Early Life
Smith was born in Grand Junction, Colorado. At the age of ten, his mother died, and at age thirteen, his father died, leaving young Elmo an orphan. He was sent to live with his uncle on a ranch near Wilder, Idaho. He supported himself financially as he pursued an education at the College of Idaho. Smith received his B.A. in History in 1932 and moved to Ontario, Oregon.
In Ontario, he began a long and successful career in the newspaper business. The year he arrived in town, Smith managed the Ontario Argus, and founded the Ontario Observer in 1936. As a newspaper owner and publisher, Smith began to gain stature in the community and entered politics.
Voters in Ontario elected Smith mayor in 1940, and returned him to office for a second term in 1942. He resigned in 1943 in order to enlist in the U.S. Navy during the Second World War.
Smith earned the rank of Lieutenant, serving in the Pacific Theater of Operations. He flew transport planes, and later commanded an air transport base in the South Pacific. He returned to civilian life at the war's 1945 conclusion.
Upon returning to Ontario, its citizens returned Smith to the mayor's office. He continued to manage his newspaper holdings, purchasing the John Day Blue Mountain Eagle, and gaining an interest in The Madras Pioneer; while selling off his Ontario papers. In 1948, voters in Grant, Malheur, and Harney Counties elected him to represent the region in the Oregon State Senate.
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