To the core of his being, White was a man of the country and small town. In 1895, he purchased the meager inventory and scant subscription list of the Emporia Gazette for $3,000, all borrowed with his mother’s El Dorado properties as security.

Arriving in Emporia he had a moment of indecision: with only $1.25 in his pocket, should he walk, lugging his heavy baggage, showing himself to be thrifty? Or should he hire a hack for 25¢ and arrive in style? Deciding to take the hack, he never regretted it, thinking “a good front is rather to be chosen than great riches.”

In his first editorial as editor, he made it clear his aim was to “represent the average thought of the best people”. His hands were busy in every part of the paper. Known affectionately around the Gazette office as “The Boss”, he greeted his employees each morning with “Good morning, boys and girls. You can go to work now. The boss is here.”

The Gazette’s competitor, the Emporia Republican, devoted much space towards ridicule of the Gazette and its new editor. White chose never to reply; within a few years, the Republican folded. With a sympathetic understanding for those whose views differed from his own, his warm sympathies especially for minorities often made him a target of the intolerant.

As an observer and interpreter of most of the changes transforming America from 1868 to 1944, White also participating in many of them. Always he sought for and found the best in men. He was a man of understanding, wisdom, tolerance, and justice tempered with mercy. His main interests remained journalism, politics and literature in about equal proportions. Often speaking out on a variety of moral, social and political issues, White developed the small town as a metaphor for understanding social change.

Choosing to live out his life in a small Kansas town, he was fond of saying he could make any kind of a fool of himself in Emporia and it was just between himself and his subscribers. Here he was free to express himself.

In July of 1899, the Whites moved into “Red Rocks”, a house named for the red sandstone rocks quarried in Colorado. After a fire on the upper floor, the Whites turned the original Queen Anne-style home into a Tudor Revival-style. In this home, the Whites entertained people of national and international importance, including writers, artists, and seven presidents.