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Marty McGowan Jr. was an award-winning editor/publisher of weekly newspapers in Appleton, Benson, and Blue Earth, Minnesota. He served in the Minnesota State Legislature and later was named chair of the Minnesota Ethical Practices Board.
Marty was the second of two children born to Martin and Olga Vieg McGowan. An older sister died shortly after birth. His mother died of tuberculosis before Marty was two years old. He was brought up by his grandmother,[1] until his father remarried.[2]
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Marty and his mother Olga. |
Marty attended Appleton public schools. During his school years, he was editor of the school paper, participated in class plays, declamation contests, and the tennis team, and sang bass in a men's quartet which went on to statewide music competition.[3]
He attended Notre Dame University[4] and graduated from the University of Missouri in 1943.[5]
During World War II after being rejected for military service due to allergies, he returned to Appleton to help his father publish the Appleton Press and learned how to operate a linotype machine.[6] He also served as a company clerk at the local National Guard Armory.
He married Appleton teacher Betty Nolan when he was 22 years old.[7] They were married for 66 years, and the parents of nine children.
After the war, Marty took on greater news responsibility at the Appleton Press, so that his father could ease up on responsibilities as his health declined. Marty became editor and publisher upon his father's death.[8]
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In his office at the Appleton Press. |
He was elected to the Minnesota State Legislature for four terms representing Swift County from 1959 to 1967.[9]Legislators were elected on a non-partisan basis at the time, and Marty was a member of the Liberal Caucus. He worked unsuccessfully to pass a newspaper shield law to protect journalists from disclosing news sources, and attempted to stave off a state sales tax when he was a minority member of the Tax Committee.[10]
In addition to the Appleton paper, Marty bought the newspapers in Benson, Minnesota, in 1960. After operating papers in two towns and spending several months each year in the legislature, he decided to ease up on his responsibilities and sell the Benson newspapers in 1962.[11] About the same time, the Appleton Press was named the best small weekly newspaper in Minnesota by the Minnesota Newspaper Association under his editorship.[12]
In 1966, Marty accepted a position with KTCA public television station in St. Paul, as a grants writer and government liaison.[13]Among his projects was a program, "Seminars for Seniors," which he also moderated. After the family moved from Appleton to St. Paul, he was urged to run again for the state legislature from a district in that city, but was not elected.
Marty returned to newspaper work in 1970 invited as a partner in a weekly newspaper in New Richmond, Wisconsin. The partnership was unsuccessful, and Marty then purchased the newspaper in Blue Earth, Minnesota.[14] Marty also bought two smaller papers in nearby communities, the Elmore Eye, and the Winnebago Enterprise.[15] For a time, Marty's son Vince joined him on the paper with the title of managing editor. Betty also helped run the paper, selling advertising, collecting bills, and taking photographs.
Although many conservative residents of Blue Earth "did not take kindly to my more liberal ideas," [16] the business prospered for several years.
Marty was also a long-time ham radio operator with the call sign W0UGV. He received the DX Century Club award given by the American Radio Relay League several times for connecting with hams in 100 different countries in one year.[17]
In 1978, Marty sold the Blue Earth papers, and took a position as news director at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota, and later as an account representative for Volkmuth Printing in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
In retirement, Mary and Betty built a home on Pelican Lake, near Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. The property had been in Betty's family since her grandfather Henry Theviot had purchased it.
Marty served as chair of the Minnesota Ethical Practices board for two terms. The board supervised the reporting of campaign contributions and lobbying spending reports.[18] He covered County Board meetings for the Lake Region Echo in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, until his health prevented him from working.[19]
Marty and Betty later moved to the Lyngblomsten retirement community in Saint Paul. Marty died at age 88,[20] and is buried in the McGowan family plot in Appleton Cemetery, Appleton, Minnesota.
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M > McGowan > Martin James McGowan Jr.
Categories: Silent Keys | Appleton, Minnesota | Journalists | Weekly Newspaper Publishers | Minnesota House of Representatives | Blue Earth, Minnesota | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Appleton Cemetery, Appleton, Minnesota | Notables | Appleton, Minnesota One Place Study
While Marty III gave such a touching tribute to Marty Jr. at the funeral, I wanted to share a few memories that I have from a sister’s point of view. …. One of my first memories is of how handsome Marty was! I remember seeing him at Oscar Lilivejen’s gas station, when I must have been about five, and thinking what a good-looking brother I had. .. . We had a good time in the Brainerd lake area after Marty and Betty’s wedding. Mary Jo and I discovered the gambling machines while our parents celebrated at dinner. After a poor beginning, Mary Jo and I gave up gambling for life. I remember great Sunday treats at the Candy Kitchen, after Sunday mass….Aunt Gerty was there, along with any of Marty’s children who had reached the appropriate age I appreciated the many trips Marty made to far-away football games. I think the old Kaiser-Fraiser was sort of a Press car, and I suspect that he was coerced into taking my friends and me. I’m sure that he was not interested in our stories in the back seat. . . When Dad was ill, Marty came to the house so often, and consulted on the running of the Press. When Dad died, he was so impressive in how he handled both his grief and the publication of the Press at the same time. He managed a business and a growing family with grace. Marty came to visit me when we discovered that I had TB. I’m suspect that it reminded him of the how his mother had died. .. .I was touched when he came to see me. Marty made endless trips to Minneapolis with my mother and me. He could hurry back and forth in a day, while if my mother or I drove, we would go between 30 to 60 miles an hour and stop in Litchfield for lunch. Marty visited several of my apartments in Minneapolis, and I was so proud to have him walk me down the aisle at my wedding. He still looked handsome! We were so happy when Marty and Betty came to visit in Westborough, and after our children were grown, we were able to travel to visit him at Lingblomsten. . .. Marty and Betty always called me on my birthday, and we called him on his. I’ll miss those calls. While we were far apart in age, I was so proud to call him my brother!