The Wayne Dispatch – The people behind the paper

Welcome back to another Spotlight Series with Sarah!
The series where the writer gets to know the city more personally, while the readers get to know the writer better in the process.
This month marks one entire year since I started my column, and next month will be four years since I started writing for The Wayne Dispatch.
Because of this column, I have experienced so many things in the city of Wayne over the last year that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise.
I’ve tasted yummy food and sweet treats, designed the best T-shirts for my best friend’s bachelorette party, got a new tattoo and piercing, experienced Holiday Night in Wayne for the first time with my best friend’s kids, thrifted some workout clothes, got manicures with my mom, my mom’s car got fixed, and I did volunteer work with my brother, Solomon.
If you’ve been keeping up with my column over the last year then you’ve hopefully learned a lot about me and my life, but there are obviously other people that make The Wayne Dispatch happen.
This month I thought it would be fun to shine a spotlight on the other people behind the paper, so you can get to know them better too.
I write my column and many of the other articles you read in the paper, however, the paper wouldn’t be complete without Memory Lane by Tyler Moll.
Memory Lane was originally started by Darlene Hawley, a member of the Historical commission, to educate the community on the history of our city.
Moll took over the Memory Lane column about two years ago, but had submitted some articles once in a while to The Wayne Dispatch a few years before that. “My favorite part is that I get freedom to choose what topic I want to write about. It could be something I’ve been researching that month or something I find interesting,” said Moll. “The freedom to choose is nice.”
In February, Moll just completed an eight-part series on the history of the Wayne County Poorhouse and Asylum, later known as Eloise. “There was a lot of history to cover. It’s a subject people go nuts for around this area,” said Moll. “I’ve received a lot of feedback and people are interested.”
Moll does special lectures on Eloise (in Wayne and surrounding cities) to a packed house.
“For the series, I had to stretch it out and give people the history who have not attended the lectures,” said Moll. If you missed Moll’s Eloise series, you can visit thewaynedispatch.com and search “Eloise” to read them all.

Memory Lane writer Tyler Moll, Publisher John Rhaesa, Graphic Designer Natalie Rhaesa and staff writer Sarah Shurge. Photo by John Mills

If you’re interested in Moll’s monthly history lectures at the museum, be sure to check the Wayne Historical Society’s facebook page for updates at facebook.com/waynehistoricalsociety.
Moll’s other favorite column was on how the roads in Wayne got their name. “People thought that was interesting too,” said Moll. You can read that piece as well by visiting thewaynedispatch.com and searching “roads.”
Aside from writing for The Wayne Dispatch, Moll has worked for the Wayne Historical Society for about eight years. He holds the title of museum curator.
Moll received his Master’s in Historical Preservation at Eastern Michigan University. He worked restoring buildings when he discovered that he liked museums. Moll has worked at the Dearborn Historical Museum for six years and he continues his restoration work.
Moll has used his passion for buildings for the good of the city of Wayne. “I like finding out things that people haven’t found out before. We have thousands of pictures and many don’t have anything on the back – no information. I’m good at identifying houses and buildings,” said Moll. Moll has identified thousands of buildings.
If you’d like to see some of the history that Moll writes about, you can visit the Wayne Historical Society at 1 Towne Square St, from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. Wayne has some interesting history, I really enjoy diving into it,” said Moll.
Continuing with history in Wayne, The Wayne Dispatch was printed until 1972. Then the first issue of The Wayne Dispatch that John and Natalie Rhaesa started was published in November 2008.
John and Natalie’s vision for The Wayne Dispatch was a monthly publication that will be your source for positive community news.
“We decided if we had our own newspaper, we would want it delivered to all houses in the city,” said Natalie. “Direct mail to make sure it gets into the hands of everyone in the city and the advertisers get the best bang for their bucks.”
Since 2008, John and Natalie have been able to provide The Wayne Dispatch at no cost to the residents, still on newsprint, and it is available online for our online readers. Their success comes from years of experience. And more importantly, experience together.
Natalie and John met when a mutual friend introduced them. That same friend knew Natalie had studied graphic design in college and was looking for an internship, and got her an interview at The Wayne Eagle, where John happened to work as Art Director.
Natalie started working at The Wayne Eagle in the fall of 1993. John and Natalie got married on Saturday, June 3, 1995, and moved into their current home in Wayne in the spring of 1996, one week before their first wedding anniversary.
They continued to work together and shared an office at The Wayne Eagle until the fall of 2002. So when they decided to start their own paper together, it wasn’t very difficult for them.
“We had newspaper experience from The Eagle together and John ran the production department so he knew the different elements,” said Natalie. “We’re both graphic designers, so that helps too because we can bounce ideas off each other.”
Every great idea needs a name, and when it came to their paper, John and Natalie wanted to pick the perfect name. “We were looking at a couple different names and they were doing the mural on the State Wayne at the time. We picked ‘Wayne Dispatch’ because of the paperboy on the mural. The paperboy is the reason for the name,” said John.
The first time the paper was seen was at the mural unveiling, and the cover story of the first issue featured Joshua Winer and David Fichter, the muralists who painted the mural on the side of the State Wayne Theater.
Now The Wayne Dispatch has published 197 issues. Their 200th issue will be in June which is also when John and Natalie’s 30th anniversary is.
“Time has flown by so fast,” said Natalie. “We were able to publish every month, even through the pandemic, even through my cancer treatments. It’s pretty cool that we’ve been able to keep up with the same quality of work and we haven’t missed a month.”
If you’re curious what happens each month, Moll and I write the stories, both John and Natalie do photography, Natalie builds the ads, and John does the editorial, layout, and sales. Then Natalie’s sister does the proof-reading (and has since the first issue).
After that, John uploads the issue to the press site, it gets printed, delivered to the post office, and then delivered to your home.
Then, we start all over again the next month.
“My favorite part is that we’re learning about our community with our feature stories,” said Natalie. “There’s a lot of things you learn about your community.”
If you want to learn about Natalie’s ovarian cancer journey, you can visit thewaynedispatch.com and search “difficult diagnosis.” September 8th this year will mark three years of remission for Natalie.
John started serving on the city council in November 2011, and became Wayne Mayor in 2018. He is in his 7th year as Mayor and when he finishes his term, he’ll be the third longest serving mayor in the history of Wayne.
John and Natalie’s main goal for The Wayne Dispatch is more stories, more pages, and to keep growing. They want larger issues. If you have a story idea, an advertisement you want to run, or any questions regarding The Wayne Dispatch, you can call (734)641-6550 or email john@thewaynedispatch.com.
Be sure to continue enjoying The Wayne Dispatch, and be on the lookout for the next Spotlight Series with Sarah!