One era ends, another begins for Herald

After 68 years, the Tecumseh Herald has changed hands.

Jim Lincoln, who has served as editor and publisher for the newspaper since 1991, announced this week that Rex Crist has purchased the newspaper, its Downtown Printing arm, and Homefront magazine.

“I’m very excited for the future of the paper and Homefront,” Lincoln said Monday. “Rex is making a big investment in Lenawee County and I think he’s going to be really good for our community.”

Crist, who purchased the Blissfield Advance from Marsha Loader in December, has Lightning Quick stores in 12 local communities. He also owns Raisin Valley Golf Course just south of Tecumseh, Wolf Creek Golf Course in Adrian, the Springbrook Commons plaza in Blissfield, and recently purchased the former Borchardt Brothers grocery store, which is located there.

“The bottom line is that I wanted the newspaper in Blissfield to stay local and not be sold to somebody out of Dallas or Chicago or anything like that,” Crist said. “I think our local papers with our local news are important.”

Lincoln said his initial meeting with Crist happened when he approached Lincoln about printing the Advance. From there, he said, they began talking about the possibility of Crist purchasing the Tecumseh newspaper.

“We had a handshake agreement and then signed a purchase agreement in January,” Lincoln said. “We closed last Friday.”

Crist said he was impressed by the Herald’s operation.

“This is a well-run paper,” he said. “I don’t want to mess with perfection. The only thing we might do is update a little bit of the equipment, computers, stuff like that. But as far as what’s going on, I think it’s been well run and we want to keep doing just that.”

Crist said he has a commitment to Lenawee County. He spent the first 14 years of his life in Tecumseh, then moved to Blissfield.

“I graduated from Blissfield, but I have some fond memories of Tecumseh so both places carry a place in my heart,” he said. “I live in Adrian now, and my kids graduated from Adrian. I have twelve stores in 12 different communities in the county, so it’s a tie to the whole area.”

Lincoln said Crist has spent several weeks at the paper, speaking with employees at staff meetings and getting to know everyone.

“There won’t be any staff changes except for Sharon Maher and Jackie Koch,” he said.

Maher, currently the advertising director, will step into the publisher’s spot, while Koch will become editor.

“I think it’s a positive move,” Maher said. “I’m encouraged that a local person purchased the business. Rex is someone who values local news.”

Maher, who has worked at the Herald for 10 years, said she is “excited and honored that Jim has the confidence in me to recommend I become publisher.

“I’m glad Jim is able to retire,” she said. “He’s worked here a long time and it’s good to know he is comfortable with the sale. I’m also excited for both Jackie and me. Jackie is an experienced journalist and she’ll do a great job leading the editorial staff.”

Koch said she is excited to see where the Herald can go.

“For nearly nine years my career has been greatly influenced by Jim Lincoln, who not only produced an outstanding community newspaper but mentored me as a freelance writer who turned into a full-time journalist,” Koch said. “From the day of my job interview when my car broke down a block away and he offered to drive me back home after hiring me, to every day since, he’s been a stand-up guy who focuses on what’s truly important — looking out for people and treating them with kindness and compassion.”

Lincoln’s father, Jim C. Lincoln, worked for a weekly newspaper in Willard, Ohio. He was friends with Tom Riordan who worked for a Greenwich, Ohio newspaper. The two towns are located between Sandusky and Mansfield, in the eastern half of the Buckeye State.

“They knew each other and used to talk about how nice it would be to own their own newspaper,” Lincoln said. “The Herald was owned by Earl Wickwire then and Dad and Tom came up here to look around. Tom had a wife and a child and my parents had my sister, Kay. Mom grew up in Detroit and she liked to tell me that one of the first things she saw in Tecumseh was Ernie Van Fleet delivering groceries with his horse and wagon.”

The two couples liked what they saw. The senior Lincoln and Riordan bought the paper in 1957. Lincoln was born four years later. His mom, Dorothy, a.k.a. “Dot,” found a position as a teacher in the Tecumseh school district.

“I started out when I was in seventh grade scraping waxed paper scraps off the floor with a razor blade and stuffing papers on Wednesdays,” Lincoln said. “I had a paper route delivering the Toledo Blade, and when I was in eighth grade, I began taking pictures for the Herald. In high school, I joined the yearbook staff.

“Mom and Dad encouraged me to follow my dreams,” Lincoln said. “And I did — right back to Tecumseh. Dad told me if I was interested, there was a place for me.”

After his first year at Alma College, where he earned a degree in journalism in 1983, Lincoln said, “I knew this is the kind of town I wanted to live in and write about.

“Tecumseh felt right,” he said. “I’ve always loved living here.”

He said his mom, who died in July 2023, planted a seed in his mind shortly before she passed.

“She said I should begin thinking about when I should sell the paper,” Lincoln said. “The time came around faster than I expected, but this is a good time for me to pass the torch.

“There always has been good, positive energy in Tecumseh, and good people. It really made it a rewarding place to put a newspaper together,” he said.

“We’ve tried to have a paper that shows the positive side of Tecumseh. And that’s what made my job such a pleasure. We’ve got such a great town. It’s because of the people that live and work here.”
Lincoln said he believes Crist is a good fit as the next owner of the paper.

“He will look after the paper and the staff,” Lincoln said. “There is nothing more important than the staff — it’s what makes a successful product for any business. We have a talented, loyal and dedicated group— it’s not me, it’s a team. Rex recognizes that.”

The Tecumseh Herald will mark its 175th anniversary in October. Lincoln’s father, who died in 2009, retired in 1991. He had been editor and publisher for 34 years, which is how long the younger Lincoln has been editor and publisher. He said he is optimistic about the future of the paper but he’s also looking forward to retirement.

“I’ll really miss this job. I’ve been to a few meetings with a note pad, and carried a camera to parades, Memorial Day ceremonies, and athletic games — I’ll miss it all.”

Although he hasn’t officially announced his final day in the office, Lincoln is eying the start of May as a good time to close the door on his 50-year newspaper career.

“This is such a great town to run a newspaper in, and I cannot imagine trying to put out a newspaper in any other place,” he said. “It’s a dream job for anyone in journalism to have this opportunity. I am really lucky, grateful and thankful that I had the opportunity.”