313:—on the other side of the state. Joseph initially contacted Alice to offer her a job at the new paper. While he ended up not hiring her, they began writing to each other regularly, exchanging hundreds of letters over the course of their courtship. They were married on June 6, 1882, in Vermillion. After a wedding trip, the Gossages arrived in
253:, on November 4, 1861, the daughter of John Calvin Bower and his wife. She had seven siblings, including Rose Bower, who later became a suffragist. As her mother was often sick, much of the homemaking fell to Alice; and her father reportedly struggled to support his family. When she was five years old, the Bower family first moved to nearby
33:
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until 1922, when they sold a one-fourth share to
Journal Publishing Company. They decided to sell the newspaper to the Lusk-Mitchell Corporation in 1925, but the Gossages retained their positions at the paper. Alice continued to work as the chief editorial standby. Joseph Gossage died on February 2,
327:
Five years into the
Gossages' marriage, Joseph became chronically ill. His deteriorating health propelled Alice into larger and varied roles at the newspaper. Joseph had expanded the paper from a once-weekly to a daily publication in 1886, and Alice oversaw much of this process. She variably worked
360:
Alice married Joseph
Gossage on June 6, 1882. They had no children, by their own choice. As Alice had played an active role in the rearing of her siblings and had made sacrifices to her own education and career to do so, and having observed her mother's declining health after repeated childbirth,
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as a typesetter, columnist, publisher, bookkeeper, and manager, taking on any role that needed to be filled. This early work as a chief operator of a widely distributed publication made her one of the first newspaperwomen in South Dakota. Alice signed her columns with her initials "A.G."
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built the memorial for a total cost of $ 3,318. The dedication ceremony took place on June 5, 1938. This memorial was largely neglected, overshadowed by a communications tower installed in the 1950s, and eventually collapsed. It was rediscovered, rebuilt, and rededicated in 2019.
406:. She was also a public school teacher, as well as provided music lessons. She also provided lodging at her residence for rural girls coming to Rapid City to attend school, and trained them in housekeeping until they could find a more long-term boarding solution.
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Gossage has received several posthumous honors and awards. In 1934, she became the first woman inducted into the South Dakota
Newspaper Hall of Fame; as part of this honor, a commemorative plaque was installed at the hall of fame's physical location at
489:. The correspondence is dated between 1879 and 1882, during their courtship and the early years of their marriage. Alice's diary contains entries from 1878 to 1883 and details her personal life. These letters and Alice's diary are kept at the
357:. Upon discovering he had lied about his temperance, Alice broke off the engagement. She was then engaged to John Parson, a physician, but sometime after his sentencing to state prison for a drunken crime, their betrothal ended.
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372:. After her arrival in Rapid City, she resumed her post as a Sunday school teacher, a role she filled for over 40 years; and contributed in several other ways to her church.
426:. The Journey Museum itself has several artifacts from the Gossages' lives in its collection, including Alice's wedding dress, a printing press and writing desk from the
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Gossage was a lifelong supporter of temperance, a stance passed down to her by her parents. In 1895, Gossage was elected president of the Black Hills district of the
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Gossage founded the local
Sunshine Society, which collected and distributed necessities for the poor and distributed them from inside the offices of the
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184:; November 4, 1861 – June 9, 1929) was an American newspaper editor, journalist, and activist. Often referred to as the "Mother of
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Prior to her marriage to Joseph
Gossage, Alice was engaged twice. She was first engaged to Major Henry McNamara, a writer and lawyer from nearby
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Alice
Gossage died on June 9, 1929, in Rapid City, of stomach cancer. Her funeral on June 11 was well-attended, and staff members from the
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Gossage was very interested in preserving South
Dakotan history. In 1926, she financially and politically backed an effort to relocate the
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and other South Dakota publications for over 40 years. Gossage was also involved in several political and activist causes, including
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at the age of 15, and her employment—as well as that of another 15-year-old girl—"caused a fervor". She also began working for the
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published a collection of letters exchanged between Joseph and Alice
Gossage, as well as Alice's personal diary, in a book titled
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was placed along
Skyline Drive to commemorate Gossage's lifetime of service to the city. In tandem with their works on the nearby
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During her career, Alice took on additional work for various other South Dakotan publications. She worked as a typesetter for the
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Besides her journalism career, Gossage was involved with several charitable organizations and activism efforts, including the
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265:, in 1869 or 1870. Alice received a first grade teaching certificate at age 14, and within a year she had begun teaching.
