Joseph Cookman
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Joseph Cookman (February 6, 1899 – August 12, 1944) was an American journalist, critic and a founder of
The Newspaper Guild The NewsGuild-CWA is a labor union founded by newspaper journalists in 1933. In addition to improving wages and working conditions, its constitution says its purpose is to fight for honesty in journalism and the news industry's business practice ...
.


Life and career


Early life

Born in 1899, in
Batley Batley is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Batley lies south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield. Batley is part of the ...
, England, Joseph was the oldest of three children born to John and Ada (née Pattison) Cookman. In 1907, John, the son of a Methodist minister, was sent to Canada with his young wife Ada and two of his three young kids (the youngest child Hannah, was too sick to make the journey at the time) and became a
remittance man In British history, a remittance man was an emigrant, often from Britain to a British colony, supported by regular payments from home on the expectation that he stay away. In this sense, remittance means the opposite of what it does now, i.e. mo ...
. Shortly after they arrived, John died of
appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...
. With no money nor means to support herself, Ada put her son Joe in an orphanage at the age of 8. Subsequently, his mother got a job keeping house for a Walter Bowen and moved to his farm on Bowen-Eldridge Road in
Fillmore, New York Fillmore is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in the town of Hume, Allegany County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 603. It was originally known as "The Mouth of the Creek" but was named for President ...
. Joe Cookman was retrieved from the orphanage and went to live with his mother and sister Grace in New York. Ada and Walter eventually would marry. Cookman graduated from a one-room school house in rural Fillmore. He went on to study at
Houghton College Houghton University is a private Christian liberal arts college in Houghton, New York. Houghton was founded in 1883 by Willard J. Houghton and is affiliated with the Wesleyan Church.
before joining the Army, going through officer training school at Smoky Hill Flats, Kansas, and serving in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
as a
Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
in the
infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
. After the war, a friend's father who owned a steel mill, offered Cookman a job paying $75 per week. However, Joe did not want to be a steel salesman but a writer instead and moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
settling on the upper west side. He shared an apartment with his sister Grace who had become a nurse.Mary Gibson Bass Oral History Project Columbia University 1976 Volume 1, page 34


Married life

On November 26, 1928, Cookman married Mary Carter Carson, daughter of James Carson a former Chairman of the Colonial Trust Company. She was known professionally as Mary Bass for most of her career. They had an episcopal wedding and a reception at the
Englewood Golf Club Englewood Golf Club was a private golf course in the eastern United States, located in Englewood and Leonia, New Jersey, just west of New York City. Opened as a nine-hole course in 1896, a second nine was added four years later; it hosted the U. ...
. Ushers at the wedding were newspaper men Lindsay Perrott, Ted Dibbell (''NY Post''), Joy Lilly and John Collins. Bass's brother was also an usher. As newly-weds, they first lived at 750 Riverside Drive in Manhattan. They later moved to the
Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...
around 14th street, with Cookman working at the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' and Bass working as an advertising assistant at a department store. Through his work at the ''Sun'' and the ''Post'', Cookman and Bass became close friends with
Bruce Gould and Beatrice Blackmar Gould Bruce Gould and Beatrice Blackmar Gould (both 1898-1989) were co-editors of the ''Ladies' Home Journal'' for almost 27 years, from 1935 through 1962, including the golden years of the magazine. Early life Charles Bruce Gould was born in Luana, Iow ...
. When Bruce and Beatrix moved from the ''New York Post'' to the ''
Ladies Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...
'' in 1935, they brought Mary there the next year as an editorial assistant. She eventually was named executive editor and worked with the Goulds at ''Ladies Home Journal'' for nearly 30 years before retiring in 1963. Cookman and Bass socialized with much of the New York city literary crowd and counted Bruce Gould and Beatrice Blackmar Gould, Martha Ostenso,
Ruth McKenney Ruth Marguerite McKenney (November 18, 1911 – July 25, 1972) was an American author and journalist, best remembered for ''My Sister Eileen'', a memoir of her experiences growing up in Ohio and moving to Greenwich Village with her sister Eileen ...
, Ted Dibbell, Lindsey Perrott,
Bernard Grebanier Bernard Grebanier (March 8, 1903 – March 10, 1977) was an American drama historian, critic, writer, theater director and poet, most notable for his studies of the works of William Shakespeare. He wrote music and 28 books. Career Grebanier was a ...
, Hayward Broun among their numerous friends. This crowd used to frequent
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
night clubs the
Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...
and The Nest during
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
. Cookman and Bass moved to the
Emery Roth Emery Roth ( hu, Róth Imre, July 17, 1871 – August 20, 1948) was an American architect of Hungarian-Jewish descent who designed many of the definitive New York City hotels and apartment buildings of the 1920s and 1930s, incorporating Beaux-A ...
designed building at 570
Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
in May 1941. They had no children. Cookman and Bass were married for 16 years.


