Journalism long a part of Main Street history

By TERRY HOUSHOLDER

KENDALLVILLE — Fourteen years before Kendallville’s incorporation as a city in 1863, a newspaper office existed on South Main Street.
Nearly 150 years later, journalism continues to thrive in downtown Kendallville. Since the early 1960s, under the leadership of George O. Witwer, The News-Sun, a daily newspaper serving Noble and LaGrange counties, has seen its circulation grow significantly. And it has gained statewide recognition for its journalism awards and its community service.
In the spring of 1849, William H. Austin, who was an accomplished fiddler, established the first newspaper in Noble County. He published the Noble County Star from the second story of Samuel Minot’s store (later known as the George Aichele property) on South Main Street.
He would grind out about 300 copies of his publication which sold at an annual subscription rate of $1.50.
Austin soon moved the office to Albion after acquiring a small room in the Noble County Courthouse. A year later he sold it to Samuel E. Alvord, a law student from Pennsylvania who came to Indiana to regain his health.
The second newspaper in Kendallville was the Noble County Journal, established in 1860 by Judson Palmiter, an intellectual man from Ligonier. Palmiterpublication was ’s weekly editorially linked to the political party of Abraham Lincoln, who captured the White House in the first year of the paper’s existence.
In 1863, a rival Republican newspaper, the Kendallville Standard, was founded by Dr. C.O. Myers. In 1870, the Journal was consolidated into the Standard by Myers. The Standard’s offices were located at 102 S. Main St. (now occupied by the Treasure Me Dolls store).
In November 1877, Dr. A.S. Parker published the first issue of Weekly News in Kendallville. Parker, a native of Ohio, graduated from medical college in Cleveland in 1857, and took up the practice of medicine in Kendallville. He established the newspaper in Garrett in 1875, but moved it to Kendallville for financial reasons.
The Weekly News was a Democratic-leaning publication and was a financial success, as was the Standard.
Several other newspapers in Kendallville appeared and disappeared in the mid-to-late 19th century, including the Daily Bulletin, the Semi-Weekly Times, the Kendallville Sentinel, and the Bee Keeper’s Guide. Most of them were in circulation less than a year. C.E.L. Brown’s paper had the shortest life — one issue in 1890.
On Feb. 22, 1890, the Daily Sun was launched by Joseph S. Conlogue, who had became part-owner of the Kendallville Standard. Eight years later, Parker followed suit, starting the Daily News in conjunction with his Weekly News.
Conlogue was a native of Kendallville, born June 19, 1843. His father was a farmer who built some of the first homes in Kendallville, including the one belonging to William Mitchell, considered the father of Kendallville and the city’s most prominent resident.
Conlogue took an active role in the community. He helped found the Eastern Indiana Agricultural Society, which started the Noble County Fair in the 1880s. He was the fair secretary for 14 years. He also served eight years on the Kendallville school board and was a member of the Kendallville City Council. He later was appointed stamp agent and inspector of the United States Internal Revenue Office in Indianapolis and sold his interest in the newspaper.
By 1911, Kendallville’s two rival daily newspapers were consolidated by owners O.E. Michaelis and George W. Baxter, and the Kendallville Publishing Co., with offices at 112 N. Main St, was created.
The weeklies were discontinued and Kendallville became a one-newspaper city.
Two years later, in 1913, Michaelis and his wife, who owned the entire stock of Kendallville Publishing, sold their interest to Dr. Charles O. Merica, a well-known educator and lecturer. He had served as a university president in South Dakota and Wyoming. And he pioneered new methods of rehabilitation at correctional institutions, emphasizing self-discipline and the value of the individual. He published The News-Sun until his death in 1918 at the age of 54.
The business then passed to Merica’s family, with his wife Alice W. (White) Merica, becoming the principal stockholder and president of the corporation.
A native of Warsaw, Mrs. Merica was the daughter of a California ’49er. Her father bought farms around Warsaw with the profits from his gold diggings.
Known for her wit and charm, Mrs. Merica was long active in the Tuesday Club, a women’s study organization and the oldest social club in the city (which marks its 100th anniversary this year). She also served on the city library board and was active in the First Presbyterian Church.
C.W. Bridenthal was editor and general manager of The News-Sun from 1918 until his death in 1937.
R.V. ‘‘Busty’’ Fischer (father of Craig Fischer, currently a Main Street, Kendallville, pharmacist) began his journalism career in 1907 as a reporter for the Daily News in Kendallville. He became editor and general manager of The News-Sun in 1937, serving in that capacity until his death in 1958 from lung cancer at the age of 69.
Joseph K. Gaskill became general manager in 1958, leaving in 1962 to assume a position in the advertising department of the Daily Herald-Telephone in Bloomington.
The current owner of The News-Sun, George O. Witwer, assumed the position of editor and general manager of The News-Sun in June 1962. He became publisher and owner after the death of Mrs. Merica on Jan. 27, 1969. Mrs. Merica was 103.
When he first arrived in Kendallville, The News-Sun was a sleepy newspaper with a circulation of 3,600 and 16 employees. Today, Kendallville Publishing Co. (KPC) has 129 employees. The company has offices at 102-114 N. Main St., Kendallville, and in LaGrange, Auburn, Ligonier and Angola. In addition to The News-Sun, KPC publishes the Evening Star in Auburn, and Advance-Leader in Ligonier, and has a commercial printing division. Witwer and associates also are owners of the Bluffton News-Banner
Known for his keen business sense and innovative thinking, Witwer brought about dramatic changes to The News-Sun. It was the first newspaper in northeastern Indiana to be printed with an offset lithography press. That was accomplished in 1965. (See related story on Witwer’s memories on Page A4.)
The News-Sun was also one of the first newspapers in the state to use computers in the newsroom and in 1981 was the first paper in the nation to receive the United Press International (UPI) worldwide news reports via an earth-station receiver from a satellite in orbit 22,300 miles above the equator.
In 1996, it became one of the first newspapers in the state to have a web page on the worldwide Internet system. Readers in Australia report they look at The News-Sun daily on the Internet, before some subscribers in Kendallville find their edition on their front porch.
Witwer has been very active in the Kendallville community over the years, being a member of various clubs and serving on numerous boards and fund drives. His company was named Citizen of the Year by the Kendallville Area Chamber of Commerce in 1983.
In August 1996, Witwer retired at the age of 66. However, he retains a stock interest in the company. He and his wife, Lee, remain active in the Kendallville community.
Their four children, Grace Housholder of Kendallville (a News-Sun columnist and an editorial writer the past 20 years), Violette Wysong of Wawaka (the companyattorney), Sally Stolz of Rockville, Md., and George B. ’s Witwer of Bluffton (co-owner of Bluffton News-Banner), are among the KPC board members.
Witwer’s successor as publisher is James D. Kroemer, 50, who rose from the ranks as a reporter and then as editor and general manager of The News-Sun and its sister newspaper in Auburn.
‘‘Downtown Kendallville has a long and fascinating history, and The News-Sun has been an integral part of it,’’ said Kroemer. be just as interesting as the past has been, and I know The News-Sun will be there to record it.’’
‘‘I think the downtown’s future will