The Faces of the Press and Dakotan - Kathy Pritchard
The Faces of the Press and Dakotan - Kathy Pritchard
The Faces of the Press & Dakotan – Kathy Pritchard
A self-taught graphic artist, Kathy Pritchard has shared her talents
with the Press & Dakotan for nearly 31 years. She welcomed me with
a warm, friendly smile to a conference room at the Press & Dakotan
office to tell me about her time working with the newspaper.
The Minnesota native attended Mount Marty College in Yankton
where she met her first husband, Mike. The couple settled in Yankton
and added two children to their family. Sadly, Mike passed away
eight and a half years ago in an accident, leaving Kathy and their two
children behind.
“One of those things that you never think will happen but when
it does it changes your whole life,” she reflects. After being married
to him for almost 24 years, it took her time to recover but she stayed
focused on her priority of getting her children through high school
and college. She explains how it revealed a new outlook on life.
“I don’t take things for granted like I used to. I think you value your
friends and family more and not take them for granted. You kind of see
stuff in a different perspective.”
Her children are now grown, and her daughter has blessed her with
two granddaughters. She added even more members to her family
when she met Elvin and they married a year and a half ago, welcoming
three children and four grandchildren into the group.
“We’re the Brady Bunch,” she laughs.
Initially intending to go into a career in the medical field, she sought
out the field of Respiratory Therapy. She enjoyed her training, though
one thing held her back: she hates needles. She laughs as she explains
that during clinicals she realized that she couldn’t continue in the
profession.
A good friend of hers, working in sales at the Press & Dakotan at
that time, encouraged her to apply for an open proofreader position.
She was hired for the position and remembers her first task of drawing
out a Boy Scout ad, something she’s never had any experience in
before.
“I had no idea what I was doing, and here I am!” I laugh as she
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exclaims. She describes that job in the advertising department, where
she proofread all the ads and ran tear-sheets out to the businesses that
advertised in the paper. She was also responsible for laying out the
Chuck’s Jack & Jill grocery ad. She later moved into the composing
department and started designing advertisements. Because there were
no computers at that time, she designed ads by manually cutting and
pasting to create them.
When technology advanced and brought computers into the
business a few years later, it wasn’t an easy transition for her. When she
was put in front of a computer and instructed to learn how to use it,
she reflects on her initial reaction. “Oh….ok. I don’t read directions, so
this is going to be a trial and error!”
Fortunately, Pritchard adapted to the technology as it became a
staple in her career and admits that computers have made her job
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