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The South Dakota Hall of Fame claims a death date of March 4, and the 125th anniversary edition of the
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and took on a prominent role in church life. In Vermillion, she played the church organ and taught
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movements. By 1892, Gossage was second vice president of the State Equal Suffrage Association.
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Sunshine Always: The Courtship Letters of Alice Bower and Joseph Gossage of Dakota Territory
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Sunshine Always: The Courtship Letters of Alice Bower and Joseph Gossage of Dakota Territory
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450:—be shut during the funeral. Gossage was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Rapid City.
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in Vermillion; as either paper alone did not have enough work for her, she worked at the
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and was an early contributor to the formation of the South Dakota Press Association.
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in 1878, and the Gossages ran the newspaper together until 1925. Alice worked as a
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696:"Historical Musings: Reconstructing Alice: A Meditation on the Historian's Craft"
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1023:"Recent Directions for the Study of Women's History in American Journalism"
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claims June 8, but Gossage's obituary and most other sources state June 9.
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In 1879, she began corresponding with Joseph Gossage, who had founded the
466:
446:. Rapid City Mayor T. B. Werner decreed that businesses—including the
1229:
Gossage, Alice (2006). Nelson, Paula; Van Nuys, Maxwell (eds.).
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Alice did not desire children of her own, a view Joseph shared.
395:. She also edited the organization's South Dakota newspaper,
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in 1978. She was one of, if not the, first newspaperwomen in
925:. No. 125th Anniversary. January 5, 2003. pp.
91:
Mountain View Cemetery, Rapid City, South Dakota, U.S.
1194:"Friends Crowd to Funeral for Mrs. Alice R. Gossage"
442:
and students of her Sunday school classes served as
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20th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
1268:
19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
1167:"Gossage fireplace reunites with Gossage artifacts"
833:"Alice Gossage didn't hesitate to 'soil her hands'"
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103:
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956:"To Succeed, Know Public, Is Rule of Woman Editor"
1099:. Black Hills Publishing Company. August 30, 1895
430:, and a fireplace from the Gossages' residence.
1328:Deaths from stomach cancer in the United States
1233:. South Dakota State Historical Society Press.
207:, Alice spent most of her life in the part of
1073:. Mitchell Printing Company. December 9, 1892
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288:two days a week. Alice began working at the
215:. Her husband, Joseph Gossage, founded the
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157:South Dakota Newspaper Hall of Fame (1934)
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1333:Woman's Christian Temperance Union people
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733:"Rose Bower (May 16, 1873- July 6, 1965)"
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340:The Gossages were the sole owners of the
249:Rhoda Alice Bower was born on a farm in
1303:20th-century American women journalists
1293:19th-century American women journalists
1165:Bonnet, Siandhara (November 11, 2022).
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143: 1882; died 1927)
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424:The Journey Museum and Learning Center
769:"South Dakota Newspaper Hall of Fame"
711:South Dakota State Historical Society
650:South Dakota State Historical Society
483:South Dakota State Historical Society
176:
7:
1288:People from Vermillion, South Dakota
1283:People from Rapid City, South Dakota
869:Rick, Lynn Taylor (April 8, 2007).
268:Her first newspaper jobs were as a
190:South Dakota Newspaper Hall of Fame
1343:People from Dane County, Wisconsin
776:South Dakota NewsMedia Association
393:Woman's Christian Temperance Union
14:
1308:20th-century American journalists
1298:19th-century American journalists
798:"Homage Is Paid to Alice Gossage"
737:Turning Point Suffragist Memorial
635:"Dakota Images: Alice R. Gossage"
465:A granite memorial topped with a
1323:20th-century Congregationalists
1318:19th-century Congregationalists
1124:"Minnilusa Links Old & New"
871:"Love grows ~ letter by letter"
537:Tupper, Seth (August 4, 2019).
140:
99:Newspaper editor and journalist
16:American journalist (1861–1929)
307:—which would later become the
1:
1278:Journalists from South Dakota
841:. January 5, 1978. p. A5
475:Works Progress Administration
456:South Dakota State University
284:three days a week and at the
188:", she was inducted into the
1132:. Vol. 30, no. 4.
