The WNA Foundation honored 11 industry leaders during this year’s Memorial Pylon ceremony on June 8-9 at the Trees For Tomorrow campus, 519 E. Sheridan St., Eagle River.
This year’s memorial pylon inductees will include:
- Tom Bell, Ladysmith News
- Murray Cohen, Vilas County News-Review, Eagle River
- Dick Emerson, DeForest Times-Tribune
- Chuck Hagen, Courier Sentinel, Cornell
- Arlys Hawkes, Lake Mills Leader
- Bill H. Howe, Courier Press, Prairie du Chien
- Ronald R. Johnson, Argyle Agenda
- Jack Knowles, Hillsboro Sentry-Enterprise
- Thomas G. Larson, The Sun, Osceola
- Ardis Bloom Swenson, Stanley Republican
- Dennis West, The Beacon, Williams Bay
Biographies
Tom Bell (1942-2022)
Thomas “Tom” D. Bell, who was a fifth-generation publisher of the Ladysmith News, was born on March 16, 1942, to Donald and Aubrey Bell. He married Christine Bell on Oct. 29, 1984, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After his father stepped down in 1981, Tom served as publisher of the News until his retirement in 2004. He was succeeded by his brother, Jim, the newspaper’s current publisher. The family has been involved in the newspaper industry since the late 1800s, when Thomas Cowan Bell published a weekly newspaper in Worthington, Minnesota. Donald, Jim’s father, also is enshrined on the WNA’s Memorial Pylon.
Tom died unexpectedly on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, at Our House Memory Care in Chippewa Falls, at the age of 80. He was survived by his wife and four daughters.
Murray Cohen (1929-2021)
Murray Cohen, who owned the Delphos Herald newspaper group, was born on Aug. 30, 1929, in Brooklyn, New York, to Ethel and Nathan Cohen. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York and Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. Murray went on to earn his master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.
He purchased his first newspaper, The Delphos Herald, a weekly publication in northwestern Ohio, in 1962. Murray went on to buy more than a dozen weekly newspapers in Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. His Wisconsin newspapers included the Vilas County News-Review in Eagle River, the Waushara Argus in Wautoma and The Three Lakes News.
Murray was passionate about the community newspaper business and was active for many years in the former Inland Press Association, now known as America’s Newspapers.
Murray died on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021, at the age of 92. He was survived by his wife, Barbara Safran; two daughters, Roberta and Jennifer; and a stepson, Jared.
Dick Emerson (1940-2022)
Richard “Dick” Emerson, whose Wisconsin newspaper publishing career spanning 30 years, was born on July 28, 1940, in Madison, to Earl and Alice Emerson. His parents owned the DeForest Times-Tribune, and when he was a child, his family lived in the flat above the office.
Dick began his newspaper career in elementary school, going to various houses around town and collecting information about visits and other local news items. In high school, he reported on school activities and sports for the paper. After high school, he enrolled at Madison Area Technical College, where he studied for a semester before being offered a job at Madison Newspapers. He worked there for nine years, helping out at the Times-Tribune on his days off.
The couple moved to DeForest in 1965 and, in 1968, purchased the Times-Tribune from his parents. In 1986, they bought the Poynette Press and added it to the DeForest Times Publishing Co., which also included the Prairie Valley Shopper. After selling the newspapers to Art Drake in 1998, Dick continued to sell advertising and write his column “D NEWS.”
Dick died on Dec. 2, 2022, at the age of 82. He was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Mollyann, who is enshrined on the WNA’s Memorial Pylon. He was survived by two sons, Scott and James.
Chuck Hagen (1935-2022)
Charles “Chuck” Stephen Hagen, Sr., who in the 1960s and 1970s owned several Wisconsin weekly newspapers, was born on March 30, 1935, in Minneapolis, to John and Gertrude Hagen. At age 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the Korean War. After working as a farmer in rural Bloomer during his early adult life, Chuck spent many years in the newspaper industry. He served as a reporter, editor and publisher of several western Wisconsin newspapers.
