After the 2018 Rockdale Homecoming drew a crowd generously estimated at 80, organizers were looking for a new approach that would boost attendance for 2019.
They found it. The Rockdale Homecoming Association decided to honor a family business each year, beginning with the Cooke Family/Rockdale Reporter on Sunday.
The event drew almost 200 persons, easily more than twice the 2018 crowd. Organizers ran out of name tags and had to put up more tables and chairs, occurrences which haven’t happened in years.
COOKES—Four generations of the family have run the 146-year-old Rockdale Reporter & Messenger since it was purchased by John Esten Cooke in 1911.
Publisher Emeritus Bill Cooke praised the efforts of current and former Reporter employees and noted the supportive relationship the newspaper and community have had for over a century, summing it up as: “To get some love, you’ve got to give some love.”
He especially honored contributions by his wife of 61 years, Peggy Cooke.
Son Ken Cooke, current publisher along with wife Christine Granados, praised efforts of Reporter personnel, especially his father, noting Bill Cooke is “one of the most respected publishers in this state.”
Ken Cooke is also publisher of the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post.
Barbara Gross, Homecoming Association president, presided, and expressed appreciation to those who supported the event.
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