Biographical Note
Louis Milton Ronsheim was born December 8, 1894, in Bellefontaine, Ohio, to Simon Ronsheim and Catherine Stamm Ronsheim. In 1902, the family moved to Cadiz, Ohio, where Simon worked as a baker. In 1907, the family moved again, to Anderson, Indiana. As a teenager, Ronsheim developed an interest in politics, and in 1912, he began a pre-law program at Indiana University. In 1914, he planned to attend Case Western Reserve Law School, in Cleveland, Ohio, but during a visit to Cadiz, he met Harry B. McConnell, editor of The Cadiz Republican, and became interested in journalism. He studied journalism at the University of Pittsburgh, and printing at Carnegie Institute of Technology, before joining the staff of The Cadiz Republican in 1916, as a reporter, copywriter and typesetter. On July 19, 1917, Ronsheim married Isabel McConnell, a librarian and daughter of Harry B. McConnell.
On September 20, 1917, Ronsheim enlisted in the United States Army. He served at Camp Sherman, Ohio, and Camp Perry, Ohio, before shipping out to Europe in June 1918. While overseas he served in France and Italy, and fought in the battle of Vittorio Veneto. Throughout his service, Ronsheim wrote about his experiences in the form of weekly letters that were published in the Cadiz Republican. He also extensively photographed his surroundings, and after returning to the United States, he collected wartime photographs and envelopes sent by the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and distributed photo sets to fellow veterans.
Following World War I, Ronsheim returned to work as associate editor of The Cadiz Republican. He also organized the Cadiz Post of the American Legion, and was active in local affairs, serving as a member of the Harrison County Republican Central Committee and Clerk of the county election board before running unsuccessfully for a seat in the Ohio General Assembly in 1928. Ronsheim died on June 25, 1968.