With the death of Karl V. Anton Jr., Anton Community Newspapers lost a publisher and a friend but the Garden City Life lost more than just that, we lost our founder.

While 16 the 18 newspapers in our chain had been established when Mr. Anton bought them, with the Garden City Life, Mr. Anton started fresh. Running a newspaper in itself is a difficult process, but to begin an entirely new newspaper in a community that already has an established paper is a project that takes an enormous amount of knowledge, courage, strength and wisdom. Mr. Anton had all those attributes, which is why today, less than 15 years after the first issue of the Garden City Life hit the stands, we are now a strong competitive newspaper with a good subscription base.

The Garden City Life would not only not be here without Mr. Anton, but like the other 17 newspapers in his chain, it would not be the paper it is today without his constant guidance and wisdom.

It is this guidance and wisdom and his quiet encouragement that will be missed by all of us here at Anton Newspapers. Until his recent illness Mr. Anton was a very active part of each and every one of his newspapers. He read each one cover to cover each week and offered different suggestions on how to improve the paper. He always wanted to make each one of his newspapers the best that it could be and was always coming up with new ideas of how to do that.

As the Garden City Life turns 15 on Aug. 15, our goal is to keep improving this newspaper, making it a true reflection of this community and a true reflection of what Mr. Anton envisioned when he took on this venture. We will miss the quiet strength of Karl Anton but we look to a bright future under the leadership of his wife, Angela.

-Susie Trenkle