Doug Oplinger: Ready to go to work

The very best thing about the BJ Retirees blog is its viewers who can provide a wealth of fond memories about the Beacon Journal staff. It is always joyful to trace the careers of BJ types over the years. It is difficult sometimes to pry out the stories because people are busy or don’t think what they have to say is significant.

One BJ type, who some of us remember as the kid from Springfield Township, has just been named managing editor of the Beacon Journal. And we are proud of him.

Doug Oplinger himself has been the chronicler of many careers as the perennial emcee of Beacon retirement parties. Doug really puts on a good show on such occasions–often wearing Murphey-style bib overalls to lend a reminiscent touch.

We are also proud of another BJ type who used to refer to himself as the Mogadore beat reporter and is still in the trenches as a stalwart of Cox Newspapers. Perhaps someday we can coax a good profile on Bill Hershey.

Hershey was asked to provide this memory from 37 years ago:

How Doug “Op” Oplinger’s
Beacon Journal career started
(without checking the clips)

I was covering a Springfield school board meeting in the fall of 1970 and noticed an earnest young man in the crowd. We introduced ourselves and he said he was a student – Doug Oplinger. I think he was monitoring the meeting for some student group. I told him to call me if he was ever at a school board meeting when news broke out and I wasn’t there.

I don’t remember how many months later it was but during a snow storm that shut down everything in Akron – at least we thought it did – I got a phone call at my apartment one night. It was Oplinger, reporting that the school board had fired the superintendent during a meeting held during the blizzard. Op, as I recall, got a front page byline the next day and the rest is history.