Polly Paffilas 1921-2005

Pauline Katherine Paffilas

By Marilyn Miller
Beacon Journal staff writer

A colorful character in the newsroom, Polly Paffilas, the former food writer and About Town columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal, died Thursday. She was 83.

A supporter of the arts and an animal lover, she had an affinity for hats and enjoyed dressing up. .
Friend and colleague Nancy Yockey Bonar of Medina said even after Miss Paffilas retired she would get up every morning, put on her makeup, get dressed and select her earrings and rings.

"That was her daily ritual, she'd be up and at 'em, ready and dressed. She was still the lady."

She loved to cook and always. used her good china for guests at lunch, dinner or bridge parties.

"Polly was one of the grand dames of journalism,' said her former longtime colleague Mickey Porter. "She'd tackle any kind of story."
Her newspaper career covered more than 45 years before she retired in 1987.

She and colleague Frances B. Murphey, who died in 1998, broke into the business as temporary hires through Manpower. When the staff was short in the newsroom during World War II, they were called in.

It was a male-dominated business when Miss Paffilas signed on in 1942, in the low-tech days of pencils, typewriters and hot metal type.

Hired at $23.50 a week as a clerk in the reference library, she tried to learn every job at the paper. She even learned how to operate the manual elevator.

Miss Paffilas became a cub reporter on the city desk. She later moved to the Woman's Department, where she became food writer, women's editor, and spent 10 years as the About Town columnist. She interviewed many greats, including baseball's Mickey Mantle and former. President Truman.

Bonar's favorite story was when John F. Kennedy was running for president and spoke at the Akron Armory.

"We were practically running down the street trying to get there, when Kennedy passed by us in the motorcade and winked at us," she said. "When we got to the Armory there was no way we were going to get through the crowd. But Polly whipped out her Women's City Club card, held it up high and elbowed her way in, shouting `Press, excuse me, press.'

"We didn't have press cards, but she managed to get us right up front. She was amazing.

Kent State University professor Tim Smith, a former managing editor at the Beacon Journal, said Polly had a great sense of humor and was very outspoken.

"She was a remarkable woman, uninhibited, frank and very candid in her food reviews."

He added: "She spared no one's feelings when it came to preparing food well. She had a lot of influence as a food writer."

And readers weren't shy about imposing on her when they needed help. One called her on a busy Thanksgiving morning to ask her how to stuff a turkey.

"She was the last of the newsroom icons that readers knew by name," said friend and colleague Joan Rice. "Polly got piles of mail She got so much mail, the compare had to hire a secretary to handle it -- the head of the department didn't even have a secretary!”

Readers remember the moving story she wrote about the death of her dog, Molly Brown.

And when she learned she had diabetes, she also shared it with her readers .

"There I was - March 31,1973 - a date I'll never forget - a middle aged, fat diabetic," she wrote. "Frightening thoughts crossed my mind."

She went on to lose 80 pounds and shared her expertise, strength and hope with readers.
Mentor to colleagues

But as food lost its appeal, she took over the social writer beat.

Food writer Jane Snow said Miss Paffilas was her mentor. "She was always available to help a young reporter. She was a tough old newswoman who started in this business before women were really accepted."

Snow added: "She'd walk through the newsroom in an elegant outfit and a big hat smoking a cigarette and barking orders, but behind that crusty exterior she was one of the most warm-hearted, friendliest people you'd ever want to meet."

Snow said when Miss Paffilas left she had stacks of recipes. Those recipes are being categorized by the Akron-Summit County Public Library and will be available in the special collections library at the main library.

"Polly was always fiercely proud of her Greek heritage and the food beat," said retired col-league Russ Musarra, who took the About Town mantle next.

"It was daunting following her on the social beat. Polly knew the town inside out, she grew up here and wrote about all these folks before she took the beat. I came in as a street kid from Cleveland with barely any social skills at all."
Proud of heritage

Miss Paffilas was born Aug. 8, 1921, in Parkersburg, W.Va., but lived in Akron all her life, attending Crosby Elementary School and graduating from West High School.

She was always proud to be a Greek, said her nephew, Steve Paffilas of Cleveland. "She was a very caring, giving, strong-willed, hard-working lady. She had a sense of order and was very meticulous."

He recalled his visits to Akron and all the great meals his aunt used to cook, especially the Greek food. She was caregiver to her parents, who came to Akron in the early 1900s.

A member of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Miss Paffiilas earned many writing and civic awards, including the prestigious John S. Knight award.

In 1980, Akron General Medical Center named a 20-bed facility for the treatment of diabetics in her honor for her tireless education efforts, both in print and as a member of the board of trustees of the Akron Diabetes Center.

She also started the Sugartown Express, a major diabetes fund-raiser.

Funeral service, calling hours
A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 129 S. Union St., Akron. Friends may call at the Billow funeral home in Fairlawn, 85 N. Miller Road, from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday and at the church one hour before the service Tuesday.

Memorials may be made to the American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 2680, North Canton, OH 44720 or the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church.
[Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, OH, Friday, May 27, 2005, page B1]