W. W. Robertson was a serious man who worked hard for everything he acquired in life, the newspaper publisher's son, Ted, records in the book, "How the Twig Was Bent." W. W. was born in Blairstown, Iowa, May 23, 1868. His parentswere pioneer school teachers with a deep appreciation for literature, which they passed along to their son.
Mr. Robertson's first job was handling the roller of a hand press for the Ashland (Nebraska) Gazette. He put himself through the University of Nebraska working as a printer for his college paper and doing odd mechanical jobs on the Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal. In 1890, just two months away from graduation, he left the college to go to work.
He arrived in Yakima in 1918 via Denver, Salt Lake City, Portland and Chehalis, where he owned his first paper, the Nugget. After selling that paper he was offered the opportunity to buy the Tacoma Ledger for $12,000 and the Seattle Times for even less. He declined both offers to locate in Yakima, a growing community far away from the big cities.
In 1899 Mr. Robertson bought up a half interest in the Republic, one of two newspapers operating in Yakima at the time. In 1912 Mr. Robertson bought Yakima's other newspaper, the Herald.
The following is the beginning of a creed passed from W.W. Robertson to his son, Ted Robertson, who followed his father as publisher of what eventually became the Yakima Herald-Republic:
"Ownership of the only daily newspaper in a community carries with it a trementous responsibility and obligation that must never be overlooked by those in control. A newspaper possesses great power to build and to make dreams come true or to totally disrupt and destroy. It must never be used for the personal gains or whims of its owner."
The Robertson family, beginning with W. W. Robertson, provided the citizens of Yakima with its primary source of news and public opinion between 1899 and 1972. The paper merged with Harte-Hanks group in 1972.