Countdown to 100 Years | 1926-2026
The Farmer's Exchange will turn 100 in a year from now. In anticipation of this watershed moment, the editors will take a look back at news stories from the past century. These look-backs will run in the first issue of every month, leading up to the newspaper's 100th anniversary in 2026.
Forty-nine years ago, in 1976, the Exchange published a special section highlighting the newspaper's 50th anniversary. One of the front-page stories informed readers about a new editor who had just been hired in February of that year. The new editor was Paul Hershberger, who succeeded Lawrence E. Yeater, who had served as both publisher and editor since 1961.
Hershberger, a Goshen College graduate, had prior newspaper experience with The Elkhart Truth and The Goshen News. He worked with associate editor Larry Cripe to compile the special anniversary section, dated Nov. 5, 1976.
Hershberger served as editor for 25 years, retiring in 2001. Now 90, he lives in Goshen and continues to be a news junkie. He reads the New York Times every day and the Exchange every week. He is also a Chicago Cubs fan and attended three games this summer. On a recent trip to central Indiana, he visited the various locations where the movie "Hoosiers" was filmed.