A new organization will preserve the legacies of influential Midwestern companies.
Indiana — July 19, 2026 — The Monon Company today announced a long-term stewardship initiative focused on preserving the history and enduring public memory of influential companies that once helped shape communities throughout the Midwest.
As part of the initiative, The Monon Company is establishing a dedicated organization to research, document, and preserve the stories of remembered companies from a bygone era. Its work will recognize the role these businesses played not only in commerce, but also in the architecture, traditions, employment, civic life, and shared identity of the communities they served.
“For generations, these companies were more than names on buildings or signs,” said Sam Van Selow, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Monon Company. “They were gathering places, employers, local institutions, and familiar parts of everyday life. Their histories deserve to be preserved with seriousness, care, and respect.”
The organization’s work is expected to include historical research, archival preservation, educational storytelling, documentation of surviving artifacts and design elements, and collaboration with individuals and institutions that share an interest in preserving regional history.
The initiative will also provide a thoughtful framework for the stewardship of historic names, visual identities, traditions, and other cultural assets associated with companies that remain strongly remembered by former employees, customers, families, and local communities.
The Monon Company emphasized that the initiative is not based on nostalgia alone. It reflects a broader belief that the commercial history of the Midwest is an important part of the region’s cultural record—and that responsible stewardship requires more than allowing meaningful names and stories to disappear.
“Preservation does not mean attempting to recreate the past exactly as it was,” Van Selow added. “It means understanding what made these institutions meaningful, protecting what remains, and determining how their stories can continue to be shared responsibly with future generations.”
Additional information about the organization, its mission, and its initial areas of focus will be announced at a later date.
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