In with the new
Population tops 100,000, lives changed by local, world events, and The Sun gets new owner
"That's one of the reasons I was hired," Photo Editor Jim Svehla
recalled from his job interview. He joined the staff as a photographer
that year.
While the Sun didn't go daily until 16 years later, that was one of the
ways the local newspaper was planning to grow along with the community
it covered in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s.
One of Svehla's earliest assignments was to document Naperville's
sprawl — from the air. Publisher Harold White piloted the open-cockpit
airplane.
The photo shoot went smoothly until the landing in Aero Estates, White's plane-friendly neighborhood.
"He was swearing — Harold White, which is a man I thought I'd never
hear swear," Svehla said. "I looked out the side of the plane, and the
runway was going one way, and we were not going to hit it."
But they landed safely in an open field.
During that decade, the paper reported stories of growth in Naperville:
The housing boom. The new Municipal Center. The new police station.
Naperville had grown to 100,422 people by 1994, according to a special
census conducted that year, and a story noted that the city's assessed
value hit $1.5 billion in 1990.
One former Naperville resident wondered if the massive growth was
having negative effects. In 2001, Commentary Editor Tim West wrote a
column about the book "Do They Have Bad Days in Heaven? Surviving the
Suicide Loss of a Sibling," in which Michelle Linn-Gust wonders whether
the growth could have played a role in her sister's 1993 suicide on the
train tracks in Naperville.
"As time wore on ... Naperville's face changed," Linn-Gust wrote. "When
Denise died, the population hovered near 100,000. It had become too
big. The pressure to succeed and 'keep up with the Joneses' also
escalated. The real Naperville became buried as it grew."
In 1990, the paper documented the tornado that ripped through
Plainfield. Spot coverage was provided in the paper the day after the
event. When it came out again two days later, The Sun devoted four full
pages to stories and photos of the devastation.
The 1983 slaying of Jeanine Nicarico continued to make headlines.
Between January 1985 and December 1994, The Sun published more than 300
stories about the killing and subsequent trials.
In other local news, Naperville Central changed its mascot name from
the Redskins to the Redhawks. A Sun poll from October 1992 shows that
"Redskins" was still overwhelmingly preferred to alternatives such as
Cougars and Wolverines. There were also creative write-ins, including
Bonecrushers, Fat Cats, Paleface Yuppies and Spoiled White Brats.
And the paper found local stories within national and global events:
Students watching the space shuttle Challenger explode and the Berlin
Wall fall. Prayer services marking the first Gulf War.
Sun Publications itself underwent major change in 1991, when Copley
Press Inc. bought the newspapers from Harold and Eva White, who had
owned them since 1936.
"I remember we heard about it at the meeting and seeing a few people
walk in and their faces just like they lost their best friend," said
longtime reporter Kathy Millen, who was hired in 1975. " ... At that
time, they were our biggest rivals."
Svehla remembered Harold White, who died in 1993, as a good person to work for.
"It was nice to know the owner of the company was within 20 feet of the
darkroom door, and if I had any concerns, his door was open," he said.
Millen said he was flexible, letting her work part time as she raised her kids.
"He was nice enough to let me pretty much come in whenever I could," she said.
Later that decade, Copley would focus the papers on more magazine-style
writing and photography, and The Sun would move out of its downtown
office to Naperville's booming west side.
Signs Naperville was growing (and growing up)
• Headline, Nov. 4, 1985: "Survey shows Naperville top home permit issuer."
• Letter to the editor from future City Council member John Rosanova, Dec. 13, 1985: "City no longer rescues cats from trees."
• Headline, March 6, 1991: "Seven year old sends police complimentary letter."
• Headline, Oct. 9, 1992: "Jefferson, Route 59 to get traffic signal."
News of the weird:
• Headline, Sept. 5, 1990: "Satanic cult members ransack Baptist Church."
• Headline, Dec. 23, 1990: "Dog-driven truck hits car."
• Headline, July 3, 1991: "Toilet stolen from residence."
• Headline, May 6, 1992: "Man assaults vending machine, injures leg."
• Headline, Nov. 23, 1992: "Dog gives birth to 17 pups."
Timeline
1985: At its 50th year, Sun Printing publishes five newspapers and 90
other weekly, semi-monthly, monthly and quarterly publications out of
its Ogden Avenue plant.
1986: Waubonsie Valley High School students watch the space shuttle
Challenger explode on live television; one of their teachers had
applied to be one of the shuttle's seven astronauts.
1989: A Naperville North High School exchange student from West Germany
watches the Berlin Wall fall and takes home a piece of it.
1990: Sun co-publisher Eva White dies after a lengthy illness. The
retrial in the 1983 Jeanine Nicarico murder case begins. A deadly
tornado rips through Plainfield.
1991: The Naperville Municipal Center opens on Eagle Street. Copley
Press Inc. buys Sun Publications from owners and publishers Harold and
Eva White. The first Gulf War begins.
1993: Former Sun owner and publisher Harold White dies of a stroke.
7/18/05
