John's Journal: Making Deadline In Proctor For 99 Years

PROCTOR – Almost a century ago, a student newspaper was created at Proctor High School. It wasn’t an easy thing to write and print stories back in the 1930s, but the first staff of the Proctor Mallet began a tradition that holds firm in 2025.

Fast forward from the Depression era to today, and you’ll find 17 Proctor students who, by invitation, are members of the 2024-25 Mallet staff. Their adviser is Nathan Johnson, a social studies teacher who also is the head coach of the boys track team and assistant coach for boys soccer. The journalism class meets at 8 a.m. every school day and the Mallet is printed and distributed monthly.

Johnson selects the students who are invited to be part of the Mallet staff. He looks at grades, attendance and consults with other teachers. Selected students receive a letter of invitation to join the staff.

The masthead of this year’s Mallet includes this important statement: “Bringing You the News for 99 years.”

The latest edition, dated December 20, includes a wide variety of stories. The cover stories focus on the retirement of Proctor superintendent Kerry Juntunen, the school’s weapons policy and a detailed article about the ways information is shared at school. Turn the page and there are stories about movies, cars, concussions, an editorial and updates on the Proctor sports teams.

(Note: Mallet rhymes with “ballet.” Historically, Proctor is a railroad town. The high school teams are the Rails, the school logo is a locomotive, a railroad bell is rung during the playing of the school song at athletic events and a mallet was a specific type of steam locomotive.)

The Mallet is an elective and staff members receive an English credit. Their duties are as varied as those of any newspaper staff, ranging from story ideas to story research, writing, photography, editing and layout. The Mallet is printed by the local weekly newspaper, the Proctor Journal.

Most of the staff members this year are juniors, and they are led by editors Layla Eckstrom and Jaedyn Roemhildt. For some, the Mallet experience can lead to summer internships at the Proctor Journal. Eckstrom did so last year, resulting in a wide variety of experiences, including attaining a media credential for the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials in Minneapolis.

Johnson’s role as Mallet adviser is another exercise in tradition, because the previous adviser was his father, Phil Johnson. Phil directed the Mallet from 1974 through his retirement in 2006, meaning the Johnsons have been Mallet advisers for 51 of its 99 years.

The Johnsons lived in nearby Esko and Nathan graduated from Esko High School. As his dad was retiring, a job teaching history came up at Proctor -- where Nathan had been a student teacher while at Wisconsin-Superior -- and he was hired.

“My dad came in, we sat down, he explained the software they were using, he kind of gave me a structure and said, ‘Here you go, you have to make it your own now.’ It just felt right,” Nathan said.

During much of Phil’s time as the Mallet adviser, many high schools around Minnesota had student-produced printed newspapers. Most have switched to online publications.

“In the 70s and 80s we had an exchange with all the papers in the area and down in Minneapolis,” Phil said. “We’d get a dozen high school papers coming in and we’d send them ours. Over the years, we got fewer and fewer newspapers.”

Back then, students turned in hand-written stories, which were typed (on yes, typewriters) by editors and sent to the Proctor Journal, where a linotype machine was used to turn the type into newspaper copy, suitable for a printing press. Those stories would be edited again by the Mallet staff and returned to the Journal with corrections before printing.

“It was such a long time ago,” Phil said. “That part was manageable. What wasn’t was the photography. You’re producing something with kids, and we had good photographers and horrible photographers. You chewed up rolls of film and every month you prayed you’d get a good picture or two.”

Now, of course, everyone has a camera on their cell phone. Today’s Mallet reporters write on laptops and file their stories via email. Very little paper is involved before the printing process. “It’s not fair,” Phil said, smiling at the memories of the old days.

It’s amazing that during the Johnson and Johnson era of the Mallet, the paper has always been produced on time, with not even one missed deadline. That is not by accident.

“When the students come in every fall, I’m very clear that we don’t miss deadlines,” Nathan said. “This is different than any other classes because we work with outside vendors. I tell them, ‘I’m the adviser, this is your paper, you’re the voice of this school. Keep that pride in what we’re doing here. You’re part of something special.’ ”

Even during Covid, when schoolwork was done remotely, the Mallet came out on time.

“It was all done electronically and we sent a Mallet to every single kid in the building while we were out with covid,” Nathan said. “We’re proud of that.”

Comments from Mallet staff members…

“My favorite part about being on the Mallet staff is meeting and developing relations with some people you maybe would not have interacted with if you weren't writing a story. For example, I never would have known our business manager was the mayor of Proctor if I didn't interview him.” --Laykn Lyons

“It is hard because a lot of my friends are in this class, so we get a little off topic.” --Zoey Stuber

“It prepares me for after high school because it strengthens my writing skills along with my creativity. College is hard and stressful and having these writing skills that I can apply will help me in the long run.” --Hannah Lynch

“I think the biggest challenge is thinking of stories to write. There are quite a few kids in this class, and the popular stories get taken up quickly. You really have to think about the stories you want to write. Although this class can be challenging, it’s really fun to think about what people would want to read.” --Isabella McPhee

I think it develops a lot of the skills we will need for our future. We have to explore different perspectives, hitting deadlines, paying attention to details and being storytellers. It prepares us a lot if one of us is interested in going down a path that involves writing. --Mike McDougall

“It helps me develop stronger writing skills that prepare me for writing in college and maybe future jobs.” --Wyatt Nelson

“This class is important for after high school because it prepares you for the real world. I always got nervous when the Mallet would be released because I realized that everyone in the school could read what I wrote but as time went on I got used to it and do not care as much anymore.” --Karolyn Weinzierl

“When I have a test coming up or studying to do, my article and work for the Mallet can become delayed and it isn’t always the first thing on my mind. The balance is sometimes hard to find.” -- Reagan Paszak

“This class teaches us better writing skills, the process behind releasing news, and to be more confident in our writing. Knowing that anyone in the school can read your writing is a little terrifying at first, especially for people who are generally more shy. This said, I have grown to be really proud of my stories and I look forward to when people read them.” --Vera Robertson

“I enjoy writing stories and helping inform the readers about what is going on in the world and PHS. It is also fun to work with my friends and get ideas from each other. I have found it interesting to learn about the different styles of writing and ways you can write for a newspaper.” --Chloe Carlson

“This class will help me after high school because it will help me write in college and future jobs. It will also teach me important things about journalism and news, which are very common things in the world around us.” --Kooper King

“There can be a few challenges that come with being on the staff, but the one I come across often is getting a story started. Once I get a few sentences down then the story starts to flow.” --Camryn Carter

“I enjoy being able to write stories about sports and other things that young kids can find entertaining.” --Nolan Isaac

“Some challenges that I have are brainstorming ideas every month to write about and trying to make those topics as interesting as possible.” --Anna Evans

“I think the challenges include making sure that we get everything done on time.” --Sophie Folkestad

--MSHSL staff member John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Bluesky at johnmilleamn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at [email protected] or [email protected]