October 13, 2023 • 53 mins
Here is part 2 and the completion of the Semmler story. Be sure to listen to episode 1 as well. The Semmlers played a vital role in our Village and their impact lives on today. Be sure to check out Matt's Blog posts that we based these episodes on. They can be found HERE!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Israel (00:01):
Welcome to Mokena's Front Porch, a Molkina History
podcast with Matt Galek and me,Israel Smith.
Alright, matt, welcome back.
Thank you.
This episode is part two of theSemmler's story.
A previous episode covered kindof the earlier part of the
lives and as they get intohaving the paper, yeah,
(00:21):
absolutely.
Can you give?
Maybe just give a little briefoverview.
Matt (00:26):
Absolutely yeah.
This is the story of theSemmler family, namely Bill
Semler William Semler went byBill, his wife Margaret and
their two daughters, Adeline andAda and the news bulletin which
was founded in 1919 here inMolkina.
It was the Molkina Villagepaper.
(00:47):
They carried news from theother surrounding towns too, but
it was primarily, first andforemost, the Molkina paper, and
the Semler family and theirpublication were a great source
for good in the decades that itexisted.
They benefited not just theMokenians of their own day but,
(01:07):
the way I see it, they're stillbenefiting us now because they
documented the history of thevillage in the years that they
existed and because of them wenow know what happened in the
Molkina of yesteryear.
And if it wasn't for theSemler's we'd be totally in the
dark.
Israel (01:26):
Yeah, you realize how true that is as we read more
about the things you've writtenor these pieces.
And it's people like thisacross the country really that
were the keepers of the story,the historians.
They were writing the historyfor us when nobody else was
(01:48):
doing that.
This was, I thought, a greatstory and obviously you've
committed a lot of time to this.
Oh yeah, as I mentioned before,we got the booklet that you
prepared earlier and then youput this out in four parts on
your blog as well, and reallythe only in-depth discussion and
(02:13):
telling of their story, I thinkthat's been done.
Yeah, that's definitely true.
And now we kind of come to thesecond part and the conclusion.
Let's just get into it.
Yeah, let's.
Matt (02:29):
The news bulletin was no small town gossip rag.
Aside from covering all localhappenings, it also carried four
or five serialized novels ayear, as well as national and
international news illustratedwith photographs.
A representative example wouldbe a piece that appeared in an
August 1931 issue that showcasedthe construction of the Empire
(02:52):
State Building.
Zesty flavor came from numerousbits of humor that appeared in
the news bulletin's pages, suchas an early series of columns
called People of Our Town, whichlampooned various personalities
found in rural communities.
Characters such as the iratereader, a man who has found
(03:13):
something in this paper that hedoesn't like, who is going
around to ball out the editor,were highlighted.
Also featured was the classyloafer who was waiting for a
good job to turn up when he isgoing to blow this hick town.
Another piece of whimsy wasstill a night, a reprinted
(03:34):
column that appeared in the June21st 1929 issue that not only
past-eached two men looking fora speakeasy, but was also
partially written in German.
In December 1924, the Semmlersushered in a column called the
Clearing House, in which Mokinoresidents were encouraged to
(03:54):
write into the paper and sharetheir opinions on issues of the
day.
The zeitgeist of the erasprings forth from these columns
in which townspeople voicedtheir views on the
prohibition-related crime wavethat plagued the countryside
around Chicago, decryingeverything from hard roads,
which made escape very easy forthe bandits in their
(04:16):
high-powered cars, to mail-orderguns, which often time arouses
some cracked brain-nuts to starton a hold-up career.
Bootleg liquor also stood inthe crosshairs which, in the
words of one village resident,was being sold to weak-minded
fools to drink and killthemselves with.
At the end of the 1930s, aseries of fictionalized letters
(04:39):
were printed in the newsbulletin under the title Uncle
High Says.
These had a lightheartedhumoristic bend and were loaded
with political jabs and insidejokes about Mokino business
people.
In the same era, a thinlyveiled editorial column named
Bugle Calls existed in the formof pieces written under the nom
(05:02):
de plume of Zeb Potter.
Another column called Voice ofVax Pop appeared with some
regularity In a March 17, 1939piece dripping with local satire
.
Won Back, ellie Spike wrote Boyoh boy, mokina has a real
crisis.
(05:22):
Europe has been hogging everycrisis, but now we have one
right here.
Why?
It's the biggest scandal sinceHitler took Austria.
The piece went on to parodyStaggi Mokinians whose feathers
were ruffled by a politicalnewcomer running for local
office, with the monocled authorGhibli, adding why the nervy
(05:42):
young so-and-so?
He hasn't been living here 75years yet?
The true flavor of the newsbulletin came from the great
American tradition the snideletter to the editor.
An early example of townie saltwas the communication printed by
the semilars in July 1921, inwhich a resident complained
(06:03):
about the less optimal conditionof village streets, a subject
that would later prove to be abig one for Bill.
The writer asked what are thestreets of Mokina for?
Are they a garbage pail?
And admitted that my tempergets the best of me when I have
to drive my clean machine overegg shells, musk melons and
(06:23):
lemon shells, corn husks andmuddy sloth holes.
Referring to Bill Sembler'sstatus as village clerk at the
time, the anonymous writer threwa barb his way when he snarled
Say Mr Editor, maybe you willscrap this as you are a member
of this board, but if you do,there are other papers.
The many letters received by thesemilars weren't all grumbly.
(06:46):
Many were laudatory.
Typical were the words sent byJohn H Cappell, a faraway.
Mattoon Cappell had spent hisformative years in Mokina and,
like Bill, could trace hisheritage to the founders of the
village.
In March 1926, he dropped aline to the News bulletin office
reading.
I want to congratulate you forthe good paper you are putting
(07:07):
out.
As I enjoy reading of the oldhometown very much, I can hardly
wait until the paper comes.
The people of Mokina and theSynod ought to be proud of the
paper you publish.
Closing on a touching note,cappell wished that you may
prosper in your work is myprayer.
Another representative bouquetcame by way of an unidentified
(07:28):
writer to the Juliet Spectatorin 1939.
In what surely must have lefttheir editor a touch confused,
the correspondent breezilycomplimented the publication,
only then to quickly heap praiseupon the news bulletin
expressing I like our Mokinapaper.
It is a well-printed and newsycountry weekly, far above the
(07:49):
average country weekly in get-upand print.
I want to congratulate theeditor of the Mokina news
bulletin for his fine paper.
The semlers also received abouquet from none other than the
Chicago Tribune.
During the euphoric periodimmediately after the end of the
Second World War, normallybrowning of the prestigious
(08:09):
publication found herself inMokina, vividly profiling local
residents and life in thevillage.
Upon examining the newsbulletin she declared that its
makeup has dignity.
Its repertorial style has acosmopolitan touch.
Mokinians used the newsbulletin as a forum to quash
rumors, the bane of small-townexistence.
(08:32):
A wave of malicious hearsaythat had been spreading in the
area regarding farmer GeorgeHauser induced him to write to
the paper in the spring of 1933.
Facing foreclosure on his farm,he wrote I would like to get a
few lines in the news bulletinand let the public know the
truth about the gossip that hasbeen going on about me.
(08:53):
Addressing each piece of thestory individually, he
eventually came to the nastiestpart of the episode.
Hauser stated there was alsosome gossip being circulated
that I threatened a shooting,and this is a lie.
I did not come from fightingstock.
Those who were on the startingend of hearsay also got a chance
(09:13):
to speak During a period inOctober 1924, when some
burglaries had recently takenplace in town.
Hardware storekeeper MiltonKrap sold some keys to residents
Peter Hummerding and AloisPeshara.
Finding the purchase issuspicious, krap tipped off
Village Constable John Frisch.
Later, realizing his mistake,the shopkeeper wrote a note to
(09:37):
the newspaper, which reprintedit on the front page under the
heading an apology, explainingwhat had happened.
The Mokinian made hisrealization clear that the event
had cast a serious reflectionon the characters of both Mr
Hummerding and Mr Peshara and asthey are entirely innocent in
this matter.
I hereby publicly extend myapologies to them for the
(10:01):
statement that I made to OfficerFrisch concerning them.
Bill and Margaret Semler weren'tsimply journalists reporting
the news.
They were also arguablyMokina's most passionate
advocates, who used the newsbulletin to lift the community
in every way.
A long column published in theFebruary 11th 1921 issue called
(10:21):
what Can Mokina Do addressed ashortage of housing in the
village and a general sense ofstagnation that had crept in.
Bill penned the piece whichcheered Mokina would have a
future if everyone got togetherand pushed.
And let us see how some smallimprovements can be made which
will lead to bigger ones.
While warning that out-of-datecustoms do not work anymore, he
(10:45):
devotedly pushed for development, patronizing local businesses
and keeping up the town banstand at Union and Third Streets
.
Bill's editorials leapt off thepage and forced the reader to
take notice.
In reading them one came to seethat his heart beat for Mokina.
In response to lateraccusations that his paper was
(11:06):
favoring the advancement ofother nearby communities, bill
authored a front page editorialcalled Mokina Needs Cooperative
Boost, appearing in the April15th 1926 issue.
Semler defended his stance thatthe news bulletin always stands
ready to boost any worthyproject or undertaking that is
(11:28):
for the betterment and welfareof any community and to knock
everything that knocks the town.
Coming straight to his hometown, he said this town has the
finest opportunity in the worldto become one of the best towns
along the Rock Island.
But whether it does or does not, all remains not with its
citizens but with itsbusinessmen, calling on Mokina's
(11:50):
tradespeople to ban togetherand promote commerce in town.
He also declared again that theold petty jealousies that have
dominated Mokina for years mustbe eradicated before the village
will progress.
At present we have too much ofthat old spirit.
It doesn't pay to nurse thisspirit.
Cut it out and let us all workfor one goal the upbuilding and
(12:13):
progress of Mokina.
Another editorial which appearedin the September 7th 1928
edition addressed a particularlyprickly issue.
A piece was printed detailinghow some town boys had been
caught in the basement of anabandoned front street building,
allegedly in the act of settingit aflame.
(12:34):
The young men later turned upat the news bulletin office down
the street, claiming that theymerely had the misfortune of
being found with a kerosene lampin their possession and that
they'd been spinning theirwheels in the community with
nothing to do and nowhere tofocus their energy.
Titled Youths Present SocialProblem, the subsequent
(12:56):
editorial on this matter saidthe fact of the matter is these
boys are right.
The youth of today will be thecitizens of tomorrow.
The old idea that a boy or girlmust sow their wild oats is all
the bunk.
