Family legacies : celebrating Illinois newspapers' heritage

32 Pages·2003·1.7 MB·English

by  Illinois Press Foundation

THE
CAMPBELLS
OF CALHOUN
COUNTY
Celebrating Illinois
Newspapers' Heritage
FAMILYLEGACIES
2
Family Legacies
Celebrating Illinois
Newspapers' Heritage
FAMILYLEGACIES
Foreword
— —
week onNovember20, 2003 theIllinoisPressFoundationcel-
This
ebratestheretirementofthemortgageofthe IllinoisPress
Association'snewheadquartersinSpringfield. Itistheculminationofthe
supportofthemembersandfriendsoftheIPAandsymbolizesthestrength
ofthenewspaperindustryinIllinois.
Oneofthemostgenerouscontributorstotheconstructionofthenewbuildingwas
theShawnewspaperfamily,basedinDixon,Illinois. Aspartofthegift,theShaws
requestedthatwehighlightandhonorfamily-ownednewspapersandcommunityjour-
nalisminIllinois.
Atthededicationofthenewbuildingjustthreeandahalfyearsago,thefirstissue
oftheFamilyNewspaperProjectwaspublished,entitled"FamilyValues:Celebrating
anIllinoisNewspaperTradition.TheinauguralissuefeaturedtheMcCormickfamily
(McCormickTribuneFoundation),theCopleyfamily (CopleyNewspapers),the
Chinigofamily (ChampaignNews-Gazette),theShawfamily (B. F.ShawNewspapers),
theMacfarlandfamily {ChicagoDailyLawBulletin),andtheSmallfamily (Small
NewspaperGroup).
Thesecondissue,"FamilyTraditions:CelebratingIllinoisNewspaperHistory,"fea-
turedtheBlissfamily (MontgomeryCountyNews,Hillsboro),theJenisonfamily (Paris
Beacon-News),theJonesfamily (GoldNuggetPublications,Virden) andtheOakley
andLindsayfamilies (HieQuincyHerald-Whig).
WearepleasedtopresentthethirdissuededicatedtofourmorefamiliesinIllinois:
thePaddockfamily (DailyHerald,ArlingtonHeights),theCampbellfamily (Calhoun
PublishingCompany,Hardin),theLewisfamily (RobinsonDailyNews) andtheSeil
family (NavigatorJournal-Register,Albion).
Wehopeyouenjoyreadingaboutthededication,thesacrifice,thepassionthese
familieshaveforthecommunitiestheyserve.
DavidLBennett
ExecutiveDirector,IllinoisPressAssociation
FAMILY LEGACIES
4
?*- Table of Contents
'
I. The Paddock Family 6-11
II. The Campbells ofCalhoun Count) 12-17
III.The DailyNews and the Lewis Family 18-23
IV. FourGenerations ofthe Seil Family 24-29
FAMILY LEGACIES
Y
THE PADDOCK
F \ M I L
-"T*
i II E P \ II II I) I k \ \ M I L V
"He—neverwaxedenthusiasticaboutnews- Hoseahadco-signed.
papers hejustworkedatit," saidHosea's HoseathenpurchasedtheRochelle
grandson,thelateRobertY.Paddock,Sr., Register,buthefeltthatwasn'tgoingtolead
whowastheDailyHerald'svicechairmanand himtothebigtime.Soheandapartnerstart-
executivevicepresident. edthe WaukeganRegister.
StartedbyHoseainthe19thcentury,the Hosea'sRegisterwagedagallantbattlewith
journalistichistoryofthePaddockfamilycon- thelargerWaukeganGazette,butin1892
tainsenoughdramatolastseverallifetimes. Hoseapackedhisbagsandheadedto
Overthepastcentury,thePaddockshave Iibertyville.
endureddeath,fires,twoworldwars,anda There,hebegantheLakeCounty
calamitouseconomicdepression. Independent,hopingthisfinallywouldbehis
Buttheloveofjournalismkeptthefamily bigmoveintotheworldofnewspapering.
involvedintheunromanticworldofink,and ThepapercametoanendonAug.30,
theresultoftheirworkhasproducedthe 1895,whenamassivefireragedthrough
DailyHerald,nowthethird-largestnewspa- Iibertyville'sbusinessdistrict.Theflames
perinIllinois. destroyedtheIndependent'soffice,
TheDailyHeraldhasacircula andHosea'sinsurancehadlapsed
tionofmorethan150,000,and earlierthatweek.
blanketsmorethan90commu- Hoseaandwife—Janettenow
nitiesacrosssuburban hadsixchildren andno
Chicago. sourceofincome.
