Slide-show tribute to Cal Deshong

To watch a slide-show tribute to Cal Deshong, 93, click on http://memorial.yourtribute.com/Calvin-E-Deshong1/video.aspx?mode=view&videoType=videotribute&videoId=52210 to see dozens of photos of Cal from childhood through the Navy, the BJ and retirement.

Retired printer Cal passed away July 25.

His funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. Monday at Redmon Funeral Home, 3633 Darrow Road, Stow.

For Cal’s obituary and other BJ Alums posting about him, click on http://bjretirees.blogspot.com/search?q=cal+deshong

Thrity's latest novel coming out in paperback

Thrity Umrigar's latest novel, the bestselling The World We Found, will be released in paperback on July 31. If you have supported her by reading the hardcover,  spread the word to friends who you think might be intrested in the book. A great idea if you are looking for a birthday or Christmas in July gift.

BJ newsroom retiree Art Cullison, 92, dies

Art Cullison in 1980s BJ newsroom photo

Beacon Journal newsroom retiree Ardent L. “Art” Cullison, 92, passed away Thursday at Baptist Life Community in Erlanger, Ky. Calling hours will be 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4 at Billow Funeral Home on North Miller Road in Fairlawn. A service will follow. 

Memorial contributions may be made to United Way of Summit County or Legal Aid of the Bluegrass, 104 E. Seventh St., Covington, Ky., 41011.

The family will go to Billow Funeral Home on Monday to provide information for an obituary in the BJ.

Art began his 36-year career at the BJ in 1949. He was entertainment writer for the BJ from 1950 to 1959, covering movies, TV, legitimate theater and nightclubs. Art was assistant State Desk editor and on the copy desk at other stages of his career. 

In 1958 Art interviewed fabled actor Clark Gable, a Cadiz, Ohio native, and Gable’s fifth wife, Kay Spreckles, when Gable was promoting his “Teacher’s Pet” movie co-starring Doris Day.

Art was a ferocious defender of grammar and the English language. When Art and the late Hal Fry were on the BJ copy desk they may have formed the most learned newsroom pair west of the New York Times.

The Garfield High School and University of Akron graduate and his wife, retired Copley High English teacher Helen Louise, 91, lived in an assisted living community in Erlanger  near their son, Dick. Helen Louise once was president of the League of Women Voters in Akron and organized and moderated candidates nights.

Both were avid bridge players.

Art had his wry, deadpan sense of humor, too. 

As newsroom retiree Tom Moore wrote in an earlier BJ Alums article:

“Publisher Ben Maidenburg had forgotten his ID. When Ben came through the door, the guard asked him for his ID. Ben told him he'd forgotten it, but he assured the fellow that he worked there. The guard was not satisfied. He took Ben into the office and sitting at the old horseshoe copy desk was copy editor Art Cullison.

“ ‘You know this fellow?’ the guard asked. Art looked at Ben and said with a straight face: ‘Never saw him before in my life!’

“Ben had to go downstairs in the parking garage and come up through the lobby. But he did have a sense of humor, so Art didn't get the can.”

Art was a regular at the monthly BJ retirees lunch at Papa Joe’s restaurant on Akron-Peninsula Road at Portage Trail Extension as late as April 2007. For the Nov. 8, 2006 lunch/laughfest, Art brought wife Helen Louise because they were celebrating their 64th wedding anniversary that day.

A Nov. 4, 2005 BJ Alums article had a 1974 photo of Art and Helen Louise enjoying Art’s induction into the BJ 25-Year Club on their 32nd wedding anniversary.

Art passed a day after another BJ retiree, former printer Cal Deshong, 93, died. 

Cal was at the BJ from 1952 to 1983, starting three years after Art and retiring two years before Art. 

Calling hours for Cal at the Redmon Funeral Home, 3633 Darrow Road, Stow, are 2-5 p.m. Sunday with services 10 a.m. Monday at Redmon.

Read BJ culture writer Rich Heldenfels’ column on Art’s passing.

