PHOTO OF THE DAY: ONCE UPON A TIME

That’s longtime Freeman Courier Publisher J.J. Mendel seated at the Linotype in his newspaper office sometime in the mid-1950s. The picture comes from the collection of negatives given to Heritage Hall Museum & Archives by photographer Willard Waltner, who from the middle to later part of the 20th century made thousands of images using a large-format camera for both commercial and personal use. This shot of Mendel was toward the end of what was almost a 60-year career at the helm of the Courier; Mendel published his first issue in June of 1902 and his last in December of 1960, when he sold the paper to brothers Glenn and Vernon Gering.

During Mendel’s time as publisher, the Courier was located on the site that today serves as Hootz bar on the west end of City Hall. After the Gerings purchased the paper it moved to Pine Hill Printery on Sixth Street and, after it was sold to Tim L. Waltner in 1984, the Courier moved downtown.

Linotype technology was phased out beginning in the 1970s. One can be seen at Heritage Hall Museum & Archives, which made this photo available to The Courier.