Lavaca County papers publisher L.M. Preuss passes away

L.M. “Buddy” Preuss III, longtime newspaper publisher and owner of the Giddings Times & News, passed away at his home surrounded by family members on the morning of Friday, Jan. 5. He was 80 years old.
Despite an over two-year battle with cancer, Buddy kept a positive attitude and relied on his faith in God and support of family and friends to keep working at the newspaper office up until the week prior to Christmas.
After celebrating with family on Christmas Eve night at the annual holiday get-together, Buddy returned to his home with Louise, his wife of nearly 58 years. He passed away five days later.
The number of people Buddy touched in his life could easily number in the tens of thousands, especially since his popular “Viewpoint” and “Solid Ground” columns appeared in multiple area newspapers and in South Texas on a weekly basis.
Buddy was born in 1943 to Ruth (Schkade) and Louis Marcus Preuss Jr., and grew up in Giddings. During his high school years, he rose to president of the student council, and worked as an apprentice for one of the local papers. He attended Blinn College for one year before going into the newspaper business full-time.
His career in the newspaper industry began in earnest in 1961 when the owner of the Giddings News, Ida Bloh Bloom, hired 19-year-old Buddy as the editor, making him the youngest editor ever in Texas at the time.
Buddy remained with the Giddings News until 1965 when it and a competing paper, the Giddings Star, was bought out by Harold Bredlow, who did not have any local ties. Instead of remaining with the new company, Buddy opted to take a job with the Bastrop Advertiser.
He commuted back and forth between Giddings and Bastrop every day. It was during his commute he met the love of his life, Louise Wilson, whose parents owned and operated a gas station near the bowling alley west of Giddings. The two were married on Good Friday, April 8, 1966 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Giddings.
After a year or so of Buddy’s absence, many residents and businesses in Giddings started grumbling that Mr. Bredlow’s newspaper was not properly representing the town, and several community leaders urged Buddy to come back to start his own paper.
Buddy and Louise began in job printing and then produced their first issue of the Giddings Times on July 28, 1966. Their first office was in Buddy’s parents’ dry cleaning shop located at 275 N. Main Street.
The couple spent many hours selling ads to local businesses to keep the paper afloat. By 1967, Buddy and Louise were able to buy out Mr. Bredlow, and merged all the papers into one publication, which was named the Giddings Times & News.
Not long after production began, the couple realized the dry cleaners shop wasn’t the most conducive to newspaper publishing. They soon relocated to 1181 E. Austin Street, which is the present location of Fercho’s Mexican Dining & Cantina.
Another big change came in 1968 when Buddy and Louise purchased a 6,580 square-foot building from the City of Giddings at 170 N. Knox Avenue. The building, which was built shortly after WWII as a veteran’s training center, has served as the Times & News headquarters ever since then.
During the local oil boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Times & News also operated an office supply store. The newspaper thrived, and even though the couple worked tirelessly, they made time to raise two daughters and three sons -- Rita, Amber, Samuel, Sloan, and Matthew. Two of their sons, Sam and Sloan, followed in their parents’ footsteps in the newspaper business.
Buddy grew and changed with the times and technology. When he started in the newspaper business, stories were put on paper using typewriters, which Buddy then re-typed using a Linotype machine that produced lines of type out of hot lead. Photos were shot on film and hand-developed in a lab inside the building.
For many years, in addition to serving as editor, Buddy was the advertising manager and photographer -- covering the whole spectrum of local news. He also set the front page, and helped run the printing press.
In 1995, computers were introduced, making the work and process of producing a newspaper much easier. The printing was eventually farmed out to larger printing presses.
“Those living in cities like Houston and Austin who have undependable mail service are able to subscribe and read online each week,” said Buddy of the digital revolution.
Buddy took great satisfaction in how the Times & News portrayed the community, and the special editions that were produced. “Our First Responders and Discover issues are of interest to this community and to those passing through, who are interested in local history,” he said.
Buddy composed his own music, much of it classical in nature, and he enjoyed playing the piano. He has also written songs of Reverence, which have been performed by others at local churches.
Buddy remained active in the production of the paper until late December, always suggesting story ideas, while continuing to writing his Viewpoint and Solid Ground columns, and making sure the front page was up to his high standards.
Always learning, Buddy started researching the potential of “Artificial Intelligence” during the summer of 2023.
Preuss Printing Company and the Giddings Times & News will continue with Louise and Sloan at the helm.

Editor’s Note: Mr. Preuss purchased the Shiner Gazette in the fall of 1992 from Sally and Tex Rogers. Preuss Printing Co. also owns the Hallettsville Tribune-Herald, the Yoakum Herald-Times, the Moulton Eagle and the Luling Newsboy and Signal.