917:"125 years and going strong"
539:"Solving a memorial mystery"
458:. She was inducted into the
1313:American Congregationalists
997:South Dakota State Archives
966:. July 11, 1928. p. 11
491:South Dakota State Archives
1359:
1202:. June 11, 1929. p. 1
993:"Alice Gossage Collection"
960:The Buffalo Evening Times
806:. June 6, 1938. p. 3
694:Nelson, Paula M. (2005).
601:South Dakota Hall of Fame
597:South Dakota Hall of Fame
460:South Dakota Hall of Fame
225:, editor, publisher, and
194:South Dakota Hall of Fame
161:South Dakota Hall of Fame
30:
1199:Rapid City Daily Journal
1067:"Equal Suffragists Meet"
803:Rapid City Daily Journal
211:that would later become
80:Rapid City, South Dakota
334:Mitchell Daily Republic
1042:10.1080/14616700117394
593:"Legacy Alice Gossage"
251:Dane County, Wisconsin
61:Dane County, Wisconsin
1129:South Dakota Magazine
1122:Higbee, Paul (2015).
410:Historic preservation
245:Early life and career
1093:"W. C. T. U. Column"
1071:The Mitchell Capital
962:. Rapid City, S. D.
873:. Life & Style.
703:South Dakota History
642:South Dakota History
317:together on July 2.
257:. They relocated to
1109:Library of Congress
305:Black Hills Journal
274:Vermillion Standard
239:temperance movement
173:Rhoda Alice Gossage
1172:Rapid City Journal
1029:Journalism Studies
922:Rapid City Journal
876:Rapid City Journal
838:Rapid City Journal
544:Rapid City Journal
511:Rapid City Journal
440:Rapid City Journal
428:Rapid City Journal
404:Rapid City Journal
342:Rapid City Journal
322:Rapid City Journal
310:Rapid City Journal
218:Rapid City Journal
118:Rapid City Journal
1097:Black Hills Union
416:Pap Madison Cabin
399:, for two years.
366:Congregationalist
278:Dakota Republican
203:Although born in
170:
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115:Publisher of the
104:Years active
47:Rhoda Alice Bower
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434:Death and legacy
397:The White Ribbon
382:women's suffrage
263:Dakota Territory
235:women's suffrage
209:Dakota Territory
192:in 1934 and the
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37:Gossage in 1910
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294:Parker New Era
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112:Known for
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76:(aged 67)
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25:Alice Gossage
22:
19:
1338:Suffragettes
1230:
1210:– via
1204:. Retrieved
1197:
1188:
1176:. Retrieved
1170:
1160:
1150:– via
1144:. Retrieved
1135:
1127:
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1107:– via
1101:. Retrieved
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1075:. Retrieved
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1045:. Retrieved
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1000:. Retrieved
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888:. Retrieved
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843:. Retrieved
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808:. Retrieved
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714:. Retrieved
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213:South Dakota
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198:South Dakota
181:
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88:Burial place
74:(1929-06-09)
72:June 9, 1929
18:
1263:1929 deaths
1258:1861 births
879:. pp.
778:. p. 2
547:. pp.
444:pallbearers
420:Halley Park
1252:Categories
1036:(2): 218.
521:References
386:temperance
315:Rapid City
286:Republican
270:typesetter
259:Vermillion
227:typesetter
186:Rapid City
53:1861-11-04
1152:EBSCOhost
1141:100267271
1103:March 14,
1077:March 14,
1053:EBSCOhost
1047:March 14,
742:March 14,
462:in 1978.
300:in 1880.
223:columnist
205:Wisconsin
107:1887–1929
1206:March 5,
1178:March 6,
1146:March 6,
1020:(2001).
1002:March 5,
970:March 5,
936:March 5,
890:March 5,
845:March 5,
810:March 5,
782:March 5,
716:March 5,
656:March 5,
606:March 5,
558:March 5,
376:Activism
290:Standard
282:Standard
272:for the
237:and the
229:for the
467:sundial
448:Journal
355:Yankton
231:Journal
145:
137:
133:
1237:
1139:
652:. 1974
473:, the
345:1927.
298:Parker
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