IRONTON -- Earl Joseph Hunter, 86, Ironton, died Friday, Jan. 3, 2003, at Cuyuna Regional Care Center in Crosby.
He was born Dec. 2, 1916, in Crosby to Emil and Louise (DeCent) Hunter. He married Pearl May Louison Stanich on May 15, 1937, in Ironton. He was a master printer and publisher of the Monticello Times and the Crosby-Ironton Courier. He was a World War II Army Veteran. He was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Crosby and the Cuyuna Range Knights of Columbus. He was a member of the Myrin James American Legion Post No. 443 of Ironton.
Survivors include three daughters, Barbara Lynne Mahoney, Deerwood, Sandra Louise Drevlow, Thief River Falls, and Mary Elizabeth Spetzman, Lindstrom; nine grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; a brother, Howard Hunter, Crosby; and a sister, Eva Bowden, Crosby.
His wife, three brothers, Herman, Ray and Glen Hunter, and four sisters, Lou Sullivan, Vallie Smith, Faye Fish and Zona Dehning, died earlier.
Services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Crosby with Father Howard Eisel officiating. Burial will be in Lakewood Cemetery in Crosby with military honors provided by the Myrin James American Legion Post No. 443 of Ironton.
----------------
From the Monticello Times:
For most of the 1950s, when Monticello was still classified as a village and had a population of just over 1,200, the local newspaper was published by "Earl and Pearl," a husband and wife team.
The Hunters co-wrote a column on the front page of the Times each week, "Joint Tenants," chronicling events in town and trivia significant to Monticelloans, from new business openings to births and deaths to interesting facts.
"St. Henry's Catholic Church has been completed except for the installation of the stained glass windows on the west side of the church," Earl and Pearl reported on Dec. 18, 1954. "The windows were all imported and while some of them were being unloaded from the ship, they, along with some other cargo, were dropped by the loading crane into the water."
Earl Joseph Hunter died Friday, Jan. 3, 2003, in Crosby, the town where he was born and also served as a newspaper publisher. He died one day short of 24 years after Pearl. He was 86.
He was born Dec. 2, 1916, in Crosby to Emil and Louise (DeCent) Hunter. He graduated from Crosby-Ironton High School with the Class of 1934 and married Pearl May Louison Stanich in Ironton on May 15, 1937.
He was a World War II Army veteran. After returning home from service, he went to work as an apprentice printer with the Ironton Ranger newspaper, which was owned by a family friend. Hunter also worked part-time for the Brainerd Lakeland Color Press and took printing classes at Brainerd Community College.
As a master printer, he and his wife decided to buy a paper of their own, and soon headed south to Monticello, buying the Times in April 1950 from Al and Marie Oliver.
In Monticello, Hunter was a charter member of the Monticello Rotary Club and served as president in 1957-58. He was also a member of Monticello's American Legion post, and served on the Centennial planning committee in 1956.
In October 1958, the Hunters sold the Times to Monte and Betty Mason, and returned home to the Cuyuna Range. The Ironton newspaper was by that time no longer in print.
Hunter joined Paul Sheets as publisher of the Crosby-Ironton Courier. The Hunters were involved with the Courier until Pearl's death and Earl's retirement in 1979. Hunter sold his interests in the paper to Tom Swensen, the Courier's current owner/publisher.
Hunter was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Crosby and the Cuyuna Range Knights of Columbus. He was also a member of the Myrin James American Legion Post 443 of Ironton.
He lived in Ironton until moving in 2002 to the the Cuyuna Regional Care Center in Crosby, where he died Friday.
------------
Interesting Crosby-Monticello coincidences that are part of the Times' ownership history were recalled this week following the death of 1950s Publisher Earl Hunter (see obituary, Page 4).
Two Crosby natives, Crosby-Ironton High School graduates and beginning printing employees at the Ironton Ranger would one day own the weekly newspaper here. They were Earl Hunter and my father, Lynn R. Smith.
