Moving on with life

By Tony Staley
Compass Editor

With this issue of The Compass, a long relationship ends. This is the last paper that will be printed in Brookfield by Wisconsin Web Offset, which is owned by Frank and Agnes Wood of De Pere and their children.

The Woods are best known in Brown, Door and Kaukauna counties for their ownership of several newspapers, including the News Chronicle, which for more than 30 years competed as a daily newspaper against the much larger Press-Gazette.

The Wood family began printing The Compass 17½ years ago on their presses in Denmark, 16 miles south of Green Bay. Initially, they also set the type and pasted up our pages. Gradually, we took over total production of our own pages. With the sale of the Wood family's northeast Wisconsin operations to the Gannett Co. in mid-2004, printing of The Compass shifted from Denmark to their presses in Brookfield. Last week, we were notified that the Woods were selling the presses The Compass was printed on so they could concentrate on non-newspaper printing.

We have built a strong relationship with the Woods over the years. We looked to them for quality printing, technical advice, moral support and friendship. We regret losing any part of that relationship.

At the same time, we are confident that Metro Printing in Kaukauna will continue the tradition of quality printing. We look forward to a long and happy relationship.