Inducted 1989
Jean Worth
editor, Daily Press, Escanaba
Jean Worth (1904-1987) was born in Menominee and was long considered the dean of Upper Peninsula journalism. He began his journalism career in 1922 at the Herald-Leader in Menominee and moved a year later to the Detroit Times before enrolling in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. An injury in an automobile accident forced him off Broadway and back to newspapers. In 1930, he returned to the Herald-Leader and was named the newspaper’s editor in 1943. He moved to Escanaba in 1955 and, as editor of the Daily Press, turned the paper into the most influential voice of the Upper Peninsula. After he stepped down as editor in 1969, Worth continued as a contributing writer and weekly columnist for the Daily Press. In addition, he worked as a consultant for the Mead Publishing Paper Division and Wisconsin Electric Power Company. Worth’s vast knowledge of the history of the Upper Peninsula is reflected in countless manuscripts and oral reports now on file at the University of Michigan. He has received such notable acknowledgments as the Upper Peninsula Person of the Year, Michigan Ambassador of Tourism and state and national awards for his unparalleled work in documenting the history of the Upper Peninsula. Hall of Fame member Wesley H. Maurer, Sr., publisher of the St. Ignace News, described Worth this way: “Jean had a long and dedicated career and, to many of us who knew him, he was a model not only in perception of social and economic events, but in his compassion for those who were in some way disadvantaged or handicapped.”