The Town

urtiss Show Print began in Kalida, Ohio, in 1905, but founder Bill Curtiss moved his printing business to nearby Continental, Ohio, to take advantage of its location.

Curtiss knew that he needed to be able to quickly turnaround the projects that came into his plant, and access to two major railroads that intersected in Continental enabled him to ship his products as soon as they were printed.

Continental, a town of approximately 1200 people, is located in Putnam County in Northwest Ohio. Trains continue to roll through town, but the passenger and freight trains that took on local shipments have long since disappeared.

When Curtiss moved his operation to Continental he began publishing The Continental News-Review. This weekly covers both big stories—bank robberies, fires, train wrecks—and the news of everyday life in small-town America such as lunch menus, anniversaries, church events, and local meetings.

However, the paper suspended publication in 1943 when current publisher Nyle Stateler began his military service, leaving Curtiss Showprint without a linotype operator. The paper resumed publication in 1946 when Stateler returned, and soon afterward he became the editor and publisher.