George Reynolds Dale was an American newspaper editor and politician. He was best known as the editor of the Muncie Post-Democrat from 1920–1936, and as mayor of Muncie from 1930–1935. His life's works include the starting of several newspapers, battling bootleggers, and the Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...

 as mayor of Muncie.

In 1932, Dale was convicted of violating Prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

 laws. His conviction was upheld on appeal, but he was pardoned after the repeal of Prohibition

Repeal of Prohibition

The Repeal of Prohibition in the United States was accomplished with the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 5, 1933.-Background:...

 in 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

.

Personal life

George was born of Pioneer and Military heritage in Monticello, Indiana. His father, William D. Dale was a Union Captain, in Company K of the 19th Indiana Regiment, during the U.S. Civil War, and his grandfather William Dale settled in Monticello after migrating from Virginia. His mother was Ophelia Reynolds, also of the Monticello area. Both parents were deceased before his eighteenth birthday, his father in 1886 and mother in 1887. Growing up in rural Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, he attended local public schools.

He married his wife, Lena Mohler, in Hartford City on January 14, 1900. They had 7 children: Mary O., Elizabeth, George R. 'Bud' Jr. , Martha Ellen, Virginia Ruth, Daniel D. and John Henderson.

Publishing career

Hartford City Press

• Co-produced the paper with Charles Wigmore.
• This was George's first hands on experience in daily news, and was the cities first daily paper.

Hartford City Journal

• Started and ran until 1915 when he sold the paper and moved to Muncie

Muncie Post

• Editor until the paper folded in 1921

Muncie Post-Democrat (1921-1950s)

• Created the Post-Democrat after the collapse of the Muncie Post
• It was the only known Democratic paper in Delaware county at the time of its creation, and was circulated weekly
• It was used to combat corrupt officials and the Ku-Klux-Klan
• It was the target of numerous physical and verbal attacks, and eventually had to be printed outside of the state of Indiana

Political career

His political career like much of his life, although brief, was full of controversy. He publicly continued his attacks on both the current corrupt officials and the Ku-Klux-Klan. He was inaugurated on January 6, 1930, and served just one term. Is well known for his house cleaning of the Muncie government in which he removed most of the local government and replaced the entire Police and Fire Departments within days of his inauguration.

Descendants/Namesakes

Deceased is George "Bud" R Dale Jr of Muncie.
Currently there are 3 surviving name sakes: George "Skip" Reynolds Dale III and George "Chip" Reynolds Dale IV both of Delphi, IN, and most recently George "Reyn" Reynolds Dale V was born.

External links

• George R. Dale, Dale Family History
• George Dale biography, Ball State University Library
• George Dale biography, Ball State University archives
• http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848460,00.html Obituary, TIME
  Time (magazine)
  Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
  
  , April 6, 1936.]
• http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=FB0910F9395B1B7B93CAAB1788D85F428385F9 "George Dale Dies, Ku Klux Klan Foe", The New York Times
  The New York Times
  The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
  
  , March 28, 1936 (subscription required).]