At just five years old, Robert Herring began his 68-year newspaper career by sweeping up and cleaning spittoons at the Chelsea Reporter, a weekly newspaper his family purchased in the 1930s. Throughout his childhood, he worked alongside his family, learning the linotype machine and press and developing a love of news.
After his father's death in 1952, Robert left the University of Oklahoma where he was studying journalism to return to Chelsea to take over the paper at the age of 21. Throughout his long career, he saw the newspaper world transition from hot metal machines and commercial printing to computers and scanning and much more. He loved to tell the story of his town, but he loved to support it far more. Never one to seek praise for his efforts, he often worked behind the scenes supporting the community and was named Chelsea Citizen of the Year in 1993.
Following his death in 2003, a gift in Robert's estate established an endowment at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation to support medical research related to Parkinson's disease and genetic disorders.