As
editor in chief of the Taft Tribune, Richard (Dick) Wessell helped to chronicle
the beginnings of the school which opened in 1939, and the first generation of
students and teachers. He served with distinction in the US Navy, came
home and bought a newspaper in Des Plaines. Today, The Journal and Topics
newspapers that Dick published have grown to 16 papers serving the north and
northwest suburbs, still a family venture with four sons and two grandsons in
the business.