Halls of Fame

Martha Gellhorn – 2009

Martha Gellhorn, born and raised in St. Louis, quit college to get into the newspaper and magazine business. Her work evolved into literary journalism, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch carried some of her free-lance articles. Her wanderlust was legendary, and she traveled the world, often writing about her firsthand observations of wars, once stowing away on a hospital ship to get to the front lines in Europe. Hunkered down with the 82nd Airborne for several months, Gellhorn sent back eyewitness accounts of the Battle of the Bulge. She was in Vietnam in 1966 and at age 80, covered the U.S. invasion of Panama. Martha Gellhorn wore her emotions on her sleeve, and her writing endeared her to a generation of magazine and newspaper readers in Europe and the U.S.

Amadee Wohlschlaeger – 2006

Amadee took over in 1932 as the cartoonist that continued the legacy of the daily Weatherbird which began in 1901. He would go on to do the ‘Bird for almost fifty years. It still appears daily on the front page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, as it has for over a hundred years. It is said to be the longest continually running daily cartoon in American journalism.

Paul Anderson – 2010

Paul Y. Anderson began his work in St. Louis as a reporter for the Post-Dispatch in 1914, and won a Pulitzer in 1929 for his stories on the Teapot Dome scandal of the Harding administration. Early in his career, Anderson received a commendation from Congress for his stories on race riots in St. Louis. He went to work for the Star-Times in 1937, where he was assigned to the Washington bureau. Although haunted by his own inner demons, Anderson became known during his short career as one of the greatest crusading reporters of his generation.

Duncan Bauman – 2006

G. Duncan Bauman began his newspaper career at the Chicago Herald-Examiner, moving in 1941 to work at the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. By 1966, Bauman had risen to the rank of publisher and editor. His reputation had grown nationally as well, where he was highly respected  for his accomplishments. His local influence grew, and politicians and community leaders sought his support. Within the business community, many sought his backing for civic issues. Bauman was a board member of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, the Health and Welfare Council, the United Way, the Arts and Education Council, and many others.

Alice Belcher – 2011

Alice Belcher was a pioneer on many fronts. She was the first woman to enter the College of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in 1870. She was the first woman employed by the St. Louis Democrat. She wrote a weekly column to earn book money under the pen name “N.D.,” which stood for “nikeso dynamai,” which is Greek for “I will conquer; I am able.” She later moved to New York and wrote articles for the New York Evening Post and Popular Science Monthly, including stories such as “Is Education Opposed to Motherhood?” and “Woman and the Ballot.” “She expressed her strength of will by forthright presentation in St. Louis and clever guile in New York, which persuaded newspapers to accept her work — and pioneered the way in journalism for publication of the written word and commentary by other women,” her grandson, John Tweedy, told Washington University biographer Candace O’Connor. “This is her enduring legacy.”

O.K. Bovard – 2007

Oliver Kirby (O.K.) Bovard worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch 40 years beginning as a reporter in 1898. Thirty of those years he was the paper’s managing editor. Known for being calm but somewhat aloof in the newsroom, Bovard actively avoided involvement in outside activities in order to preserve his journalistic objectivity. His true love was the editorial page, which on Sunday was internally referred to as “the dignity page.” It was known for detailed stories, both national and international, on significant issues. During his tenure, the Post’s Washington Bureau was established and the paper received a Pulitzer Prize for reporting.