Willis Harry Miller, until 1980 co-owner and editor of the Hudson Star-Observer (Hudson, Wisconsin), was born November 28, 1918, in Iowa City, Iowa, the son of Harry Willis Miller (1878-1942) and Ida Day Miller (1881-1962). Miller attended Saint Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, and while there, sang in the choir and worked in the archives of the Norwegian-American Historical Society. Upon graduation, he became associated with the Hudson Star-Observer and was one of the group which purchased the paper from Mrs. Charles A. Ward in 1958. Miller also published the Hammond News (Hammond, Wisconsin) and ran the Publishers Printing Service, a commercial job printing business.
During his lifetime, Miller has been an extensive world traveler. In conjunction with his travels, he has compiled many booklets and diaries of his impressions, some of which are included with his papers.
Miller has been active in a number of organizations including the Stamp Collectors' Exchange Club and the Wisconsin State Genealogical Society; has sung in barbershop quartets; and was one of the founders of the Saint Croix County Historical Society. He has donated numerous manuscripts and genealogies to historical societies throughout the United States, and has done considerable research on local history, an example of which is his Historic Hudson which was prepared to salute Hudson's centennial.
