Turning the page
Worzalla makes its mark on publishing
By Kris Leonhardt
Part one in a series
In the late 1800s, significant numbers of Polish families made their way to America. As they watched their home country being slowly devoured by neighboring Prussia, Austria, and Russia, they looked toward the land of the free for escape.
Family settlements began acquiring the cheap cut-over lands, which Wisconsin lumber barons had left in their wake. This movement created large Polish communities; one such community is Stevens Point.
As the population grew in this area, Polish schools, churches, and businesses sprung up. Though they were creating a new world in America, they still longed for the one they had left behind. This need for communication created a demand for a Polish publication, one that might keep them in touch with the Old Country, while educating them about the new.
In the early 1890s, “The Rolnik” (The Farmer) was established by Zygmunt Hutter and Teofil Krutza. The publication was taken over the following year by John Worzalla and his son.
The Worzalla family handled their entire business operations and publication production out of a downtown building at the intersection of Main and Third streets in Stevens Point.
“There are some old pictures of Worzalla. It was right on Main Street. It was upstairs,” said current Worzalla President/CEO Jim Fetherston.
In 1903, Stephen and Joseph Worzalla took over the business, calling it “J. Worzalla’s Sons.” Five years later, the family began the Gwiazda Polarna (Polar Star.)
Both publications were printed weekly in the Polish language; while The Rolnik covered the local Stevens Point area, the Gwiazda Polarna reached out to an entire nation of Polish-Americans. The latter grew to a national circulation of 18,000, covering the United States, Canada, and some foreign countries.
By 1918, Worzalla – now known as the Worzalla Publishing Company – had not only outgrown its original accommodations at Main and Third once, but twice. Operating from its new location on Second Street, the company looked to add a new line.
Announcing plans for a new two-story addition, the company aspired to add a book-binding operation to the business. The extension would allow for the publication of Polish books, calendars, and periodicals, while specializing in prayer books and almanacs in the Polish language.
The addition of the book binding line, National Bookbinding Company, more than doubled the Worzalla staff and created a publishing empire that would reach the entire nation.
Joseph and Steven Worzalla continued to grow and build the company, in time adding offset printing to their services.
Next week: More reading room