From 1938 to 1944, Elizabeth Wing was editor and publisher of "Winners of the West." Started in 1923 by Indian Wars veteran George W. Webb, the paper provided news and information for Indian War veterans (who referred to themselves as comrades), their spouses, widows, family members and other interested members of the public. The paper was printed at Logan Wing's print shop, and since Elizabeth had worked there since she was a child, she no doubt knew Mr. Webb and probably did typesetting for the paper at times. After Webb's death in 1938, Elizabeth took over the task of compiling and editing the paper, and managing its business affairs. She had no personal connection to the Indian Wars, so I suspect her involvement was a combination of an interest in history and her hope for a career in journalism and writing (she graduated from the University of Missouri in 1935 with a degree in journalism). She is listed on the masthead of the paper as "V.E. Wing" from 1938 to 1942 (when she married) and many subscribers mistakenly assumed she was a man. A subscription to the paper cost $2.00 per year. Elizabeth took care of sending out subscription notices and often received letters in return. She kept a scrapbook of some of these letters, which came from every state in the Union, as well as the then-territories of Alaska and Hawaii. The paper also had subscribers in several other countries. Some of the letters contained accounts of the writer's service in the Indian Wars (which were sometimes used in the paper), comments on recent events (mostly WWII), or just personal items. Most of the veterans and spouses were in their seventies or older by the time Elizabeth took over as editor, and their subscription to "Winners of the West" was a way to stay connected to old friends or relive their service years. At the time of his death, Mr. Webb had been working on a book of the history of the Indian War battles, titled Chronological List of engagements between the Regular Army of the United States and Various Tribes of Hostile Indians Which Occurred During the Years 1790 to 1898, Inclusive. Elizabeth completed the book and had it published. A 1939 article about the book, from the St. Joseph News-Press, which includes a biography of Mr. Webb and a bit about "Winners of the West" can be found here.Below, you will find an article on Elizabeth's involvement with "Winners of the West," a scan of the last issue from December of 1944, and some of the veterans' letters from her scrapbook.
