Fascinating Facts

about Emil Leicht

Emil leicht, president oan manager of the Joseph Leicht Press, and the "Westlicher Herold Publishing Co.," and one of the leading business and professional men of Winona, as well as a substantial figure in its business progress, was born in Fountain City, Wis., January 3, 1873, son of Joseph and Henrietta (Schmidt) Leicht. He received his education in the public schools of Fountain City and Winona, having come to this city with his parents in 1882. His earliest memories are associated with the ink of a printing office. At the age of sixteen he assumed the management of the "Leicht Press" and "Westlicher Herold," learning the trade while growing up in the business. He studied stereotyping and electrotyping in the Minnesota Type Foundry in St. Paul, in the early nineties. During these early years he worked in the capacity of compositer, pressman, bookbinder, linotype operator, stock buyer, bookkeeper, and manager. He has a thorough pratical knowledge of the printing and publishing business, andassisted his father in making what was once a very small institution into a big success, a success which still continues to increase. At his father's death, the management of the extensive printing and publishing business fell upon his shoulders.. Mr. Leicht has served in a number of city offices, and is one of the popular men of the community.. He belongs to the Royal Areanum, the U. C. T., and the B. P. O. E., as well as to the Arlington Cluband the Philharmonic Society. He is financially interested in the WinonaMotor Company, the Stott Manufacturing Company, and various other Winona concerns. Emil Leicht was married November 25, 1894, to Helen M. Bollman, of Hart, Minn., and they have four children : Gretchen, Dorothy, Henriet, and Frederick.

The extiensive Leicht interests were first started as a little German weekly newspaper occupying one small room on the second floor of the Mues block, corner Second and Lafayette streets, with a few cases of type and a Washington hand press, which operated my the muscular power of man, by the late Joseph Leicht with nothing to start with but a lot of ambition, nerve, andhustle, has now developed into the present plant of the above firms located at the corner of Second and Market streets. Along in the eighties the little German paper had grown so that Mr. Leicht, Sr., felt warranted in discarding his hand press and installing a little cylinder press, a Campbell country press. This press was capable of printing about 800 sheets on one side perhour and was a wonder in those days. Iit was erected in the basement across the street under the old Van Rohr Drug store and what is now the Burlington passenger station. This machine was later used in the printing the "Morning Tribune," Winona's first morning paper, published by a small local stock company. This press was later removed to the old "Republican" press room on Third street, where the "Westlicher Herold" was printed for a long time. This press was later replaced by a two revolution cyclinder press which was installed in the Westlicher's own building. In 1892 this machine was replaced with a Cox Duplex roll press, which was the first roll press to be used in Winona. In 1898 this Duplex was abandoned for a single deck stero type press which was in use until 1912, when it was replaced by the three decker.

The father later took the older son, the present head of the enterprise, Emil Leicht, into the business, and proceeded to develop his scuuessor. Under the guidence of his father, whowas of the old German type with whom industry and discipline was formost in thought. Emil Leicht this year completed his twenty-sixth year in the printing industry and spent all of this time, with exception of three months, during which time he took a course in stereotyping and electrotyping in the Minnesota Type Foundry at St. Paul, in his own business. Mr. Leicht is ably assisted by Otto Volkman, who has been with him for many years and is in full charge of the plant when Mr. Leicht is absent from the city. In 1884 the company purchased the corner building of its present location from B.A. Gernes. Eleven years ago the building west was rented from Schuler Bros., and a year later the Leicht company Purchased this property and built a 30 foot two story addition. Since Joseph Leicht's death in 1908, when the son was obliged to shoulder the entire responsibility, the plant has been keeping up its steady growth. During the last two years a large four story fire proof building has been erected giving the plant a floor space of 33,000 square feet. Much new machinery has been added and the individual motor system installed on every machine in the building. The plant is one of the most modern in the West, having everything that is the last word in printing machinery. They cast all of their own type and sell type to the trade through the peerless type foundry, which is owned by them. The composing rooms are equipped with the latest monotypes, linotypes as well as other modern material used in that department. The pressrooms have the latest color and close register printing machines, the bindery is as modern as any in the country. During the last year a large three decks Goss high speed color newspaper press has been installed. This machine has an extra color deck attached to the third deck and is capable of printing comic supplements, such as are issued by the large city papers. The "Westlicher Herold Publishing Company," publishes a line of German weeklies, some of large local circulation, some of national circulation. In fact Winona can boast of publishing the second largest German weekly paper in the United States, the "Volksblatt des Westens." "The National Farmer," a German farm paper, also ranks second in size for its kind in the country. The "Leicht Press" has built up a large business of fine booklets, catalogs and color productions as well as a general line of commericial printing. To give an idea of what this business, that started with a mere small German weekly, amounts to it can bementioned that it employs about 55 people, half of them heads of families, the larger part drawing salaries and wages of high skilled employees, it pays about $750 in wages every Monday noon, its postage for the year 1912 will be close to $7000, the exact amount to December 20 being $6,263.74. It uses about 30 carloads of paper of various kinds per year.

Article from History of Winona, Minnesota Volumn 2 1913

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