'Remarkable achievement': Indiana Gazette employee's career spans half a century

At the surprise party, Mayor William B. Simmons made an official proclamation that Aug. 27 is hereby known as "Patricia Kois Day."

Patricia "Patty" Kois had no ambitions of working in newspaper publishing when former Indiana Gazette owner Lucy Donnelly first offered her a part-time job as a typesetter in 1974. Patty was 19 years old at the time and "just happy to have a job." A few weeks prior, she had graduated from New Castle Business College with an associate's degree in specialized business.  

It's been 50 years since her first day on the job, and she is still busy in the production department, with no plans to retire anytime soon.  

The company celebrated her loyal tenure on Thursday, Aug. 15, with a surprise party, in which she was presented with an engraved watch and an official proclamation from Indiana Mayor William B. Simmons that Aug. 27 is hereby known as "Patricia Kois Day." Afterwards, she and her husband, Rich Kois, enjoyed lunch at Benjamin's with Indiana Gazette Publisher Brian Nalepa and other department heads.    

Patty started at the Gazette when she was 19 years old as a part-time typesetter. She is now the layout coordinator and graphic designer.

"I can’t say enough good things about Patty," Nalepa said. "In my 30 years in the industry, I have never come across an individual that has spent a half century with the same company. We are proud of her hitting this milestone and honored to celebrate this remarkable achievement.” 

When Patty first started as a part-time typesetter, she was primarily responsible for typing copy, then running it through a scanning machine that produced a sort of ticker tape. That tape was then sent to production and put through another machine that created film. The film was then stripped and laid out by compositors to arrange the newspaper's pages.  

She was initially hired to assist with the production of a special supplement; after that project finished, she continued to grow in her role and was offered a full-time typesetter position six months after she started.  

"I truly loved to type," she said about her early days on the job. "I graduated my college program typing at a rate of 80 wpm." 

Indiana Mayor William B. Simmons greeted Patty at her Aug. 15 surprise party.

A prolific career in publishing is not the only thing Patty gained from her time at the Indiana Gazette. She also met her dear husband of 37 years, Rich, at the Gazette building, where he worked part time in the production department in the early '80s. Although it may sound like a storybook office romance, Patty admitted that she could not stand Rich when she first met him. 

"I mean, he just would never stop talking," she said. "I didn't like him." 

Eventually, though, Patty agreed to go on a date with him, and the pair fell in love, marrying in 1987.  

Patty had a front-row seat to the dramatic industry changes introduced by the advent of technology into the publishing process. When the Gazette began incorporating computers into its production process at the tail-end of the 20th century, Patty was overwhelmed by how drastically her job changed.  

"She has lived through so many changes in production systems and other changes in the newspaper industry," said former Gazette owner and publisher Mike Donnelly, son of Lucy Donnelly. "We could always depend on Patty adjusting to these changes without any problem. I wish her many more happy years at the Gazette." 

A picture taken of Patty in the late '70s, when she worked as a typesetter in the production department.

Patty recalled the worries she had at the time.  

"I remember when they started training us on how to use computers, and I was so overwhelmed," she said. "I wanted to learn everything and try it all, to make myself a useful employee, but I was scared. I'd go home crying to my husband, telling him I couldn't do it and there was no way I'd ever figure out how to use those computers. He told me to stick with it and keep going. I did." 

Now, Patty's job as a layout coordinator and graphic designer is completed solely on computers. On a day-to-day basis, she lays out the newspaper, designs most of the classified display ads and formats the classified section of the paper. 

"I love the challenge of laying out the paper," Patty said. "It's a big puzzle every day."  

Newspaper production is structured around tight daily deadlines — Patty's job requires that she work two days ahead of everyone else. She can't imagine living her life any other way, even as she approaches her 70th birthday on Dec. 25.  

Indiana Gazette Publisher Brian Nalepa led Patty into her surprise party. She received an engraved watch and later enjoyed lunch at Benjamin's.

"People always ask me, 'Well, aren't you going to retire?'" she said. "I tell them, 'No! This is what I know. Deadlines, work — it's been my life for 50 years.'" 

According to Patty, she never pursued a different job because of her coworkers and the family-like workplace environment. 

"The people here, my coworkers — we're really like a big family," she said. "We know what's going on with one another, we care about each other. It's always been that way." 

Patty's coworker and long-time friend, Sherri Bash, said, "I know I could not do my job without her. She helps me so much with getting my ads together for the classified section. Sometimes she doesn't like to see me coming because I have a late ad, but she always takes the time and gets it in for me. I don't know how she does it, but she does." 

"She is absolutely dedicated to doing the best job she can every day here at the Gazette," Nalepa said. "Her commitment to the team is appreciated and admired by all her peers and colleagues. There have been several times that I have had to call her after hours to change the layout of the paper because of a breaking news story, copy changes or mechanical issues with the press. Patty never hesitates to answer the call and comes in at a moment’s notice." 

Her advice for those entering the workforce is to never be afraid to ask for help and to respect her elders.  

Lead Designer Gabrielle Coy works closely with Patty almost every day.  

Patty met her husband, Rich Kois, at the Indiana Gazette in the early '80s. She claims not to have liked him at first. After she agreed to go on a date with him, they fell in love and were later married in 1987.

"I’ve had the privilege of working alongside her and learning from her years of experience for the past four years," Coy said. "I grew up reading editions of the Gazette that she had a pivotal part in creating. Experiencing her work ethic and breadth of knowledge first-hand, it would be very difficult to find someone more passionate and dedicated to the Gazette than Patty."  

"I'm so grateful for my time here," Patty said. "I love my coworkers. And I'm not done! I'll work as long as I can." 

Patty lives with her husband and their two cats, Władek and Kasia, in Homer City. In her limited free time, she enjoys reading, taking walks and traveling with her husband, who is a Polka musician.  

BY THE NUMBERS 

NEWSPAPERS: 17,054 newspapers  

DAYS: 13,013 days of work 

HOURS: 104,100 hours of work 

MONTHS: 600 months of work 

WEEKS: 2,603 weeks of work