This newspaperman’s tombstone is shaped like a printer’s block

Joseph Henry Wish
Died 1931 at age 73

Greetings from Portland. Sweater weather is here. Every day this month I’m telling a story that bridges the gap between this world, and the next. I’m resurrecting the memory of Portlanders who’ve crossed over to the other side by posting one video each day, relating the tale of one, interesting “permanent Portlander.”

Joseph Henry Wish was a newspaperman, through and through.

He began his long, ink-stained career as a printer’s apprentice at the old, daily Eastern Argus around 1872, when he was 14 years old.

He printed the city’s daily news for 43 years.

He was an active member of the International Typographical Union of North America on both the local and national levels. For several years, he was the secretary of the Typographical Relief Association.

Wish finally retired, at the age of 73 in 1931. He died a month later.

His family name is carved backwards, and in relief, on the top of his stone, like a printer’s moveable type block.

Joseph Wish, buried in Portland's Evergreen Cemetery, printed local newspapers for most of his life. His tombstone features his family name carved in relief and backwards on the top, like a printers's block of type. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

Joseph Wish, buried in Portland’s Evergreen Cemetery, printed local newspapers for most of his life. His tombstone features his family name carved in relief and backwards on the top, like a printers’s block of type. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

Today’s story is brought to you, in part, by the Friends of Evergreen Cemetery. They are dedicated to the preservation and protection of the cemetery’s natural beauty and its historic/cultural significance — and they lead fabulous walking tours.

Disclaimer: I’m not a historian. I owe everything I know to the dedicated research of those who have come before me. These character sketches are assembled from multiple (often antique) sources and sprinkled with my own conjecture. I’m happy to be set straight or to learn more.

Joseph Wish, buried in Portland's Evergreen Cemetery, printed local newspapers for most of his life. His tombstone features his family name carved in relief and backwards on the top, like a printers's block of type. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

Joseph Wish, buried in Portland’s Evergreen Cemetery, printed local newspapers for most of his life. His tombstone features his family name carved in relief and backwards on the top, like a printers’s block of type. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

Troy R. Bennett

About Troy R. Bennett

Troy R. Bennett is a Buxton native and longtime Portland resident whose photojournalism has appeared in media outlets all over the world.