Thepaper'ssuccess Hesalvagedtheprinting
seemedanunlikelypipe pressandtriedtoproduce
dreammorethanacentury thepaperfromhishome,but
agowhenitsfounder,Hosea eventuallyHoseawasforced
CornishPaddock,wasriding tosell.
hishorseBonnieacrossthe Heworkedasaschool-
marshylandsurrounding teacherforawhile.Butjour-
Chicago,tryingtosellsubscrip- nalismburnedinhisveins,so
tionstofarmers. heresumedhisquestforanews-
ThePaddockpatriarchbeganhis papertocallhisown.
lengthyjournalisticcareerasa Hesolicitedsubscriptionstohis
Hosea Cornish
reporterforseveraldownstate formernewspaperandforChicago
Paddock
newspapers,includingtheSterling papers,canvassingthelocalfarms
Gazette, theProphetstownSpikeand byhorseandbuggy.
theMorrisonSentinel. Ifafarmerdidn'thaveenoughmoneyfora
Hetoiledin1880aseditoratthePlainfield subscription,Hoseaoftenwouldtakeabagof
Enterprise,thenthreeyearslater,withfive potatoesoroatsinlieuofcash.
youngmouthstofeed,Hoseaboughtthe "Grandpawouldsitonafarmer'splowand
WlieatonUlinoisan. wouldn'tleaveuntilhegotasubscription,"
ItwastherethatHoseacoinedtheiconic saidStuartR.PaddockJr.,theDailyHerald's
purposestatementthatstillappearsin formerchairmanandpublisher,whodied
Paddocknewspapers:"ToFearGod,Tellthe April15,2002.
TruthandMakeMoney." Often,hisworkkepthimoutsolatethathe
Forfiveyearshestruggledtomakethe fellasleepatthereins,buthewouldawaken
paperasuccessfulweekly,buthewasforced tofindthatBonniehadtrottedthemboth
tosellitafterafrienddefaultedonaloan safelyhome.
FAMILY LEGACIES
THE PADDOCK FAMILY
H.C. Paddock,fourthfromleft,andhisprintingcrewposeintheoldHeraldofficebuilding.
IncludedaresonsStuart, Sr, thirdfromleft,andCharles,farright.
—
Overthecourseofhistravelsin1898, laboroftwomen Hoseawouldpullfrom
HosealearnedthatthePalatineEnterprise themassiveleverfromonesidewhile16-year-
wasforsale. oldsonStuartpushedfromtheotherside.
Thesingle-mindedHoseasomehowcame Afterafewweeks,Hoseadecidedtoprint
upwiththefunds,andsoonDec. 15,1898, hispaperdowntownattheofficeofthe
JusticeofthePeaceF.J.Filbertdrewupa ChicagoNewspaperUnion.SoHoseaorson
$150chattelmortgagecontractbetween Charleswouldtakeatrainandtwostreetcars
HoseaandW.C.Williams,theerstwhile totheoffice,luggingmassivepagesofhand-
owneroftheEnterprise. settype.
Filbert'shandwrittendocumentdetailed "Thosepageswereheavy,"saidHosea's
thepurchaseofitemsincludingmetalgalleys, grandson,thelateStuartRPaddockJr."They
typeracks,threestoolsandastove. werealltype," withmostofthe100-plus
Thedealwassealed,andthe33-year-old poundloadcomprisedoflead.
Hoseahadhisnewspaper.Butthatdidn't Often,Hoseagavethetrainconductors
meanthingsgoteasier. movieticketssotheywouldlethimandhis
Puttingouttheweeklypaper(whichsoon weightycargoaboard.
becametheEnterprise-Register)wasanardu- Hoseaworemanyhatsinhisnewspaper
oustask,madeevenmoredifficultbyafoot work,includingrenownededitorialist.Hewas
deformity,presentfrombirth,thatleftHosea knownasatoughbutfairman,asheshowed
withalimp. inhiswritingaboutGermanimmigrants:
Thetwo-pagehandpressrequiredthe "Thereisnoreasonforcriticizingour
FAMILYLEGACIES
"
THE
I' I II I) (I I k F A II I L V
TlteHeraldofficeonDavisStreetinArlington Heightswasstruckbyfirein 1938. "Tliat
ThanksgivingDayfirewasthegreatestbitofluckthateverhappenedtous,"Stuart. Sr. oncesaid.
"Itforcedustofindanotherlargerlocation.
GermanAmericans.Theybelieveinfreedom Themarketgrewtoughinthethinyears
andliberty,theyarereligiousandthelarge followingtheGreatDepression,andthe
majorityareofthebetterelementandare Paddockswereforcedtosellsomeoftheir
temperateinallthings." newspapers.
