In the rapidly developing history of the modern era there is perhaps no one influence comparable to that of the press. Through his ubiquitous medium fleets each day’s momentous news and the psychology of nations is carried round the world. The great metropolitan press, with its complex network of intellectual machinery, connecting myriad points on the globe, does its great work of disseminating universal information of importance to the world. No less valuable, in its less pretentious way, is the local press of county or town, which keeps in mental touch the citizens of county seat and remotest farm. A worthy exponent in our newspaper systems is Editor Gordon B. Baird, who conducts the Obion County Enterprise.
Mr. Baird is an energetic representative of the younger generation of the men who are doing things. He is a son of James M. and Rebecca (Smith) Baird, a former native of Middle Tennessee and later of West Tennessee. They lived in Carroll County during their earlier married years and it was during their residence there that their third child, a son, whom they named Gordon, was born, on January 12, 1888.
Gordon Baird had excellent advantages from the first. His father was an attorney, who had acquired an enviable prestige for legal acumen in his native county. While Gordon Baird was yet a child the father died, and his mother removed to Fulton, Kentucky, where the son’s education was completed. In 1909 he returned to his native state, which has been the scene of Gordon Baird’s vocational success. In 1909 he established himself in Obion, where he entered upon his present work as editor and publisher of the Enterprise. In 1910 he won as his life’s closest companion Miss Anna Lee Pascall, well known in Fulton, Kentucky, as the daughter of T. T. Pascall. Mr. and Mrs. Baird have a small daughter, named Mary Gordon Baird.
Mr. Baird’s most enthusiastic attention, as well as his choicest gifts, are devoted to his editorial work. The Obion County Enterprise is a six-column sheet, well-constructed and finished, with editing of a particularly breezy and effective quality. Its circulation is one that will average well with that of any paper in the county. Mr. Baird also does the job printing for Obion and its vicinity, being in every way thoroughly well equipped for such responsible work. He is a Democrat in his political affiliation.
Source: Hale, Will T, and Dixon L. Merritt. A History of Tennessee and Tennesseans: The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce, Industry and Modern Activities. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Company, 1913. Volume 5.
