Page VI

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many people and sources made "Century of Stories" possible, not the least of which was the management of
The Janesville Gazette.
Editor Scott Angus, Managing Editor Barb Uebelacker and General Manager David Johnson got behind the
project and did not flinch when it involved more time, money and column inches than originally anticipated.
Uebelacker also was the primary editor for "Century of Stories" and regularly devoted extra time to catching
not only mistakes in grammar and syntax but also holes and incongruities in the stories.
Published sources for the material were diverse.
"The American Century" by Harold Evans provided the overarching historical context, and The World Book
Encyclopedia and The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of World War II answered specific questions.
"City on the Rock River: Chapters in Janesville's History," written for the Janesville Historic Commission by
Carol Lohry Cartwright, Randal Waller and Scott Shaffer, proved a most valuable resource.
Also providing valuable information were other locally written chronicles: "History of the Janesville Fire
Department" by Judy (Hladky) Sheridan; "UAW 50 Years" by Richard Costerisan, Howard A. Milbrandt and
John O'Meara, and "The Janesville 99" by Dale R. Dopkins.
The Rock County Historical Society, Hedberg Public Library and city of Janesville
also provided information and, in the case of the library and historical society, photographs and posters to
illustrate "Century of Stories."
"Century of Stories" would not have been nearly as complete without local voices offering context and
comment, and I'd like to thank all the people who graciously gave their time to be interviewed.
Several were centenarians, and of those, three regularly contributed: Mae Thompson, Evansville; Ella Dunbar,
Footville, and Mayme Simonsen, Janesville. In the course of the year it took to research and write "Century of
Stories," Dunbar, 103, and Simonsen, 102, passed away. I'm grateful to have been able to share their recollections
with Gazette readers.
The heart and soul of "Century of Stories" were Century Notes, and for the bulk of them, I am indebted to the
staff of The Janesville Gazette, past and present, because it was their work that I researched and encapsulated.
Several past and present staff members directly contributed to "Century of Stories," either in the form of
previous stories that were republished or new articles created specifically for the retrospectives.
My thanks to Jeff Bollier, Marcia Nelesen, Stan Milam, Anna Marie Lux, Judy Immel and especially Sid
Schwartz, who stepped up many times to help.
Beverly Mink, newsroom clerk/typist, helped considerably by retyping stories previously published.
A special thank-you goes to Andrew Beaumont, who designed "Century of Stories" in its newspaper form and
helped find and select much of the artwork. Besides his graphic duties, Beaumont also edited copy, wrote
headlines and photo captions and offered a big shoulder to lean on when the hours got long.
Another special thanks goes to my life companion, Anna Lee Moss, for all the time I spent with microfilmed
newspapers, time I could have spent with her.
Finally a thank-you to the folks at Terry Printing.. .especially the Terrys, Jack, Mark and Mary.. .for seeing the
potential of "Century of Stories" as a book and for the talent and time they devoted to making it a reality.
- Mike DuPre'