OTTAWA COUNTY EXPONENT: Volume No. 1 Issue of the Exponent dates back to April 27, 1871. So our newspaper has been in existence for more than 140 years. For most of its tenure the paper was owned and run by the Kramer family.
For many of the early years, Judge J.K. Kraemer, was at the helm as editor. Eventually his son D. Wilton A. Kraemer (known as Wilt) took over.
Wilt was twelve years old when he began working with his father on the Exponent. He retired January 25, 1946, after 50 yeas at the job. In its early years, a disastrous fire burned down the building and destroyed most of the equipment.
Judge Kramer almost gave up and sold the business. Instead, he shipped the press to Cincinnati; had it repaired and began again. Over the next seventy-five years, father and son published the paper and the type was set by hand.
After the Kraemers, there were a succession of editors, owners and locations. In September 2010, Ohio Community Media LLC acquired Brown Publishing’s assets and continues to operate a group of daily and weekly newspapers in Ohio including The Ottawa County Exponent. The newspaper office is presently located at 158 W. Water Street, Oak Harbor, Oh 43440.