There was no cause and effect involved, though their families knew each other and both married women, Pearl Stanich and Margaret Midthun, from the Crosby area. And their lives had other parallels. Both Earl and Lynn were Crosby natives who served in World War II in the U.S. Army before returning to lifelong careers in printing and weekly newspapering.
But there's a difference, too: Hunter's only absence from Crosby-Ironton was the 8-1/2 years he lived and worked in Monticello. Smith's newspaper career, post-military service, would take him to the Minnesota towns of Carlton, Proctor, Watertown and Lester Prairie before arriving in Monticello in 1962 and holding the publisher's title for 14-1/2 years.
Small weekly newspapers are frequently husband-wife teams. At the Times, the Hunters–with their rhyming first names–wrote a weekly, front-page column, "Joint Tenants." The byline simply read "by Earl and Pearl." That's all that was necessary in the miniscule Monticello of the '50s.
At the Times in the '60s and '70s, my mother– who learned to operate a linotype at my parents' first-owned newspaper (the Journal in Proctor)–had duties ranging from proofreading to bookkeeping. She could write news briefs, for sure, but she doesn't recall ever contributing to Dad's Ramblings column in the Times. (Monticello continues to be their home in retirement–Dad today at the nursing home, Mom at Mississippi Shores apartments.)
By the Hunters' count, they published 447 issues of the Times before selling to Monte Mason in October 1958. Earl was publisher when the community marked its centennial in 1956 (and served on the publicity committee). A year later when the Times reached 100 years old, he put that headline in the lead position. His front pages brought readers stories ranging from tragedies (car accidents, fires, a deadly house explosion) to significant family events like births, anniversaries and weddings.
In their column in the upper left-hand corner of the front page, the Hunters typically included a series of small news items and observations about the passing scene on Monticello's main street and the community of readers they served. Topics ranged from congratulations (new family members, business openings, etc.) to condolences (expressed after deaths or significant losses). They championed fundraisers–March of Dimes, bake sales for new school band uniforms, the local Red Cross and the newly formed Monticello Community Chest (today continuing as the United Way).
Advice, editorially, was offered, too, like this admonition at high school graduation time in 1955 to Monticello seniors:
"Perhaps you've noticed that it's the busy people who are the happy people…
"Among your families, friends and acquaintances, you'll find there are do-ers and don't-ers. The do-ers are active in civic affairs, exercise their voting privileges, and their interests are wide and varied. It's the do-ers who build a strong America, and are keeping the country on its toes and progressive. These people are busy, alert and happy; they don't have time to do otherwise…
"Again, seniors, congratulations, and may you have long, happy lives full of interests."
And Joint Tenants revealed the occasional frustrations of small-town publishing–cutting new stencils for mailing the Times to subscribers, missing a dateline change on the front page.
Their final column appeared Oct. 30, 1958:
"We've written many items of changes and improvements in our town…we've shared the joys and sorrows of our friends and neighbors.
"We get a lonesome, let-down feeling, knowing that our work here is finished. We put down roots in this friendly community and felt that here was home."
The hometown of Crosby (and the weekly newspaper there) beckoned Earl and Pearl back. That's where they worked, lived in retirement and died – Pearl in 1979 at age 60, Earl last Friday at age 86.
He was born Dec. 2, 1916, in Crosby to Emil and Louise (DeCent) Hunter. He married Pearl May Louison Stanich on May 15, 1937, in Ironton. He was a master printer and publisher of the Monticello Times and the Crosby-Ironton Courier. He was a World War II Army Veteran. He was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Crosby and the Cuyuna Range Knights of Columbus. He was a member of the Myrin James American Legion Post No. 443 of Ironton.
Survivors include three daughters, Barbara Lynne Mahoney, Deerwood, Sandra Louise Drevlow, Thief River Falls, and Mary Elizabeth Spetzman, Lindstrom; nine grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; a brother, Howard Hunter, Crosby; and a sister, Eva Bowden, Crosby.
His wife, three brothers, Herman, Ray and Glen Hunter, and four sisters, Lou Sullivan, Vallie Smith, Faye Fish and Zona Dehning, died earlier.
