WNA honors 11 deceased newspaper professionals at 2026 Trees Memorial Pylon Ceremony

The Wisconsin Community Papers and Wisconsin Newspaper Association boards of directors met at the Trees for Tomorrow campus in Eagle River last week for a quarterly meeting and the annual dedication of publishers’ names to the WNA Memorial Grove Pylon (Photo courtesy of Trees for Tomorrow).

The Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation (WNAF) memorialized 11 member newspaper professionals who passed away in 2024 and 2025 at the WNAF Memorial Pylon Ceremony in the WNA Memorial Grove located on the Trees for Tomorrow campus in Eagle River on June 5, 2026. 

WNA Foundation President and Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Famer Scott Peterson (left) and WNA Past President Bill Haupt (right) presided over the Trees Memorial Pylon Ceremony on June 5, 2026 at Trees for Tomorrow (WNA photo).

WNA Foundation President Scott Peterson and WNA past president Bill Haupt served as masters of ceremony for the event, which honored member publishers who passed away in 2024 and 2025:

2024

Roger Allan Griepentrog, The Freedom Pursuit

Ramon De Vere “Ray” Hansen, Waushara Argus

William “Bill” Heath, Marshfield News-Herald

Richard “Rich” Murphy, Waunakee Tribune

Members of the Thomsen family remembered Brian Thomsen, who passed away in 2024, during the June 5, 2026 Trees Memorial Pylon Ceremony at Trees for Tomorrow in Eagle River (WNA staff photo).

Karen K. Parker, The County Line, Ontario

Peter “Pete” W. Selkowe, The Journal Times, Racine

Brian David Thomsen, The Valders Journal

2025

Pieter F. Graaskamp, Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire

Dr. Jerrel W. Jones, Milwaukee Courier

Mary Jane Knowles, Hillsboro Sentry-Enterprise

Julius A. Marolla, Horicon Reporter

2010 WNA President Andrew Johnson from the Dodge County Pionier and members of the Marolla family remembered Julius Marolla, who died in 2025, as part of the WNA Trees Memorial Pylon Ceremony on June 5, 2026 at Trees for Tomorrow in Eagle River (WNA staff photo).

In addition to being enshrined on granite pylons at the WNA Memorial Grove on the Trees For Tomorrow campus in Eagle River, this year’s honorees also have been added to the WNA’s virtual pylon.

Since establishing the Pylon in 1958, members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association have honored deceased Wisconsin publishers by adding their name to the Memorial Pylon. Eagle River is also the location of the WNA Press Forest which is used by Trees for Tomorrow for its educational programming.

In the early years, the tradition of adding names to the Pylon involved printing the names of deceased publishers on press plates and hanging them from a wooden structure. Each year, families, friends and colleagues from the newspaper community would gather there to remember and pay tribute.

As time passed, the original plates began to weather and fade. To preserve the legacy more permanently, a new memorial was dedicated in 2014 on the Trees For Tomorrow campus. Known as the WNA Memorial Grove, it features five granite pylons and several benches, offering visitors a quiet space for reflection.

WNA members continue to honor deceased newspaper professionals each year at a ceremony during the Trees Retreat and by visiting the Memorial Pylon throughout the year.

RELATED:

• Link to all photos from the 2026 Trees Pylon Ceremony on the WNA Facebook page

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