Thompson, Tom E.

Thomas E. Thompson was one of the state’s most famous writers. His widely quoted “Potpurri” column made the Howard Courant one of the most frequently read papers in Kansas.

Born May 23, 1860, in Iowa, Thompson ran off with a party of buffalo hunters when he was 12. At 14 he left home again to escape washing dishes in his father’s hotel in the lost town of Boston.

He quit school at age 13 and resolved to learn the printer’s trade. For the next eight years he worked on various newspapers in southeastern Kansas.

Thompson made his first venture into the publishing business in 1880 with the Elk Falls Signal, and shortly thereafter took over the Courant.

In 1925, he became the first president of the new Kansas Editorial Association.

He served as mayor of Howard and as a city councilman. A music enthusiast, he led the town band for 42 years and sang tenor in his church choir for nearly half a century.

Thompson died October 1, 1935, at age 75.