McGregor Mirror resumes publishing under new ownership

McGREGOR – Tommy and Patricia (Pattie) Wells have acquired the McGregor Mirror and Crawford Sun from former publishers Bonnie Mullens and Mynette Taylor, who published the newspaper for decades with their brother, the late Charles E. Mooney.
The Wells published their first edition Nov. 18. The Mirror had ceased publication Oct. 7.
A 30-year veteran of the newspaper industry, Tommy Wells will serve as publisher and editor of the publication and Pattie Wells will handle the accounting and circulation.
“I look forward to working with everyone in the McGregor area,” said Wells. “My wife and I are looking forward to becoming a part of the community and giving the area a newspaper it can be proud to call its own.”
The McGregor Mirror and Crawford Sun was originally established in 1904 and has operated continuously since. “We are thrilled to have this opportunity to acquire the McGregor Mirror,” Wells said. “This is a dream come true for my wife and I. We have always dreamed of owning a newspaper in such a beautiful and historic area.”
The Wells family — which includes two daughters and two sons — previously owned several other publications, including The Granite Enterprise and the Eldorado Courier in Oklahoma, the Throckmorton Tribune, Knox County News and Strawn News-Miner in Texas, The Erie Record in Kansas, The Ballard Weekly in Wickliffe, Kentucky, and the Seward Phoenix-LOG in Seward, Alaska.
The couple also owns Six-Man Illustrated, a national preseason football magazine for the sport of six-man football, as well as the Carnegie Herald, a weekly newspaper in Carnegie, Oklahoma, and the Dauphin Island Beach-Press, a monthly publication in Dauphin Island, Alabama.
A native of Pasadena, Texas, Tommy Wells attended high school and college in Ranger, Texas, before serving in the United States Navy aboard the U.S.S. Manitowoc (LST- 1180) and the U.S.S. Boulder (LST-1190).
A former beat writer for the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys and now defunct World League of American Football’s San Antonio Riders, Wells began his newspaper career in high school by serving as sports editor for the local paper, the Ranger Times. He later served as publisher of the Quad City Messenger in Palo Pinto County, Texas, before leaving to serve as editor at daily newspapers in Kansas and North Dakota. He served as managing editor of the Russell Daily News in the late 1990s before leaving to work in Alaska.
Pattie Wells has more than 20 years of experience in the newspaper business. Most recently, she served as production/office manager of the couple’s small chain of papers.
The couple said they plan to integrate into the community. Tommy Wells currently serves as the Sports Information Director at Ranger College and will be working his way through the remainder of his contract. “We will be in McGregor as much as humanly possible over the coming months,” he said. “We are excited about the opportunity to meet the people and experience everything the community has to offer. We believe a local newspaper is important to every community, and are anxious to contribute what we can to the entire area,” he added. Wells said the newspaper will have an “open door” policy to its readers.”
Wells said family members will help with the paper whenever possible. Their daughter Kayme is an award-winning columnist in Oklahoma and will be a regular contributor from her home in Colorado City.
Wells said the newspaper will be adding several new advertising formats to help businesses reach customers, including video broadcasting of local events, such as sports activities, and the establishment of an internet-based radio presence.