Let us wake up and do somethingfor the youth of our community.
The news bulletin was also usedas a platform from which to
(13:19):
defend the rights of others andstand up to bullies.
With World War II and full swingin Europe, but still more than
a year before the United Statesentered the fray, the summer of
1940 found no small amount ofchatter swirling around Will
County concerning spies andother nefarious elements.
Joliet's citizen Otto Aetor,editor of a paper called the
(13:44):
German American, got mixed up inthe hearsay and the semlers
came to their fellow newsmen'srescue.
In a long article called Don'tBelieve or Repeat Everything you
Hear that appeared on July 12,1940, it was reported that a
poisoned tongue whisperingcampaign had leveled charges of
(14:05):
Aetor's being involved withanti-American activity and that
he had even been taken intocustody by the FBI.
The reports were soundlyquashed by the news bulletin,
the semlers stating outrightthat all the stories about him
are idle gossip.
The column went on to explainthat Aetor had ample proof that
(14:26):
he has never been engaged in anysubversive propaganda and he is
100% for his adopted country.
There has not been one word oftruth in the yarns broadcasted
about him.
An even wilder tale was alsomaking the rounds in the county
seat where one, paul Schirne,found himself under attack based
on his ethnicity.
(14:47):
The German born hotelproprietor was also supposed to
be under the investigation ofgovernment agents who allegedly
had found Nazi flags anduniforms in his possession.
Speaking on Schirne's behalf,the news bulletin printed that
this yarn was just one big liefrom start to finish.
(15:07):
Mr Schirne has been a citizenof this country for many years
and has always been a loyalAmerican citizen, one whose
integrity has never beenquestioned.
The column had the final wordby gently reminding Mokinians
that a person's good name andreputation, which has taken
years to build up, can beblasted and ruined overnight.
(15:28):
This is a sin none of us shouldbe a party to.
Jealousy.
Hate and loose tongues are thecause of ill-founded yarns.
Let us be really and trulyAmericans in every sense of the
word.
Do not be a scandal or warmonger.
Showing great foresight, billSemmler was a champion of the
(15:50):
preservation of the old DennyCemetery on the southern edge of
Mokina.
Bill had taken an interest inthe historic site, then a
forlorn overgrown heap, as earlyas the World War I era, when he
was still a young beat reporterfor the Juliette Herald News.
Entered at the hallowed groundswere the remains of
(16:11):
Revolutionary War soldierCharles Denny, whose original
1839 gravestone wasweather-beaten and crumbling by
the early 20th century.
Applying valuable experiencegained while securing a
government-issue grave markerfor local Civil War veteran John
Van Horn, buried at MarshallCemetery in 1909, semmler helped
(16:33):
to get a new headstone forDenny in 1916.
The marker arrived in Mokinavia the Rock Island Railroad in
the dead of winter and wasstored inside WH Beckstein's
grain elevator until the weatherbroke Years later.
Margaret would call the markingof Denny's grave one of her
husband's proudest moments.
(16:56):
The Moquina Garden Club set outto clean up the tangled mess of
weeds and overgrowth in the OldFamily Cemetery in 1939, and the
News Bulletin was their biggestsupporter.
That armistice day, bill wasgiven the honor of bestowing a
new name on the site, whichthenceforth was known as Pioneer
(17:16):
Memorial Cemetery.
In the same vein, the paper wasinstrumental in causing the
observance of Memorial Day tobecome a yearly occurrence in
Moquina, where here to fore, ithad been an intermittent.
Right At the early date of 1921, the Semmlers propelled local
residents to action bypublishing an impassioned column
(17:39):
called what About Memorial Day,in which it was alluded that
the neighboring communities ofFrankfurt and New Lenox could be
counted on to have a fullprogram.
Where in the Moquina Cemeterylies soldiers who fought not
only in the Civil War but alsoin the Revolutionary War, and
must their graves be allowed tobe overgrown with weeds instead
(18:01):
of flowers and with brushinstead of flags, just because
we are too indifferent or, mightwe say, not patriotic enough to
honor their memory?
The next year, using flags andflowers procured by the Semmlers
, the News Bulletin's sponsoreda smart ceremony wherein the
local soldiers' graves weredecorated and various speakers
(18:23):
were invited to town.
It went over well and, startingin 1928, a regular program was
carried out annually, with theSemmlers spearheading it.
Later, the Boy Scouts helpedease the burden of their work
and while down the line, theMoquina Civic Association took
over the day's activities.
Bill Semmler still served in aplace of honor as chairman of
(18:46):
arrangements.
Israel (18:48):
So, matt, in previous stories we've talked about John
Hatch taking a big role incleaning up a pioneer cemetery.
Where's the time frame in thathad that kind of it was a
previous the Semmlers coming in?
Can you kind of tell us aboutthat?
Yeah?
Matt (19:06):
that's a very good question actually.
Yeah, because the whole historyof how Memorial Day has been
observed in Moquina is a prettylong and interesting one.
But yeah, john Hatch, who was alocal Civil War veteran and was
the owner of the grain elevatorin town for many years and a
general storekeeper, abusinessman very involved in
(19:28):
Moquina, first village clerk, ashe got older he took on a lot
of the work of observingMemorial Day, making sure that
his fellow Civil War veterans'graves were cleaned up and in
presentable shape, making surethey had a flag on them and
flowers on them, stuff like that.
(19:48):
As I was saying, as he gotolder, though, he kind of
started passing things off tothe local campfire girls, which
we've talked about on thepodcast.
They were an organization kindof like the Girl Scouts, and he
sort of showed them the ropesand showed them the individual
graves and made sure that theywere taken up the
(20:10):
responsibilities.
But Mr Hatch passed away in1920.
And at that time the campfiregirls had also disbanded.
So in that timeframe, the early1920s, nobody was really doing
anything.
Israel (20:25):
So it just got left again to kind of be abandoned
and overgrown, exactly.
Matt (20:31):
Yeah, there really wasn't anything going on year to year
Memorial Day-wise in Moquina andI think Bill Semmler hit it,
hit the nail right on the headwhen he said well, Frankfurt
always does something, whichthey did.
Frankfurt years ago in thistimeframe was going all out for
(20:51):
Memorial Day.
New Lennox could always becounted on to be having
something.
So he said, why aren't we doinganything?
We have just as patriotic ofpeople in our town as theirs.
Let's get it together.
Israel (21:05):
He was a big part of making sure that happened from
year to year, and from the timethat this happened with him to
now has it pretty much beenmaintained consistently since
then.
Matt (21:16):
Yeah, pretty much, Pretty much.
Yeah, as far as I know, everyyear I'm thinking back to the
years of the Depression andWorld War II and of after having
gone through the issues of thenews bulletin from those years.
No year is sticking out in myhead as having been one where
(21:40):
something didn't happen, evenwith those hard times you know
depression, a wartime, etc.
Etc.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was.
We can pretty much thank him.
Israel (21:51):
Yeah, I mean it points directly to his legacy.
That's very cool.
Matt (21:57):
Perhaps Bill Semmler's most enduring contribution to
Moquina was his tirelessactivism for the improvement of
Wolf Road, arguably thevillage's most important
thoroughfare.
Much like those leading awayfrom the heart within the human
body, a vital artery is thelifeblood of a community.
(22:17):
The vibrancy of a villagedepends on it, as do the
livelihoods of the merchantstherein.
An impassable road spellsstagnation and despair for any
neighborhood, and no one wasmore aware of this than Bill
Semmler.
Through his resolute,unflagging work, wolf Road went
from a muddy path to a modernpassage.
(22:39):
For much of Moquina's earlyexistence, what would later be
known as Wolf Road was barelymore than a rural farm lane,
known as Marty Road after afamily that farmed along it.
Well into the early 20thcentury, bill and Margaret's
daughter Ada, remembered how, inanything less than perfect
(23:00):
weather, the road was real muddy, rocky and tough.
Bill Semmler loathed theseconditions with a passion, often
risking getting harassed inWolf Road while traveling north
to Orland Park to collect news.
Thus began his personal questto bring the road into modernity
.
Through his local networkingskills, bill was able to win
(23:24):
over important allies in thisdrive.
In his corner were CharlesHirsch, a cattleman and farmer
along the road, and JV Hall, aneighbor to Hirsch, who kept a
small restaurant.
Other influential friends ofSemmler's who pitched in to help
were LG Bruder, a Chicagobusinessman and Moquina resident
(23:46):
, and AML Cappell, a localfarmer who also served as
Frankfurt Township HighwayCommissioner.
These men, with Bill Semmler astheir leader, formed the
Moquina Development and HardRoad Association in the early
1920s.
By December 1926, not only didthe Moquina territory not have
(24:08):
any hard roads to speak of, butit also had the dubious
distinction of also not beingconnected to any.
The association held regularevening meetings at the Village
Schoolhouse and, through muchperseverance, succeeded in
convincing property owners northof town in Cook County that the
concreting of Wolf Road wouldbenefit them.
(24:30):
Through lobbying on their part,the neighboring county's Board
of Commissioners was persuadedto include the section of the
road from 143rd Street south tothe county line on a paving
program.
All things considered, however,this new hard road still tapered
off well north of Moquina.
(24:51):
Bill Semmler and his fighterstriumphed when a Will County
bond was passed for the pavingof the rest of the length
through town.
With the task ready to becompleted, what the news
bulletin later called a spiritedfight broke out over which
route the new road should follow.
(25:11):
Some local block supported theconstruction of a brand new
artery following a convolutedroute from east of New Lenox
through Moquina, along FrontStreet, then continuing further
eastward until it linked up withKeen Avenue or today's Route 45
.
Bill Semmler and by extensionthe news bulletin, found this
(25:33):
route totally unreasonable andtirelessly promoted, staying
with the plan of completing WolfRoad south to the Lincoln
Highway, in the words of hisdaughter Ada.
In this period, the entireproject became a political
football, with strife aboundingbetween Moquina factions and the
Will County Board ofSupervisors, which ultimately
(25:55):
held up the paving of the gapfor several years.
Meanwhile, the first concretewas poured north of town on
October 15, 1930, and when thesection was finished a month
later, a special ribbon cuttingceremony was held at St Mary's
Hall.
Bill still worked to have thelast segment from Hickory Creek
(26:17):
south to Lincoln Highwayfinished, but the dust wouldn't
ultimately settle until theautumn of 1936 due to a property
dispute of epic proportionswith farmer Clarence M Cleveland
.
During the trying days of WorldWar II, the Semmler family
opened their hearts to thecommunity and made sure that
(26:39):
every local service man andwoman had a friend Partnering up
with the auxiliary to theWilliam Martin post of the VFW.
