Laughathon

Terry Oblander is a great storyteller. Which probably explains why the laughter and the voices were so loud that the waitress at Papa Joe's Restaurant came to see why the BJ Alums lunch bunch was having so much fun.

Terry was an outstanding reporter at the Beacon Journal for about two decades, and for several years less than that at the Plain Dealer, mainly in the PD's Medina bureau. Terry, in a way that only Terry can do it, unfurled funny tales of dealing with politicians, charlatans, colleagues and news sources. His companions happily provided the deep-down laughter.

Terry and his wife are down to one child, a 17-year-old, at home. Two others set out on their own in Cuyahoga County cities. Terry is enjoying his retirement at the Oblander home in the city of Medina. He still creates puzzles, as he did at the BJ and at the PD. When Terry looks at words he sees anagrams that spell different words.

Enjoying Terry's humor at the monthly BJ Alums lunch bunch gathering on Akron-Peninsula Road and Portage Trail Extension were retired printers Cal Deshong, Gene McClelland, Carl Nelson and Al Hunsicker and former BJ newsroom guys Tim Hayes, Tom Moore and John Olesky.

Click on the headline to see photos of the happy campers.