Lorie Yates

While the Butler Eagle composing department lost its longtime foreman to retirement, the department will be in good hands upon the promotion of her assistant.

Deanna Gerstner of Butler Township retired Monday after 33 years with the Eagle's composing department.

The composing department is a vital component in producing the newspaper each day because it is where graphic artists create advertisements, photographs are enhanced, pages are electronically prepared for each edition, and printing specifications are met.

Gerstner began working in the composing department in 1988, before the advent of digital technology.

At that time, Gerstner printed out a paper copy of an advertisement that had been created by graphic artists, applied hot wax to the back of the ad and placed it on a dummy page.

The pages were then sent to the lithography department to be photographed. The negative was used to make an impression on a plate which was placed on the printing press.

Gerstner has seen endless technological upgrades during her career in composing, and has managed many employees as they've used that technology.

For several years, she supervised and worked alongside Lorie Yates, also of Butler Township.

Yates, who was the assistant foreman in composing, was promoted to foreman upon Gerstner's retirement.

“She will do a great job because she is very detail-oriented and organized,” Gerstner said of Yates. “She really has so much knowledge of the department.”

Yates was hired in the circulation department in 1990 and eventually moved to dispatch, where she drove completed ad proofs to advertisers for approval or changes.

That department was eliminated upon the advent of electronic mail.

Yates left the company for a few years, but returned in 1997 to work in the composing department.

She said she enjoys the department's importance in the sequence of events that lead to the production of a daily newspaper.

“We are the last department that sees the pages before they go to the pressmen,” Yates explained.

She said her job in composing is interesting and stimulating because every day brings a different task.

Yates said Gerstner was an excellent mentor and friend.

“She was a great boss who worked equally hard along with us, and I have enjoyed working with her over the years,” Yates said.

Yates attended high school in Armstrong County and graduated from Butler County Community College in 1990.