Private Story
Dan Miles
The Clinton Daily Democrat was founded in 1868. There have only been three families who owned the paper. First were the Langels-Thortons, next the Whitakers, and third were the White-Miles, the present owner. The partners Langels-Thortons, later became territorial Governor of New Mexico. The Whitakers came as a father and son and edited and published the paper for 2 generations. The son was in WWII and died in 1949. Dan's family purchased the paper on April 1, 1950, April fool's day, which became a big joke in the family over the years. Dan's father was the editor and Dan's Grandfather (Thomas Benton White), the publisher. Then Dan's Grandmother (Kathleen Kelly) was publisher and then Dan's mother (Kathleen White) was the publisher. Now Dan is the publisher and editor. Dan's father had worked here from 1950 to 1960 and he then was appointed Chief of Staff to a U.S. Senator in Washington, D.C. so Dan's family had lived there for 8 or 9 years and then came back.
"We've always been involved heavily in the community. We've tried to live by the motto: Supporting your community first, your finances second. This is exactly the opposite of how many papers operate today," says Dan.
"I am a 5th Generation editor and we've owned the paper in Warsaw since 1858. I am the 3rd generation. I was trained by my grandfather and he always said 'Walk the paper through the whole process and don't be afraid to get ink on your hands.' "
"I remember when I was 9 year old and there were 4 old guys sitting on a bench. One of the men motioned me over and said, 'You're Danny Miles, aren't you? We knew your great great grandfather'. I didn't really know family genealogy. They said, 'Are you going to be a newspaper man as well? If you are half the newspaper man your grandfather was, you'll do just fine. "˜"
"In our family, everybody works until they drop dead. This is kind of a family tradition and joke. My grandfather worked until the last day and then he was found in bed the next morning dead. My Dad worked until 4 days before he got a stroke. My uncle worked until cancer took him over. My grandmother White worked part time until she was 90. They were all "˜lifers'".
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