Services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Crosby with Father Howard Eisel officiating. Burial will be in Lakewood Cemetery in Crosby with military honors provided by the Myrin James American Legion Post No. 443 of Ironton.
----------------
From the Monticello Times:
For most of the 1950s, when Monticello was still classified as a village and had a population of just over 1,200, the local newspaper was published by "Earl and Pearl," a husband and wife team.
The Hunters co-wrote a column on the front page of the Times each week, "Joint Tenants," chronicling events in town and trivia significant to Monticelloans, from new business openings to births and deaths to interesting facts.
"St. Henry's Catholic Church has been completed except for the installation of the stained glass windows on the west side of the church," Earl and Pearl reported on Dec. 18, 1954. "The windows were all imported and while some of them were being unloaded from the ship, they, along with some other cargo, were dropped by the loading crane into the water."
Earl Joseph Hunter died Friday, Jan. 3, 2003, in Crosby, the town where he was born and also served as a newspaper publisher. He died one day short of 24 years after Pearl. He was 86.
He was born Dec. 2, 1916, in Crosby to Emil and Louise (DeCent) Hunter. He graduated from Crosby-Ironton High School with the Class of 1934 and married Pearl May Louison Stanich in Ironton on May 15, 1937.
He was a World War II Army veteran. After returning home from service, he went to work as an apprentice printer with the Ironton Ranger newspaper, which was owned by a family friend. Hunter also worked part-time for the Brainerd Lakeland Color Press and took printing classes at Brainerd Community College.
As a master printer, he and his wife decided to buy a paper of their own, and soon headed south to Monticello, buying the Times in April 1950 from Al and Marie Oliver.
In Monticello, Hunter was a charter member of the Monticello Rotary Club and served as president in 1957-58. He was also a member of Monticello's American Legion post, and served on the Centennial planning committee in 1956.
In October 1958, the Hunters sold the Times to Monte and Betty Mason, and returned home to the Cuyuna Range. The Ironton newspaper was by that time no longer in print.
Hunter joined Paul Sheets as publisher of the Crosby-Ironton Courier. The Hunters were involved with the Courier until Pearl's death and Earl's retirement in 1979. Hunter sold his interests in the paper to Tom Swensen, the Courier's current owner/publisher.
Hunter was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Crosby and the Cuyuna Range Knights of Columbus. He was also a member of the Myrin James American Legion Post 443 of Ironton.
He lived in Ironton until moving in 2002 to the the Cuyuna Regional Care Center in Crosby, where he died Friday.
------------
Interesting Crosby-Monticello coincidences that are part of the Times' ownership history were recalled this week following the death of 1950s Publisher Earl Hunter (see obituary, Page 4).
Two Crosby natives, Crosby-Ironton High School graduates and beginning printing employees at the Ironton Ranger would one day own the weekly newspaper here. They were Earl Hunter and my father, Lynn R. Smith.
There was no cause and effect involved, though their families knew each other and both married women, Pearl Stanich and Margaret Midthun, from the Crosby area. And their lives had other parallels. Both Earl and Lynn were Crosby natives who served in World War II in the U.S. Army before returning to lifelong careers in printing and weekly newspapering.
But there's a difference, too: Hunter's only absence from Crosby-Ironton was the 8-1/2 years he lived and worked in Monticello. Smith's newspaper career, post-military service, would take him to the Minnesota towns of Carlton, Proctor, Watertown and Lester Prairie before arriving in Monticello in 1962 and holding the publisher's title for 14-1/2 years.
Small weekly newspapers are frequently husband-wife teams. At the Times, the Hunters–with their rhyming first names–wrote a weekly, front-page column, "Joint Tenants." The byline simply read "by Earl and Pearl." That's all that was necessary in the miniscule Monticello of the '50s.
At the Times in the '60s and '70s, my mother– who learned to operate a linotype at my parents' first-owned newspaper (the Journal in Proctor)–had duties ranging from proofreading to bookkeeping. She could write news briefs, for sure, but she doesn't recall ever contributing to Dad's Ramblings column in the Times. (Monticello continues to be their home in retirement–Dad today at the nursing home, Mom at Mississippi Shores apartments.)
