The Public News was published and edited by John Horace Boozer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during 1887. He focuses his paper on local, national, and international news stories, alongside advertisements, weather reports, notices of marriages, deaths, and accidents, and anecdotes of his friends and family. He notes that "This paper is warranted to give nothing but pure good news. No poetry yams or jokes." In the vol. 1 no. 6 issue, Boozer describes the celebration of his birthday, writing that "The birthday of J.H. Boozer was celebrated by a magic lantern show... also playing on the piano by Bessie Boozer and dancing by Horace L. Traubel and othings [sic] of amusemement [sic] by the family. There were no refreshments that were nice, but there were apples, gingersnaps and water." He wrote about a variety of subjects, including seeing a fire engine in the street, news of a train robbery in San Francisco, the building of a new school in the city, and a fictitious war in which he's a captain defending a fort with the help of his sister Bessie Boozer and his friend James Reynolds McKee, among other articles. People mentioned in the newspaper include Rev. James Chalice Craven (ca. 1849-1893), William Henry Boozer (ca. 1852- ), Elizabeth B. Craven (1847-1927), Bessie May Boozer (1877-1949), Sarah G. Boozer (1825-1910), poet and author Horace Logo Traubel (1858-1919), Lothario Traubel (ca. 1863- ), Elizabeth Simpson, Raymond Bishop, James Reynolds McKee, Frinnie I. B. Swab, Annie Jardon, Mary M. Price, Florence Robinson, Maginly, Scott, Dunbar, Gysinger, McDougle, Debusy, Sithens, Patrick Gallagher, M. Roland Swab, George E. Goucher, L. Green, K. Alexander, and L. McClaskey. In the latter issues, Boozer shares that his uncle gifted him a hand printing press for his paper. However, he lacked money for repairs and printing materials. He writes many articles attempting to raise donations from his subscribers to help him reach his goal of $5. The subsequent printed issues are also available in the collections (Bib# 613313).
John Horace Boozer was born on April 14, 1879 in Philadelphia, Pa. to William Henry (ca. 1852- ) and Anna (Craven) (ca. 1853- ) Boozer. He grew up in the city, attending the Belmont Grammar School at the time of publishing his newspaper in 1887. He died on February 8, 1918, at the age of 42, of tuberculosis and was buried in White Haven, Luzerne County, Pa. In his death certificate, it is noted that he was a printer and was married.