Editorial: Second-generation Paddock led paper as an advocate of local good

Over the years, we've often heard comment - sometimes warmhearted, sometimes scornful - about the colorful Hosea Paddock mission statement that resides on the top left corner of our Opinion page. "Our aim: To fear God, tell the truth and make money."

That slogan is a part of who we are, and we wouldn't replace it lightly. It's a straightforward and memorable summary of the fundamental obligations that sustain a good newspaper.

But if we were to replace it, here are a few inspirational alternatives:

• "The only excuse a newspaper has for its existence is the community service it can give."

• "The welfare of the community is more important than anything else."

• "Freedom of the press carries with it obligations."

Last week, we told you a little about our founder Hosea C. Paddock and the values he instilled in us.

Today, let us continue the story of our roots. Let us tell you a little about Stuart R. Paddock Sr., the oldest son who followed in Hosea's footsteps.

The words we've highlighted above are his words, sentiments he repeated many times and in many ways over the course of a 65-year career in journalism.

He worked for the paper from his early years. Along with his brother Charles, he bought second-generation ownership of H. C. Paddock and Sons from his father In 1922. Charles took on responsibility for Production. Stuart, then 41, became manager and editor.

He was a strong and effective advocate of public service.

Not only did he and Charles expand the newspaper's reach and success, but, as editor, Stuart also used it as a vehicle to shape the blossoming Chicago suburbs of his time. In doing so, he also shaped what the Herald was then and provided the philosophical underpinnings that sustain the news organization still today.

During the boom that followed the end of World War II, in fact, some industry colleagues described Stuart as "the father of modern suburban journalism,"

"Every editor," he said, "sets himself a certain standard. The hardest thing is to live up to it ... Without some guiding principle, it is not easy to know what to do. The simplest way out is to yield to pressure, but that undermines character."

He was the first of Hosea's seven children, named Stuart in the first-son tradition of a family lineage that stretches through the Mayflower to the House of Stuart. When he was born in 1881, his father Hosea was editing the Plainfield Enterprise and the country was in the middle of the Second Industrial Revolution. It was the year that the electric light bulb was invented, simultaneously revolutionizing the way business worked and America lived. It was a rugged time. President James Garfield was assassinated that year. Billy the Kid was gunned down too.

The times were reflected in the journalism of the era. This was a time when newspapers were fiercely vocal and freely expressed strong opinions on community matters. Stuart's pointed editorials were influenced by that era. They graced the front page of the newspaper. He frequently called on local politicians to do what the paper saw as right for the community and unabashedly called them out when they didn't.

He so strongly championed education that in 1955, Palatine Township Elementary District 15 dedicated a school in his name - Stuart R. Paddock School, which still stands at 225 Washington St. in his hometown of Palatine. He helped to found Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights in 1954. He also helped establish the Palatine Park District.

In 1958, he was named Editor of the Year by the Illinois Press Association.

During his tenure, the paper created a formula for local coverage that others later emulated. He and Charles built on the strength of the weekly operation Hosea had seeded.

By the time of Stuart's retirement in 1964, the company had grown into Paddock Publications. a group of triweeklies covering 16 communities in Northwest Cook and Northern DuPage counties with a circulation that tripled in the two decades of prosperity after World War II to reach 31,000.

"Solid, routine reporting isn't very dramatic and it may not win a lot of prizes," he once said in an address to the National Education Association, "but it will establish a reputation for the newspaper in its community so that when the time comes to marshal public support behind a worthy cause, the newspaper's opinion will mean something."

We owe him a great debt. His legacy continues to inspire.