By the Hunters' count, they published 447 issues of the Times before selling to Monte Mason in October 1958. Earl was publisher when the community marked its centennial in 1956 (and served on the publicity committee). A year later when the Times reached 100 years old, he put that headline in the lead position. His front pages brought readers stories ranging from tragedies (car accidents, fires, a deadly house explosion) to significant family events like births, anniversaries and weddings.
In their column in the upper left-hand corner of the front page, the Hunters typically included a series of small news items and observations about the passing scene on Monticello's main street and the community of readers they served. Topics ranged from congratulations (new family members, business openings, etc.) to condolences (expressed after deaths or significant losses). They championed fundraisers–March of Dimes, bake sales for new school band uniforms, the local Red Cross and the newly formed Monticello Community Chest (today continuing as the United Way).
Advice, editorially, was offered, too, like this admonition at high school graduation time in 1955 to Monticello seniors:
"Perhaps you've noticed that it's the busy people who are the happy people…
"Among your families, friends and acquaintances, you'll find there are do-ers and don't-ers. The do-ers are active in civic affairs, exercise their voting privileges, and their interests are wide and varied. It's the do-ers who build a strong America, and are keeping the country on its toes and progressive. These people are busy, alert and happy; they don't have time to do otherwise…
"Again, seniors, congratulations, and may you have long, happy lives full of interests."
And Joint Tenants revealed the occasional frustrations of small-town publishing–cutting new stencils for mailing the Times to subscribers, missing a dateline change on the front page.
Their final column appeared Oct. 30, 1958:
"We've written many items of changes and improvements in our town…we've shared the joys and sorrows of our friends and neighbors.
"We get a lonesome, let-down feeling, knowing that our work here is finished. We put down roots in this friendly community and felt that here was home."
The hometown of Crosby (and the weekly newspaper there) beckoned Earl and Pearl back. That's where they worked, lived in retirement and died – Pearl in 1979 at age 60, Earl last Friday at age 86.
IRONTON -- Earl Joseph Hunter, 86, Ironton, died Friday, Jan. 3, 2003, at Cuyuna Regional Care Center in Crosby.
He was born Dec. 2, 1916, in Crosby to Emil and Louise (DeCent) Hunter. He married Pearl May Louison Stanich on May 15, 1937, in Ironton. He was a master printer and publisher of the Monticello Times and the Crosby-Ironton Courier. He was a World War II Army Veteran. He was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Crosby and the Cuyuna Range Knights of Columbus. He was a member of the Myrin James American Legion Post No. 443 of Ironton.
Survivors include three daughters, Barbara Lynne Mahoney, Deerwood, Sandra Louise Drevlow, Thief River Falls, and Mary Elizabeth Spetzman, Lindstrom; nine grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; a brother, Howard Hunter, Crosby; and a sister, Eva Bowden, Crosby.
His wife, three brothers, Herman, Ray and Glen Hunter, and four sisters, Lou Sullivan, Vallie Smith, Faye Fish and Zona Dehning, died earlier.
Services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Crosby with Father Howard Eisel officiating. Burial will be in Lakewood Cemetery in Crosby with military honors provided by the Myrin James American Legion Post No. 443 of Ironton.
----------------
From the Monticello Times:
For most of the 1950s, when Monticello was still classified as a village and had a population of just over 1,200, the local newspaper was published by "Earl and Pearl," a husband and wife team.
The Hunters co-wrote a column on the front page of the Times each week, "Joint Tenants," chronicling events in town and trivia significant to Monticelloans, from new business openings to births and deaths to interesting facts.
"St. Henry's Catholic Church has been completed except for the installation of the stained glass windows on the west side of the church," Earl and Pearl reported on Dec. 18, 1954. "The windows were all imported and while some of them were being unloaded from the ship, they, along with some other cargo, were dropped by the loading crane into the water."
Earl Joseph Hunter died Friday, Jan. 3, 2003, in Crosby, the town where he was born and also served as a newspaper publisher. He died one day short of 24 years after Pearl. He was 86.