Hoseaexpandedhisjournalisticrealmby Thefamilyconcentratedonthe
purchasingtheCookCountyHeraldinneigh- Palatine/ArlingtonHeights/MountProsp—ect
boringArlingtonHeightsonMarch12, 1899. areaandenlistedStuart'sthre—echildren
Soonthereafter,heboughttheArlington Robert.StuartJr.andMargie inthenews-
News,andacoupleyearslaterheacquireda papereffort.
buildingwithaprintingpress.Nomoretrips TheyoungStuartworkedasa"printer's
tothecity. devil,"forinstance,pouringmolten"pigiron"
WithsonsStuartandCharlesnowinthe intomoldstomakethelettersforthepress.
fold,thereachof "H.C.PaddockandSons" The"grandoldman"Hoseawrotehislast
soonspreadacrosstheflatsuburbanland. wordsin1935,whenhediedattheageof82.
Overtheyears,thecompanyacquiredthe Onhisdeathbed,hespokeofhishopethat
DuPageCountyRegister,theFranklinPark hisgrandsonswouldstayinthenewspaper
BeaconandtheRiverGroveHerald,among field:"IhopeStuartandBobwillcontinuein
others. thebusiness." — —
In 1922,Hoseasoldhispaperstohissons, Thetwoboys andsisterMargie did
withStuartworkingineditorialwhileCharles indeedfollowinthefamily'sjournalistictradi-
wasinchargeofproduction. tion.ADthreewenttocollege(nosmallfeatin
Thatdidn'tmean,however,thatthestub- early20thcentury),andRobertandMargie
bornHoseawentquietlyintoretirement.He camebacktoworkforthenewspaper.
continuedassenioreditor,andretainedhis Stu,however,hadmorebohemianideas.
notoriouslyuntidydesk. AftergraduatingfromKnoxCollegein
The1920sweregoodtothePaddocks,and Galesburg,111.,hehittheroad.
theHeraldbecameabi-weeklyin1926. (It "IwashitchhikingouttotheWestCoastto
wentbacktoaweeklyin1930.) seeifIcouldfindajob," Paddocksaid."I
FAMILY LEGACIES
9
T 11 B P A I) DOCK FA N I L Y
P'That
Thanksgiving
Dayfirewasthegreatest
bitofluckthat'severhap-
penedtous," StuartSr.
oncesaid."Itforcedusto
findanother,largerloca-
^^
tion."
AnnM. Paddock Thecompany(which
becameknownas
PaddockPublicationsInc.
in1948) builtanewbuild-
ing,anditsjournalistic
reachspreadevenfur-
ther.ThePaddocks
beganproducingweek-
liesinmyriadsuburbs,
includingWheeling,
Undertheleadershipoffromleft, Robert Bensenville,Prospect
Paddock, Sr, StuartPaddock,Jr. andMargie HeightsandRolling
Flanders,shown in this 1995photo, theDaily Meadows.
Heraldenjoyedphenomenalgrowth. Thepapercameunderattackin1966,
whenMarshallFieldandhisSun-Timesstart-
madeitasfarasCheyenne,Wyoming." edadailysuburbannewspapercalledThe
Cold,tiredandbroke,Paddockwasstuck. Day.
Intimidatedbythehobosridingtherailand Overthenextfouryears,theweekly
havingspent"mylastnickelonasweetrollin Heraldnewspaperslost40percentoftheircir-
thegasstation," Paddockdidn'tknow culation.Aplantopublishthreetimesaweek
whethertoforgeonorturnback. bombed.
Hedecidedtoplacehisfateinthehandsof "Weeitherhadtogodailyordie," StuJr.
others,thumbingridesinbothdirections. decided.
IfhecaughtarideWest,hecouldendup FollowingthedeathsofCharlesPaddock
pickingvegetables.IfhecaughtarideEast, in1967andStuartPaddockSr.in1968,StuJr.
he'dstayinthefamilynewspaperbusiness. gainedcontrollinginterestofthepaperby
"Iwasthrowingstonesatatelephonepole acquiringthestockownedbyCharles
whenacarhonked,"herecalled.'Twopar- Paddock'sson-in-lawFrankStitesandcombin-
wenetrse,tgwooinlgittallelktihdeswaanydtaogIrnadinadnmao.t"her.They ingHietwsihtahrheidsoowwnne.rshipwithbrotherRobert
Thefamilywentoutofitswaytodrop andsisterMargieS.Flanders.
PaddockoffinClinton,Iowa,wherehehadan DayPublicationseventuallysurrendered
auntwhogavehim$20andaplacetosleep andsolditsnewspaperoperationstoPaddock
untilhecouldhitchhikebacktoPalatine. PublicationsonJune19,1970.
WithStubac—kinthefold,thePaddocks TobuyFieldout,thePaddockfamilyhad
movedonward untilanotherdisaster tobringinoutsideinvestors.Someofthose
struck:afireonThanksgivingDayin 1938 investorsputpressureonthefamilytosellthe
struckthePaddock'smainofficeinArlington paperandmakeaquickprofit.Largernews-
Heights. paperpublisherswereeagertobuyoutthe
Thisconflagration,though,turnedoutto Paddockfamily.
beamixedblessing. "Ineverconsideredthat," StuartJr.said.
FAMILY LEGACIES
10