Paul Lange was a daily presence in The Chetek Alert office. From his days as a printer-in-a-pinch to a long stint as half-owner and publisher with Ida Mason and, later, her daughter Melodee Eckerman, Lange helped get out more than 1,800 issues of The Alert.
A veteran, Lange was an active member of community and veterans’ organizations, an avid supporter of local sports and a member of several governing boards. He was a co-publisher of The Chetek Alert from 1968 to 1999.
Eckerman wrote the following in a tribute column shortly after Paul’s death: “Paul’s dedication to The Alert never faltered. He rarely took vacations, worked long hours and became my mom’s most trusted friend — as he was mine. He was my mom’s business partner for 17 years and mine for 14 years. We were both blessed with an irreplaceable business partner and an incredible friend. He oftentimes proudly referred to himself as a printer’s devil and did so with a smile. That’s how he’d like to be remembered.”
Paul was 71 when he passed away from lung cancer on Aug. 6, 2011, in Eau Claire. He was born on June 16, 1940, to Harold and Metta Lange in Cumberland. He grew up in Turtle Lake, where he graduated from high school, and went on to attend Northland College in Ashland.
After serving in the U.S. Navy, Paul returned home where he became employed at The Chetek Alert in 1963. He continued at The Alert for 36 years, purchasing half interest in the company with Ida Mason and later her daughter, Melodee Eckerman.
Paul remained a bachelor for most of his adult life, but met and married the love of his life, Donna Dammer of Rice Lake, in 1990. He often joked that he went right from bachelorhood to grandfatherhood with one “I do.”
