Edward H. Harte
Encyclopedia
Edward Holmead Harte was an American newspaper executive, journalist, philanthropist, and conservationist. The son of Houston Harte
, co-founder of the Harte-Hanks
newspaper conglomerate, he had a decades long relationship with that organization. For Harte-Hanks he was an executive and journalist with various newspapers, including The Snyder Daily News, The San Angelo Standard-Times, and The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. He also served as vice chairman of Harte-Hanks from 1962–1987. As a philanthropist he donated tens of millions of dollars to a variety of charities and institutions. He was also a pioneer in environmental conservationism in Texas, notably spearheading successful land conservation campaigns on Padre Island
and Mustang Island
. In 2002 the National Audubon Society
(NAS) awarded him the Audubon Medal.
, Edward H. Harte came from a newspaper family. His great grandfather was a Washington correspondent for the New York Tribune
and his father, Houston Harte
, co-founded the Harte-Hanks
newspaper conglomerate. He grew up in Depression-era
San Angelo, Texas
where his father was publisher of The San Angelo Standard-Times.
During World War II Harte served in the United States Army
. After the war he entered Dartmouth College
from which he earned a bachelors degree. After graduating, he became a reporter for the The Claremont Eagle in New Hampshire. He left that position to become a reporter for The Kansas City Star
. He then partnered with his brother, Houston H. Harte, and Bernard Hanks’s son-in-law, Stormy Shelton, in buying the weekly Snyder, Texas
newspaper The Snyder Daily News. That publication became part of the Harte-Hanks newspaper chain.
where he met and befriended several members of the board of the NAS. In 1964 he joined the NAS board himself on which he served for a total of 13 years. He was notably President of the NAS board from 1974 to 1979. Under his leadership The Caller-Times became an important advocate for land preservation and environmental protection in what The New York Times
described as "an unusual stance for a Texas newspaper at the time". In 1962 Harte successfully spearheaded a campaign to designate 67 miles (107.8 km) of Padre Island
as a national seashore; a feat which resulted in the protection of the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the world. In the early 1970s he led another successful campaign to designate 3,954-acres of Mustang Island
as a state park. In 1985 he and his brother donated their 66,000-acre ranch bordering the Big Bend National Park
to The Nature Conservancy
, which in turn donated the land to the Big Bend National Park in 1989.
In addition to his work as a conservationist, Harte was also a philanthropist. He donated a known 70 million dollars to local Corpus Christi organizations and institutions like universities, colleges, research labs, and environmental groups. It is likely that his philanthropy extended considerably beyond this amount as he often gave anonymous donations to charities and organizations for decades. Some of contributions included a 3.5 million dollar donation towards a new performing arts center at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi
(TAMU-CC), $1.8 million for a library in Flour Bluff
, and a $1 million challenge grant to Corpus Christi Metro Ministries which helped save two homeless shelters from closing. In 2000 he established the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies
at TAMU–CC, with a $46 million dollar endowment. The Institute has since played a major role in helping cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
.
Houston Harte
Houston Harte founded, with Bernard Hanks, a regional chain of newspapers which eventually became the media company Harte-Hanks. His son was the newspaper executive, journalist, philanthropist, and conservationist Edward H...
, co-founder of the Harte-Hanks
Harte-Hanks
Harte-Hanks is an advertising and direct marketing company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is particularly associated with the publication of weekly shopper publications, with 13 million circulation weekly in 1100 separate editions of the PennySaver and Flyer each week in California and...
newspaper conglomerate, he had a decades long relationship with that organization. For Harte-Hanks he was an executive and journalist with various newspapers, including The Snyder Daily News, The San Angelo Standard-Times, and The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. He also served as vice chairman of Harte-Hanks from 1962–1987. As a philanthropist he donated tens of millions of dollars to a variety of charities and institutions. He was also a pioneer in environmental conservationism in Texas, notably spearheading successful land conservation campaigns on Padre Island
Padre Island
Padre Island is part of the U.S. state of Texas. The island is located on Texas' southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is famous for its white sandy beaches at the south end...
and Mustang Island
Mustang Island
Mustang Island is a barrier island on the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States. The island is 18 miles long, stretching from Corpus Christi to Port Aransas. The island is oriented generally northeast-southwest, with the Gulf of Mexico on the east and south, and Corpus Christi Bay on the north...
. In 2002 the National Audubon Society
National Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and uses science, education and grassroots advocacy to advance its conservation mission...
(NAS) awarded him the Audubon Medal.
Early life and education
Born in Pilot Grove, MissouriPilot Grove, Missouri
Pilot Grove is a city in Cooper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 723 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Pilot Grove is located at ....
, Edward H. Harte came from a newspaper family. His great grandfather was a Washington correspondent for the New York Tribune
New York Tribune
The New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
and his father, Houston Harte
Houston Harte
Houston Harte founded, with Bernard Hanks, a regional chain of newspapers which eventually became the media company Harte-Hanks. His son was the newspaper executive, journalist, philanthropist, and conservationist Edward H...