He was born Dec. 2, 1916, in Crosby to Emil and Louise (DeCent) Hunter. He graduated from Crosby-Ironton High School with the Class of 1934 and married Pearl May Louison Stanich in Ironton on May 15, 1937.
He was a World War II Army veteran. After returning home from service, he went to work as an apprentice printer with the Ironton Ranger newspaper, which was owned by a family friend. Hunter also worked part-time for the Brainerd Lakeland Color Press and took printing classes at Brainerd Community College.
As a master printer, he and his wife decided to buy a paper of their own, and soon headed south to Monticello, buying the Times in April 1950 from Al and Marie Oliver.
In Monticello, Hunter was a charter member of the Monticello Rotary Club and served as president in 1957-58. He was also a member of Monticello's American Legion post, and served on the Centennial planning committee in 1956.
In October 1958, the Hunters sold the Times to Monte and Betty Mason, and returned home to the Cuyuna Range. The Ironton newspaper was by that time no longer in print.
Hunter joined Paul Sheets as publisher of the Crosby-Ironton Courier. The Hunters were involved with the Courier until Pearl's death and Earl's retirement in 1979. Hunter sold his interests in the paper to Tom Swensen, the Courier's current owner/publisher.
Hunter was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Crosby and the Cuyuna Range Knights of Columbus. He was also a member of the Myrin James American Legion Post 443 of Ironton.
He lived in Ironton until moving in 2002 to the the Cuyuna Regional Care Center in Crosby, where he died Friday.
------------
Interesting Crosby-Monticello coincidences that are part of the Times' ownership history were recalled this week following the death of 1950s Publisher Earl Hunter (see obituary, Page 4).
Two Crosby natives, Crosby-Ironton High School graduates and beginning printing employees at the Ironton Ranger would one day own the weekly newspaper here. They were Earl Hunter and my father, Lynn R. Smith.
There was no cause and effect involved, though their families knew each other and both married women, Pearl Stanich and Margaret Midthun, from the Crosby area. And their lives had other parallels. Both Earl and Lynn were Crosby natives who served in World War II in the U.S. Army before returning to lifelong careers in printing and weekly newspapering.
But there's a difference, too: Hunter's only absence from Crosby-Ironton was the 8-1/2 years he lived and worked in Monticello. Smith's newspaper career, post-military service, would take him to the Minnesota towns of Carlton, Proctor, Watertown and Lester Prairie before arriving in Monticello in 1962 and holding the publisher's title for 14-1/2 years.
Small weekly newspapers are frequently husband-wife teams. At the Times, the Hunters–with their rhyming first names–wrote a weekly, front-page column, "Joint Tenants." The byline simply read "by Earl and Pearl." That's all that was necessary in the miniscule Monticello of the '50s.
At the Times in the '60s and '70s, my mother– who learned to operate a linotype at my parents' first-owned newspaper (the Journal in Proctor)–had duties ranging from proofreading to bookkeeping. She could write news briefs, for sure, but she doesn't recall ever contributing to Dad's Ramblings column in the Times. (Monticello continues to be their home in retirement–Dad today at the nursing home, Mom at Mississippi Shores apartments.)
By the Hunters' count, they published 447 issues of the Times before selling to Monte Mason in October 1958. Earl was publisher when the community marked its centennial in 1956 (and served on the publicity committee). A year later when the Times reached 100 years old, he put that headline in the lead position. His front pages brought readers stories ranging from tragedies (car accidents, fires, a deadly house explosion) to significant family events like births, anniversaries and weddings.
In their column in the upper left-hand corner of the front page, the Hunters typically included a series of small news items and observations about the passing scene on Monticello's main street and the community of readers they served. Topics ranged from congratulations (new family members, business openings, etc.) to condolences (expressed after deaths or significant losses). They championed fundraisers–March of Dimes, bake sales for new school band uniforms, the local Red Cross and the newly formed Monticello Community Chest (today continuing as the United Way).
