Joe Payne and Matt Jestila founded Payne’s News Agency in 1924
It was located at 306 Quincy Hancock Michigan, Queen City of Copper Isle, serving the Copper Country District and providing out of town Newspapers for the public at its retail location.
We also wholesaled magazines and books to Keweenaw County, Houghton County, Ontonogan County
and Baraga County.
Being an active news source Paynes News tirelessly worked to end Alcohol Prohibition
Matt Jestila lost his bar located at 301 Quincy, that satisfied many a thirsty miner, mining copper the most strategic mineral for World War I , or as they called it until WW II, the War To End All Wars, or the War to Make the World Safe For Democracy. With prohibition, hundreds of thousands of bar owners wer thrown out of business without compensation, and even more lost their jobs.. And the thousands of breweries in the country had to close.
With the rise of speakeasies, bootlegging, and organized crime profiting on illegal alcohol, and finally the refusal of juries to convict on alcohol offenses prohibition was a disaster. Miners, and their thirst, drove them to vote for wet candidates . And finally FDR, an ODD FELLOW passed legalization.
Paynes News was proud to receive liquor license #1 in the State of Michigan
Paynes News became Paynes News and Liquor.. We offered books, magazines, comics, sports cards, chewing gum, candies, and tobacco products, coca cola, pepsi, local beverages, beer and hard liquor.
After the mines closed, we sold off our wholesale arm and later moved to 310 Quincy.
After Joe Payne died his nephews Bill Hogg-of flaming red hair, and John Condon took over.
In 1991 Michael Jestila opened a used bookstore at 314 Quincy.. in 1992 he bought PAynes NEws but turned down the liquor license
IN 1999 we had to close the retail location in Hancock but retained product lines of Paynes NEws in our Multi-Entertainment center in Houghton and in MArquette.
And now noticing how corporate owned media refuses to do investigative journalism…
I have stepped forward to report THE REST OF THE STORY… as my relative Paul Harvey used to say.
infinitybisected 