George Helgesen Fitch (June 5, 1877 – August 9, 1915) was an American author,

humorist A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business e ...

, and journalist perhaps best known for his stories about fictional Siwash College.

Biography

Fitch was born in Galva, Illinois. He was the eldest son of Elmer Eli Fitch, editor and publisher of the ''Galva News'', and Rachel Helgesen, daughter of Thomas and Anna (Holverson) Helgesen. His grandfather, Thomas Helgesen, was a native of Norway who had immigrated to America in 1848. Fitch graduated from Knox College in 1897. He worked as a reporter for a number of midwest newspapers including the

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...

''Daily Nonpareil'' and the

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

''Herald-Transcript''. Eventually he became frequently published in national magazines, breaking in with his popular "Megaphone" series satirizing urban America. He also penned a syndicated column called "Vest Pocket Essays". By 1910, Fitch not only was a respected writer and editor, he became a nationally syndicated columnist for

George Matthew Adams George Matthew Adams (August 23, 1878 – October 29, 1962) was an American newspaper columnist and founder of the George Matthew Adams Newspaper Service, which syndicated comic strips and columns to newspapers for five decades. His own writings w ...

' news service. He was elected as a Progressive Party candidate to the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

in 1912. Knox, his ''alma mater,'' was the basis of a series of popular stories set at "Good Old Siwash College". First appearing in the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' in 1908, they focused on characters including football player Ole Skjarson and Petey Simmons, a coach who paid his "amateur" athletes as well as the

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

Eta Bita Pie. The Siwash stories were the basis for the movie ''

Those Were the Days! ''Those Were the Days!'' is a 1940 comedy film directed by Theodore Reed and starring William Holden and Bonita Granville.

'' (1940) starring William Holden as Simmons, which was filmed on location at and around Knox College. Fitch died of a ruptured

appendix Appendix, or its plural form appendices, may refer to: __NOTOC__ In documents * Addendum, an addition made to a document by its author after its initial printing or publication * Bibliography, a systematic list of books and other works * Index (pub ...

while visiting his sister Louise in California at the age of 38.

Quotes

Fitch gave an early form of the adage "Journalism is the first rough draft of history": :A reporter is a young man who blocks out ''the first draft of history'' each day on a rheumatic typewriter.July 3, 1914, Lincoln (NE) Daily Star, "The Reporter" by George Fitch, pg. 6, col. 4“First draft of history” (journalism)
November 23, 2009, Barry Popik See Wikiquote article for details.

Selected works

*''At Good Old Siwash'' (1910) *''Homeburg Memories'' (1915) *''Vest Pocket Essays'' (1916)

References

;Other sources *''Past and Present of Fayette County Iowa'' (B.F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis. 1910) * Fitch, Roscoe Conkling ''History of the Fitch Family 1400–1930'' (1930) *''George Fitch'' (The Literary Encyclopedia. July 17, 2001)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitch, George 1877 births 1915 deaths People from Galva, Illinois American people of Norwegian descent Illinois Progressives (1912) Knox College (Illinois) alumni Members of the Illinois House of Representatives American humorists American male writers Writers from Illinois Deaths from appendicitis 19th-century American politicians