Cal Deshong passes. Calling hours Sunday.

Retired Beacon Journal printer Cal Deshong, 93, died  Wednesday, July 25.

This is the email from his daughter, Mary Pat Deshong-Kinkelaar:

Thanks for making the post on the blog the other day for Dad. Unfortunately, Dad passed away yesterday morning. We were with him and he was at peace.

He so enjoyed his affiliation with the Akron Beacon Journal and all of his colleagues. I am thankful I was able to attend a few retiree lunches with him.  He really did not like to miss them and I had hoped to get him to one this summer if he had been feeling better. 

You think you're going to be okay when someone at 93 passes, but that's not the case. The loss still really hurts. He was a wonderful father and I'm thankful for the time I had with him.

Would you mind making a blog post to let folks know of his passing?  Visiting hours will be at Redmon Funeral Home, Route 91 in Stow, this Sunday, July 29th from 2 to 5 PM. Funeral services will be held at Redmon on Monday, July 30th at 10 AM with burial at Stow Cemetery.

The obit will run in the Saturday edition of the Beacon. Here is a link to the Redmon Funeral Home website.

Thanks so much.

Best,

Mary

     Calvin E. Deshong    Nov. 24, 1918 - July 25, 2012

This is Cal’s obituary notice on the Redmond Funeral Home website:

Calvin E. Deshong, 93, passed away on July 25, 2012.

Cal was born on November 24, 1918 in Johnstown, PA to Daniel Dishong and Nan (Galbreath) Dishong, and grew up in the Warren, OH area. He was a resident of Stow for the last 50 years.

He married Mary Louise Shepherd on September 8, 1962, who preceded him in death in 2001. An infant brother, Webster, and infant sister, Leola, also preceded him in death.

Cal was dearly loved and will be missed by his daughter, Mary Deshong-Kinkelaar, son-in-law, David Kinkelaar, and granddaughter, Claire Kinkelaar. He is also survived by step-sister, Betty Kanuch, sister-in-law Hilda Borges, brother-in-law Robert Borges, along with nephews Dennis and Michael Shepherd, Dan, Bill and Richard Borges, and Roberta Queen, plus extended family, friends and former colleagues.

Cal’s first job was at the age 9 was as a newsboy for the Warren Tribune. His first day selling papers on the street was the morning President Hoover was elected. After graduating in 1937 from Warren G. Harding High School, Cal went to work at the Warren Tribune as a printer and as an engineer at radio station WRRN. He had also been active in amateur radio, with the call letters, W8QLA.

A veteran of WWII, Cal served in the US Naval Reserve from 1939 to 1941 and the US Navy from 1944 to 1946 at the Naval Operating Base in Norfolk, VA. He attained the rating of Electronic Technicians Mate 2^nd class. After the war, he returned to the Warren Tribune. In 1952 he joined the Akron Beacon Journal as a printer in the composing room and was there until his retirement in 1983. Throughout his life, he maintained a sharp mind and a great interest in studying electronics, technology, music and history.

Friends are invited to the Redmon Funeral Home for visitation Sunday from 2 to 5 PM where service will be held at Monday at 10:00 AM with burial at Stow Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Hospice of Summa, 525 E. Market St., P.O. Box 2090, Akron, OH 44398-9976 or SaveTheChildren.org.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = =

To see a video tribute to Cal, click on http://memorial.yourtribute.com/Calvin-E-Deshong1/

To read the 91^st birthday tribute to Cal that appeared in the BJ alums blog, click on http://bjretirees.blogspot.com/2009/11/catching-up-with-cal-deshong-for-his.html

To see an online album of photos from Cal’s life, click on https://picasaweb.google.com/115483244393507838338/CalDeshong#

Two tributes to Tim

BJ Alums blog reported in January about former Managing Editor Tim Smith’s June 1, 2012 retirement from the Kent State University School of Communications faculty.

But there are other retirement tributes about Tim.

The tribute to Tim in the Kent State Jargon magazine is inserted near the end of this article.

