BJ lunch: Time had come to talk of many things

Lunch bunch (from left) Gene McClellan, Al Hunsicker, Tom Moore and Carl Nelson

Rosetta Blanton and friend Lonie Thomas, joined the four regulars at the monthly BJ Retirees lunch at Pap Joe’s in Merriman Valley. She is the widow of BJ engraver Watson Blanton who died March 25, 2010,

She joined printers Al Hunsicker, Gene McClellan and Carl Nelson and news editor Tom Moore in discussing BJ topics.

Missing from the usual bunch was Cal Deshong, who will turn 93 next month. Calvin E. Deshong was born November 24, 1918 in Johnstown, PA. All agreed that they should send him birthday cards. And that led to a discussion of the cost of those musical cards and everything else. Moore had been sending him musical cards for a couple of years. Hunsicker said he liked one with an accordion that played a tune when you opened it up, but when he noticed the $8 price he shut off the music.

Moore had sent his cards from Florida where he is headed again Monday for another month of Hobbs Baseball working with Tom Giffen.

Somebody noted that it took the BJ a day to catch up on the obituary for former prosecutor James Barbuto who made lots of headlines a few years ago. Moore reminded printers that the classified obit crew had always sent up little green sheets on each obit to the morgue for checking to see if the person should rate a news story. Moore wondered if the morgue had been shut down.

Carl Nelson asked if anybody had been to the printers club lately. Nobody had. Nelson said the club is still open but the entrance on Exchange Street has been closed because of so many unsavory characters turning up.

And that’s a -30- for this month.