He purchased the Cornell Courier in 1966 and the Cadott Sentinel in 1971, meting the two newspapers into the Courier Sentinel, which he sold in 1974.
After briefly leaving newspapers to serve as a commercial printer, he returned to the industry. Chuck purchased The Colfax Messenger and The Boyceville Press-Reporter in 1975, but sold both publications the following year. He went on to own and operate several businesses, including the Midway Motel in Hallie, the Chippewa Hotel in Chippewa Falls, and the Desert Rose Laundromat in Camp Verde, Arizona.
Chuck died on March 21, 2022, at the age of 86. He was survived by two sons, Charlie and Scott; five stepdaughters, Susan, Dawn, Donna, Lisa and Barbara; and two stepsons, Kevin and Wayne.
Arlys Hawkes (1933-2023)
Arlys Jean Hawkes, who owned two Jefferson County newspapers with her husband, was born on Nov. 5, 1933, to Guy and Mildred Hamann in Menomonie. She graduated from Menomonie High School in 1951 and UW-Stout in 1955, earning a degree in dietetics and home economics. She married Dennis L. Hawkes on Oct. 15, 1954, at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Menomonie. They had two sons, Stephen and Thomas.
Following the completion of her husband’s service in the U.S. Navy the couple moved to Madison, where she was employed by the Malt and Barley Lab at the University of Wisconsin.
In 1965, the couple purchased the Lake Mills Leader and Leader Printing Company, and in 1979, they purchased the Cambridge News. Arlys worked full-time and remained active in the business until the newspapers were sold in 1999.
Arlys died on March 9, 2023, at the age of 89. She was survived by her husband, Dennis, and two sons, Stephen and Thomas.
William “Bill” H. Howe (1923-2022)
William “Bill” H. Howe, a third-generation publisher and editor the (Prairie du Chien) Courier Press, was born April 6, 1923, the son of Lyman J. and Eliese B. Howe. He served his country during WWII as a member of the U.S. Navy before joining the family business in 1946. From typesetting and delivering newspapers to selling advertising, operating the press and serving as editor, Bill wore many hats during his career. Above all else, he was known for his dedication to the newspaper and community, which made him a trusted confidant of local mayors and public officials.
He and his brother, Lyman “Jack” Howe, led the Courier until retiring in 1997. In 2018, Bill was inducted into the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame. After 108 years of publishing under the Howe family name, Bill’s son Gary sold the newspaper in 2019 to Morris Newspaper Corporation of Wisconsin.
During his career, Bill also co-owned The Guttenberg (Iowa) Press and North Iowa Times in McGregor, Iowa.
Bill died on July 22, 2022, at the age of 99. He was survived by his wife of 30 years, Donna; sons, Gary, Keith and Dean; daughter, Rita; and stepsons, Jim and John.
Ronald R. Johnson (1939-2022)
Ronald R. Johnson, former publisher of several Wisconsin newspapers, was born on Sep. 1, 1939, in Dixon, Illinois, to Raymond Lee and Fentie Johnson. He graduated in 1958 from Dixon High School. Interested in newspapers and printing at a young age, he had a paper route as a child and worked for The Dixon Evening Telegraph while attending high school.
Ronald went on to work in circulation and sales at the Freeport (Ill.) Journal Standard and the Monroe (Wis.) Evening Times. From the early 1960s until 1974, he worked for Colony Brands (formerly Swiss Colony) in Monroe, as a photographer and distributor for their catalogs. He married Beverly Flaherty, on Nov. 16, 1974, and the couple purchased the Argyle (Wis.) Agenda. Ronald also operated the Albany (Wis.) Agenda and the Monticello (Wis.) Agenda. Later, he was employed as a salesman by the Monroe Shopping News. He retired from Alliant Energy in Madison, Wisconsin.