And then there’s Laura Kessel, managing editor of the News-Herald in Willoughby, who wrote about her experiences with Tim, one of “two journalism professors at Kent State who had the greatest impact on my journalism career.”

Kessel continues:

“My first contact in (Kent State’s) Taylor Hall was Timothy Smith, a professor of journalism and former managing editor at The Beacon Journal in Akron. When I walked into his office for a counseling session a couple of months before my transfer, he told me to have a seat.

“I noted right away there weren’t that many chairs. He pointed me to the church pew that sat along the wall near the door.

“On our drive home, my father said I’d be in good hands. He also said I should start praying. I’m still not sure what he meant.

“Smith became my adviser, and because he was about as gruff as anyone I’d ever met, he always got his way and no argument from me. I took the classes he suggested, and I didn’t challenge him when he forced me and my fellow students to come to our own decisions when we asked him, in his other role as the adviser for the college newspaper, for advice.

“Sure, he called on his experience at the Beacon Journal. But he never told us what to do. It wasn’t his job.

“Don’t get the idea he didn’t care. He did, more than we knew. He just knew that if he was going to mold us into the kind of journalist he was, he needed to start early.

“Yes, we made mistakes. But, we owned them and learned from them. And, that’s all he could ask.

“As I look back on the framework of my education over the years, it’s easy to see that I learned from the best.”

 

= = = = = = = = =

Tim joined Kent State in 1986 after working for 19 years for the Akron Beacon Journal. He has also worked for the Columbus Dispatch, the Painesville Telegraph and United Press International.

He has a bachelor’s degree and master’s in journalism from Ohio State University and a law degree from the University of Akron.

Smith and his wife, Jane, a teacher of gifted children, have three grown children. Jane (Andrews) Smith retired in 2010 after more than 20 years as a teacher at Litchfield Middle School. Randall is a NASA scientist with Harvard Smithsonian Astro Physics Laboratory in Cambridge, Mass. Daughter Rachel is a schoolteacher in Hilliard. Brian is director of planning for the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority and has a law degree from the University of Akron.

Sheinin tosses first pitch at Aeros game

Neil Sheinin, former Beacon Journal staffer and husband of Cheryl Scott Sheinen, threw out the first pitch before the Akron Aeros game Tuesday night. Kind of disappointing that only 2,500 fans turned out on a gorgeous night to watch the first-place Aeros. Check out all the empty seats. Thanks to Roger Mezger for providing this infomration on facebook.

Cal Deshong in critical condition

Calvin Deshong is in critical condition on hospice at home, his daughter Mary Pat Deshong-Kinkelaar reports today.  Cal, who is 93, worked at the Beacon Journal  for 31½ years (May 1952-Sept. 1983).  Please pray for him.

155 in Detroit media offered early retirement

An early retirement offer was made today to 155 employees with at least 20 years experience at The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press and the partnership that handles their joint business operations.

“We’re expecting less than half to accept. It’s a totally volunteer program. We’re kind of excited because it will help people retire a little bit early,” said Alan Lenhoff, director of project management and corporate communications with the Detroit Media Partnership.

The offers were made to employees who were age 56 as of June 30 and had worked at least 20 years with the companies, Lenhoff said.

The offer is two weeks of salary per year of service, capped at 52 weeks, and continued health over the number of weeks each retiree has accrued under the offer, he said.

That’s in addition to whatever pension or retirement the employee may have. Staffers have 45 days to make a decision.

Lenhoff said the offers are aimed at saving money, but he declined to say how much the savings might be, or is hoped to be.

The newspapers and partnership have an estimated combined 1,500 employees, but Lenhoff couldn’t provide specifics on what category of jobs were targeted or how many offers were at which entity. He said some positions were exempted from the offer, but didn’t have a breakdown of what jobs were excluded.

He said some newsroom staff at both papers are eligible for the early retirements.