They saw to it that everyMoquina soldier, sailor or
marine regularly received a freecopy of the news bulletin by
Christmas time 1943, thisoperation had become so big that
(27:02):
area residents were flummoxedas to how the Semmlers were
pulling it off.
Many curious requests werecoming into the news bulletin,
wondering about the details.
So the column that appeared inthe December 17th edition
gingerly said that anexplanation had, here to fore,
been held back as we do not carefor credit, our only aim and
(27:23):
satisfaction being to know thatour boys in the service of our
country are receiving the paperand enjoying it.
However, to satisfy readers,the piece did go on to lay out
how it was all done.
Aside from the news bulletin,the Semmlers Orland Park Herald
and Tinley Park Times were alsobeing posted, and while there
(27:45):
had been some reports of hiccupswith delivery, generally the
papers were finding theirrecipients.
In the very beginning of theeffort, adeline and Ada Semmler
handled all of the addressing ofthe paper's wrappers themselves
, with some help pitched in byMargaret.
As the project grew, this partof the work was taken over by
(28:05):
local volunteers, and everyThursday evening the papers
would be packed into theaddressed wrappers by more town
volunteers.
Among them were some patrioticMoquina children who gave their
time to the effort.
Ever thankful for their time,margaret rewarded the kids with
hot chocolate at the newsbulletin office.
The postage for all of thepapers no trifling amount was
(28:29):
taken care of by the village'sauxiliary to the VFW.
At the conflict's height, some700 complimentary copies of
similar presses.
Papers were being sent to allcorners of the globe, wherever
fighting men and women fromMoquina and the neighboring
communities were located, bethey well behind the front lines
(28:50):
or at the front.
During the course of the war,touching thank you letters
flooded Moquina for the simlers,many of which came enclosed
with photos of the servicepeople who wrote them.
On June 12, 1943, privateSherwin Lease penned a note that
partially read Dear Mr Semler,this is the first I have written
(29:11):
to you, although I should havedone so long ago.
I am now in North Africa andhave received two news bulletins
since I have been here.
Although they meant a greatdeal to me in the States, they
mean so much more now.
On December 28 of the same year, navy man and village trustee
John Marty wrote from MaryIsland, california.
(29:32):
A few lines read Dear Bill, itsure is swell when Tuesday comes
around, for that is the day thebulletin arrives.
I always look forward toreading all the news from
hometown folks.
You sure are doing a grand jobfor us fellows in the service,
as it sure means a lot to us tohear what's going on in the old
hometown.
(29:52):
By the time the autumn ofNovember 1944 rolled around, the
news bulletin was reporting onservice men and women so much
that it was beginning to pushout other local news.
On September 21, billpersonally authored a column
assuring readers that other newswas still wanted, deeming if
the news rates first page, itwill be put there anyway, but
(30:15):
kindly asked the neighboringsports teams to simply summarize
their games, as the scores weretaking up too much space.
It was signed Yours for Victory, and Until Our Boys Eat
Hamburgers in Tokyo.
William Semler Editor.
As the years and decadesmarched on, the paper grew
exponentially and by 1943 itcould proudly boast a
(30:37):
circulation of around 3,000 ineastern Will County.
Meanwhile, the Tinley ParkTimes was doing so well that it
was necessary to open a separateoffice there in 1941.
The publications of the SemlerPress had become such a
time-honored institution that atthe end of 1944 they were
(30:58):
bestowed with the Certificate ofMerit from the Illinois Press
Association.
Bill Semler lost a hard battlewith cancer on June 8, 1946, at
the age of 59.
That's ended a chapter not onlyfor the Semler family but also
for .
Upon the news of his passingbeing made public, tributes
(31:21):
poured into town.
Illinois Senator Richard Barrcalled Bill a true American.
Well Will County Clerk JosephHartley rude.
I don't know a man I thoughtmore of than Bill Semler.
Everett Cooper, mayor ofMoquina, the scene of so many of
Bill's labors of love, saidthat in Bill's passing the
(31:44):
community has lost one of itsmost loyal citizens and a very
true friend.
Obituaries for him appeared inpapers as far off as Alton and
Decatur, while on June 14, theNews Bulletin itself dedicated
most of its large front page totheir editor in Black Bordered
Reportage under the title 30,which in journalistic parlance
(32:09):
signifies an end.
At the time of his passing,bill Semler was a member of the
Illinois Press Association, theCook County Publishers
Association, the Lions Club ofFrankfurt and was also the
chairman of the Moquina CivicAssociation's Publicity
Committee.
That year he was also includedin who's who in Chicago and
(32:32):
Illinois.
It was his final wish thatMargaret take the helm as
editor-in-chief of the NewsBulletin, which she faithfully
did, maintaining a goodnewspaper worthy of fine
American principles.
Running the publication was aHerculean effort.
So a managing editor, oliverGedeist, was hired by the Semler
(32:56):
family in early 1947.
He was introduced to Moquinaand the surrounding territory in
a column of the paper whereMargaret assured her neighbors
of his journalistic bona fidesand kindly urged readers to
cooperate with him.
Showing the homie spirit ofMoquina at the time, she invited
subscribers to personally callher with questions and also
(33:17):
wondered if there might be ahouse in town for Gedeist to
rent.
Even after Oliver Gedeistannounced himself in a section
of the paper and, well aware ofhis status as a newcomer in a
small town, warned Moquiniansthat he was bad with names,
gedeist was also acutelycognizant that he was following
in Bill's footsteps, writingthat in coming into this new
(33:41):
responsibility, it is my purposeto carry the responsibility in
such a way that the memory ofWilliam Semler will be
integrated in and be a basis forevery business transaction
conducted.
The Semler standard shall neverbe lowered, and that he did.
For week after week the paperwas the same quality as it
(34:01):
always was.
Meanwhile, the news bulletinmarched into the future.
In 1947, an addition was addedto the east side of the historic
office to house two newlinotype machines and a Miele
press.
This continued to boom, andanother extension to the old
place, this time on its northernside, was finished in the
(34:24):
spring of 1953 to house a duplexpress.
The new press weighed in at acolossal 13 tons and took a pair
of workers a month to install.
Their labor was worth it in theend, for the new equipment
carried an output of 3,508 pagepapers an hour.
(34:46):
As editor-in-chief, margaretSemler won well deserved laurels
for her work.
After publishing a specialsouvenir edition of the news
bulletin for the Mocchinahomecoming in the summer of 1949
, the Illinois Press Associationbestowed upon her the Mate E
Palmer award for that year,while the next year she received
(35:08):
the prestigious first prizefrom the National Convention of
Press Women at Reno, nevada.
For decades of selfless serviceto Mocchina, margaret Semler
retired in the spring of 1955,whereupon Glenn F Logan of
Juliet took over as managingeditor.
At this time, the news bulletincounted a circulation of around
(35:32):
3,500 and maintained a staff of10.
Margaret Semler ultimately soldthe paper in 1958 to Kenneth
Johnson, a Lamont-basedpublisher, who put out that
community's Lamont-er as well asthe Lockport Herald.
In addition to thesepublications, johnson would also
(35:53):
later found newspapers inDownersgrove and Naperville.
In 1960, he set up theFrankfurt leader and that year
added Mocchina to the newsbulletin's title.
After continuing to print thenews bulletin for most of the
rest of the decade, johnson soldhis holdings to field
enterprises who, in June 1969,merged the news bulletin and the
(36:18):
other local papers into theSouthwest graphic, after having
been in print for 50 years.
No small feat for a publicationwith such humble beginnings.
The last issue of the newsbulletin came off the press on
June 4, 1969.
Its front page containedstories touting the new graphic
(36:40):
and bemoaning high tax rates,and thus when the reader
finished the last page, it wasthe end of an era.
While staying in the hands ofthe Semler family, the paper's
old office on Mocchina's frontstreet would go on to house a
cork company and met an untimelyend in the fall of 1977, when
(37:02):
it was forever erased from thevillage's landscape.
Margaret Semler spent her lateryears in a Joliet retirement
community, always keeping hertrusty typewriter at hand and
surrounded by scrapbooks of herand her late husband's
achievements.
She has gone down as one of themost influential ladies in
Mocchina's history and to thisday she hasn't been equaled.
(37:25):
She passed away on March 4,1988, having reached 98 years.
The doyen of the village, theMocchina of the modern age, in
all of its progress andimprovement, is the legacy of
the Semler family and the newsbulletin.
The village owes their memorythe highest attention and
(37:47):
devotion.
As we honor our history, thework of the Semlers has become a
Rosetta Stone to the village'spast, without whose long efforts
over the decades this chroniclewould be dark and uncharted.
Through the news bulletin andtheir passion for Mocchina, the
Semler family's achievementshave brought them immortality.
Israel (38:12):
I think you sum that ending up just really well, oh
thanks.
You know, just displaying theimportance of this couple to
Mocchina.
Matt (38:23):
Yeah.
Israel (38:23):
You know as well as the surrounding area.
I mean you think about theother papers.
You know the Tinley Park paperthat they ran.
Yeah, absolutely, and you knowthey had.
Yeah, just as you said.
It's just an unbelievableeffect they've had on this
village.
Matt (38:37):
Yeah, they have, they really have, they have a big
influence.
Israel (38:42):
And I thought it was interesting.
You know they in the beginning,where they were encouraging
people to share their news.
You know it kind of reminded meof almost like the social media
today, like it was how peoplegot to tell you know who came to
dinner, who visited fromChicago.
Matt (38:59):
Yeah, absolutely.
Israel (39:00):
Or whatever it was.
Yeah, no, that's covered thepolitics and the gossip and the
yeah, that's absolutely true.
Matt (39:05):
activities yeah, 100%.
Yeah.
Yeah, they collected all thenews either just by going out
and physically collecting itthemselves, or by inviting
people to, like we were sayingto just contact them with so and
so was in town, or it's.
Israel (39:24):
It's funny stuff to read now, because you know who would
ever really care about who cameto visit, right Until you look
at Facebook.
Matt (39:32):
Yeah, exactly.
Israel (39:33):
Because people do the same thing now on Facebook right
, yeah, exactly, it's nodifferent.
I walked my dog you know orwhatever.
Exactly, it's 100% the same,which is really interesting.
I mean, how we change, you know, everything changes, but it all
stays the same.
Yeah, that's true, yeah, andfunny enough, I guess, in all
the talking we've done aboutthis, I've always, you know
(39:54):
always called it the Mokina NewsBulletin, right, right, and it
wasn't until the very end thatthey added Mokina into the title
.
