Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND005 - SHSND Foundation - Newspaper Hall of Fame
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 00046
Title: William Shemorry
Date: 2002
Creator:
Inscription/Marks:
Summary: Bill Shemorry (1914-2004) was active in the newspaper industry for more than 60 years. But his involvement with newspapers goes back even further as a carrier of the Williams County Farmers Press when he was just 12. William E. (Bill) Shemorry was born Aug. 12, 1914 at Williston. After attending college he served in World War II as a photographer, writer and salesman. In 1953, the Farmers Press was sold to the Williston Daily Herald and Shemorry started the weekly Williston Plains Reporter. Shemorry first became involved with NDPA in 1941 and was elected president of NDNA in 1973. In 1978 he sold the Plains Reporter to the Williston Daily Herald, but continued his career as a writer and photographer. He was best known for his excellence in photography, including his photo of the Clarence Iverson No. 1 - the first producing oil well in North Dakota - on the night of April 4, 1951. After taking the photo, Shemorry drove across flooded roads to Minot, where he developed his negatives, made prints, had cuts made and then returned to Williston to print the pictures and story, a clear scoop over all competitors. The photo was printed in many newspapers across the country and appeared in the Oct. 15, 1951 issue of Life magazine. Shemorry published 16 books during his career, including "Mud, Sweat and Oil," a history of the early days of the oil industry in the Williston Basin, and "Phil Jackson: The Man with the Longest Reach," in 1993. Drafted into the military in 1942, Shemorry was assigned as a still photographer with the 164th Signal Photo Company. After training in Missouri, the 164th was sent to the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations where the unit photographed military activities from Bombay to Shanghai and from Tibet to Ceylon. Shemorry was active in many community events and organizations. He became a member of the Williston Volunteer Fire Department in 1947 and responded to more than 1,000 fire calls. He helped organize the Williston Volunteer Rural Fire Department in 1948 and served as chief for 19 years. He has been active in Lions, Williston Chamber of Commerce, the Williston United Church, Jaycees and American Legion. In a letter to Shemorry in 1979, Milton I. Wick, the president of Wick Newspapers, wrote: "When the final history is written, you will be one of the All Stars." He was inducted into the North Dakota Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2002.
Red ID: FND_I_77486 Image ID: 509305 Image Notes: 10950 00005 00046

Collection: FND005 Digitized Images from Collection
Title: SHSND Foundation - Newspaper Hall of Fame
Date:

Summary: The Hall of Honors features the biographies of recognized leaders in North Dakota's newspaper industry. This resource is sponsored by the North Dakota Newspaper Association and the NDNA Education Foundation.

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