The youngest of three children, Marian Beth McGuigan Hagar was raised in the weekly newspaper business in Blanchardville, where her parents published the Blanchardville Blade for almost 60 years.
In 1947, she and her new husband, Glenn, began their careers in the weekly publishing business by setting up shop in Green Lake. After a year, they relocated and purchased the Crawford County Independent in Gays Mills, where they lived for more than 20 years raising their four children.
Marian and Glenn were a team — she had the advertising sales skills and he had the editing and publishing knowledge. During this time, they built a commercial printing business, published three weekly newspapers and two shoppers, and were honored by many national and state newspaper association awards.
Both believed in the public’s “right to know” and were advocates for the freedom of the press. After Glenn died in 1968, Marian continued the printing business for several years before moving to Viroqua.
Marian died in February 1999 at age 74 from complications stemming from a sudden stroke.
