Obit: Conrad, Will (1888 - 1951)

Contact: Stan
Email: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Conrad

----Source: THORP COURIER (Thorp, Clark County, Wis.) 03/15/1951

-Conrad, Will (24 NOV 1888 - 8 MAR 1951)

W. H. (Will) Conrad, 62, Medford, editor and publisher of the Star News, and nationally known as a weekly newspaperman, was killed early Thursday morning in an automobile crash about 5 ½ miles east of Abbotsford.

His car smashed into a culvert on the north side of Highway 29 when it left the road. He was alone in the vehicle. A passing trucker notified Marathon County traffic officials of the accident at 3:30 a.m. Officers report that Conrad was probably killed instantly.

The time of the crash was believed to be about 2 a.m. The impact drove the engine of the car, which was demolished, up into the front seat. Among the injuries he suffered were a fractured skull and crushed chest.

Mr. Conrad was born Nov. 24, 1888, at Traer, Iowa, and came to Medford in 1919 when he bought the newspaper which he owned at the time of his death.

He attended Drake University at Des Moines for two years, after which he operated a ranch in Montana. He began his newspaper career as a “printer’s devil” on his hometown paper, the Traer, Iowa, Star-Clipper. He owned the paper at Grundy Center, Iowa before coming to Taylor County.

Mr. Conrad had been regarded as one of the leading weekly newspaper publishers in the United States.

He was a past president of the National Editorial Association and the Wis. Press Association.

Mr. Conrad traveled to every state of the union in accepting invitations to speak.

In 1949 he received the National Editorial Association’s McGovern Award for having done the most for national advertising. In 1939 he accepted the NEA’s award for the greatest contribution to weekly newspapers.

He was one of the organizers of the business office of the Wis. Press Association.

Funeral services were held on Monday at Medford from the Methodist Church. Burial was made in the Medford Cemetery.