Career

Cookman's professional career began in 1922 in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
where he convinced the City Editor of the ''New York Telegram'' (later known as the ''
New York World-Telegram The ''New York World-Telegram'', later known as the ''New York World-Telegram and The Sun'', was a New York City newspaper from 1931 to 1966. History Founded by James Gordon Bennett Sr. as ''The Evening Telegram'' in 1867, the newspaper began ...
'') to give him a job as a reporter. He also worked briefly at ''
The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...
''. Cookman was offered a job as the drama critic for the '' Bronx Home News''. He joined the ''
New York Evening Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established i ...
'' in 1925 as a reporter and later as assistant city editor. He eventually became the paper's Chief Editorial Writer and worked at the Post until his death in 1944. In 1933, Cookman, along with
Heywood Broun Heywood Campbell Broun Jr. (; December 7, 1888 – December 18, 1939) was an American journalist. He worked as a sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and editor in New York City. He founded the American Newspaper Guild, later known as The Newspaper ...
and several others, founded
The Newspaper Guild The NewsGuild-CWA is a labor union founded by newspaper journalists in 1933. In addition to improving wages and working conditions, its constitution says its purpose is to fight for honesty in journalism and the news industry's business practice ...
with Cookman elected as its original Second
Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
. Cookman's work was listed in ''The Mammoth Book of Journalism: 101 Masterpieces from the Finest Writers and Reporters''. He was considered the best reporter at the paper by the senior executives such as Owner/Publisher J. David Stern, and editors Walter Lister Sr. and Harry Saylor. As such, he was typically tapped to cover the largest stories of the time.Mary Gibson Bass Oral History Project Columbia University 1976 Volume 1, page 65


Story coverage

Throughout his career, Cookman covered some of the most important stories around the country including: * The funeral of
Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "the Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination ...
* The inquest into Long's assassination *
Dutch Schultz Dutch Schultz (born Arthur Simon Flegenheimer; August 6, 1901October 24, 1935) was an American mobster. Based in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s, he made his fortune in organized crime-related activities, including bootlegging and the nu ...
's invasion of the
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
numbers racket * The 1932
Lindbergh kidnapping On March 1, 1932, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. (born June 22, 1930), the 20-month-old son of aviators Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was abducted from his crib in the upper floor of the Lindberghs' home, Highfields (Amwell and Ho ...
of Charles Lindbergh's infant son * The Rev.
Charles Coughlin Charles Edward Coughlin ( ; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979), commonly known as Father Coughlin, was a Canadian-American Catholic priest based in the United States near Detroit. He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the ...
rallies * The 1934 burning of the SS ''Morro Castle''. * The 1936 murder investigation of novelist Nancy Titterton, the wife of Lewis Titterton, the then President of
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* The
Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937 The Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, frequently called the "court-packing plan",Epstein, at 451. was a legislative initiative proposed by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court in order to ...
, aka Roosevelt packing of the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. * The
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
strike of 1941 * The
Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
plane
Pacific Clipper The ''Pacific Clipper'' (civil registration NC18602) was a Boeing 314 Clipper flying boat, famous for having completed a nearly around-the-world flight in December 1941 and January 1942. Aviation experts called the flight the first commercial ...
's circumnavigation of the globe in December 1941 - January 1942. Cookman was also present, witnessed and reported on the 1935 execution of murderer Eva Coo at
Sing Sing Prison Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north o ...
. During his investigation of gangster
Dutch Schultz Dutch Schultz (born Arthur Simon Flegenheimer; August 6, 1901October 24, 1935) was an American mobster. Based in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s, he made his fortune in organized crime-related activities, including bootlegging and the nu ...
, he was mugged and severely beaten. While never proven, it was widely suspected that Dutch ordered the beating as a warning to Cookman and other reporters to cease their investigations of his crime and racketeering organization.


Death

Cookman died in his home August 12, 1944 of a
heart ailment Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, ...
. Upon his death, ''The Post'' received a significant outpouring of mail from readers, friends and admirers of Cookman and his years of contributions to the paper. ''The Post'' paid its own tribute then additionally selected and published a memorial by Cookman's good friend and drama historian
Bernard Grebanier Bernard Grebanier (March 8, 1903 – March 10, 1977) was an American drama historian, critic, writer, theater director and poet, most notable for his studies of the works of William Shakespeare. He wrote music and 28 books. Career Grebanier was a ...
.''New York Post'', Saturday, August 26, 1944.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cookman, Joseph 1899 births 1944 deaths American columnists American newspaper editors American newspaper executives American newspaper journalists People from Batley United States Army personnel of World War I English emigrants to the United States United States Army officers