Garnell Hanson tells friends she retired four times — just don’t ask her when.
For years, she worked for the Ellsworth Reporter, then the Ellsworth County Independent, then the Independent-Reporter and again for the I-R.
Over the years, even after Hanson’s “first” retirement, she was the one to call when the newspaper needed experienced help — especially in its advertising department.
This Saturday, the 86-year-old Hanson will assist the paper once more as she and long-time co-worker Dorothy Grothusen lead a group of former and current Reporter and I-R employees in the annual Cowtown parade. The Reporter, which turns 150 years old this year, is the grand marshal.
Like the Reporter, Hanson’s history mirrors life in Ellsworth County. Garnell Deming grew up here, graduated from school here and married here. Her husband, the late Don Hanson, was a long-time Ellsworth County commissioner.
“He was impressed with me because I could talk to anybody,” Garnell said.
The couple, who married in 1954, left Ellsworth in 1971 for Texas, where Don supervised the construction of natural gas plants. Their children were still home at the time — Alan was a senior; Brett was a 9th grader and Brenda was in the 5th grade.
The two years the Hansons planned to be in Texas turned into 11. During that time, Garnell studied for a real estate license and operated a pet store, skills that would prepare her for her later job at the Reporter.
The Hansons returned to Ellsworth in 1983 after a visit with family. While here, they saw a “for sale” advertisement in the newspaper for 80 acres 5 miles west of Ellsworth. They decided to come home and fulfill their dream of living in the country on land with a stream running through it. The property also had a rundown house and a barn that needed a roof.
Don and Brett worked together to restore the buildings.
“I remember that winter — living in our travel trailer and thanking God we were because we had heat and lights,” Garnell remembers. “That would have been in 1984 and people were snowed in. Ron Zvolanek, who lived down the road, finally got us plowed out.”
The Hansons also purchased a gas station in town — at the location of the present Alliance Insurance — and Garnell went to work keeping books for Novak IGA, a downtown anchor store for many years.
Then Karl Gaston, publisher of the Ellsworth Reporter, called. He recruited Garnell and for the next five years, she was responsible for the newspaper’s  books. Gaston, who was more than 6 feet tall, could dominate a room just by standing.
“But I never let him intimidate me,” Garnell said.
Gaston also was progressive, always working to move the paper forward in changing times. When he decided to computerize the accounting system, Garnell looked at the pages upon pages of handwritten records and decided to take a pass.
Karl hired someone else to make the switch and offered Garnell the job of advertising representative. It was a good decision.
In a company car, Garnell divided her weeks between Ellsworth County, Salina and Great Bend.
“I enjoyed doing it,” she said. “I wanted my advertisers to be successful because I knew if they were successful, I would be successful.”
Colleen Sippel credits Garnell with introducing her to husband, Rick, who worked for John Deere at Lyons and each week called in an ad for the Reporter’s classified section. One Tuesday morning, Garnell gave the telephone to her co-worker.
“I’m not sure why she gave me that ad to take because she never gave me any others,” Colleen remembered. “I talked to him every Tuesday morning for about four or five months before he actually came to Ellsworth and gave me the classified information personally.  
“I quit to go to work at Svaty, Sherman and Hoffman in the fall of 1992. He asked me out in November, asked me to marry him in March and we were married Sept. 18, 1993, the same day as his birthday and his mother’s birthday. Thanks, Garnell, it’s been a good 29 years! You could say I found my husband through the classifieds!”
Another career milestone came in 1999, when Garnell received a call from the organizers of the startup Ellsworth County Independent. The town was about to get a second newspaper and they offered her the job of advertising director.
At the time, local leaders were concerned because the Reporter had been purchased by an out-of-state newspaper company. Garnell was about ready to retire, but she agreed to go to work for the Independent.
 “As far as I was concerned that was the paper I was going to make OK,” she said. “I knew we had to have advertising because if we didn’t, we wouldn’t have a paper.
“It was an exciting time because the paper was new and people wanted to know what was going on.”
Garnell joined former Reporter sports editor Mark Seitz at the new paper, which in 2001 merged with the Reporter to become the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter. Another co-worker was Barbara Holm, who designed advertisements and penned the Indy’s editorial cartoons.
Garnell retired after a couple of years at the Independent, but she returned several times to help the newspaper with special projects.
Meanwhile, she and Don, who passed  in 2018 at age 85, were active in their church, Immanuel Lutheran, and their community. Garnell’s most recent volunteer work involves Keren Comfort Dog, a mission of the church.
She also continues to be active on the board of Family Connections, a former motel that serves the families of inmates at the Ellsworth Correctional Facility, and the VFW auxiliary. She and Don also were instrumental in the extension of the Prairie Trail Scenic Byway to Kanopolis and Ellsworth. The 56-mile route starts in McPherson County and ends at Interstate 70 north of Ellsworth.
“He got me involved and I’m still involved,” Garnell said.
Son Alan continues to live in Texas; Brett is a resident of Wichita; and daughter Brenda Erichsen lives across the street from her mother. Garnell has five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.