AloNovus purchases Hartville News
Michael Mast, president of AloNovus Corp., holds the sign for The Knowles Press and The Hartville News which has hung in the newspaper's office for the years. AloNovus Corp. recently purchased The Hartville News.
The Hartville News’ tradition of serving the Hartville, Uniontown and the surrounding area will continue under new ownership.
AloNovus Corp. of Millersburg has purchased The Hartville News from The Knowles Press.
July 9 also marked the debut issue of the Medina Weekly News, also published by AloNovus.
Both the Hartville News and Medina Weekly News will join AloNovus’ other print products, including The Bargain Hunter publications in Holmes, Wayne, Stark and Tuscarawas counties; the Wooster Weekly News; the Coshocton Beacon; The Free Press Standard in Carrollton; and Mimi Magazine, which serves communities in Medina, Lorain, Summit, Portage, Geauga and Lake counties.
“We are strong believers in print advertising, because we see how well it works for our clients. We consider it a privilege to add newspapers like The Hartville News to our family of products, because we know it has been important to the community for eighty-eight years,” said Michael Mast, president of AloNovus Corp. “We want to honor the work of the Knowles family and make sure that their legacy continues as a vibrant, meaningful part of life in the Hartville community and beyond.”
Like AloNovus, The Hartville News and The Knowles Press has always been a family business. The Knowles Press is owned by sisters Rosalee (Rogue) Haines, Jacquelin (Jackie) Vaughn and Lindalee (Linny) Sourini, who purchased the business from their father, Alton, in 1981.
In an article published in The Hartville News, Haines stated, “We have finally decided that the time has come to retire. Therefore, with heavy hearts, we have decided to sell The Hartville News. Our hearts are heavy because the paper was conceived and developed by our father and has been in the family ever since.”
Alton founded The Knowles Press printing business in 1925 and “dreamed of having a local paper with local news of events and activities in our small town for people to read,” explained Rosalee Haines. “That dream came to fruition in 1930 and has been going strong ever since, accumulating family members as co-workers and employees along the way.”
“The communities of Hartville, Uniontown, Greentown, Marlboro and beyond have served us well and we have made wonderful friends along the way,” she noted.
AloNovus Corp. serves the region with a network of weekly and monthly newspapers in 11 counties of Ohio. Total distribution of the combined publications approaches 400,000. The firm was founded by Abe and Fran Mast in the early 1970s and is now owned and operated by their sons.