Clifford Laurence “Cliff” Ganschow, 89

Clifford Laurence “Cliff” Ganschow, a prolific businessman who saved Woodstock’s Old Courthouse, passed away recently at age 89. He will be remembered for his sharp intellect, great sense of humor, athleticism, perseverance, his love of Woodstock, and his devotion to family and friends.

Born October 14, 1935, in Princeton, Illinois, Cliff grew up on the family farm in Normandy, Illinois where he attended one of the state’s last one-room schoolhouses before heading to Walnut High School, where he excelled in academics and athletics.

Born in Princeton, Illinois, in 1935, Cliff grew up on the family farm and excelled in academics and athletics at Walnut High School.  At Iowa State University, he majored in journalism and agronomy and was first sports editor and then editor-in-chief of the Iowa State Daily, and played baseball for the Iowa State team during the summer. After being named editor of the Daily, the journalism department head later recalled to Cliff that the faculty vote had been tied until one professor said, “Maybe we should also consider this: ‘Who would you rather have a beer with?’” Cliff won. He then asked the other finalist to be his co-editor, and together they won a national collegiate award for editorial writing.

After school Cliff declined a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians and instead chose to work with renowned agricultural writer and editor, John Strohm, in Woodstock. Together they built the largest farm publishing company by volume in the world, with titles that included Farm Futures and National Wildlife magazines, both of which are still in print today. During this time Cliff also played shortstop and third base for the Aurora Sealmasters, one of the top fast-pitch softball teams in the country.

In the 1980s, Cliff led the acquisition and served as chairman of Doane Farm Management, at the time the largest farm management company in the U.S., launched a commodity trading company with Dean Witter, co-founded agriculture’s first digital information service with IBM, and also created Chicago Sports magazine. In the 1990s he founded an investment management company focused on investing in top farm operations and in 2000 started a satellite broadband service that connected tens of thousands of farms and ranches to high-speed Internet for the first time.

Locally, Cliff was instrumental in preserving Woodstock’s historic square when he and his wife Bev purchased the old McHenry County courthouse in 1972, saving it from demolition and being turned into a parking lot. The couple restored and transformed the building into a lively commercial space with boutique shops, an art gallery, and a popular regional restaurant, the Old Courthouse Inn, developed with famed Chicago Chef Louis Szathmary. They then helped lead restoration efforts for the town’s Opera House, as well as several other buildings on and near the historic square. 

But more than anything, Cliff loved spending time with family and friends, especially while watching a ballgame. He remained best friends his entire life with his high school buddies. He loved his parents, Katherine and Laurence, treasured his sister, Glenda, and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with cousins, nieces and nephews. His wife, Bev, was the love of his life, and they were married for 55 years until her passing in 2019. They had three children, John, Tim, and Liz, and Cliff never missed a game, concert, or school play. They also had six grandchildren – Brody, Hudson, Elin, Shelby, Beckett, and Emmy – whom Cliff adored, and who, in turn, were delighted whenever he walked into the room. He will be greatly missed.