So that was interesting andI'll try to correct.
Matt (40:06):
Oh no, yeah, I'm sure years ago people did the same
thing.
I mean, after all, it was theMokina paper, right and yeah,
not too many people probablyknow that offhand now Right,
right but.
Israel (40:17):
Exactly, and I thought it was really interesting, when
they're talking about thesuccess of Mokina, that Bill put
the weight of the progress onthe businessmen.
Yeah, put it on the citizens orthe politicians.
He put it on the businessmen,right, yeah, yeah, and I don't
(40:39):
know.
I guess that's true today,right, unless you have people
willing to come in and invest.
You know, when you think aboutour downtown, that is less than
lively.
Matt (40:46):
Right, yeah.
Israel (40:49):
Yeah, so it's interesting.
What are you knowing the amountof time that you spent looking
at these old papers?
What do you think that thecommunity, or our community, is
missing by not having somethinglike that paper?
Matt (41:03):
Oh, wow.
I, first and foremost, I thinka paper brings like a sense of
unity and togetherness and it'sall of us together for our
community, kind of somethinglike that.
With the extinction of theMokina messenger few years ago
(41:25):
during the COVID times, I rueits loss and I feel its absence.
And, yeah, having a paper in acommunity is just like one of
the most important things youcan have, not only because it
reports the news and what'shappening and people are up to
date on what's happening intheir community, but, like I was
(41:48):
saying, yeah, there's justsomething about having a
hometown publication that Ithink brings about this
togetherness or this unity andhopefully somebody will step
into that void.
Israel (42:06):
Yeah, thinking about it, do you see a time where there
is a type of a physicalpublication again or somebody
putting out something similar tothis?
You know, a modern version.
Matt (42:21):
Yeah, I do, I do.
I can't say who it would be.
People have suggested that Ishould do it, which I'm honored
by, but I just I have neitherthe time nor the resources.
Israel (42:36):
Well, that's the big thing.
I mean, it's a resource,exactly.
Matt (42:39):
Exactly.
Israel (42:41):
I mean, there's not a big market for newspapers right
now.
Better physical, Everything ispretty much gone digital.
Matt (42:48):
Yeah, exactly.
Israel (42:51):
But it's an interesting thought.
Matt (42:52):
It is yeah.
Israel (42:53):
There's something about picking up a paper off your
driveway.
I also thought it was reallyinteresting when we talked about
the proposed road, and one ofthe routes that I mentioned was
going through New Lenox, throughFront Street and connecting
over to 45 to LaGrange RoadRight right For one, that would
(43:17):
have been a huge change to.
Molquina and what we know it,connecting to a major road like
that, it would have been atotally different downtown.
Oh yeah, it would have changedeverything.
Matt (43:29):
It would have been crazy, yeah, the amount of work that
would have had to have gone intothat, the construction.
Israel (43:35):
Sure, it would have probably stripped most of the
historic buildings through FrontStreet.
Probably, yeah, it would havebeen gone.
Matt (43:42):
Yeah, luckily Mr Semler, bill Semler was not really a fan
of this idea and used hispublication to sort of promote
Wolf Road.
Yeah, instead of constructing anew road, let us use Wolf Road.
And if you look at all thepapers through that whole time
(44:05):
frame of the 20s going into the30s by the time the whole thing
was done, it was just this huge,never-ending project of
lobbying and politics andgetting the funding for this and
getting the property rights topave or not really pave but
concrete this stretch of theroad.
Israel (44:26):
And it was just this monumental, gigantic project
that carried on for years andyears and years and in
comparison, we just got througha project where the bridge over
I-80 on the road was down for anumber of months and caused
terrible turmoil, absolutely, Imean.
(44:47):
People went out of their way.
Routes changed all this stuff.
Matt (44:50):
Yeah.
Israel (44:51):
But we have Wolf Road back and it's not a muddy trail.
Matt (44:54):
No.
Israel (44:56):
We can't even imagine what life would have been with a
road like that and how muchthat road changed Moquina.
That's 100% true.
Matt (45:05):
Yeah, every time I drive down Wolf Road I think of the
Semler family and Bill Semlerand let me just put this out
there In Tinley Park there is aSemler Drive or Semler Street or
Avenue or whatever in one ofthe subdivisions out in Tinley,
(45:26):
because he played a part in thehistory of their community as
well.
But he was a Moquina man andfirst and foremost he was a
Moquinian and he dedicated hislife to working here and making
Moquina a better place for us tolive and there is no street or
road or anything named after himor his family here so we can
(45:47):
put that out there.
Maybe some day, hopefully inthe not too distant future, we
can change that.
Israel (45:55):
I mean, you can't think of too many better names that
should be unassigned.
50 years of being the paper ofrecord for our town and 50
consequential years that they'reresponsible for, that's true.
So Bill died on June 8th of1944 at the young age of 59
(46:19):
years old.
Matt (46:20):
That's right, yeah 1946.
Israel (46:24):
1946.
And then the paper stayedaround until June 4th of 1969.
Matt (46:33):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, mrs Semler kept it up after.
After Mr Semler, bill passedaway, like we were saying,
tragically young really it wascancer, but she was already kind
of unofficially the co-editorof the paper anyway.
But she took over being incharge and running the show
(46:55):
herself, kept going all the wayup there until the end of the
1950s when she retired and soldthe paper to the Lamont
publisher and then they kept itup and finally, yeah, very last
issue in 1969.
So that's 50 years of historythat it preserved.
Israel (47:12):
And did anybody kind of pick up the torch after that?
Was there another paper goingon at that time?
Matt (47:18):
Not really.
There was a Moquina paper inthe early 70s for a very brief
time Of course.
Now I can't remember the nameof it.
It was not around very long ofthe Moquina Herald maybe.
Unfortunately, all the detailsof who was running that and you
know, all of the background infois not known to me.
(47:40):
And then there was the.
Was it the Frankfurt Star Formost of the 80s?
I think it might have went backinto the 70s a little.
They carried a lot of Moquinanews though, but the only paper
(48:00):
after the Semmlers that was aMoquina paper in name and was
sort of like a Moquina first andforemost kind of thing was
independent news, which wasfounded in 2001.
It was kind of a long timeafter 1969, which was editor was
(48:22):
a Moquinian by the name of BobBaker who ran that for a fair
amount of time in the early2000s.
Israel (48:29):
And then, when does the Moquina messenger come around?
Matt (48:35):
Moquina messenger.
If I remember correctly, theirfirst issue was in 2007.
Israel (48:40):
And what was the setup with that?
Was that part of conglomerateand a bigger newspaper?
Matt (48:47):
Yeah, yeah, they were part .
The messenger was part of aconglomerate called 22nd Century
Media who owned and ran allsorts of local papers out in
this neck of the woods there was, I think the Frankfurt paper by
them was the Frankfurt station,I want to say.
Then there was the NuleticsAmerican and the Orland
(49:09):
something or other, I can'tremember, but yeah, that was a
conglomerate, 22nd Century MediaI think they even they had
papers out in other portions ofthe state.
They weren't strictly like aEastern Will County, Southern.
Israel (49:23):
And did they have somebody local here running the
paper?
How does that work?
Matt (49:30):
Yeah, they did.
They had an office 22nd CenturyMedia's office was right, I
guess.
Technically that was an Orlandaddress, but it was just
immediately north of what youwould call the Borgher between
Mochina and and Orland and theyhad.
They had quite a few editorsactually over the years Last.
(49:55):
The final editor of the Mochinamessenger was a Mochina guy by
the name of Tom Kramer, who is Istill know, no, actually is a
co-worker of mine now.
So we I knew him from my daysof submitting History articles
to the paper, and I still workwith them nowadays.
Excuse me, still a Mokinaresidence.
(50:19):
So, yeah, so that that was thegood thing.
I mean, there there were localpeople working on the messenger
too.
Yeah, yeah, they weren't, youknow, out of town or anything.
Israel (50:28):
Yeah, well, and it's you know, you never know.
I mean, we got, we got thepaper and always enjoyed it, but
you never, I never fullyunderstood where it's coming
from.
I knew it wasn't a True localpaper, but it was Mokina's paper
.
Yeah, as far as being yeah,sure, yeah, but yeah, definitely
missed when that went away.
(50:49):
Yeah, me too, yeah, and.
I always enjoyed the greathistory stories that you shared.
Matt (50:53):
Oh thanks.
Israel (50:54):
Definitely sparked my interest for Mokina history.
Oh yeah, as good.
So this you know, probably theOne of the most consequential
stories you know.
Matt (51:05):
That will tell yeah absolutely the story of the.
Israel (51:08):
Summars.
Thank you, matt, for sharingthis.
Thank you for putting thisrecord together.
Matt (51:13):
Thanks for having me.
Yeah, absolutely, You'rewelcome.
Israel (51:15):
Yeah as you said, you know, hopefully we can get more,
more recognition for thiscouple, maybe a name on the
street something Please, andyeah, for those you know board
members, village trustees,whoever it is let's let's
recognize these significantmembers of our past.
(51:38):
Absolutely, I'm 100% behind it.
Yeah, yeah, all right, matt,thanks again.
This is a great story.
Thank you.
I love telling it.
Hope you enjoyed part two ofthe episode about the Summler
family and the Mokina NewsBulletin.
As we've said all through theepisode, this couple is very
important to Mokina.
They have a great story and weowe so much of what we know
(52:02):
today, what Matt's done, whatwe've been able to do so much
that leads back To the Summlersand the work they did over the
50 years that the newspaper wasReporting here.
So again, we hope you enjoyedthat.
Matt has a four-part series onhis blog that these episodes
were based on, so please checkthat out as well.
(52:24):
He had some great photos inthere.
Some of those will share on ourFacebook page as well, but you
can check those out on his blogas well as read the full
four-part Story.
And be sure to subscribe toMatt's blog.
You'll find the link in ourshow notes, but you'll get
notifications when the new blogposts come out and just some
(52:45):
really interesting stuff there.
Matt's been posting for anumber of years now and just
some great articles on there.
If you're enjoying our podcastit really travels by word of
mouth.
If you're enjoying our show,please consider just telling a
friend or a neighbor about it.
We would love it if you'd leaveus a review on Spotify or Apple
podcasts, amazon podcasts oranywhere that you can find a
(53:08):
podcast.
Those reviews really help out alot and get us in front of more
people.
If you know someone that youthink we should talk to or ideas
for the show, please send us anemail at Mokina's front porch,
at gmailcom, or send us amessage on Facebook.
