The Appleton Press - Appleton, Swift County, Minnesota
Volume LXXIV - Thursday, January 7, 1954 - No. 41
M. J. McGowan, Press Publisher, Dies at 66
Rites Today at 10 a.m. at St John's Catholic Church
M. J. McGowan, 66, publisher of The Appleton Press for 40 years, died at his home here Monday morning at 11:15. Death was attributed to a chronic lung ailment that brought on a heart condition and other complications.
Mr McGowan's activities in connection with this paper have been somewhat restricted during the past five or six years, though until the end he kept writing his Martinis column. He also contributed a gardening column during the summer months and at other times wrote feature stories and editorials.
The funeral mass will be celebrated this morning, Thursday, at 10 a.m. at St John's Catholic church. Interment will be in the Appleton cemetery.
Martin James McGowan was born Sept. 27, 1887, at Kerkhoven, to Patrick and Sarah McGowan, the eldest son of 10 children. The family was composed of six boys and four girls, one of the latter dying in invancy before his birth.
The following year the family moved to Benson where at age 12 following the death of his father he was forced to leave school and go to work.
He entered the printing trade in 1900 as an apprentice on the Swift County Monitor at Benson. In 1910 he bought an interest in the paper which he held until 1914. In January of that year with his brothers, Allen and Joseph, he bought the Appleton Press and continued in association with this paper until his death.
During World War I he served as publicity director for the Federal Food Administration and in 1918 enetered the army and trained at Camp Grant, Ill., where he was when the armistice was signed.
Mr McGowan was a president of the Seventh District Editorial Association and president of the Minnesota Editorial Association. He was president of the Appleton business men's assocation, a charter member of the Appleton Golf club and its first president in 1928. He was a charter member of the local American Legion post and later served as commander and historian.
He served for many years on the library board and one term on the village council. He was an officer of the Kiwanis club when that was in existence here and during World War II was a captain of Co M, Minnesota State Guard.
At other times he was acting postmaster of Appelton and a justice of the peace. He was a charter member of the Appleton Branch chapter, National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. He also was a member of the Marsh Lake Hunting club.
He was a member of Sigma Delta Chi, journalism fraternity, and for many years was trustee of St. John's Catholic church.
Politically, he had been secretary of the Minnesota Democratic State Central committee, chairman of the Seventh District Roosevelt-Garner committee and was a presidential elector, casting one of Minesota's 11 votes to elect President Roosevelt in 1932.
In 1918 he was married to Olga W. Vieg and to this union two children were born. A daughter, Jane, died at birth, and a son, Martin Jr, is now head of the Press. Their mother died in 1922.
In 1934 Mr McGowan was married to Elizabeth V. Kelly, who survives with their daughter, Eleanor, a student at Stephens college, Columbia, Mo.
In addition to his wife, daughter and son, Mr McGowan is survived by six grandchildren, Martin III, Daniel, Margaret, Vincent, Kevin and Sean, all of Appleton, and three brothers Allen E. and John H. of Minneapolis, and Joseph C., formerly of Benson, now of Tucson, Ariz.
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