1998 Changes

In 1998, the couple retired from the weekly newspaper and printing business in Hammond and moved to Port Wing permanently and continued to cover area history and items of interest to their readers. The name of the paper was changed to The Connection as its coverage area did not just include towns on the south shore of Lake Superior, but also south, along Highway 2, including Iron River, Brule, Maple and Poplar. The paper remained a free publication, printed monthly, as retirement was more important than the supplemental income received from the paper, but keeping busy was also important to the couple.

Following Robert’s subsequent illness and death, the Gardners’ second daughter, Jeanne, decided to take on the challenge of the paper in March, 2006. The newspaper business was not new to her, as she had worked for her parents for over 20 years as Managing Editor of the Central St. Croix news.

There was one large difference between the elder Gardners and Jeanne, however. She was the single mother of a college age daughter, so changes would need to be made if the newspaper could become a financially sound endeavor, as she needed it to be. Jeanne decided to start printing twice a month, almost immediately, in hopes of providing a more timely product for advertisers in the area. In 2007, changes, adhering to postal regulations to become a periodical publication (newspaper) instead of a free advertiser, were undertaken. This meant Ms. Gardner would need to open an office in the town in which she planned to mail her product, and readers would be required to pay for the paper, whether they had it sent to them by United States mail or picked up an issue at the store.

Humble Beginnings

This publication was started as a free advertiser by Yvette Fleming from Cornucopia in 1993 and was named The South Shore Connection. It contained news, along with advertisements from local businesses. At that time, Barbara Gardner, Publisher of Central St. Croix News, a Wisconsin legal, weekly newspaper, and a freelance writer from Hammond, Wisconsin, began writing stories and features for Ms. Fleming to help her out.

After the first year of operation, Fleming wanted to discontinue the venture, and Barbara took over in 1993. Mrs. Gardner and her husband, Robert, operated the Central St. Croix News down state, so they would travel to Port Wing on weekends and put together the South Shore Connection, a monthly publication.

Currently

1,200 copies of The Connection are printed twice monthly with between 1,000 and 1,100 purchased by readers.

The Connection’s office is located at 8025 U.S. Hwy. 2, suite 4 in Iron River, Wisconsin (in the Coldwell Banker East West Realty building).

Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, generally, but as Jeanne does all of the newspaper work herself, it is required that she be out of the office at various times during the week to gather news or advertisements.

Jeanne can be reached by calling 715-372-4500, and by leaving a message if she is not available.