES came from Missouri and founded The Kellerton Globe in February of 1894. Around a year later, W. T. GRAVES, a Christian pastor and brother of J. W., bought The Globe. H. E. PERKINS bought half-interest in The Globe on October 24, 1895. Earl B. SMITH purchased the other half-interest on October 29, 1896. SMITH sold his interest to PERKINS who continued as sole owner until August 19, 1909. The entire plant was sold to Bert BALLOU of Mount Ayr. The office of The Globe was housed in the upper floor of the Kellerton Bank building.

Later the newspaper moved into the former Bill HALE's barber shop, a building on the west side of Main Street.

Jack TERRY purchased The Globe in 1959. He published the newspaper about two years before it was discontinued.

The Des Moines Tribune
Des Moines, Iowa
1954

KELLERTON, IA - One of Iowa's most unusual newspapers is The Kellerton Globe, published weekly by Bert A. BALLOU, 79, in this 483-population Ringgold County town.

The Globe is not a large paper, averaging four to six 5-column pages in each addition. It includes from six to 10 columns of local news.

The unusual thing about The Globe is that it is produced by methods that largely faded from use almost a half-century ago. Letter after letter, BALLOU set each line of 10-point type by hand. Besides, he handsets about half the advertisements in the paper.

BALLOU's printing press may be the only one of its kind in Iowa. Called an "army press" by old-time printers, it is a hand-cranked single page flat-bed unit. That means each page of his newspaper has to be run through the press as grandma ran each washed garment through the old-fashioned wringer.

Bert, who hasn't missed a day's work since he started learning the trade 60 years ago in the Herald Publishing Company at Lamoni, is "not proud of the shop or anything in it," he says. "I'm just making a living," he said.

Despite his modest attitude, BALLOU has performed valuable service to his community. Through his own newsgathering, and that of several community correspondents, he has kept his community well informed on local matters, vital or trivial.

Although he's township Republican chairman, BALLOU never has tried to influence his readers to his own opinions. He doesn't write editorials; he doesn't believe in them.

Born in Lamoni in 1875, BALLOU is a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints.

In his youth, he was a baseball catcher; 50 years ago he was manager of the Lamoni baseball team.

Bert worked as a printer in Mount Ayr several years before he purchased The Globe from H. E. PERKINS in 1909. He married Della STILL, who was working as a printer in Leon. Of their children, only Mrs. Florence HARRIS of Kellerton is living.

In Kellerton, BALLOU managed the town baseball team for many years. He also managed the town's semipro basketball team for 12 years. He's an all-round sports fan.

BALLOU doesn't withhold his pride in three grandsons.

His office is filled with pictures of Dwayne BALLOU of Des Moines, former Cardinal farm outfielder; Monte BALLOU of Des Moines, outstanding Kellerton High School pitcher who'll play for Osceola this summer; and Gary LUTZ, an outstanding Iowa State College football player.

Bert keeps in touch with Decatur County news through his Leon correspondent, Dorothy BROWN. To help wrap and address his weekly edition, Shirley HEGGS, Karen LAIRD, and Dixie MORGAN, high school girls, work at his office Wednesday evenings.

For the most part, however, you may be certain that The Kellerton Globe is a one-man deal.

The Des Moines Register
Des Moines, Iowa
1956

Bert Allan BALLOU observed his eighty-first birthday last Monday, which certainly qualifies him as one of the oldest newspapermen in Iowa. This Lively Elder owns and publishes the Kellerton Globe in Ringgold County, printing it each Thursday on a Washington hand-press with the help of two girls who work after school. He prints 300 copies, which are delivered in the mail.

Mr. BALLOU has been in the printing business virtually all his life. He went to work in 1898 as a typesetter for the Chronicle in Lamoni, where he was born and where he went to school. He later worked for the Lamoni Herald as shop foreman, staying there until 1909.

Mr. BALLOU, a widower, has one daughter, Mrs. Florence HARRIS, who lives in Kellerton. His hobby is baseball and he is an ardent fan of the New York Yankees and of the Kellerton High School teams. He is a member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints.

SOURCE:
Kellerton, Iowa: A History to 1981 Pp. 23-4. 1981.
The Des Moines Register & Tribune, 1954 & 1956

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, April of 2010