Newspapers often ‘the glue’ holding community together

RANDOLPH - Three years before the town of Randolph was even officially incorporated, its first newspaper began.

In fact, at least four different publications were established here in those early days with Randolph residents recognizing the importance of local news coverage. That sentiment holds lasting power as the Times continues to publish weekly since Nov. 12, 1886.

The Randolph Times - and other newspapers across the country - are celebrating and recognizing National Newspaper Week Oct. 2-8.

“Newspapers are the glue that holds the community together and provides an important historical account of a town,” said Greg Viergutz, whose parents, the late Vance and Dolores, owned the Times from 1960 to 1970. “There are other important factors in a town such

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as a strong school system or bank, but a newspaper’s contribution is unique. No community newsletter or Facebook group can replace its depth of coverage and permanence of record.”

Vance worked for the Times while attending Randolph High School while Dolores graduated from St. Frances High School. Vance worked for a Papillion newspaper as a linotype operator and Dolores attended business school in Omaha prior to their purchase, first the Coleridge Blade, shortly after World War II.

“Having grown up during the Depression, he (Vance) saw it as an excellent way to provide for a family and also contribute to the success of the community,” Greg Viergutz said.

The Blade had ceased operation for several months prior to the purchase but was able to maintain their legal status by using the same newspaper issue and printing a few copies with different dates during the interruption, Greg Viergutz said.

They sold the Blade when they moved to Randolph and then purchased the Times in 1960.

Greg worked through junior high and high school at the Times as a “printer’s devil” - that’s what they called someone who did all the menial odd tasks, he said.

“That included retyping stories on a Linotype typesetting machine, operating the press that printed the newspaper, what was termed “killing” out the old newspaper pages, taking out the trash and other odd jobs,” he said.

Each week was completely different, Greg said.

“Each issue presented new challenges, new topics and an opportunity to improve on what was done previously,” he said. ‘The slate was wiped clean and you can start anew.”

During their years in newspaper publishing, Vance and Dolores received the Aksarben Community Service Award twice - once in each community - for promoting successful school building proposals.

The Viergutz family sold the Times to Marv Taylor in 1971 who had worked for them for a number of years. After a move to Lincoln, both Dolores and Vance worked at Joe Christensen Printing, a business that printed law journals for dozens of colleges across the United States.

Greg spent some time working during college at the Lincoln Sun newspapers. Then, in 1977, Vance and Greg purchased the Gothenburg Times. Vance died in 1982 but Dolores continued employment at the paper until the mid-1990s. Greg and his wife, Kathi (Korth - also a Randolph native), sold the newspaper in 2015, retiring to Lincoln.

Dolores died in 2018. According to Randolph’s history book, the first publisher of the Randolph Times was E.F. Bennett but the newspaper changed hands frequently throughout its history.

In the early days, printers hand-set each line of type manually, rearranged individual letters into words and lines. In 1916, an automatic line-casting machine was installed that used hot metal for individual lines. These lines of metal were assembled into pages and hand-fed through presses to make each printed page.

This method was used until about 1972 when a fire caused considerable damage to the Times’ building and equipment. The printing process was converted to presentday method of offset publication.

The building at 121 W. Broadway St. that houses the current Times office was constructed in 1953 when the newspaper was moved from a building that is now occupied by Home for Funerals in downtown Randolph. The Times printing press has moved several times throughout history as well. It is currently printed in Sheldon, Iowa.

The Times has been published by Rob Dump and Peggy Year since 1996. The couple also own and publish the Cedar County News, Osmond Republican, Laurel Advocate and Wausa Gazette weekly newspapers.

“It’s important for each community to have its own newspaper,” Dump said. “Although there are certainly challenges in the industry, newspapers are far from dead. We appreciate every advertiser and every subscriber we have so we can continue telling the community’s story in print.”