Then & Now

The Messenger Press was founded in 1882 by the Society of the Precious Blood (an order of priests, brothers and nuns of the Catholic Church) in order to print religious materials (in both English and German) for Catholics around the world. During the 20th century, monthly subscriptions were as high as 30,000. 

Over the years, fewer and fewer members of the religious community were available to man the business and staff was hired from the general community. Co-owner, Allan Kremer, began his training as a pressman with The Messenger Press in 1976. Partner, Randy Heitkamp, worked for the firm for several years before honing new skills at printing facilities in Denver, Michigan, and Columbus, Ohio.

That combination of continuity and exposure to other printing facilities served them well, when in 1992 Heitkamp and Kremer purchased the business from the Society of the Precious Blood. Though now completely independent of the Society, the company is still housed in the facility built for it in 1961. The extensive grounds of the former St. Charles Seminary, now a retirement facility, provide an interesting location for the business. Farming has always been a mainstay of the Society and dairy cattle and grain crops are still raised on the property.

www.st-charles-cpps.org/index.html