By Don Craven
I can think of no more enjoyable topic for a column in a publication designed to celebrate the best in Illinois newspapers. One of the best is reaching a milestone.
This summer, two Illinois Press Association members marked 50 years in the newspaper business.
Joe Michelich, publisher of South County News here in Sangamon County, and Willard Raymond, publisher of Golden Prairie News in neighboring Christian County, have reached the laudable half-century mark.
Fifty years ago, Joe took over Auburn and Divernon, and now publishes 10 community newspapers throughout Sangamon County, including my hometown paper, the Pleasant Plains Press.
Willard bought the Prairie State Tribune and Macon News in May of 1959, and added the Mowequa News four years later. He later combined all three into the Golden Prairie News in Assumption.
In the newspaper business in Central Illinois, Michelich and Raymond are among those names that need no further explanation. Jones - Best - Phillips - Galer. There are more, but the point is, if you have to ask for explanation about those families and their impact on newspapers in these parts, then, as they say, you are not from around here.
 Joe Michelich
It seems that publishing a weekly newspaper (or 10 of them) is a different process now then it was 50 years ago, but the commitment to community has not changed at all. Joe is to be congratulated on this accomplishment, and the Michelich family is planning a celebration for this event. A party will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 26 at the Auburn Community Build-ing.
Joe tells his own story, in a column he published earlier this month, and he tells it better than I do. We include a few excerpts:
In 1959, with just two papers, we had three Linotypes and set headlines by hand picking up one letter at a time and putting them in a “stick.” Talk about ancient. And the Linotypes were probably the most cantankerous one piece of equipment ever manufactured. There must have been 200 moving parts. Get this, if something went bad, we’d call Jess Prentice who worked at the old Springfield Register, and he’d come down at $5 an hour.
We printed on a two-page press, hand fed. The type was put in a chase, a rectangular iron frame and locked with “shims.” The press moved in and out, the chases secured by “dogs.” Now remember, each line was a piece of lead with words on it and the letters for the heads were singular pieces.
One day, Hub Greenwood, our pressman, forgot to lock the chases securely. You know the rest. Both pages of the Divernon paper came flying off the end. It took six people a couple of hours to pick up and reassemble. I only recall that happening that one time. What a baptism to a new job.
In 1963, we started the Chatham paper and two years later another in Pawnee. About this time, we bought a new press, one that was roll fed and printed eight pages at a time, folded them also. Thought we had died and gone to heaven. Of course, it was a mistake. Offset printing was in its infancy and I wasn’t smart enough to know it would take over and soon. So, about six–seven years later, with offset now prevalent, that press went out the back door in pieces, as junk.
You can rest assured that 50 years ago, I could not envision where we are today. In fact, I was naïve enough to think that in 15-20 years I’d pay off the original note for the Auburn and Divernon papers and think about doing something else, maybe retire.
One of the reasons we can operate 10 papers is because of the staff I have, many of whom have been with me for years. It has been that way for the entire ride.
Newspapering is not a 9 to 5 job. If you want to do it right, you cover meetings, events, games, you name it — and every day of the week at most any time. There are regularly scheduled events, but also the one-time events, and sometimes the notice is late. But you do your best to make it.
 Willard Raymond
Willard, who turns 80 next month, was raised in Reedsport, Ore., and started working in the printing field as a 10th-grader. He continued his trade while in the Air Force. He then accepted a job with Rand/McNally in Decatur.
Soon, he struck out on his own with the Prairie State Tribune and Macon News. Unlike Joe, he already had exposure to offset printing while stationed in Germany and then Washington, D.C., while in the Air Force.
Willard explained his simple formula for success to the Decatur Herald & Review: You have to become a part of the community and keep readers interested in your product.
Willard and his wife, Evelyn, have three children: Jeff, Denise and Steve. Steve is publisher of the Effingham Daily News and vice president of the IPA.
Willard and Evelyn also have six grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
Joe and Willard and the other long-time newspaper folks are part of the rich fabric of the IPA. We salute their dedication and commitment to their craft and their communities as they celebrate this momentous milestone.
Don Craven is general counsel and interim executive director of the Illinois Press Association. He can be reached at
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