The Oasis Archive

The weekly newspaper, the Oasis, of the Oasis Publishing Company, was launched in Arizola, Arizona, on May 11, 1893, by founder and editor Allen T. Bird.  The paper was dedicated to the news in southern Arizona and its surroundings and was considered highly knowledgeable on the subject of mining. 

The Oasis continued in Arizola until May 10, 1894; moved to Benson from May 17 through November 22, 1894; and finally, relocated to Nogales on December 6, 1894, according to Estelle Lutrell’s Newspapers and Periodicals of Arizona 1859-1911.

Like many early papers, partisanship had its effects on the Oasis, which originally began as a Republican newspaper, but would change to Democratic around 1914.  Contention among editors were commonplace at the time, and while in Nogales, Bird would find himself involved in such disagreements.  On one occasion, a scuffle even arose between Bird and Nogales Herald owner,Hamilton R. Sisk.  William H. Lyon maintains in Those Old Yellow Dog Days:  Frontier Journalism in Arizona 1859-1912 that later “Bird apologized after being condemned at a mass meeting.” 

Working in the newspaper business during this period left much to be desired.  The profession was known for its long hours and minimal pay.  In Those Old Yellow Dog Days: Frontier Journalism in Arizona:  1859-1912, Lyon characterizes newspapermen in Arizona as “’rank suckers’”--poor businessmen “who let sentiment interfere with profits, ran notices and advertisements at a fraction of their proper cost, and bent to the whims of scheming politicians.” Cases of libel were also commonplace.  In 1895, Allen T. Bird was charged with slander by the Nogales board of supervisors and again two years later by a customs collector named Sam Webb, whose job Bird coveted. Webb would be fired from his post later the same year.  On October 9, 1920, the Oasis was sold to a larger association, which, however, promptly ceased its publication.