Advice, editorially, was offered, too, like this admonition at high school graduation time in 1955 to Monticello seniors:
"Perhaps you've noticed that it's the busy people who are the happy people…
"Among your families, friends and acquaintances, you'll find there are do-ers and don't-ers. The do-ers are active in civic affairs, exercise their voting privileges, and their interests are wide and varied. It's the do-ers who build a strong America, and are keeping the country on its toes and progressive. These people are busy, alert and happy; they don't have time to do otherwise…
"Again, seniors, congratulations, and may you have long, happy lives full of interests."
And Joint Tenants revealed the occasional frustrations of small-town publishing–cutting new stencils for mailing the Times to subscribers, missing a dateline change on the front page.
Their final column appeared Oct. 30, 1958:
"We've written many items of changes and improvements in our town…we've shared the joys and sorrows of our friends and neighbors.
"We get a lonesome, let-down feeling, knowing that our work here is finished. We put down roots in this friendly community and felt that here was home."
The hometown of Crosby (and the weekly newspaper there) beckoned Earl and Pearl back. That's where they worked, lived in retirement and died – Pearl in 1979 at age 60, Earl last Friday at age 86.
He was born Dec. 2, 1916, in Crosby to Emil and Louise (DeCent) Hunter. He married Pearl May Louison Stanich on May 15, 1937, in Ironton. He was a master printer and publisher of the Monticello Times and the Crosby-Ironton Courier. He was a World War II Army Veteran. He was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Crosby and the Cuyuna Range Knights of Columbus. He was a member of the Myrin James American Legion Post No. 443 of Ironton.
Survivors include three daughters, Barbara Lynne Mahoney, Deerwood, Sandra Louise Drevlow, Thief River Falls, and Mary Elizabeth Spetzman, Lindstrom; nine grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; a brother, Howard Hunter, Crosby; and a sister, Eva Bowden, Crosby.
His wife, three brothers, Herman, Ray and Glen Hunter, and four sisters, Lou Sullivan, Vallie Smith, Faye Fish and Zona Dehning, died earlier.
Services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Crosby with Father Howard Eisel officiating. Burial will be in Lakewood Cemetery in Crosby with military honors provided by the Myrin James American Legion Post No. 443 of Ironton.
----------------
From the Monticello Times:
For most of the 1950s, when Monticello was still classified as a village and had a population of just over 1,200, the local newspaper was published by "Earl and Pearl," a husband and wife team.
The Hunters co-wrote a column on the front page of the Times each week, "Joint Tenants," chronicling events in town and trivia significant to Monticelloans, from new business openings to births and deaths to interesting facts.
"St. Henry's Catholic Church has been completed except for the installation of the stained glass windows on the west side of the church," Earl and Pearl reported on Dec. 18, 1954. "The windows were all imported and while some of them were being unloaded from the ship, they, along with some other cargo, were dropped by the loading crane into the water."
Earl Joseph Hunter died Friday, Jan. 3, 2003, in Crosby, the town where he was born and also served as a newspaper publisher. He died one day short of 24 years after Pearl. He was 86.
He was born Dec. 2, 1916, in Crosby to Emil and Louise (DeCent) Hunter. He graduated from Crosby-Ironton High School with the Class of 1934 and married Pearl May Louison Stanich in Ironton on May 15, 1937.
He was a World War II Army veteran. After returning home from service, he went to work as an apprentice printer with the Ironton Ranger newspaper, which was owned by a family friend. Hunter also worked part-time for the Brainerd Lakeland Color Press and took printing classes at Brainerd Community College.
As a master printer, he and his wife decided to buy a paper of their own, and soon headed south to Monticello, buying the Times in April 1950 from Al and Marie Oliver.
In Monticello, Hunter was a charter member of the Monticello Rotary Club and served as president in 1957-58. He was also a member of Monticello's American Legion post, and served on the Centennial planning committee in 1956.
In October 1958, the Hunters sold the Times to Monte and Betty Mason, and returned home to the Cuyuna Range. The Ironton newspaper was by that time no longer in print.
