Waldo Yeater Was a Driving Force
Published: Friday, May 1, 2026
The Farmer's Exchange would have never reached 100 years in business had it not been for the perseverance and creativity of its founder, Waldo Yeater.
An Ohio native, Yeater was 41 when he founded the newspaper in 1926 in Nappanee. A year later, he moved the business to New Paris.
The early years were a struggle, with the Exchange showing a profit in just three of its first 10 years. To help the fledgling newspaper increase readership, Yeater, who served as both publisher and editor, came up with the idea of giving away free coffee with every new subscription. At that time, subscriptions were sold for $1 per year. During the Great Depression, Yeater accepted chickens and apples as payment for subscriptions and advertising.
Yeater even printed his own money—known as barter bills—that were paid to employees in lieu of real currency. The barter bills could be used at local businesses that owed the Exchange for advertising. Those businesses, in turn, could use those bills to pay their respective advertising balances at the Exchange.
In the newspaper's 50th anniversary edition in 1976, Yeater described those early years as "living in hope" and being "close to the ragged edge."
After World War II, the Exchange grew in popularity, and so did Yeater's influence. He played a key role in the formation of the Elkhart County Agricultural Society and in publishing an Elkhart County directory and yearbook of farms and agribusinesses. He also was active with the Prohibition Party and once ran for governor on the party's ticket.
Yeater turned 100 years old on May 30, 1985. He celebrated the milestone with family and friends. A front-page article in the May 24, 1985 edition celebrated the occasion. Yeater died four years later at the age of 104.
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