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Ila Mae Forbregd was given the Montana Newspaper Association’s highest honor this weekend at their annual convention, held this year in Kalispell.

Forbregd was inducted into the Montana Newspaper Hall of Fame and will be memorialized in the halls of the University of Montana Journalism School.

“Forbregd definitely deserves the recognition and honor that is being given her,” said Darla Shumway, publisher of The Herald-News and The Searchlight. “She made very great contributions to the newspaper and community over the 42 years she served as editor for The Searchlight in Culbertson.”

If you were to ask any Culbertson resident who the most friendly, cheerful, knowledgeable and community-minded person in their community was, nearly everyone would answer without hesitation, “Ila Mae Forbregd.”

Daughter-in-law Karla  Forbregd said it best: “Ila Mae could take the blackest day and make it a rosy day, no matter what. You could be having a terrible day but, by the time you were done talking to her, your day was a lot brighter. She always had a smile on her face … always!”

Ila Mae was the “eyes and ears” of Culbertson; she always knew what was going on in her beloved community. Her loyal readers respected and admired her devotion, both to the community of Culbertson itself and to the voice of the community, The Searchlight.

Her daughter Sheri Gossage noted: “Mom wasn’t just the editor of The Searchlight; she was the heart and soul of Culbertson. She loved her job as editor because it gave her the opportunity to touch so many people’s lives. She never felt it was a job to be the editor of The Searchlight, but more of a passion. Her worst fear was that when she no longer was able to be the editor — and believe me, I don’t believe she would ever have retired — The Searchlight would be no more. I would like to thank Darla and all the other people that worked so hard to not let that happen. I am sure she is smiling down on all of us knowing that The Searchlight will continue to live on.”

Karen Baxter, the town librarian, said that the town relied on Ila Mae much more than they realized. It was only after her passing that the town really understood all the things that she took care of without being asked and all of the organizations she had her fingers in.

The Searchlight was often a family affair. Ila Mae’s daughter Denise remembered, “The one thing I remember about mom and The Searchlight is when she was teaching us kids how to use the old machine for putting the addresses on the paper and how much ink we got all over us. Her favorite saying to me was ‘If you don’t have ink all over you, then you are not an editor’ as she had ink on her own face and her hands were black.”

Forbregd kept generations of readers in the small community of Culbertson and the surrounding area in northeast Montana informed about local news and events. She helped the community stay in touch and kept a record of Culbertson's history. Serving as the editor, reporter and photographer for The Searchlight for 40 years, she was the "eyes and ears" of Culbertson.

Ila Mae Arion was born on May 2, 1939, in Scobey to Walter and Lourena Arion and was raised and educated in Whitetail and Flaxville. While in high school in Flaxville, she was assistant art editor and art editor on the school newspaper. During her high school years, she was also news correspondent for the Daniels County Leader in Scobey and the Plentywood Herald.

She married Harold Forbregd on June 22, 1957. Harold and Ila Mae moved to Culbertson in 1959, where they both became active members of the community. She worked as a radio newscaster for KEYZ in Williston, N.D., for two years and was news correspondent for the Williston Herald and the Sidney Herald until she was hired by Harry Sr. and Mamie Downs in 1968 as society editor for The Searchlight. She became the editor/manager of The Searchlight on Sept. 4, 1969. She served the Downs' family faithfully and, when John and Jackie Stanislaw purchased the paper in 1999, she continued in her position.

She was a self-taught journalist who learned on the job and her readers respected and admired her devotion. Once, she even refused to seek medical treatment while having a heart attack until all her newspapers that were safely delivered to the post office. She wrote a weekly column, From Ila Mae's Inkwell, that was a favorite with all her readers. Her true passion was The Searchlight. She knew what small town newspapering was all about. Her philosophy was not "how much can I get out of my job," but "how much I can put into it."

Ila Mae and her husband, Harold, raised a family of four children, Valerie (Cully) Barrett of Williston, N.D.; Kenneth (Karla) Forbregd of Culbertson, Mont.; Denise (Tracy) Forbregd of Lyndonville, Vt.; and Sheri (Mike) Gossage of Culbertson, Mont. Ila Mae had 12 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and a very special friend, Ray Oelkers.