Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
Most newspapers nowadays are owned by non-family corporations.
The people who own them don’t run them. The people who run them don’t own them.
Often, there’s not an office in the town where they operate. Phone calls aren’t answered by a person you know or will ever meet.
When you ask where the buck stops, good luck in finding where.
For that matter, most media companies are nebulous conglomerates, whether they are print, radio, television or even social media.
Seymour’s isn’t.
It’s owned by a family. My family.
Last week, I learned that first hand.
Early last week, I suffered another heart attack, my second in three years. A hospital visit and surgery ensued, and I’ve since added another pair of stents to my heart.
For those who previously thought I was “heartless,” think again; I’ve got one, but it’s a hot mess.
Yet the experience was a blessing of sorts, albeit I’d have preferred said blessing arrived in a different format.
The experience rallied my family. It showed me how much they love this business, this community and me.
While I was laid up in the hospital, my two sons, Robert and William, led the charge. Rob took off his boots for the city’s water department and put on his journalism visor, while Will immediately trekked from his fancy advertising agency in a Kansas City skyscraper and joined his big brother at the Citizen office in his hometown.
The week before the Seymour Apple Festival is a huge one at the Citizen, typically the biggest week of the year. Not only is there a paper to put out the following week and lots of specialized printing, there’s also the “apple tab,” as we call it — sort of an information guide for the festival.
Most years, it’s 16 or 20 pages. This year, it’s 32 pages.
Not because of me.
Had I not decided to go on the disabled list, you would be reading a 20-page guide this year. But in my absence, Rob, Will and my young office manager, Lilli Hickey, who also happens to be Rob’s significant other, produced the best festival guide in my 29 years at the Citizen. It’s a masterpiece. They deserve all the credit — from the design and layout to the writing and advertising sales.
They are my family. And as families often do in times of need, they stepped up.
The thing is, in this instance, family doesn’t end there. It also includes you.
Over the past week, Lilli and the boys told me of countless calls and visits to the office, as the callers and visitors from our community asked how they could help. Offers ranged from answering phones to watching the office, gathering news to getting food. Prayers came in abundance.
All from my family. My Seymour family. It’s a big tribe.
A few years ago at my surprise 50th birthday party held at the Seymour YMCA, I told those attending that my life was akin to George Bailey, the main character from the classic movie “It’s A Wonderful Life.” I wasn’t wrong. I am living George’s life, and accordingly, Seymour is fictional Bedford Falls, minus the fiction.
Looking forward, I know that when my days at the Citizen end, Seymour won’t lose its newspaper. Moreover, it will remain locally owned, produced by people who grew up here and who love this community as much as I do. They will do so with the same community support I’ve always had after coming here as a 24-year-old kid.
Under the reins of the Wehmer boys, it likely will be a better newspaper than the one I’ve led, as my children were born here and grew up in this office on the west side of the square, rode their bikes for the first time on Seymour’s sidewalks and often fell asleep as toddlers in the back of this building. Although I didn’t see it as each son wanted to pursue their own course in early adulthood, they were raised with ink in their veins. It showed last week.
If you see the “Three Amigos,” Rob, Will and Lilli, out and about at the festival this week, realize they’ve produced the publications you’re reading. Each deserves a pat on the back for their collective efforts.
Years ago, Kirk Penner of The Seymour Bank, in writing his post-festival thank you for the “chicken shack,” noted that the festival is Seymour’s annual family reunion. He was and is spot on. Although the event now draws 100,000+ people over three days, for those who call Seymour home, it’s a once-a-year family event.
That said, as you attend this year’s festival, remember that. When you get annoyed waiting 30 minutes or more for the festival’s one-of-a-kind corndogs, take perspective. Treat it as a special occasion where you’re fortunate to see many people you love.
I sure will.
Because when you really think about it, the festival is Seymour’s family business.
Just like mine is.
Dan Wehmer is the Citizen’s editor, publisher and owner. He can be reached at 417-935-2257 or via e-mail at citizen@ webstercountycitizen.com. This column was originally published in the Sept. 10, 2025 edition of the newspaper.
