The Mail-Journal, Volume 27, Number 19, Milford, Kosciusko County, 22 June 1988 — Page 4

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THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., June 22,1988

Editorial

Archibald Eugene ('Arch') Baumgartner • _ — — •- ■ _ —■ 1 QI 7-1 Qftft 171 / - 1700 - . : - In March of this year, knowing he had but a short time to live, Arch Baumgartner, publisher of The Papers Incorporated, sat down at his typewriter and wrote... If I could live my life over, I could wish no better than tospendit in the newspaper profession. I have found journalism gratifying and fulfilling, where one can render a realpublic service. Arch was laid to rest yesterday (Tuesday, June 21). He died in die Goshen Hospital early Saturday morning, June 18, following a lengthy battle with cancer. It was a battle he knew he could not win but one he fought without complaining. And, even in pain, he continuedto think about his newspapers. Ori May 29, he told this humble editor he could riot see the light at the end of the tunnel. On that sunny Sunday afternoon he praised the staff of The Papers Incorporated for the work that was being accomplished at the plant. He was proud of the new equipment which had just been installed. He chatted about the Milford Lions Club and of how he wanted to help a potential member. The next afternoon he was taken to the hospital. He was not to return home. He dedicated his life to his God, his wife and family, his newspapers, Lionism and the Lakeland area. He served them all to the best of his ability. He had a host of friends — evident in the fact that many took turns driving him to the hospital for daily treatments, then took additional time from busy schedules to visit him at his home arid later in the hospital. Until the cancer cells took their toll, he continued to make trips to his office to chat with staff members and offer advice. He continued, until he could do so no longer, to add weekly comments to his “Gruzin* ” column. During many of his trips to the office he reflected back to his early days in the newspaper business ... his purchase of The Milford Mail ori August 5,1939, his days in the Air Force and his return to Milford with a wife and a young son. He talked of the apartment he and Della had upstairs over the current corporate offices of The Papers Incorporated and of the events which highlighted his life as a young newspaper publisher who sold ads, gathered the news, wrote the stories, took the photos, set the type, put the pages together, helped run the press and then took the newspapers to the post office for mailing. He remembered Ron and Jane’s school days and of Ron’s return from college to join the family business. He remembered the consolidation of the two newspapers — The Milford Mail and the Syracuse-Wawasee Journal — into The Mail-Journal in 1962; the He shook his head in disbelief at the fact that there are now over 100 persons on the weekly payroll (plus over 200 independent carriers and numerous free lance writers and correspondents) of The Papers Incorporated, remembering when the staff totalled only a handful. A member of the Milford United Methodist Church, he served his God by working on various committees and serving in various offices of that congregation over the years. He worked side by side with his wife, Della, in the newspaper business after their return to Milford. Over the years they turned a small town newspaper business into a central printing plant and one of Milford’s largest employers. Arch was proud of son, Ron, and daughter-in-law, Gloria, who returned to Milford after Ron’s graduation from Indiana JJniversity. He was equally proud of daughter, Jane, and her husband, Mike, who reside in Indianapolis. And, he took special interest in the activities of granddaughters, Criss and Jeny Baumgartner, and grandsons, Jason and Craig Yoder. He held a special love for each of them. A life member of the Milford Lions Club, Arch said, “I’ve worked in the club and on its many worthy projects for a good many years, but I felt the satisfaction I gained from this personally was rewarding enough. “We all owe a service to our community, however humble, and I always felt my work within die Milford Lions Club was at least part of this service I owed to the Milford community.” He held various offices in the Milford Lions Club over the years and had served as editor of the state Lions newspaper The Hoosier Lion for the past 18 years. * Arch was, however, equally at home at the Syracuse-Wawasee Rotary Club meetings and at the meetings of the three Lakeland area Kiwanis Clubs. He attended these and other area clubs as a guest on a regular basis. At these meetings, he added to his host of e *-w J « T .ii <?rifis He held a firm belief in the fact that people should serve their community, their state and their nation. This is evident in the fact that he was elected to the office of clerk-treasurer of the town of Milford in 1939 at the tender age of 22. And, in November of 1956, he ran for state representative on the Democratic ticket. Arch continually sought civic improvements for the three Lakeland communities and took pen in hand to editorialize on those g improvements he felt others should support also. I He was a publisher who looked out for his communities. In a day and age when many publishers sit in plush offices and appear disinterested as the world goes on without them, he elected to stay active and voice his opinion where he felt it was needed. In 1984, his editorial efforts brought him a Golden Press Award from the American Legion Auxiliary for the nation’s best editorial I Thn ndirAWinl time etrWMlr inD I LA*e iXlvdTwwv UI VvUIJLI* Xilw UCAaIAJ* *4*A uUvUI* , biUaenis Against urunK unving ciiapiei ai yvdwd&cc rugu ouuuui I. and was tinea, uont uount me x oung • I ISufieixe ( AjxJb led a goou [ . > *4 *** < I** I* K la* fcVMiriiiw rxvi/i id* * nis employees. % J*! * JL w A ' Ik V • UvlL VVv JIA CAAA AAAxCFw / Z z-< Z V/ '/< 1 — JRS

V WHili |F A . AT HIS DESK IN 1982 A A S IL WMaMKi I / I 1 . I H■■ I . J 1974 — ONE OF MANY BUILDING PROJECTS From Left, Ron, Gloria, Criss, Jeny, Della And Arch Baumgartner I I M| . E | I V f > • fl 31 ■- 1 II HV v aO OH _ t I F O 1 - ** Cl * A YOUNG FATHER IN THE LATE 1940 s Arch And Della With Ron And Baby Jane

' I B J 1B flk. jB M GRADUATION FROM MBS IN 1935

« *jgg-M ——LSK-TR*'' ''"ft- ___’ Jf ■■■ ; 1 \ • ' The Life 9f And ' v >iju| Career Os Arch ' T» ' \ Baumgartner in XfIHHHHI '•:.■< ■■O HE WAS A CANDIDATE ; FOR MAYOR IN 1986 k w ,JM Wil I B '' ' * sill ■ ■ JHHP '"'" J 1 ■ AW JkM -/ '^/: Jh - : i bL'A ’ S 4. I ' &|H THE YOUNGEST OF 14 CHILDREN Arch, Seated Right, Is Shown In 1977 With Brothers Joe (Seated Left) And Ted And Wilbur (Standing In Back) I <1 Wwae BBS 1 JI 1 < >■ •wk Bk If B *• ■-' < x<< B : , BBv -*‘ 1¥ . ■ / MM WITH SISTER EDITH AND IRA CHUPP IN 1941 The Milford Mail Staff Amounted To Three People When This Photo Was Taken Only A Few Short Years After Arch Purchased . The Newspaper And Launched His Career

M frjF * IB ’ ■' A YOUNG AIR FORCE OFFICER IN WWII