We hope you enjoyed our firstyear of episodes and we look
forward to many more.
So thanks for listening and wewill see you next time on
(53:32):
Mokina's front porch.
Welcome to Mokena's Front Porch, a Molkina History
podcast with Matt Galek and me,Israel Smith.
Alright, matt, welcome back.
Thank you.
This episode is part two of theSemmler's story.
A previous episode covered kindof the earlier part of the
lives and as they get intohaving the paper, yeah,
(00:21):
absolutely.
Can you give?
Maybe just give a little briefoverview.
Matt (00:26):
Absolutely yeah.
This is the story of theSemmler family, namely Bill
Semler William Semler went byBill, his wife Margaret and
their two daughters, Adeline andAda and the news bulletin which
was founded in 1919 here inMolkina.
It was the Molkina Villagepaper.
(00:47):
They carried news from theother surrounding towns too, but
it was primarily, first andforemost, the Molkina paper, and
the Semler family and theirpublication were a great source
for good in the decades that itexisted.
They benefited not just theMokenians of their own day but,
(01:07):
the way I see it, they're stillbenefiting us now because they
documented the history of thevillage in the years that they
existed and because of them wenow know what happened in the
Molkina of yesteryear.
And if it wasn't for theSemler's we'd be totally in the
dark.
Israel (01:26):
Yeah, you realize how true that is as we read more
about the things you've writtenor these pieces.
And it's people like thisacross the country really that
were the keepers of the story,the historians.
They were writing the historyfor us when nobody else was
(01:48):
doing that.
This was, I thought, a greatstory and obviously you've
committed a lot of time to this.
Oh yeah, as I mentioned before,we got the booklet that you
prepared earlier and then youput this out in four parts on
your blog as well, and reallythe only in-depth discussion and
(02:13):
telling of their story, I thinkthat's been done.
Yeah, that's definitely true.
And now we kind of come to thesecond part and the conclusion.
Let's just get into it.
Yeah, let's.
Matt (02:29):
The news bulletin was no small town gossip rag.
Aside from covering all localhappenings, it also carried four
or five serialized novels ayear, as well as national and
international news illustratedwith photographs.
A representative example wouldbe a piece that appeared in an
August 1931 issue that showcasedthe construction of the Empire
(02:52):
State Building.
Zesty flavor came from numerousbits of humor that appeared in
the news bulletin's pages, suchas an early series of columns
called People of Our Town, whichlampooned various personalities
found in rural communities.
Characters such as the iratereader, a man who has found
(03:13):
something in this paper that hedoesn't like, who is going
around to ball out the editor,were highlighted.
Also featured was the classyloafer who was waiting for a
good job to turn up when he isgoing to blow this hick town.
Another piece of whimsy wasstill a night, a reprinted
(03:34):
column that appeared in the June21st 1929 issue that not only
past-eached two men looking fora speakeasy, but was also
partially written in German.
In December 1924, the Semmlersushered in a column called the
Clearing House, in which Mokinoresidents were encouraged to
(03:54):
write into the paper and sharetheir opinions on issues of the
day.
The zeitgeist of the erasprings forth from these columns
in which townspeople voicedtheir views on the
prohibition-related crime wavethat plagued the countryside
around Chicago, decryingeverything from hard roads,
which made escape very easy forthe bandits in their
(04:16):
high-powered cars, to mail-orderguns, which often time arouses
some cracked brain-nuts to starton a hold-up career.
Bootleg liquor also stood inthe crosshairs which, in the
words of one village resident,was being sold to weak-minded
fools to drink and killthemselves with.
At the end of the 1930s, aseries of fictionalized letters
(04:39):
were printed in the newsbulletin under the title Uncle
High Says.
These had a lightheartedhumoristic bend and were loaded
with political jabs and insidejokes about Mokino business
people.
In the same era, a thinlyveiled editorial column named
Bugle Calls existed in the formof pieces written under the nom
(05:02):
de plume of Zeb Potter.
Another column called Voice ofVax Pop appeared with some
regularity In a March 17, 1939piece dripping with local satire
.
Won Back, ellie Spike wrote Boyoh boy, mokina has a real
crisis.
(05:22):
Europe has been hogging everycrisis, but now we have one
right here.
Why?
It's the biggest scandal sinceHitler took Austria.
The piece went on to parodyStaggi Mokinians whose feathers
were ruffled by a politicalnewcomer running for local
office, with the monocled authorGhibli, adding why the nervy
(05:42):
young so-and-so?
He hasn't been living here 75years yet?
The true flavor of the newsbulletin came from the great
American tradition the snideletter to the editor.
An early example of townie saltwas the communication printed by
the semilars in July 1921, inwhich a resident complained
(06:03):
about the less optimal conditionof village streets, a subject
that would later prove to be abig one for Bill.
The writer asked what are thestreets of Mokina for?
Are they a garbage pail?
And admitted that my tempergets the best of me when I have
to drive my clean machine overegg shells, musk melons and
(06:23):
lemon shells, corn husks andmuddy sloth holes.
Referring to Bill Sembler'sstatus as village clerk at the
time, the anonymous writer threwa barb his way when he snarled
Say Mr Editor, maybe you willscrap this as you are a member
of this board, but if you do,there are other papers.
The many letters received by thesemilars weren't all grumbly.
(06:46):
Many were laudatory.
Typical were the words sent byJohn H Cappell, a faraway.
Mattoon Cappell had spent hisformative years in Mokina and,
like Bill, could trace hisheritage to the founders of the
village.
In March 1926, he dropped aline to the News bulletin office
reading.
I want to congratulate you forthe good paper you are putting
(07:07):
out.
As I enjoy reading of the oldhometown very much, I can hardly
wait until the paper comes.
The people of Mokina and theSynod ought to be proud of the
paper you publish.
Closing on a touching note,cappell wished that you may
prosper in your work is myprayer.
Another representative bouquetcame by way of an unidentified
(07:28):
writer to the Juliet Spectatorin 1939.
In what surely must have lefttheir editor a touch confused,
the correspondent breezilycomplimented the publication,
only then to quickly heap praiseupon the news bulletin
expressing I like our Mokinapaper.
It is a well-printed and newsycountry weekly, far above the
(07:49):
average country weekly in get-upand print.
I want to congratulate theeditor of the Mokina news
bulletin for his fine paper.
The semlers also received abouquet from none other than the
Chicago Tribune.
During the euphoric periodimmediately after the end of the
Second World War, normallybrowning of the prestigious
(08:09):
publication found herself inMokina, vividly profiling local
residents and life in thevillage.
Upon examining the newsbulletin she declared that its
makeup has dignity.
Its repertorial style has acosmopolitan touch.
Mokinians used the newsbulletin as a forum to quash
rumors, the bane of small-townexistence.
(08:32):
A wave of malicious hearsaythat had been spreading in the
area regarding farmer GeorgeHauser induced him to write to
the paper in the spring of 1933.
Facing foreclosure on his farm,he wrote I would like to get a
few lines in the news bulletinand let the public know the
truth about the gossip that hasbeen going on about me.
(08:53):
Addressing each piece of thestory individually, he
eventually came to the nastiestpart of the episode.
Hauser stated there was alsosome gossip being circulated
that I threatened a shooting,and this is a lie.
I did not come from fightingstock.
Those who were on the startingend of hearsay also got a chance
(09:13):
to speak During a period inOctober 1924, when some
burglaries had recently takenplace in town.
Hardware storekeeper MiltonKrap sold some keys to residents
Peter Hummerding and AloisPeshara.
Finding the purchase issuspicious, krap tipped off
Village Constable John Frisch.
Later, realizing his mistake,the shopkeeper wrote a note to
(09:37):
the newspaper, which reprintedit on the front page under the
heading an apology, explainingwhat had happened.
The Mokinian made hisrealization clear that the event
had cast a serious reflectionon the characters of both Mr
Hummerding and Mr Peshara and asthey are entirely innocent in
this matter.
I hereby publicly extend myapologies to them for the
(10:01):
statement that I made to OfficerFrisch concerning them.
Bill and Margaret Semler weren'tsimply journalists reporting
the news.
They were also arguablyMokina's most passionate
advocates, who used the newsbulletin to lift the community
in every way.
A long column published in theFebruary 11th 1921 issue called
(10:21):
what Can Mokina Do addressed ashortage of housing in the
village and a general sense ofstagnation that had crept in.
Bill penned the piece whichcheered Mokina would have a
future if everyone got togetherand pushed.
And let us see how some smallimprovements can be made which
will lead to bigger ones.
While warning that out-of-datecustoms do not work anymore, he
(10:45):
devotedly pushed for development, patronizing local businesses
and keeping up the town banstand at Union and Third Streets
.
Bill's editorials leapt off thepage and forced the reader to
take notice.
In reading them one came to seethat his heart beat for Mokina.
In response to lateraccusations that his paper was
(11:06):
favoring the advancement ofother nearby communities, bill
authored a front page editorialcalled Mokina Needs Cooperative
Boost, appearing in the April15th 1926 issue.
Semler defended his stance thatthe news bulletin always stands
ready to boost any worthyproject or undertaking that is
(11:28):
for the betterment and welfareof any community and to knock
everything that knocks the town.
Coming straight to his hometown, he said this town has the
finest opportunity in the worldto become one of the best towns
along the Rock Island.
But whether it does or does not, all remains not with its
citizens but with itsbusinessmen, calling on Mokina's
(11:50):
tradespeople to ban togetherand promote commerce in town.
He also declared again that theold petty jealousies that have
dominated Mokina for years mustbe eradicated before the village
will progress.
At present we have too much ofthat old spirit.
It doesn't pay to nurse thisspirit.
Cut it out and let us all workfor one goal the upbuilding and
(12:13):
progress of Mokina.
Another editorial which appearedin the September 7th 1928
edition addressed a particularlyprickly issue.
A piece was printed detailinghow some town boys had been
caught in the basement of anabandoned front street building,
allegedly in the act of settingit aflame.
(12:34):
The young men later turned upat the news bulletin office down
the street, claiming that theymerely had the misfortune of
being found with a kerosene lampin their possession and that
they'd been spinning theirwheels in the community with
nothing to do and nowhere tofocus their energy.
Titled Youths Present SocialProblem, the subsequent
(12:56):
editorial on this matter saidthe fact of the matter is these
boys are right.
The youth of today will be thecitizens of tomorrow.
The old idea that a boy or girlmust sow their wild oats is all
the bunk.
Let us wake up and do somethingfor the youth of our community.
The news bulletin was also usedas a platform from which to
(13:19):
defend the rights of others andstand up to bullies.