, co-founded the Harte-Hanks
Harte-Hanks
Harte-Hanks is an advertising and direct marketing company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is particularly associated with the publication of weekly shopper publications, with 13 million circulation weekly in 1100 separate editions of the PennySaver and Flyer each week in California and...
newspaper conglomerate. He grew up in Depression-era
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo is a city in the state of Texas. Located in West Central Texas it is the county seat of Tom Green County. As of 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total population of 93,200...
where his father was publisher of The San Angelo Standard-Times.
During World War II Harte served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. After the war he entered Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
from which he earned a bachelors degree. After graduating, he became a reporter for the The Claremont Eagle in New Hampshire. He left that position to become a reporter for The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star is a McClatchy newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes...
. He then partnered with his brother, Houston H. Harte, and Bernard Hanks’s son-in-law, Stormy Shelton, in buying the weekly Snyder, Texas
Snyder, Texas
Snyder is a city in and the county seat of Scurry County, Texas, United States. The population was 10,653 at the 2010 census. It is located on Deep Creek, a minor tributary of the Colorado River of Texas. Snyder is approximately 150 km southeast of Lubbock.Located in Snyder is the Scurry County...
newspaper The Snyder Daily News. That publication became part of the Harte-Hanks newspaper chain.
Work for Harte-Hanks
Harte worked for the Harte-Hanks corporation in a variety of capacities throughout his career. As a teenager he had his first job working as a switchboard operator at The San Angelo Standard-Times, one of the many newspapers owned by the Harte-Hanks corporation. He later served as president of The San Angelo Standard-Times from 1952 to 1956. From 1962 until his retirement in 1987 he was vice chairman of Harte-Hanks and publisher of The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. In addition to serving as The Caller-Times publisher he also wrote a longstanding Sunday column for the paper that covered Mexican politics and current events. His collumn was known for providing coverage in this area which was not available elsewhere in the mainstream press. He continued to write thate column even after his retirement as publisher in 1987.Conservationist and philanthropist
While running The Caller-Times, Harte further developed a passion for nature which ultimately led to his becoming an activist for environmental conservation. He regularly visited the Aransas National Wildlife RefugeAransas National Wildlife Refuge
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is a 114,657 acre protected area situated on the southwest side of San Antonio Bay along the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in parts of Aransas, Refugio, and Calhoun counties. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was established by Executive...
where he met and befriended several members of the board of the NAS. In 1964 he joined the NAS board himself on which he served for a total of 13 years. He was notably President of the NAS board from 1974 to 1979. Under his leadership The Caller-Times became an important advocate for land preservation and environmental protection in what The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described as "an unusual stance for a Texas newspaper at the time". In 1962 Harte successfully spearheaded a campaign to designate 67 miles (107.8 km) of Padre Island
Padre Island
Padre Island is part of the U.S. state of Texas. The island is located on Texas' southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is famous for its white sandy beaches at the south end...
as a national seashore; a feat which resulted in the protection of the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the world. In the early 1970s he led another successful campaign to designate 3,954-acres of Mustang Island
Mustang Island
Mustang Island is a barrier island on the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States. The island is 18 miles long, stretching from Corpus Christi to Port Aransas. The island is oriented generally northeast-southwest, with the Gulf of Mexico on the east and south, and Corpus Christi Bay on the north...
as a state park. In 1985 he and his brother donated their 66,000-acre ranch bordering the Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park is a national park located in the U.S. state of Texas. Big Bend has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States, which includes more than 1,200 species of plants, more than 450 species of birds, 56...
to The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
, which in turn donated the land to the Big Bend National Park in 1989.
In addition to his work as a conservationist, Harte was also a philanthropist. He donated a known 70 million dollars to local Corpus Christi organizations and institutions like universities, colleges, research labs, and environmental groups. It is likely that his philanthropy extended considerably beyond this amount as he often gave anonymous donations to charities and organizations for decades. Some of contributions included a 3.5 million dollar donation towards a new performing arts center at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi
Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi
Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi is a state university located in Corpus Christi, Texas, United States, on Ward Island in Oso Bay. The university is part of the Texas A&M University System...
(TAMU-CC), $1.8 million for a library in Flour Bluff
Flour Bluff, Corpus Christi, Texas
Flour Bluff is a specified area of the city of Corpus Christi, Texas. It is located on Encinal peninsula bordered by Corpus Christi Bay on the north, Oso Bay on the west, the Laguna Madre on the east and the King Ranch to the south...
, and a $1 million challenge grant to Corpus Christi Metro Ministries which helped save two homeless shelters from closing. In 2000 he established the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies
Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies
The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies is a recently endowed and developing research institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.- Mission :...
at TAMU–CC, with a $46 million dollar endowment. The Institute has since played a major role in helping cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
.