Handbook N-P - Fulton County Public Library

Ov
* Ruth Farlow Uyesugi, who for more than 40 years was the sponsor of the student
newspaper at Paoli High School, Mrs. Uyesugi last year concuded 43 years as sponsor of The
Poliate, an All-American award winning high school newspaper. She taught not only how to write
and to report, but also taught journalism ethics. Her past students now are all over the world and
carry her influence with them.
OVERMYER BIO
Jack K. Overmyer went to work for what then was The News-Sentinel while he still was
in Rochester High School. He was sports editor of the newspaper during this his senior year and
for a year after his 1941 graduation was its city editor.
He then left for Indiana University and while attending college also was for three years
the university’s athletic publicity director. During that time, I.U. in 1945 won its first Big Ten
football championship.
Leaving I.U. in 1946, Overmyer went to work for The Indianapolis Star and for the next
six years edited its sports pages and covered Big Ten and Indiana collegiate sports, Indianapolis
Kautskys and Olympians professional basketball, Indianapolis Indians baseball and Indianapolis
Caps hockey.
He returned to Rochester in 1952 as managing editor of The News-Sentinel, became
editor of the renamed Rochester Sentinel in 1966 and assumed full ownership in 1976.
He has passed management of The Sentinel to another generation but continues to write
his weekly column, Considered Comment. His daughter, Sarah, is the newspaper’s publisher and
her husband, W. S. Wilson is its editor.
His wife, the former Margery Hodson of South Bend, writes a monthly food column for
The Sentinel and once served as its lifestyles editor. The couple met at Indiana University and
have been married 52 years.
They have three other daughters: Laura Nelson, LaGrange; Betsy Madlem, Rochester,
and Jenny Overmyer, Indianapolis; and three grandchildren, Jack Oldroyd of Elkhart and Luke
and Hannah Wilson of Rochester. Another grandson, Robbie Nelson, died in 1989.
[Rochester Sentinel, Wednesday, December 23, 1998]
OVERMYER JOINS JOURNALISM HALL OF FAME
* * * * * Photo * * * * *
Jack K. Overmyer, president and owner of The Rochester Sentinel, was inducted into the
Journalism Hall of Fame Saturday at DePauw University, Greencastle.
He and four other Hoosier journalists were honored.
His remarks of acceptance and thanks before the crowd at the Walden Inn:
“Except for the day that I was married (and that also was a Saturday) this is the proudest
day of my life.
“Being here has made me realize what a lucky man I am.
“Lucky because from the age of 16, I knew that I wanted to be a newspaperman.
“And, in the course of becoming one, lucky to have been inspired, encouraged, counseled
and befriended by superlative professionals such as Charley Hoover and Hugh Barnhart in
Rochester and by John Stempel, Wymond French and Ross Bartley at Indiana University.
“And lucky to have acquired as friends along the way so many outstanding colleagues,
each of whom contributed to the manner of my commitment to journalism: Corky Lamm, Dale
Burgess, Bill Fox, Lowell Nussbaum, Bob Early, Bo Connor, Al Spiers, Dick Cardwell, Jack
Scott, Tom Carnegie, Ed Ziegner. All but Corky wound up in the Hall of Fame and he should
have.
“I never have regretted choosing a career in small town community journalism. There
one is closest to the readers he tries to serve and, perhaps, influence. Being editor of The
Rochester Sentinel under such circumstances was a joy, thanks in no small measure to the good
people of Rochester and Fulton County. Their responses to The Sentinel’s attention to local
affairs has been, and continues to be, constant and positive.