With World War II and full swingin Europe, but still more than
a year before the United Statesentered the fray, the summer of
1940 found no small amount ofchatter swirling around Will
County concerning spies andother nefarious elements.
Joliet's citizen Otto Aetor,editor of a paper called the
(13:44):
German American, got mixed up inthe hearsay and the semlers
came to their fellow newsmen'srescue.
In a long article called Don'tBelieve or Repeat Everything you
Hear that appeared on July 12,1940, it was reported that a
poisoned tongue whisperingcampaign had leveled charges of
(14:05):
Aetor's being involved withanti-American activity and that
he had even been taken intocustody by the FBI.
The reports were soundlyquashed by the news bulletin,
the semlers stating outrightthat all the stories about him
are idle gossip.
The column went on to explainthat Aetor had ample proof that
(14:26):
he has never been engaged in anysubversive propaganda and he is
100% for his adopted country.
There has not been one word oftruth in the yarns broadcasted
about him.
An even wilder tale was alsomaking the rounds in the county
seat where one, paul Schirne,found himself under attack based
on his ethnicity.
(14:47):
The German born hotelproprietor was also supposed to
be under the investigation ofgovernment agents who allegedly
had found Nazi flags anduniforms in his possession.
Speaking on Schirne's behalf,the news bulletin printed that
this yarn was just one big liefrom start to finish.
(15:07):
Mr Schirne has been a citizenof this country for many years
and has always been a loyalAmerican citizen, one whose
integrity has never beenquestioned.
The column had the final wordby gently reminding Mokinians
that a person's good name andreputation, which has taken
years to build up, can beblasted and ruined overnight.
(15:28):
This is a sin none of us shouldbe a party to.
Jealousy.
Hate and loose tongues are thecause of ill-founded yarns.
Let us be really and trulyAmericans in every sense of the
word.
Do not be a scandal or warmonger.
Showing great foresight, billSemmler was a champion of the
(15:50):
preservation of the old DennyCemetery on the southern edge of
Mokina.
Bill had taken an interest inthe historic site, then a
forlorn overgrown heap, as earlyas the World War I era, when he
was still a young beat reporterfor the Juliette Herald News.
Entered at the hallowed groundswere the remains of
(16:11):
Revolutionary War soldierCharles Denny, whose original
1839 gravestone wasweather-beaten and crumbling by
the early 20th century.
Applying valuable experiencegained while securing a
government-issue grave markerfor local Civil War veteran John
Van Horn, buried at MarshallCemetery in 1909, semmler helped
(16:33):
to get a new headstone forDenny in 1916.
The marker arrived in Mokinavia the Rock Island Railroad in
the dead of winter and wasstored inside WH Beckstein's
grain elevator until the weatherbroke Years later.
Margaret would call the markingof Denny's grave one of her
husband's proudest moments.
(16:56):
The Moquina Garden Club set outto clean up the tangled mess of
weeds and overgrowth in the OldFamily Cemetery in 1939, and the
News Bulletin was their biggestsupporter.
That armistice day, bill wasgiven the honor of bestowing a
new name on the site, whichthenceforth was known as Pioneer
(17:16):
Memorial Cemetery.
In the same vein, the paper wasinstrumental in causing the
observance of Memorial Day tobecome a yearly occurrence in
Moquina, where here to fore, ithad been an intermittent.
Right At the early date of 1921, the Semmlers propelled local
residents to action bypublishing an impassioned column
(17:39):
called what About Memorial Day,in which it was alluded that
the neighboring communities ofFrankfurt and New Lenox could be
counted on to have a fullprogram.
Where in the Moquina Cemeterylies soldiers who fought not
only in the Civil War but alsoin the Revolutionary War, and
must their graves be allowed tobe overgrown with weeds instead
(18:01):
of flowers and with brushinstead of flags, just because
we are too indifferent or, mightwe say, not patriotic enough to
honor their memory?
The next year, using flags andflowers procured by the Semmlers
, the News Bulletin's sponsoreda smart ceremony wherein the
local soldiers' graves weredecorated and various speakers
(18:23):
were invited to town.
It went over well and, startingin 1928, a regular program was
carried out annually, with theSemmlers spearheading it.
Later, the Boy Scouts helpedease the burden of their work
and while down the line, theMoquina Civic Association took
over the day's activities.
Bill Semmler still served in aplace of honor as chairman of
(18:46):
arrangements.
Israel (18:48):
So, matt, in previous stories we've talked about John
Hatch taking a big role incleaning up a pioneer cemetery.
Where's the time frame in thathad that kind of it was a
previous the Semmlers coming in?
Can you kind of tell us aboutthat?
Yeah?
Matt (19:06):
that's a very good question actually.
Yeah, because the whole historyof how Memorial Day has been
observed in Moquina is a prettylong and interesting one.
But yeah, john Hatch, who was alocal Civil War veteran and was
the owner of the grain elevatorin town for many years and a
general storekeeper, abusinessman very involved in
(19:28):
Moquina, first village clerk, ashe got older he took on a lot
of the work of observingMemorial Day, making sure that
his fellow Civil War veterans'graves were cleaned up and in
presentable shape, making surethey had a flag on them and
flowers on them, stuff like that.
(19:48):
As I was saying, as he gotolder, though, he kind of
started passing things off tothe local campfire girls, which
we've talked about on thepodcast.
They were an organization kindof like the Girl Scouts, and he
sort of showed them the ropesand showed them the individual
graves and made sure that theywere taken up the
(20:10):
responsibilities.
But Mr Hatch passed away in1920.
And at that time the campfiregirls had also disbanded.
So in that timeframe, the early1920s, nobody was really doing
anything.
Israel (20:25):
So it just got left again to kind of be abandoned
and overgrown, exactly.
Matt (20:31):
Yeah, there really wasn't anything going on year to year
Memorial Day-wise in Moquina andI think Bill Semmler hit it,
hit the nail right on the headwhen he said well, Frankfurt
always does something, whichthey did.
Frankfurt years ago in thistimeframe was going all out for
(20:51):
Memorial Day.
New Lennox could always becounted on to be having
something.
So he said, why aren't we doinganything?
We have just as patriotic ofpeople in our town as theirs.
Let's get it together.
Israel (21:05):
He was a big part of making sure that happened from
year to year, and from the timethat this happened with him to
now has it pretty much beenmaintained consistently since
then.
Matt (21:16):
Yeah, pretty much, Pretty much.
Yeah, as far as I know, everyyear I'm thinking back to the
years of the Depression andWorld War II and of after having
gone through the issues of thenews bulletin from those years.
No year is sticking out in myhead as having been one where
(21:40):
something didn't happen, evenwith those hard times you know
depression, a wartime, etc.
Etc.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was.
We can pretty much thank him.
Israel (21:51):
Yeah, I mean it points directly to his legacy.
That's very cool.
Matt (21:57):
Perhaps Bill Semmler's most enduring contribution to
Moquina was his tirelessactivism for the improvement of
Wolf Road, arguably thevillage's most important
thoroughfare.
Much like those leading awayfrom the heart within the human
body, a vital artery is thelifeblood of a community.
(22:17):
The vibrancy of a villagedepends on it, as do the
livelihoods of the merchantstherein.
An impassable road spellsstagnation and despair for any
neighborhood, and no one wasmore aware of this than Bill
Semmler.
Through his resolute,unflagging work, wolf Road went
from a muddy path to a modernpassage.
(22:39):
For much of Moquina's earlyexistence, what would later be
known as Wolf Road was barelymore than a rural farm lane,
known as Marty Road after afamily that farmed along it.
Well into the early 20thcentury, bill and Margaret's
daughter Ada, remembered how, inanything less than perfect
(23:00):
weather, the road was real muddy, rocky and tough.
Bill Semmler loathed theseconditions with a passion, often
risking getting harassed inWolf Road while traveling north
to Orland Park to collect news.
Thus began his personal questto bring the road into modernity
.
Through his local networkingskills, bill was able to win
(23:24):
over important allies in thisdrive.
In his corner were CharlesHirsch, a cattleman and farmer
along the road, and JV Hall, aneighbor to Hirsch, who kept a
small restaurant.
Other influential friends ofSemmler's who pitched in to help
were LG Bruder, a Chicagobusinessman and Moquina resident
(23:46):
, and AML Cappell, a localfarmer who also served as
Frankfurt Township HighwayCommissioner.
These men, with Bill Semmler astheir leader, formed the
Moquina Development and HardRoad Association in the early
1920s.
By December 1926, not only didthe Moquina territory not have
(24:08):
any hard roads to speak of, butit also had the dubious
distinction of also not beingconnected to any.
The association held regularevening meetings at the Village
Schoolhouse and, through muchperseverance, succeeded in
convincing property owners northof town in Cook County that the
concreting of Wolf Road wouldbenefit them.
(24:30):
Through lobbying on their part,the neighboring county's Board
of Commissioners was persuadedto include the section of the
road from 143rd Street south tothe county line on a paving
program.
All things considered, however,this new hard road still tapered
off well north of Moquina.
(24:51):
Bill Semmler and his fighterstriumphed when a Will County
bond was passed for the pavingof the rest of the length
through town.
With the task ready to becompleted, what the news
bulletin later called a spiritedfight broke out over which
route the new road should follow.
(25:11):
Some local block supported theconstruction of a brand new
artery following a convolutedroute from east of New Lenox
through Moquina, along FrontStreet, then continuing further
eastward until it linked up withKeen Avenue or today's Route 45
.
Bill Semmler and by extensionthe news bulletin, found this
(25:33):
route totally unreasonable andtirelessly promoted, staying
with the plan of completing WolfRoad south to the Lincoln
Highway, in the words of hisdaughter Ada.
In this period, the entireproject became a political
football, with strife aboundingbetween Moquina factions and the
Will County Board ofSupervisors, which ultimately
(25:55):
held up the paving of the gapfor several years.
Meanwhile, the first concretewas poured north of town on
October 15, 1930, and when thesection was finished a month
later, a special ribbon cuttingceremony was held at St Mary's
Hall.
Bill still worked to have thelast segment from Hickory Creek
(26:17):
south to Lincoln Highwayfinished, but the dust wouldn't
ultimately settle until theautumn of 1936 due to a property
dispute of epic proportionswith farmer Clarence M Cleveland
.
During the trying days of WorldWar II, the Semmler family
opened their hearts to thecommunity and made sure that
(26:39):
every local service man andwoman had a friend Partnering up
with the auxiliary to theWilliam Martin post of the VFW.
