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Show Garfield County News Up For Sale TROPIC After more than 80 years as the "Garfield County News," the small southern Utah newspaper has come up for sale, its future uncertain. Whether the weekly will retain its name as a separate entity or be incorporated incor-porated into a larger newspaper, as is happening with small weeklies all over the nation, will likely be determined by Jan. 1. The newspaper was previously previous-ly owned by Mark Fuellenbach, publisher of the Richfield Reaper, who bought it from Stanley Mikulewicz in 1974. Sale of today's Garfield County News, precipitated by the fall and anticipated lengthy rehabilitation and recovery of 76-year-cld ownerpublisher, Kathryn "Katie" Thomas, will bring to an end a 15-year three generation all-women operation: opera-tion: grandma Katie, daughter Nancy Twitchell and granddaughter grand-daughter Rebecca Chappell. Katie and husband, Jim moved from Simi Valley, California to Tropic in Garfield County in January 1974, Nancy and her husband and toddler, Rebecca following soon after. Katie and Jim were operating a Sears Catalog Store in Panguitch when, in January 1979, shortly after grandson Adam was born, Nancy took a job as a reporter for the Garfield County News, working for Mark Fuellenbach. After the Thomases sold their business in late 1979, Katie joined her daughter at the News to help with writing and increasing increas-ing office duties. The newspaper was a challenge chal-lenge for the two women, neither nei-ther of whom had any real training train-ing or experience in an industry largely dominated by family news dynasties. Fortunately for them, only I minimal skills were required of writing, typing, taking photos, developing film and selling advertising: Nancy did the field work while JCatie worked in the office. Stories were typed, ads sketched, and developed film sent by bus or courier to Richfield, where the Reaper staff converted it all to newspaper newspa-per layout for, printing on the Reaper's web press. By 1984, now single mom, Nancy left with her children Rebecca, 9 and Adam, 5 for San Fernando Valley, California, where she had been reared, taking tak-ing a job there with an attorney's firm. She returned nearly two years later to take a personnelist position with the National Park Service at Bryce Canyon. When Nancy left Panguitch, Fuellenbach had hired Katie and husband, Jim as co-editors, with Jim taking over the field work. Shortly after, Jim began losing his eyesight, nevertheless he continued working. In late 1989, just before Thanksgiving, Fullenbach, who was divesting himself of other holdings, announced he would be closing the Garfield County News but would be willing to offer it to the Thomases. Did they want it? Yes, but what challenges lay ahead of them. Technology was on the move, and the Reaper used computers! com-puters! It all had to be accomplished accom-plished by Jan. 1, 1990. Fewer than six weeks to bring it all together, buy computers, learn to use them, learn newspaper layout. All of the things Katie didn't know and by then, Jim was unable to continue working. Friends came to the rescue with finances, computer skills, graphic arts skills all miraculously miracu-lously taking place. For the next (See SALE on page 2A) County News For Sale From Front Page two years, Katie and two friends, Bernice Paxman and Patti Sutherland, operated the newspaper, with frequent 14-hour 14-hour days and all night sessions on deadline nights. Memories of treacherous 2 a.m. trips home to Tropic, after a a 20-hour day, in frightening depths of pristine snow still linger. After much reflection, the office was moved to the Thomas home on Main street in Tropic in December of 1991, when Jim became too ill to leave alone during the day.. When he subsequently subse-quently died in July 1993 and Paxman and Sutherland had moved north with their families, Nancy left her position at Bryce Canyon National Park and Rebecca, then in college, returned home to help keep the paper going until now. Rebecca is now married with four children, living in Torrey with husband, Chris Chappell, a Wayne County deputy. In December she will have completed com-pleted her RN, excited after working on and off with the News since she was 16, to be starting a career she has chosen and loves. She has continued to help with subscriptions and newspaper layout by computer from her home in Torrey. But with grandma Katie now facing weeks of recovery, the three women quickly realized it is time to bring operations to an end. Nancy will move to Kanab where she plans to continue to be heavily involved in prison ministry and teaching and equipping others for ministry. ' Katie will also relocate to Kanab where she hopes to continue in writing. Over the past 26 years, ten under Fuellenbach and 16 under ownership, the Garfield County News has captured many awards. Recognition year-after-year by their far more professional profes-sional counterparts in journalism, journal-ism, has been particularly rewarding to the three whose background had not in any way prepared them for the challenges of the newspaper world, surely one of the most exciting and interesting of careers. Will they miss it? Will they miss their neighbors and lifelong life-long friends, the daily trips through Red Canyon, the issues, the intrigue? How could they not? For more information about buying the small town business, which would be a great venture for a young couple wanting to live in the, county or someone looking for a new career, contact Nancy at 435-679-8504 or Becca at 435-425-2064. |