Pat Englehart: Man on a mission

By John Olesky (1969-96)

A few days after National Guard bullets killed four Kent State students and wounded nine others on May 4, 1970, Beacon Journal Managing Editor Bob Giles called State Desk Editor Pat Englehart and assistant SD editors Harry Liggett and John Olesky into the ME office.

Pat, Giles said, was being put in charge of KSU shooting coverage and Harry would handle the State Desk. Never has there been a better case of the right man in charge of the right job at the right time.

Pat, for those who weren’t around a few decades ago, was effervescent, frenetic, driven, a buzzsaw in perpetual motion and both fiery and passionate about news coverage. And the best damn editor I ever worked with in my 43-year newspaper career. I was 38 when I came to the BJ and Pat quadrupled my editing skills.

With his ever-present DeNobil cigar, an unruly mustache and a vocabulary that skewered fools who tried to fake reporting, Pat went to work. He lined up a cadre of reporters. John Dunphy. Jeff Sallot. Ray Redmond. Others. And Pat was the zealot driving the chariot.

The stories poured onto the BJ front pages, day after day. Photos and notes piled up into cardboard boxes that Pat used for his files and eventually threatened to fill up the BJ’s third-floor warehousing area. Pat was relentless, which made the BJ unstoppable in its coverage.

No tip was too insignificant for Pat to explore – or assign a reporter to dig into. If the result didn’t satisfy Pat, he’d tear a little hide and get a deeper and more meaningful story.

Because quiet, unassuming Ray Redmond had a trustworthy relationship with him, the Portage County Prosecutor deliberately left the FBI investigation on his desk while he took a walk. Ray dug in and the BJ got the smoking gun: The National Guard’s actions were unwarranted. Ray turned the information over to Pat, who prodded his crew for reactions and more details.

The BJ story infuriated the Gov. Rhodes groupies. The truth really does hurt.

By the time Pat was through – he had a lust for Rolling Rock and the truth – the Beacon Journal had the Holy Grail of newspapering, its first Pulitzer Prize, in 1971. Three other Pulitzers came to the Beacon, and another to Knight Newspapers giant John S. Knight, but you never forget the first time.

It’s been 40 years, and Pat died in 2005, but he’ll aways live in my memory. Thanks, Pat, for showing me how a REAL editor does his job.

Click the headline to see Harry Liggett’s 2005 look at Pat Englehart.