Tom Moore goes to a book-signing

Stuart Warner signs book for Tom               Debbie Van Tassel with Amy and Dot Moore

By TOM MOORE
Has anybody sat down and totaled up the number of those in the Beacon Journal family who have gone on to become an author?

There have been a bunch.

Latest to join those ranks is Stuart Warner who, after leaving the BJ, put in a few years up North along with a lot of the talent that made the BJ a top notch paper at one time.

[Blog note: Also see our April 14 article on Regna Brett’s first book “God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours ” ]

Met Stuart Saturday night at a book signing party in Hudson for friends and former colleagues from both papers.

His book is called “Jock, a coach’s story”. It’s the story of Jock Sutherland one of the most successful

and respected coaches in Kentucky High school history.

But this was a chance to see some of the folks I always miss…the biggest drawback to leaving the BJ, whether to a new job or to retire.

Of course Stuart’s wife, Debbie Van Tassel was there, she’s still working at the PD. Their daughter Denise came in from New York for the party.

And that was a chance for my daughter Amy (a former BJ weekend copy kid) to renew an acquaintance from a few years ago—Amy was Denise’s first babysitter.

There were a lot of folks there that I didn’t know.

One guy I ran into that I haven’t seen in many years was Steve Love, former columnist and staffer for the BJ. He says he’s completed his master’s degree and will be teaching.

Jane Snow was there. I only got to say “hi” to her. Then Art Krummel and wife Char Nevada walked in---looking as if they’d just come in from a sunny beach…, which they had…just back from a Caribbean vacation.

Art is devoting his time to painting these days (no, not houses). He’s an accomplished artist and will be showing some of his work this summer at the Cuyahoga Valley Arts Festival.

There may have been a couple of other folks that I didn’t recognize right off.

That’s understandable since a lot of years have gone by.

Which reminds me that the other day of walking with an old-time BJ retiree at Chapel Hill Mall. He told me of running into a staffer and how the guy had aged and changed. He said he hardly recognized him.

I couldn’t resist: I said to him: “Well, have you looked in the mirror lately?”

I’m sure a lot more of the BJ family showed up during the evening. But I was getting past this old man’s bedtime, so wife Dorothy and Amy joined in the goodbyes and we headed home.

        Art Krummel and Charlene Nevada                                      Denise Warner and Amy Moore