Fran Murphey: Newspapers covered her

Murphey asleep in women's room with newspapers for blanket. Click for better view

By Harry Liggett
It is strange to recall that I used to report for work on the old State Desk at the Beacon Journal at 4:30 a.m. My job was to make a budget of the stories for that day and, on many mornings, to knock on the door of the women's room to wake Fran Murphey.

It wasn't always the women's room. Sometimes it was in her car or some other location in the building.. Murphey would leave me a note to wake her at a certain time. As you can see, she often used newspapers for a blanket if it was a bit chilly.

Some viewers might think it insensitive to post such a photo of the dearly departed. If she were still with us, she would probably shout "Go to Hell, Liggett!" That was her insensitve reply when I asked her questions like, "Murphey, when the hell are you going to get your column over?"

There are many stories you all might recall about Murphey. She had a wierd name fetish, for instance. You could write Fran Murphey and she did not mind, but if you wanted to be formal and write Frances Murphey you damn well better use her middle initial. A formal name is formal after all.

I once made a statuette of Fran from a photo Paul Tople shot of her in her coveralls. It was displayed at her funeral and many of you have seen it on bookmarks and elsehwhere.

This photo, however, ranks right near the top in Murphey images. An 8 X10 copy was provided by Charles Buffum. It is priceless because Fran's signature (shown here) is written in pencil on the back with a note "Return to Kathy Goforth." The BJ photo stamp has a date of October 17, 1974, but no photographer name.

Enjoy!