They saw to it that everyMoquina soldier, sailor or
marine regularly received a freecopy of the news bulletin by
Christmas time 1943, thisoperation had become so big that
(27:02):
area residents were flummoxedas to how the Semmlers were
pulling it off.
Many curious requests werecoming into the news bulletin,
wondering about the details.
So the column that appeared inthe December 17th edition
gingerly said that anexplanation had, here to fore,
been held back as we do not carefor credit, our only aim and
(27:23):
satisfaction being to know thatour boys in the service of our
country are receiving the paperand enjoying it.
However, to satisfy readers,the piece did go on to lay out
how it was all done.
Aside from the news bulletin,the Semmlers Orland Park Herald
and Tinley Park Times were alsobeing posted, and while there
(27:45):
had been some reports of hiccupswith delivery, generally the
papers were finding theirrecipients.
In the very beginning of theeffort, adeline and Ada Semmler
handled all of the addressing ofthe paper's wrappers themselves
, with some help pitched in byMargaret.
As the project grew, this partof the work was taken over by
(28:05):
local volunteers, and everyThursday evening the papers
would be packed into theaddressed wrappers by more town
volunteers.
Among them were some patrioticMoquina children who gave their
time to the effort.
Ever thankful for their time,margaret rewarded the kids with
hot chocolate at the newsbulletin office.
The postage for all of thepapers no trifling amount was
(28:29):
taken care of by the village'sauxiliary to the VFW.
At the conflict's height, some700 complimentary copies of
similar presses.
Papers were being sent to allcorners of the globe, wherever
fighting men and women fromMoquina and the neighboring
communities were located, bethey well behind the front lines
(28:50):
or at the front.
During the course of the war,touching thank you letters
flooded Moquina for the simlers,many of which came enclosed
with photos of the servicepeople who wrote them.
On June 12, 1943, privateSherwin Lease penned a note that
partially read Dear Mr Semler,this is the first I have written
(29:11):
to you, although I should havedone so long ago.
I am now in North Africa andhave received two news bulletins
since I have been here.
Although they meant a greatdeal to me in the States, they
mean so much more now.
On December 28 of the same year, navy man and village trustee
John Marty wrote from MaryIsland, california.
(29:32):
A few lines read Dear Bill, itsure is swell when Tuesday comes
around, for that is the day thebulletin arrives.
I always look forward toreading all the news from
hometown folks.
You sure are doing a grand jobfor us fellows in the service,
as it sure means a lot to us tohear what's going on in the old
hometown.
(29:52):
By the time the autumn ofNovember 1944 rolled around, the
news bulletin was reporting onservice men and women so much
that it was beginning to pushout other local news.
On September 21, billpersonally authored a column
assuring readers that other newswas still wanted, deeming if
the news rates first page, itwill be put there anyway, but
(30:15):
kindly asked the neighboringsports teams to simply summarize
their games, as the scores weretaking up too much space.
It was signed Yours for Victory, and Until Our Boys Eat
Hamburgers in Tokyo.
William Semler Editor.
As the years and decadesmarched on, the paper grew
exponentially and by 1943 itcould proudly boast a
(30:37):
circulation of around 3,000 ineastern Will County.
Meanwhile, the Tinley ParkTimes was doing so well that it
was necessary to open a separateoffice there in 1941.
The publications of the SemlerPress had become such a
time-honored institution that atthe end of 1944 they were
(30:58):
bestowed with the Certificate ofMerit from the Illinois Press
Association.
Bill Semler lost a hard battlewith cancer on June 8, 1946, at
the age of 59.
That's ended a chapter not onlyfor the Semler family but also
for .
Upon the news of his passingbeing made public, tributes
(31:21):
poured into town.
Illinois Senator Richard Barrcalled Bill a true American.
Well Will County Clerk JosephHartley rude.
I don't know a man I thoughtmore of than Bill Semler.
Everett Cooper, mayor ofMoquina, the scene of so many of
Bill's labors of love, saidthat in Bill's passing the
(31:44):
community has lost one of itsmost loyal citizens and a very
true friend.
Obituaries for him appeared inpapers as far off as Alton and
Decatur, while on June 14, theNews Bulletin itself dedicated
most of its large front page totheir editor in Black Bordered
Reportage under the title 30,which in journalistic parlance
(32:09):
signifies an end.
At the time of his passing,bill Semler was a member of the
Illinois Press Association, theCook County Publishers
Association, the Lions Club ofFrankfurt and was also the
chairman of the Moquina CivicAssociation's Publicity
Committee.
That year he was also includedin who's who in Chicago and
(32:32):
Illinois.
It was his final wish thatMargaret take the helm as
editor-in-chief of the NewsBulletin, which she faithfully
did, maintaining a goodnewspaper worthy of fine
American principles.
Running the publication was aHerculean effort.
So a managing editor, oliverGedeist, was hired by the Semler
(32:56):
family in early 1947.
He was introduced to Moquinaand the surrounding territory in
a column of the paper whereMargaret assured her neighbors
of his journalistic bona fidesand kindly urged readers to
cooperate with him.
Showing the homie spirit ofMoquina at the time, she invited
subscribers to personally callher with questions and also
(33:17):
wondered if there might be ahouse in town for Gedeist to
rent.
Even after Oliver Gedeistannounced himself in a section
of the paper and, well aware ofhis status as a newcomer in a
small town, warned Moquiniansthat he was bad with names,
gedeist was also acutelycognizant that he was following
in Bill's footsteps, writingthat in coming into this new
(33:41):
responsibility, it is my purposeto carry the responsibility in
such a way that the memory ofWilliam Semler will be
integrated in and be a basis forevery business transaction
conducted.
The Semler standard shall neverbe lowered, and that he did.
For week after week the paperwas the same quality as it
(34:01):
always was.
Meanwhile, the news bulletinmarched into the future.
In 1947, an addition was addedto the east side of the historic
office to house two newlinotype machines and a Miele
press.
This continued to boom, andanother extension to the old
place, this time on its northernside, was finished in the
(34:24):
spring of 1953 to house a duplexpress.
The new press weighed in at acolossal 13 tons and took a pair
of workers a month to install.
Their labor was worth it in theend, for the new equipment
carried an output of 3,508 pagepapers an hour.
(34:46):
As editor-in-chief, margaretSemler won well deserved laurels
for her work.
After publishing a specialsouvenir edition of the news
bulletin for the Mocchinahomecoming in the summer of 1949
, the Illinois Press Associationbestowed upon her the Mate E
Palmer award for that year,while the next year she received
(35:08):
the prestigious first prizefrom the National Convention of
Press Women at Reno, nevada.
For decades of selfless serviceto Mocchina, margaret Semler
retired in the spring of 1955,whereupon Glenn F Logan of
Juliet took over as managingeditor.
At this time, the news bulletincounted a circulation of around
(35:32):
3,500 and maintained a staff of10.
Margaret Semler ultimately soldthe paper in 1958 to Kenneth
Johnson, a Lamont-basedpublisher, who put out that
community's Lamont-er as well asthe Lockport Herald.
In addition to thesepublications, johnson would also
(35:53):
later found newspapers inDownersgrove and Naperville.
In 1960, he set up theFrankfurt leader and that year
added Mocchina to the newsbulletin's title.
After continuing to print thenews bulletin for most of the
rest of the decade, johnson soldhis holdings to field
enterprises who, in June 1969,merged the news bulletin and the
(36:18):
other local papers into theSouthwest graphic, after having
been in print for 50 years.
No small feat for a publicationwith such humble beginnings.
The last issue of the newsbulletin came off the press on
June 4, 1969.
Its front page containedstories touting the new graphic
(36:40):
and bemoaning high tax rates,and thus when the reader
finished the last page, it wasthe end of an era.
While staying in the hands ofthe Semler family, the paper's
old office on Mocchina's frontstreet would go on to house a
cork company and met an untimelyend in the fall of 1977, when
(37:02):
it was forever erased from thevillage's landscape.
Margaret Semler spent her lateryears in a Joliet retirement
community, always keeping hertrusty typewriter at hand and
surrounded by scrapbooks of herand her late husband's
achievements.
She has gone down as one of themost influential ladies in
Mocchina's history and to thisday she hasn't been equaled.
(37:25):
She passed away on March 4,1988, having reached 98 years.
The doyen of the village, theMocchina of the modern age, in
all of its progress andimprovement, is the legacy of
the Semler family and the newsbulletin.
The village owes their memorythe highest attention and
(37:47):
devotion.
As we honor our history, thework of the Semlers has become a
Rosetta Stone to the village'spast, without whose long efforts
over the decades this chroniclewould be dark and uncharted.
Through the news bulletin andtheir passion for Mocchina, the
Semler family's achievementshave brought them immortality.
Israel (38:12):
I think you sum that ending up just really well, oh
thanks.
You know, just displaying theimportance of this couple to
Mocchina.
Matt (38:23):
Yeah.
Israel (38:23):
You know as well as the surrounding area.
I mean you think about theother papers.
You know the Tinley Park paperthat they ran.
Yeah, absolutely, and you knowthey had.
Yeah, just as you said.
It's just an unbelievableeffect they've had on this
village.
Matt (38:37):
Yeah, they have, they really have, they have a big
influence.
Israel (38:42):
And I thought it was interesting.
You know they in the beginning,where they were encouraging
people to share their news.
You know it kind of reminded meof almost like the social media
today, like it was how peoplegot to tell you know who came to
dinner, who visited fromChicago.
Matt (38:59):
Yeah, absolutely.
Israel (39:00):
Or whatever it was.
Yeah, no, that's covered thepolitics and the gossip and the
yeah, that's absolutely true.
Matt (39:05):
activities yeah, 100%.
Yeah.
Yeah, they collected all thenews either just by going out
and physically collecting itthemselves, or by inviting
people to, like we were sayingto just contact them with so and
so was in town, or it's.
Israel (39:24):
It's funny stuff to read now, because you know who would
ever really care about who cameto visit, right Until you look
at Facebook.
Matt (39:32):
Yeah, exactly.
Israel (39:33):
Because people do the same thing now on Facebook right
, yeah, exactly, it's nodifferent.
I walked my dog you know orwhatever.
Exactly, it's 100% the same,which is really interesting.
I mean, how we change, you know, everything changes, but it all
stays the same.
Yeah, that's true, yeah, andfunny enough, I guess, in all
the talking we've done aboutthis, I've always, you know
(39:54):
always called it the Mokina NewsBulletin, right, right, and it
wasn't until the very end thatthey added Mokina into the title
.
So that was interesting andI'll try to correct.
