Bledsoe's Beach Hub of Lake James for Nearly Eight Decades
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THE HERALD REPUBLICAN SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 THE NEWS SUN The Star kpcnews.com $1 WRITING HISTORY ONE DAY ATATIME Booming industry, horrific disasters, monumental achievements: For 100 years KPC Media Group has been giving you the news INSIDE THIS SPECIAL SECTION ’10s ’20s ’30s ’40s ’50s ’60s ’70s ’80s ’90s ’00s Eckhart Steuben Auburn War hero Kentucky Tornadoes An auto Dekko Hispanics Tri-State gives citizens make automobile gets a residents rip through museum is builds a become renamed Auburn Pokagon company has special arrive in LaGrange born in thriving majority in Trine huge gift happen finest hour tribute droves County Auburn foundation Ligonier University E5-E6 E7-E8 E9-E10 E12-E14 F1-F2 F3-F5 F6-F7 F8-F9 F10-F11 F12-F13 E2 WRITING HISTORY ONE DAY AT A TIME SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 Writing a century of local history a time. Allen County community newspapers. Kendallville on Aug. 7, 1911. We Welcome! Founded as Kendallville Publishing In addition, our websites are major hope you enjoy these glimpses of Co. in August 1911, on Main Street, news and advertising vehicles for the what was happening in each of the For the past 100 years, KPC Kendallville, KPC Media Group has region. We also operate commercial last 10 decades and the stories of Media Group Inc., and its grown into a multi-media firm serving printing and direct-mailing operations. some of the companies sponsoring an expanded area of northeast Indiana. While our products and geograph- this section. predecessor newspaper Our products include the daily ical area have grown, we continue to Northeast Indiana is rich in history. TERRY G. newspapers based in Auburn, Angola be family-owned and operated — I encourage young and old to seek companies, have been and Kendallville, along with weeklies committed to meeting the present and more opportunities to learn about our HOUSHOLDER writing the history of our in Garrett, Butler and Ligonier. future needs of the communities in past. We publish the Fort Wayne which we live and work. We can take pride in those who communities in DeKalb, region’s only business weekly In your hands you have a taste of forged our path. Inspired by their President, publisher of LaGrange, Noble and newspaper, a family magazine, local what we have covered as news and fortitude, we continue to strive to KPC Media Group Inc. phone books, total-market saturation feature stories since the consolidation improve the communities we call Steuben counties one day at shopper products and free monthly of the two daily newspapers in home. • Population growth fluctuates over the years U.S. Census figures for Official U.S. Census records of the population of the four northeastern Indiana counties: Indiana 1910-2010: DeKalb County LaGrange County Noble County Steuben County 1910 2,700,876; up 7.3 percent 1910 25,054 1910 15,148 1910 24,009 1910 14,274 1920 2,930,390; up 8.5 percent 1920 25,600 1920 14,009 1920 22,470 1920 13,360 1930 3,238,503; up 10.5 percent 1930 24,911 1930 13,780 1930 22,404 1930 13,386 1940 3,427,796; up 5.8 percent 1940 24,756 1940 14,352 1940 22,776 1940 13,740 1950 3,934,224; up 14.8 percent 1950 26,023 1950 15,347 1950 25,075 1950 17,087 1960 4,662,498; up 18.5 percent 1960 28,271 1960 17,380 1960 28,162 1960 17,184 1970 5,193,669; up 11.4 percent 1970 30,837 1970 20,890 1970 31,382 1970 20,159 1980 5,490,224; up 5.7 percent 1980 33,606 1980 25,550 1980 35,443 1980 24,694 1990 5,544,159; up 1.0 percent 1990 35,324 1990 29,477 1990 37,877 1990 27,446 2000 6,080,485; up 9.7 percent 2000 40,285 2000 34,909 2000 46,275 2000 33,214 2010 6,483,802; up 6.6 percent 2010 42,223 2010 37,128 2010 47,536 2010 34,185 Local Dealer Earns Highest Culligan Honor /HYK^VYRPUNWLVWSLHUKOHYK^H[LYJVUKP[PVUZ JYLH[LZ\JJLZZPU2LUKHSS]PSSL 2LUKHSS]PSSL 0UKPHUH ;OL ,TTL[[ 1 V^ULYZOPWZOHYLZPU 0UMHJ[[OPZ *\SSPNHU (^HYK VM ,_JLSSLUJL NP]LU KPZ[PUJ[PVU ^HZ H^HYKLK ^OPSL [OL [V [OL [VW PUKP]PK\HS KLHSLYZOPW *\SSPNHU IYHUK P[ZLSM JLSLIYH[LK SVJH[PVUZPU5VY[O(TLYPJHOHZILLU `LHYZ PU I\ZPULZZ H[ HU PU[LYUH[PVUHS H^HYKLK [V *\SSPNHU VM 2LUKHSS]PSSL JVU]LU[PVU PU 6YSHUKV .PIZVU ;OL SVJH[PVU ZLY]LZ 5VISL ^HZ VU OHUK [V HJJLW[ [OL OVUVY +L2HSI HUK 3H.YHUNL JV\U[PLZ ^P[O H Z[VYL PU (\I\YU HZ ^LSS 7HY[VM[OLKLHSLYZOPW»ZZ\JJLZZPZK\L [V[OLMHJ[[OH[[OLVMÄJLZLY]LZHYLNPVU ;OL H^HYK [HRLZ PU[V JVUZPKLYH[PVU VM[OLJV\U[Y`Z\MMLYPUNMYVTL_[YLTLS` T\S[PWSLJYP[LYPHPUJS\KPUNSVJHSTHYRL[ OHYK^H[LY/HYK^H[LYJVU[HPUZOPNO WYLZLUJLHZ[YH[LNPJHK]LY[PZPUNWSHU HTV\U[Z VM JHSJP\T HUK THNULZP\T PUK\Z[Y` WHY[PJPWH[PVU HUK \W[VKH[L HUKJHUKHTHNLHWWSPHUJLZWS\TIPUN WYVK\J[ HUK [LJOUVSVN` RUV^SLKNL ZRPUHUKOHPY*\SSPNHU^H[LYZVM[LULYZ ZPNUPÄJHU[S` YLK\JL [OH[ PTWHJ[ ¸>L HYL ]LY` ISLZZLK [V ZLY]L [OPZ JVTT\UP[` HUK [OPZ H^HYK PZ ZPTWS` ¸>OLU `V\ [OPUR ^H[LY ^L ^HU[ H YLTPUKLY VM [OH[ WYP]PSLNL¹ ZH`Z `V\ [V [OPUR *\SSPNHU¹ HKKZ .PIZVU :[L]L .PIZVU V^ULY VM *\SSPNHU ¸>L RUV^ [OL HYLH ^L RUV^ [OL VM 2LUKHSS]PSSL ¸6\Y [LHT ^VYRZ WLVWSL HUK ^L RUV^ ^L JHU OLSW¹ L_JLW[PVUHSS` OHYK H[ JYLH[PUN HU H[TVZWOLYLVMLK\JH[PVUHUKZLY]PJL -V\UKLKPU I`,TTL[[*\SSPNHU ;OVZL LMMVY[Z ZLLT [V IL ^VYRPUN¹ *\SSPNHU JVU[PU\HSS` KL]LSVWZ UL^ [LJOUVSVNPLZ [V [YLH[ OHYK ^H[LY HUK *\SSPNHU VM 2LUKHSS]PSSL OHZ ILLU YPK ^H[LY JVU[HTPUHU[Z (SS WYVK\J[Z ZLY]PUN[OLHYLHZPUJL[OL Z>P[O OH]LILLUWLYMLJ[LK[OYV\NOYLZLHYJO V]LY `LHYZ VM L_WLYPLUJL .PIZVU HUKKL]LSVWTLU[ZL[Z[HUKHYKZPU[OL OPTZLSM[VVRV]LY[OLSVJH[PVUPU ^H[LY[YLH[TLU[PUK\Z[Y`HUKHYL\ZLK HM[LY^VYRPUNPUHSTVZ[L]LY`JHWHJP[` I`OVTLZHUKI\ZPULZZLZ^VYSK^PKL VM [OL I\ZPULZZ HUK PUP[PHSS` IV\NO[ ,1752'8&,1*7+(1(: &XOOLJDQ+LJK(IÀFLHQF\ 7KHZRUOG·VVPDUWHVWZDWHUVRIWHQHU ,QWHOOLJHQWHQRXJKWRFXWZDWHUVDOWDQGHQHUJ\XVDJHXSWR $ 00 $ 00 200OFF 99 ,QWURGXFWRU\6SHFLDO a Culligan HE Which includes 3 months rent, Water Softener basic installation and salt fi ll. See participating dealer for details. ©2011 Culligan International Co. Dealer participation may vary. Coupon must be presented at time of sale. Offer expires 9/30/2011. Store Locations: • 403 W. North (US 6), Kendallville • 1707 S. Wayne, Auburn Serving Noble, LaGrange & DeKalb Counties www.HeyWaterMan.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 WRITING HISTORY ONE DAY AT A TIME E3 George O. Witwer, publisher emeritus: ‘Tell life stories … be part of the community but not consumed by it’ 1950s. John and I discussed BY GRACE HOUSHOLDER what we should do. I argued [email protected] that we could not ignore the fact that the person was not Founded in 1911, Kendallville quite a woman. John pointed Publishing Co. is celebrating its 100th out the problems in the deep Depression that would force a anniversary. KPC’s publisher emeritus, man to conceal his sex in George O. Witwer, and and his wife order to get a job. I came up with the word “hermaphro- Dorothy Lee Witwer have experienced 49 dite,” the meaning of which I of those years. Here are some of their hoped most readers might not exactly know. The story was recollections and predictions. picked up by UPI and AP. Soon I was receiving requests Did you envision the type of for photos from smut growth KPC has experienced “We were the first magazines in Canada. when you first moved here in Much later, there was 1962? Did you envision that newspaper in the United scandal when Henderson future generations would Lake began to smell — no, eventually be part of KPC? States to receive our UPI actually, stink. This went on GEORGE O. WITWER: Yes wire news by satellite, for several months until a and no. I thought I could make summer News Sun editorial great improvements at The rather than land line. intern studying to become a News Sun. I had seen the new doctor figured it out. We held offset technology while After we bought The up printing the story in working in the East. I drove to exchange for the company the first successful daily offset Auburn Evening Star involved agreeing to install newspaper in New York state some expensive purifying to witness the miracle. I felt it (now The Star), we equipment. would (and should) replace Stories involving a young, letterpress printing. It would became one of the first pretty News Sun reporter who improve the quality of our spent a few days with photos and reduce our costs. It dailies to print two PHOTO CONTRIBUTED followers of The Way in was a very exciting time with The News Sun staff of 1966 included, from left, George O. Witwer, editor, C. William Rome City produced some great changes in the dailies on one press.” West, city editor, Wendell Jollief, sports editor, Bill Gisel, photographer and reporter, excitement. newspaper business — all for Jeanette Hetrick, society editor, and Marguerite Sand, wire editor. the better. As for my children, What are some of the major they were all little things then George O. Witwer we get to know our readers. changes you have experi- and I did not expect them to Publisher emeritus The most challenging part is enced through the years with ever change much.