Daily Union Editorial

By Christine Spangler
Daily Jefferson County Union managing editor

Farewell Bill … Mr. Knox

Fort Atkinson has always had more than its share of movers and shakers … from education and politics to agriculture and industry, people who have made their mark on the state, national and international scenes.

Sadly, however, the population of that prominent group is one less today.

William D. Knox, president, general manager and patriarch of W.D. Hoard & Sons Co., which publishes Hoard’s Dairyman magazine and the Daily Jefferson County Union, died Friday, Aug. 5. At 85, he had been coming in to the office daily and working full time up until six weeks ago.

Born on the family farm outside of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., “Bill” had dairying in his blood. He was active in 4-H, organizing the Beneficial Extension Service for older youth as a teen; he also owned his own herd of dairy animals and earned several awards for his judging.

Always the scholar, Bill graduated high school at age 15 and then farmed 15 months until heading off to work his way through Michigan State University. There, he led the establishment of a permanent 4-H retreat for the State of Michigan, and he excelled as a member of the Dairy, Agriculture, Economics and 4-H clubs and of the school’s dairy judging team.
The knowledge and leadership qualities learned early on would take him far throughout life.

Upon earning his degree in agricultural economics and dairy in 1941, Bill joined Hoard’s Dairyman as youth editor, moving to Fort Atkinson with his new wife, the former Jane Shaw. Following Naval service during World War II, he returned to the Dairyman as associate editor. In 1949, he became the third editor of the twice-a-month magazine, following in the footsteps of W.D. Hoard, who founded the Dairyman in 1885, and A.J. Glover, revered pioneers in the dairy farming industry.

In 1972, Bill became president and general manager of W.D. Hoard & Sons Co., Hoard’s Dairyman Farm and DCI Marketing Inc., heading the company through his death.

He is probably best known, however, as editor and publisher of Hoard’s Dairyman.

Under Bill’s guidance and tutelage, the Dairyman’s reputation as the “bible of the dairy industry” continued to grow. At its peak, it boasted a paid circulation of 365,000 and was read by 95 percent of the milk producers in the United States. Today, the magazine goes to readers in 100 countries around the globe, and is printed in Spanish and Japanese, as well as English.

This success had much to do with the fact that, like Hoard and Glover before him, Bill was an activist editor, working tirelessly to better the dairy industry. With pen and at the podium, he led the battle against brucellosis, and in no little way was a prime figure in Wisconsin’s 1956 achievement of being the first major livestock state nationwide to be declared brucellosis free. Bill also developed the Self-Help Dairy Stabilization program in 1954 and keynoted the organizational meeting of the National Mastitis Council in 1960.

It is no wonder, then, why five presidents, from Democrats Kennedy and Carter to Republicans Eisenhower, Nixon and Ford, appointed Bill Knox to various committees as a resource and adviser on agricultural issues.

Bill gave of his time and talents to serve the likes of the Agricultural Publishers Association, Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, University of Wisconsin-Madison Board of Visitors and the UW-Madison’s Research Park, among many other endeavors. Not surprisingly, his much-sought-out expertise and leadership in the dairy industry was recognized with honors too many to fully name. Suffice it to say that kudos came from organizations ranging from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, National Brucellosis Committee and National Dairy Shrine to World Dairy Expo, the American Guernsey Association and the American Dairy Science Association.

Here at home, Bill served 10 years as president of the School District of Fort Atkinson Board of Education, during which time Purdy and Rockwell elementary schools were built and the high school was expanded. He was a founding member of the Fort Atkinson Beautification Council, was active at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and served as a director of PremierBank.

He was particularly devoted to the Fort Atkinson Rotary Club. A longtime member, Bill exemplified the organization’s motto of “Service Above Self” by serving as its president and creating the annual Top 20 Scholars salutes of academically talented freshmen and seniors. In 1987, he was named an Honorary Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary’s most coveted honor.

That wasn’t the only local recognition to come his way, naturally. Two years earlier, the Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce presented Bill with its annual Economic Contribution Award, recognizing his leadership as Dairyman editor and his efforts in local fund-raising drives, including those to renovate the Dwight Foster Public Library and secure Fort Atkinson as the site of the National Dairy Shrine. In 1988, the Fort Atkinson Lions Club followed suit by bestowing Bill with its coveted Distinguished Community Service Award. And in 1999, the Fort Atkinson Science Fair was dedicated in Bill’s name.

The accolades were well deserved, of course, because, as we said, Bill Knox was a mover and shaker. And yet, he moved and shook at a very deliberate pace.

Ask him a question and he would sit back in his chair, pause to stoke his pipe and then provide a well-thought-out, logical answer. He was a thinker who weighed all issues and made no rash decisions. When Bill Knox had something to say, people knew it was something worth hearing. And they listened closely.

And thus, he commanded, never demanded, respect. Employees and acquaintances were encouraged to call him “Bill,” but just as often, they opted for “Mr. Knox.” There was just something about him that prompted a deference that first names don’t convey.

Not that he was unreachable, by any means. Bill could comfortably rub elbows with everyone, from proofreaders to presidents. He had a dry sense of humor with impeccable timing. He knew when a joke was appropriate, and when it was not.

He also cared about people. Bill was a family man and loved “my dear Jane” and his four children very much. He knew his employees well and considered them part of the Hoard family.

In fact, he ran the company that way, taking very seriously his role of furthering the mission that William Dempster Hoard set out in the late 1800s: To promote the dairy cow as “the foster mother of the human race.” It wasn’t Knox & Sons Co., though it could have been the past three decades. From the roll-top desks to the founder’s mottos on the wall, W.D. Hoard & Sons’ tradition was important to William D. Knox, as it was, and is, to his blood and workplace families.

And perhaps it is that for which we will remember Bill Knox best. Here was a mover and shaker who won purple ribbons, founded youth camps, advised presidents and eradicated disease. Yet, like the only other Hoard’s editor-in-chief in 135 years, he did it for his community, he did it for dairying and, thus, he did it for humankind.

That is quite a life.

That is quite a legacy.

Farewell, Bill … Mr. Knox. It was an honor and privilege knowing you.