Mabel Temby, a native of rural Kewaunee County, was owner, editor, publisher and office manager for the Kewaunee Enterprise newspaper for more than 64 years.
Considered by many to be a female pioneer in the male-dominated newspaper industry, Temby died Nov. 16, 2010, just three days shy of her 98th birthday.
Mabel and her husband, Fay, bought the Enterprise and later the Luxemburg News, in the 1940s and owned them until late 1987 when she sold to Frank Wood, owner of several other local papers, including the Denmark Press and Green Bay News-Chronicle.
Temby handled all phases of the business, and at the same time raised two girls. She was also president of the National Federation of Press Women from 1957 to 1959. She was honored by the National Newspaper Association with the Emma McKinney Award in 1971, a distinguished tribute for excellence in community journalism.
“Temby was a real leader in women’s rights and professional to the tips of her toes. She embodied all that was good about community journalism,” Frank Wood said at the time of Temby’s passing. “She was self-educated and smart as a whip.”
