The history of W.T. Kentzel Printing began when Mr. William Gogan Kentzel moved to Covington in 1878. He had just married Susan Smith and was lured away from Galveston, Texas with a business proposition. His father-in-law had purchased the "St. Tammany Farmer Press" a year before from W.C. Morgan and E. Seabrook. These two gentleman had accomplished their political goal of having the Democratic ticket elected and had no further need for the publication.  

Mr. William Kentzel helped ushered in a new era as proprietor and editor of "The Farmer". The Kentzel family published the St. Tammany Farmer from 1878 until 1928 when it was sold to the Goodwin Family. Local Covington author Carol Saunders Jahncke wrote a book in 1979 about the early days of the paper and its editor entitled "Mr. Kentzel's Covington".

In 1883, after several years of publishing The Farmer, Mr. William Kentzel decided to establish the printing business. Eventually, both the publishing and printing businesses were turned over to his son, William Henry Kentzel. William Henry was very active in the community serving on the Town council and the Chamber of Commerce. He was also active in his Catholic Church parish and several civic organizations. So, with this new leadership came a new name, W.H. Kentzel Printing.

W.H.'s son, William Theodore Kentzel, Sr. was an active and energetic young man when he took over the publication of "The Farmer". In addition to his father's printing business, he owned a printing company in Slidell and published and edited the "Slidell Weekly News". This publication was sold around 1945. W.T. Kentzel Sr. also owned and operated a printing company in Franklinton and was the owner and editor of the "Era Leader", a weekly paper distributed in Franklinton.

When William Sr. died in 1947, his wife Henrietta Chaze Kentzel ran the business until their son William Theodore Kentzel. Jr. assumed command. Mrs. Henrietta retired in 1981. Since that time, William "Bill" Kentzel ran the family business for nearly 60 years. Just like his father, Bill was very active in the community participating in both civic and religious organizations. He was a true gentleman committed to his family, business, and community. Upon his passing in 2018, a new generation of Kentzel's have taken over the family tradition that is W.T. Kentzel Printing.