Hunter joined Paul Sheets as publisher of the Crosby-Ironton Courier. The Hunters were involved with the Courier until Pearl's death and Earl's retirement in 1979. Hunter sold his interests in the paper to Tom Swensen, the Courier's current owner/publisher.
Hunter was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Crosby and the Cuyuna Range Knights of Columbus. He was also a member of the Myrin James American Legion Post 443 of Ironton.
He lived in Ironton until moving in 2002 to the the Cuyuna Regional Care Center in Crosby, where he died Friday.
------------
Interesting Crosby-Monticello coincidences that are part of the Times' ownership history were recalled this week following the death of 1950s Publisher Earl Hunter (see obituary, Page 4).
Two Crosby natives, Crosby-Ironton High School graduates and beginning printing employees at the Ironton Ranger would one day own the weekly newspaper here. They were Earl Hunter and my father, Lynn R. Smith.
There was no cause and effect involved, though their families knew each other and both married women, Pearl Stanich and Margaret Midthun, from the Crosby area. And their lives had other parallels. Both Earl and Lynn were Crosby natives who served in World War II in the U.S. Army before returning to lifelong careers in printing and weekly newspapering.
But there's a difference, too: Hunter's only absence from Crosby-Ironton was the 8-1/2 years he lived and worked in Monticello. Smith's newspaper career, post-military service, would take him to the Minnesota towns of Carlton, Proctor, Watertown and Lester Prairie before arriving in Monticello in 1962 and holding the publisher's title for 14-1/2 years.
Small weekly newspapers are frequently husband-wife teams. At the Times, the Hunters–with their rhyming first names–wrote a weekly, front-page column, "Joint Tenants." The byline simply read "by Earl and Pearl." That's all that was necessary in the miniscule Monticello of the '50s.
At the Times in the '60s and '70s, my mother– who learned to operate a linotype at my parents' first-owned newspaper (the Journal in Proctor)–had duties ranging from proofreading to bookkeeping. She could write news briefs, for sure, but she doesn't recall ever contributing to Dad's Ramblings column in the Times. (Monticello continues to be their home in retirement–Dad today at the nursing home, Mom at Mississippi Shores apartments.)
By the Hunters' count, they published 447 issues of the Times before selling to Monte Mason in October 1958. Earl was publisher when the community marked its centennial in 1956 (and served on the publicity committee). A year later when the Times reached 100 years old, he put that headline in the lead position. His front pages brought readers stories ranging from tragedies (car accidents, fires, a deadly house explosion) to significant family events like births, anniversaries and weddings.
In their column in the upper left-hand corner of the front page, the Hunters typically included a series of small news items and observations about the passing scene on Monticello's main street and the community of readers they served. Topics ranged from congratulations (new family members, business openings, etc.) to condolences (expressed after deaths or significant losses). They championed fundraisers–March of Dimes, bake sales for new school band uniforms, the local Red Cross and the newly formed Monticello Community Chest (today continuing as the United Way).
Advice, editorially, was offered, too, like this admonition at high school graduation time in 1955 to Monticello seniors:
"Perhaps you've noticed that it's the busy people who are the happy people…
"Among your families, friends and acquaintances, you'll find there are do-ers and don't-ers. The do-ers are active in civic affairs, exercise their voting privileges, and their interests are wide and varied. It's the do-ers who build a strong America, and are keeping the country on its toes and progressive. These people are busy, alert and happy; they don't have time to do otherwise…
"Again, seniors, congratulations, and may you have long, happy lives full of interests."
And Joint Tenants revealed the occasional frustrations of small-town publishing–cutting new stencils for mailing the Times to subscribers, missing a dateline change on the front page.
Their final column appeared Oct. 30, 1958:
"We've written many items of changes and improvements in our town…we've shared the joys and sorrows of our friends and neighbors.
"We get a lonesome, let-down feeling, knowing that our work here is finished. We put down roots in this friendly community and felt that here was home."
The hometown of Crosby (and the weekly newspaper there) beckoned Earl and Pearl back. That's where they worked, lived in retirement and died – Pearl in 1979 at age 60, Earl last Friday at age 86.
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