Eagle celebrates 20 years of Maple Creek Publishing ownershipby Jason Futch When Nathan Arneal purchased the North Bend Eagle from Cheryl Sudbeck on June 1, 2006, he had a vision for what a community newspaper could be. Twenty years later, that vision has guided the Eagle through industry changes, natural disasters, technological advances and thousands of stories documenting life in North Bend and Morse Bluff. He also reached the milestone of being the second-longest owner of the Eagle, surpassing the nearly-20 years that Lois and Fred Lambley owned the 129-year-old newspaper from 1976 to 1995. “It doesn’t seem possible it’s been 20 years,” Arneal said.
At the time he was contemplating purchasing the Eagle, Nathan was 30 years old and teaching English and journalism at Scotus Central Catholic High School in Columbus. During the summer of 2005, he spent months researching every available edition of the North Bend Eagle while putting together the sports section for the 150 year North Bend history book. As he reviewed more than a century of newspapers on microfilm at the old public library, he began paying attention to how the Eagle covered community events through the years. From there, Arneal felt convinced he could run a newspaper given his background in teaching journalism and overseeing Scotus’s “Rock Bottom” school newspaper. “I said, ‘You know what? I could do this,’” he said. “‘I could run an actual newspaper.’” Not knowing whether Sudbeck was interested in selling, Arneal decided to ask. “I wrote a letter, an actual letter with a stamp and an envelope and just inquired,” he said. “I had no idea if she was even interested in selling or not.” As it turned out, she was. She wrote back to Nathan informing him that she was interested and heard him out. Six months later, she handed the keys over. A Family Operation While Nathan became the owner, the Eagle quickly became a family effort. His mother, Mary Le Arneal, remembers those early conversations. “I saw him the day he was going to go in and talk to Cheryl about it,” she said.
When it became official that Nathan would be North Bend and Morse Bluff’s chief reporter, she offered to help. “I told him I’d work for him for a year without pay just to help him get started,” Mary Le said. That one-year commitment turned into two decades. (She did eventually get paid.) At the time, Mary Le was still working in a doctor’s office while contributing freelance writing. She balanced both responsibilities before eventually becoming more involved with the Eagle. Along with Mary Le, her husband Steve also assisted with the finances while other family members, such as Nathan’s brother Lincoln and sisters Corrine and Whitney helped out with writing columns and assisting where needed. Over the years, Mary Le became a familiar face, covering school board meetings, community features, Veterans Day stories and agricultural coverage. She also managed the day-to-day operations of the front office while working with others. Recently, she and Janet Dunker, who had been helping out at the office since 2020, have begun their retirement years. First Impressions Nathan wanted readers to know immediately that the Eagle had entered a new chapter when he took over. “When people got that first issue,” he said, “I wanted them to be shocked.” The first week saw many noticeable changes. The paper went from a four-column layout to a five-column layout. Photos were presented differently. However, the most notable change from the beginning was the Eagle’s nameplate atop page 1. Instead of the classic winged eagle logo that sat next to the paper’s wordmark, the “Screamin’ Eagle” logo was introduced. “I copied it off a picture of a guy with a motorcycle, and he had that eagle head painted on the tank of his motorcycle,” Nathan said. “Then I hand drew the rest of the eagle with a computer mouse.” The humorous subtitles beneath the Eagle’s nameplate also became a regular feature. Nathan said he hoped it added some entertainment value. During the first few months of ownership, Nathan said that he was so eager to find content for the paper, sometimes he’d go driving around looking for a good photo to spotlight. But as the years moved on, the stories always found their way to the Eagle, often with the help of Mary Le. The paper also found ways to celebrate the community and its athletics. “I remember walking down the street and someone stopped their car in the middle of Main Street, rolled down the window, and said, ‘Hey, I love what you’re doing with the Eagle. Keep it up,’” Nathan said. One of Nathan’s favorite features came during the four-in-a-row state championship run by the NBC girls basketball team. From 2020 to 2023, the girls were celebrated by the Eagle with special sections highlighting their remarkable success. Throughout the seasons, Nathan documented their rise to the top and told the story of how the Tigers were able to best the state’s toughest competition. And when it was time for the staff to take a few days out of the office, the Eagle didn’t miss a beat. The tradition of the Vacation Eagle was revived by the Arneals, with the assistance of Dunker and other office help. Stories That Mattered For Mary Le, some of the most memorable stories weren’t breaking news stories at all. They were people stories. One of her favorite projects involved researching William Frederick Eernisse, a serviceman who died aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, who listed his hometown as North Bend. It took Mary Le over two years to find out more about his connection to North Bend and his sacrifice to the country, making it a personal mission for the Navy veteran to share Eernisse’s story. “I just felt so attached to him,” she said. Read the full story in the print or e-edition. <<Back to the front page |
