Obit: Baer, F. Joseph (1879 - 1936)

Contact: Ken Wood

Surnames: BAER ZINN

----Sources: MARSHFIELD NEWS HERALD (Marshfield, Wood Co., Wis.) 07/02/1936; P 7

Baer, F. Joseph (3 MAR 1879 - 29 JUN 1936)

NEILLSVILLE, Clark Co., Wis. - Funeral services for F. Joseph Baer, 56, pioneer Clark County newspaperman, whose tragic death Monday night shocked the community, were held this afternoon from the Masonic Temple, with the Rev. G.W. Longenecker officiating, and with burial in the Neillsville Cemetery.

Mr. Baer, or Joe, as he was known, started in the printing business 42 years ago, and worked at his trade in printing shops in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, before coming to Neillsville in 1900.

In 1904 he establish the Granton News at Granton, and within a few years made it one of the leading newspapers in the county. He was the first Clark County Editor to purchase and use a linotype in his plant, and according to the Publisher’s Auxiliary, was one of the first editors in the United States to install a linotype in a town of 500 population.

In 1921 he consolidated the Granton News with the Neillsville Times, Republican and Press, and with Levi Williamson and George Crothers as associates, operated the Neillsville Press.

In 1931 he sold his interests to the late Wallace Farrand, and with his wife he toured the west for a number of months. In 1933 he started construction of a commercial golf course located near the east city limits, which was called the Hawthorne Hills golf course.

In the fall of 1935, his love for the newspaper life again called him to active work and with a number of associate he organized and launched the Clark County Journal, which with his valuable experience has become one of Clark County’s most widely read weeklies.

A number of years ago, Mr. Baer’s health failed, which with financial reverses and worry over the illness of his only daughter, were largely responsible for his untimely death Monday night.

He is survived by his wife and a daughter, Mrs. Robert E. Zinn, Flossmoor, Ill.