[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 187 (Wednesday, November 15, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7255-S7256]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SPENCER MAGNET

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today I wish to celebrate an 
institution in Spencer County marking 150 years of community journalism 
in Kentucky, the Spencer Magnet. Since the weekly newspaper began 
operations in 1867, it has covered celebrations, tragedies, wars, 
elections, and so much more. Today the Spencer Magnet is the oldest 
continuously operated business in Spencer County and reaches more than 
4,000 homes each week.
  Over the years, the paper has operated under different names with 
different owners. In 1925, the paper came under the ownership of Katie 
Beauchamp, and she changed its name from the Spencer Courier to its 
current title. She justified the new name because it matched her 
mission for the paper, to serve as a means to draw the people of 
Spencer County together.
  For 150 years, the paper has done just that. The publication covered 
national and international news, but the Spencer Magnet's focus on 
community journalism has endeared it to many of my constituents in the 
area.
  As the Spencer County community looks back on its history, it 
recognizes great successes and painful challenges, but the journalism 
from this newspaper has been a constant presence in community through 
it all. To properly mark its sesquicentennial anniversary, the Spencer 
Magnet is rededicating itself to its mission to draw the community 
together.
  The population of Spencer County continues to grow and change. Now, 
many residents work in Louisville and then come home to the rural 
Spencer County to escape the city. Whatever the future may bring, the 
Spencer Magnet stands ready to deliver the news to its readers.
  Kentucky is home to many community newspapers, which have their 
finger on the pulse of their readers. Organizations like the Spencer 
Magnet are incredibly important for chronicling our past and for 
shaping the news of tomorrow. I am proud to help the Spencer Magnet 
celebrate this anniversary. I ask all of my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating the Spencer Magnet on many years of reporting.
  Mr. President, earlier this year, the Spencer Magnet published an 
article reflecting on its years of community reporting. I ask unanimous 
consent that excerpts of the article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Spencer Magnet, March 29, 2017]

                Marking 150 Years of the Spencer Magnet

                         (By John Shindlebower)

       This community has been through a lot over the past 150 
     years. We picked ourselves up after a devastating Civil War 
     that was especially brutal on a border state like Kentucky. 
     We survived economic hardships including a great depression 
     and a great recession and we saw our young men die in far off

[[Page S7256]]

     lands in two world wars and other conflicts across the globe.
       Through it all, the Spencer Magnet kept the community 
     informed.
       This community has survived droughts, blizzards, floods and 
     tornadoes. We've even felt the earth shake a time or two.
       We've endured divisive and bitter elections, political 
     scandals both small and large and we've had families 
     devastated by violent crime and tragic accidents. The Spencer 
     Magnet was here to report that news.
       There have been grand times as well. New businesses have 
     started and flourished and the progress that changed so much 
     of American life did not bypass Spencer County. We've seen 
     the stage coach give way to the railroad and the railroad 
     give way to the automobile. Modern day luxuries often taken 
     for granted, such as running water, electric lights, radio 
     and television were greeted with fanfare when they made their 
     initial appearance in our community. The Spencer Magnet was 
     here to chronicle those changes and the ones that have 
     followed. Students worked their way through school and 
     annually marched to receive their diploma.
       Local citizens have accomplished monumental achievements 
     and various churches and organizations have worked tirelessly 
     to serve the community, their neighbors and their fellow man. 
     The Spencer Magnet has been here to help the good.
       Today, Spencer County continues to grow. Many families from 
     Louisville, seeking a slower pace of life and a rural 
     atmosphere, have chosen to make this their home. Many of 
     these new families simply lay their heads here at night as 
     they continue to work, shop and socialize in Louisville. But 
     increasingly, more and more of the newer residents are 
     becoming active in this community that they now proudly call 
     home.
       The Spencer Magnet understands the role we play in this 
     pivotal era of Spencer County's history. Perhaps more than 
     ever before, this newspaper is practicing community 
     journalism by covering more meetings where decisions that 
     impact you and this community are made. More and more Spencer 
     Countians are expressing an interest in being involved 
     citizens, and it is our role as a newspaper to help those 
     same people be informed citizens.
       Over this latest chapter of our history, the Magnet has 
     been honored on numerous occasions by the Kentucky Press 
     Association for our efforts to publish an informative, 
     quality newspaper that serves our residents. But more 
     important than awards, is the feedback we get from our 
     readers. There's nothing we like hearing better than the 
     words ``We read it in the Magnet.''
       The Spencer Magnet is now 150 years old. We're the oldest 
     continuously operated business in Spencer County. We're proud 
     of that distinction, but we also do not take it for granted. 
     That longevity had to be earned by gaining the trust and 
     respect of readers like you. We don't take that lightly and 
     we will continue to strive to earn that trust each and every 
     week as we begin our next 150 years.
       The next century and a half will surely be filled with a 
     mixture of tragedy and triumph. There will be achievements 
     and there will be failures. We will write stories about great 
     accomplishments, and we'll most certainly have to report on 
     heartbreak as well. But that's the nature of the newspaper. 
     It's what William T. Burton set out to accomplish in 1867, 
     and it's what we hope those who follow us will continue to do 
     decades from now.

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