The Sterling Standard paper came into being in 1870 and operated under the direction of Theodore H. Mack; it was formerly known as the Chronicle, and before that, the Whiteside Chronicle, originally established by Theodore H. and Charles M. Mack in 1868. Nine years later, in 1877, the Standard was "an outspoken Independent Republican paper, a strong and fearless advocate of the temperance cause..." The photo depicts the employees of the paper including the young, enterprising news "cryers" seated upon the boardwalk.