Ronald died of COPD on May 17, 2022, at the age of 82. He was survived by his wife and six children, Ray Sr., Steve, Jeff, Paul, Eric and Val.
John “Jack” Knowles (1942-2022)
John “Jack” Knowles, former owner of the Hillsboro Sentry-Enterprise, was born on March 20, 1942, in Chicago, to Bill and Evelyn Knowles. He spent the first 30 years of his journalism career at the Chicago Tribune, starting as a copy boy at 18 years old and working up to editor of the foreign news desk. He left the newspaper in 1989, moving his young family to a small farming community in Wisconsin, where he purchased the Sentry-Enterprise.
The 15 years he spent as owner of the newspaper — surrounded by employees who became like family and people who cared about putting out a quality newspaper — were some of the happiest of his life. In 2004, Jack sold the newspaper to Morris Newspaper Corporation of Wisconsin.
Jack died on May 1, 2022, at the age of 85, following a battle with vascular dementia. He was survived by his wife, Jane, and his daughters, Meg, Beth and Amy.
Thomas G. Larson (1935-2022)
Thomas G. Larson, of Minong, Wisconsin, former owner and publisher of The (Osceola) Sun, was born on Sept. 25, 1935, in Kasson, Minnesota, to Gladys and Ted Larson. He was baptized and confirmed at West St. Olaf Church and grew up in Kasson, where he graduated from high school in 1953. His mother gave him a help wanted ad that was in the local paper and told him he should apply. It was a printing and linotype position at the Dodge County Independent in Kasson, Minnesota — and the beginning of his more than 30 years in the newspaper industry.
Tom married his wife, Patricia, on June 4, 1960. He went on to join the Morris (Minn.) Sun in 1963 and the (Lowry, Minn.) Quinco Press in 1969. In 1974, the couple purchased the The (Osceola) Sun, which they owned for 18 years.
Tom died on April 12, 2022, at the age of 86. He was survived by his wife and children, Margo, Gretchen, Neil, Chris and Carrie.
Ardis Bloom Swenson (1927-2023)
Ardis Bloom Swenson, former publisher of The Stanley Republican, was born on May 12, 1927, in Franconia, Minnesota, to Hjalmar and Jennie Pierson. She studied dance and graduated early in 1944 from Chisago Lakes High School. Following WWII, she married her high school sweetheart, Ralph Bloom, on June 23, 1946.
The couple moved often as Ralph grew his newspaper business. In 1960, they purchased The Stanley Republican, where they worked together until 1964, when Ralph died at the age of 39. Following his death, Ardis became publisher and editor of the newspaper, and wrote a column, “The Melting Pot.”
In August 1968, she sold the newspaper to Joseph Frazedin of Fulda, Minnesota, and married Richard Swenson. The family moved to Polk County, Wisconsin, where they became co-owners of Calderwood Lodge on Bone Lake.
Ardis died on Jan. 27, 2023, at the age of 95. She was survived by two sons, Thomas and Douglas, and three daughters, Wendy, Nancy and Kathleen.
Dennis West (1943-2022)
Dennis West, longtime editor and publisher of The Beacon in Williams Bay, was born on Aug. 31, 1943, in Rockford, Ill. He graduated in 1961 from Rockford West High School and spent the first two decades of his career at WIFR-TV in Rockford — working his way up from sales to general manager and, eventually, president. After leaving WIFR, he attended UW-Madison and earned his journalism degree in 1992.
After graduating, Dennis moved to Lake Geneva, where he started his newspaper career with The (Williams) Bay Times. He later purchased The Beacon, of which he served as editor and publisher for many years. After selling to Southern Lakes Newspapers in 2017, he continued to serve as editor until his retirement in February 2020.
Dennis died Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2022, at his Williams Bay home. He was 78. He was survived by his wife, Kathi Bovi, and two sons, Paul and Mark.
