McDill "Huck" Boyd
| McDill "Huck" Boyd | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 17, 1907 Phillipsburg, Kansas |
| Died | 9 January 1987 (aged 79) Phillipsburg, Kansas |
| Occupation | Publisher |
| Spouse(s) | Marie (Kreikenbaum) Boyd |
| Children | Marcia (Boyd) Krauss, Patricia Boyd |
McDill "Huck" Boyd (April 17, 1907 – January 1, 1987) was a noted small-town newspaper publisher in Phillipsburg, Kansas, United States, and twice a candidate for governor of that state.
Boyd for decades was the publisher of The Phillips County Review, a weekly newspaper in his hometown. His parents, Frank W. and Mamie Alexander Boyd, purchased the paper the year he was born; Frank had previously been the editor since 1902 of the Phillips County Post. The couple changed the name of the paper from the Post to the Review. There was considerable competition at that time in sparsely populated Phillips County, with four other newspapers in Phillipsburg and other publications in neighboring, smaller towns.
Huck, the Boyds' first child, joined the newspaper staff in 1929 as a junior editor when the Great Depression caused him to withdraw from college and return home to help his parents. The Boyd family was deeply involved in the newspaper business. Huck's brother, "Bus" (given name Frank), after a stellar sports career at Kansas State Agricultural College (now Kansas State University) coached sports for a time but later became editor of the Jewell County Record in Mankato, Kansas. Nephews and nieces (and their descendants) of Huck Boyd have also operated the Hill City Times and Norton Daily Telegram, among Kansas newspapers.
Huck Boyd also served as president of the Kansas Press Association.
Four members of the Boyd family — Frank W., Mamie, Bus, and Huck — have been inducted into the Kansas Newspaper Hall of Fame. Huck was inducted in 1990.
Fellow Kansas Newspaper Hall-of-Famer Henry Jameson once said of Boyd: "(He) has that rare knack for pulling people together and getting things done, with a minimum of fuss and fanfare. He never hogs the spotlight. He appears to be in the background - but all the time he's out front calling the signals."
Huck Boyd was very involved in his community, state and region as a promoter of business and industry. He played key roles in bringing the first Cooperative Refinery to Phillipsburg, establishing the Mid States Port Authority which bought and maintained 465 miles of rail line after the Rock Island Railroad went bankrupt in the late 1970s, and obtained legislative approval to solve the small-town doctor shortage in western Kansas by establishing rural family practice residencies, an idea later copied in other states.
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