[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 18 (Monday, February 1, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E86]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING BOB WATSON ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF HIM ACQUIRING THE CARROLL 
                         COUNTY MIRROR-DEMOCRAT

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                           HON. CHERI BUSTOS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 1, 2021

  Mrs. BUSTOS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 40th 
Anniversary of the acquiring of the Carroll County Mirror-Democrat by 
Bob Watson on November 19, 1980. Bob's lifelong goal was to acquire and 
operate the Carroll County Mirror-Democrat because his father, Thomas 
A. Watson, and his mother, Grace, purchased the Mirror-Democrat in 1950 
and ran it until 1962. The Watson family has been personally connected 
to the Carroll County Mirror-Democrat for 70 years.
  Bob was raised in Mount Carroll, Illinois, and graduated from Mount 
Carroll High School in 1968. After earning a bachelor's degree in 
Journalism from Northern Illinois University in 1972, he spent eight 
years working for weekly and daily newspapers in Northwestern Illinois. 
Thomas Sr. and Grace Watson ran the Mirror-Democrat from 1950 until 
Thomas Sr. passed away in 1962. The newspaper was sold in 1963, and did 
not become available for purchase again until autumn of 1980, when Bob 
was able to acquire it. On April 1, 1990, he also purchased the Savanna 
Times-Journal. His wife, Paula, who is a retired grade-school teacher, 
and Bob are the co-publishers of the Mirror-Democrat. They are very 
proud of their son, Thomas R., who is a graduate of the College of 
Business at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and is 
employed by a large marketing and advertising company in Chicago. They 
maintain offices in downtown Mount Carroll and Savanna, publishing both 
weekly newspapers with a talented, veteran staff of four employees. As 
a former journalist, I admire their dedication to journalism and the 
determination they demonstrate across generations.
  It is because of leaders such as Bob Watson that I am especially 
proud to serve Illinois' 17th Congressional District. Madam Speaker, I 
would like to again formally congratulate Bob Watson for 40 years of 
owning the Mirror-Democrat.

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