Matt (40:06):
Oh no, yeah, I'm sure years ago people did the same
thing.
I mean, after all, it was theMokina paper, right and yeah,
not too many people probablyknow that offhand now Right,
right but.
Israel (40:17):
Exactly, and I thought it was really interesting, when
they're talking about thesuccess of Mokina, that Bill put
the weight of the progress onthe businessmen.
Yeah, put it on the citizens orthe politicians.
He put it on the businessmen,right, yeah, yeah, and I don't
(40:39):
know.
I guess that's true today,right, unless you have people
willing to come in and invest.
You know, when you think aboutour downtown, that is less than
lively.
Matt (40:46):
Right, yeah.
Israel (40:49):
Yeah, so it's interesting.
What are you knowing the amountof time that you spent looking
at these old papers?
What do you think that thecommunity, or our community, is
missing by not having somethinglike that paper?
Matt (41:03):
Oh, wow.
I, first and foremost, I thinka paper brings like a sense of
unity and togetherness and it'sall of us together for our
community, kind of somethinglike that.
With the extinction of theMokina messenger few years ago
(41:25):
during the COVID times, I rueits loss and I feel its absence.
And, yeah, having a paper in acommunity is just like one of
the most important things youcan have, not only because it
reports the news and what'shappening and people are up to
date on what's happening intheir community, but, like I was
(41:48):
saying, yeah, there's justsomething about having a
hometown publication that Ithink brings about this
togetherness or this unity andhopefully somebody will step
into that void.
Israel (42:06):
Yeah, thinking about it, do you see a time where there
is a type of a physicalpublication again or somebody
putting out something similar tothis?
You know, a modern version.
Matt (42:21):
Yeah, I do, I do.
I can't say who it would be.
People have suggested that Ishould do it, which I'm honored
by, but I just I have neitherthe time nor the resources.
Israel (42:36):
Well, that's the big thing.
I mean, it's a resource,exactly.
Matt (42:39):
Exactly.
Israel (42:41):
I mean, there's not a big market for newspapers right
now.
Better physical, Everything ispretty much gone digital.
Matt (42:48):
Yeah, exactly.
Israel (42:51):
But it's an interesting thought.
Matt (42:52):
It is yeah.
Israel (42:53):
There's something about picking up a paper off your
driveway.
I also thought it was reallyinteresting when we talked about
the proposed road, and one ofthe routes that I mentioned was
going through New Lenox, throughFront Street and connecting
over to 45 to LaGrange RoadRight right For one, that would
(43:17):
have been a huge change to.
Molquina and what we know it,connecting to a major road like
that, it would have been atotally different downtown.
Oh yeah, it would have changedeverything.
Matt (43:29):
It would have been crazy, yeah, the amount of work that
would have had to have gone intothat, the construction.
Israel (43:35):
Sure, it would have probably stripped most of the
historic buildings through FrontStreet.
Probably, yeah, it would havebeen gone.
Matt (43:42):
Yeah, luckily Mr Semler, bill Semler was not really a fan
of this idea and used hispublication to sort of promote
Wolf Road.
Yeah, instead of constructing anew road, let us use Wolf Road.
And if you look at all thepapers through that whole time
(44:05):
frame of the 20s going into the30s by the time the whole thing
was done, it was just this huge,never-ending project of
lobbying and politics andgetting the funding for this and
getting the property rights topave or not really pave but
concrete this stretch of theroad.
Israel (44:26):
And it was just this monumental, gigantic project
that carried on for years andyears and years and in
comparison, we just got througha project where the bridge over
I-80 on the road was down for anumber of months and caused
terrible turmoil, absolutely, Imean.
(44:47):
People went out of their way.
Routes changed all this stuff.
Matt (44:50):
Yeah.
Israel (44:51):
But we have Wolf Road back and it's not a muddy trail.
Matt (44:54):
No.
Israel (44:56):
We can't even imagine what life would have been with a
road like that and how muchthat road changed Moquina.
That's 100% true.
Matt (45:05):
Yeah, every time I drive down Wolf Road I think of the
Semler family and Bill Semlerand let me just put this out
there In Tinley Park there is aSemler Drive or Semler Street or
Avenue or whatever in one ofthe subdivisions out in Tinley,
(45:26):
because he played a part in thehistory of their community as
well.
But he was a Moquina man andfirst and foremost he was a
Moquinian and he dedicated hislife to working here and making
Moquina a better place for us tolive and there is no street or
road or anything named after himor his family here so we can
(45:47):
put that out there.
Maybe some day, hopefully inthe not too distant future, we
can change that.
Israel (45:55):
I mean, you can't think of too many better names that
should be unassigned.
50 years of being the paper ofrecord for our town and 50
consequential years that they'reresponsible for, that's true.
So Bill died on June 8th of1944 at the young age of 59
(46:19):
years old.
Matt (46:20):
That's right, yeah 1946.
Israel (46:24):
1946.
And then the paper stayedaround until June 4th of 1969.
Matt (46:33):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, mrs Semler kept it up after.
After Mr Semler, bill passedaway, like we were saying,
tragically young really it wascancer, but she was already kind
of unofficially the co-editorof the paper anyway.
But she took over being incharge and running the show
(46:55):
herself, kept going all the wayup there until the end of the
1950s when she retired and soldthe paper to the Lamont
publisher and then they kept itup and finally, yeah, very last
issue in 1969.
So that's 50 years of historythat it preserved.
Israel (47:12):
And did anybody kind of pick up the torch after that?
Was there another paper goingon at that time?
Matt (47:18):
Not really.
There was a Moquina paper inthe early 70s for a very brief
time Of course.
Now I can't remember the nameof it.
It was not around very long ofthe Moquina Herald maybe.
Unfortunately, all the detailsof who was running that and you
know, all of the background infois not known to me.
(47:40):
And then there was the.
Was it the Frankfurt Star Formost of the 80s?
I think it might have went backinto the 70s a little.
They carried a lot of Moquinanews though, but the only paper
(48:00):
after the Semmlers that was aMoquina paper in name and was
sort of like a Moquina first andforemost kind of thing was
independent news, which wasfounded in 2001.
It was kind of a long timeafter 1969, which was editor was
(48:22):
a Moquinian by the name of BobBaker who ran that for a fair
amount of time in the early2000s.
Israel (48:29):
And then, when does the Moquina messenger come around?
Matt (48:35):
Moquina messenger.
If I remember correctly, theirfirst issue was in 2007.
Israel (48:40):
And what was the setup with that?
Was that part of conglomerateand a bigger newspaper?
Matt (48:47):
Yeah, yeah, they were part .
The messenger was part of aconglomerate called 22nd Century
Media who owned and ran allsorts of local papers out in
this neck of the woods there was, I think the Frankfurt paper by
them was the Frankfurt station,I want to say.
Then there was the NuleticsAmerican and the Orland
(49:09):
something or other, I can'tremember, but yeah, that was a
conglomerate, 22nd Century MediaI think they even they had
papers out in other portions ofthe state.
They weren't strictly like aEastern Will County, Southern.
Israel (49:23):
And did they have somebody local here running the
paper?
How does that work?
Matt (49:30):
Yeah, they did.
They had an office 22nd CenturyMedia's office was right, I
guess.
Technically that was an Orlandaddress, but it was just
immediately north of what youwould call the Borgher between
Mochina and and Orland and theyhad.
They had quite a few editorsactually over the years Last.
(49:55):
The final editor of the Mochinamessenger was a Mochina guy by
the name of Tom Kramer, who is Istill know, no, actually is a
co-worker of mine now.
So we I knew him from my daysof submitting History articles
to the paper, and I still workwith them nowadays.
Excuse me, still a Mokinaresidence.
(50:19):
So, yeah, so that that was thegood thing.
I mean, there there were localpeople working on the messenger
too.
Yeah, yeah, they weren't, youknow, out of town or anything.
Israel (50:28):
Yeah, well, and it's you know, you never know.
I mean, we got, we got thepaper and always enjoyed it, but
you never, I never fullyunderstood where it's coming
from.
I knew it wasn't a True localpaper, but it was Mokina's paper
.
Yeah, as far as being yeah,sure, yeah, but yeah, definitely
missed when that went away.
(50:49):
Yeah, me too, yeah, and.
I always enjoyed the greathistory stories that you shared.
Matt (50:53):
Oh thanks.
Israel (50:54):
Definitely sparked my interest for Mokina history.
Oh yeah, as good.
So this you know, probably theOne of the most consequential
stories you know.
Matt (51:05):
That will tell yeah absolutely the story of the.
Israel (51:08):
Summars.
Thank you, matt, for sharingthis.
Thank you for putting thisrecord together.
Matt (51:13):
Thanks for having me.
Yeah, absolutely, You'rewelcome.
Israel (51:15):
Yeah as you said, you know, hopefully we can get more,
more recognition for thiscouple, maybe a name on the
street something Please, andyeah, for those you know board
members, village trustees,whoever it is let's let's
recognize these significantmembers of our past.
(51:38):
Absolutely, I'm 100% behind it.
Yeah, yeah, all right, matt,thanks again.
This is a great story.
Thank you.
I love telling it.
Hope you enjoyed part two ofthe episode about the Summler
family and the Mokina NewsBulletin.
As we've said all through theepisode, this couple is very
important to Mokina.
They have a great story and weowe so much of what we know
(52:02):
today, what Matt's done, whatwe've been able to do so much
that leads back To the Summlersand the work they did over the
50 years that the newspaper wasReporting here.
So again, we hope you enjoyedthat.
Matt has a four-part series onhis blog that these episodes
were based on, so please checkthat out as well.
(52:24):
He had some great photos inthere.
Some of those will share on ourFacebook page as well, but you
can check those out on his blogas well as read the full
four-part Story.
And be sure to subscribe toMatt's blog.
You'll find the link in ourshow notes, but you'll get
notifications when the new blogposts come out and just some
(52:45):
really interesting stuff there.
Matt's been posting for anumber of years now and just
some great articles on there.
If you're enjoying our podcastit really travels by word of
mouth.
If you're enjoying our show,please consider just telling a
friend or a neighbor about it.
We would love it if you'd leaveus a review on Spotify or Apple
podcasts, amazon podcasts oranywhere that you can find a
(53:08):
podcast.
Those reviews really help out alot and get us in front of more
people.
If you know someone that youthink we should talk to or ideas
for the show, please send us anemail at Mokina's front porch,
at gmailcom, or send us amessage on Facebook.
We hope you enjoyed our firstyear of episodes and we look
forward to many more.
So thanks for listening and wewill see you next time on
(53:32):
Mokina's front porch.
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