Read full article in Crain’s Deroit Business

Warner's daughter seeks information

The following is from Mindy Warner, daughter of Dan Warner:

Dear Mr. Liggett:

I am the daughter of Dan Warner, a former member of the Beacon Journal staff. My dad  started at the BJ as a reporter, and left in 1969 as ME. I was not yet born when my father began working at the Beacon-Journal and only 9 years old when he left it to move to Lawrence, MA in 1969. He returned to what had by then become the Knight-Ridder chain in 1970 to assume the role of Night ME of the Philadelphia Inquirer. After about 3 years of that nonsense (12p - 12a, with Sundays and Mondays off and a commute that included 52 stoplights each way), the story is that he and my mother decided it was no way to raise a family. So he returned to the Lawrence (MA) Eagle-Tribune where he was again their ME, then their Executive Editor for roughly the next 40 years, gathering many local prizes along the way. Eventually, the paper scooped up their first Pulitzer for the "Willie Horton" story - known by local Republicans as "The One that Sunk Dukakis!" and by local Democrats in pretty much the same words, but with a decidedly different tone to their voices.

Now, sadly, I'm 52. What can I say? Shit happens. I tried to stay 4 years  old, and as cute as I was when Ben Maidenberg searched his desk and came up with a can of sardines that he gave me for Christmas; or even 5, just like when Tom Suchan came to Mrs. Seachrest's (sp?) Nursery School and took my picture as I sat, very wiggly and tousle-haired, next to a classmate holding out one of our newly-hatched chicks, but - no luck. (I've attached a couple of photos just in case someone on your list wants to see if The Kid looks like her Old Man. I included the one Mr. Suchan took. I'm the kid on the left in that one.)

My dad will be 76 on 8/16. I'm contacting you because I'm trying to put together as many of my dad's  old columns and stories as possible to put on discs and CDs so that he and my mom and brother and I can have them to read and enjoy over and over again (cue the announcer!), and somewhere in the piles and piles of 'stuff' in my "special treasures" drawer there was a clipping from www.acorn.net/bjretireees/pranks.htm.  That particular clip details the "God willing" and "stick this slug up your ass" pranks. I love 'em both! I figured that whoever was behind that website had to know something about my dad, and I had to find that person. Your name was at the head of the list.

Anyway -  The last time I checked, the BJ didn't have anything collected on or by my father. Not even on paper, forget about on computers. They suggested I go to the Akron Public Library and flip through their microfiche files to put things together. I've got at least one day already booked to do that (8/9/12). I know it will take more than one day. Especially since I know so little about exactly when and what my dad did when he was in Akron. 

Any help your group could give me would be extremely appreciated.  I would be very grateful for any  memories, stories, or clips that anybody on your list has and is willing to share with me. I will be in Ohio the 2nd and 3rd weeks of August at the very least. I know that I'll be spending 8/9 in the Akron Public Library copying things from microfiche that my Dad wrote when he was at the Beacon Journal. So far I haven't figured out any other way to get them. If anybody knows anything about what day of the week his column usually ran, or anything that might help me narrow down my search, that would be incredibly helpful. Otherwise, I'll be scanning each paper day-by-day and year by year for every year he was there. Looking on each page for his byline. If anybody remembers a specific story that he covered and/or what year it was, that would help hugely! For example, I've heard that he covered the stories below, but I don't know where or in what years to look for them:

an execution by electric chair (?mb the last one in OH that was legal before they were declared unconstitutional?? IDK)

an* horrific* train crash - (It may have been on a Saturday, because I was  in the office with him when the call came in. I was only with him on that
day because he always went in on Saturdays to judge a children's coloring  contest that ran on Sundays)

Race riots - we got called back from a vacation in Canada because Akron  erupted. I'm guessing this was the summer of '68. But don't know for sure.
All I remember is that we drove all night and stopped at a truck stop for  the best cheeseburgers I've ever had in my whole life. (The memories of
one's children are rarely the same as those of their parents.)

columns about my brother being born (7/14/65) while my father was having  knee surgery to repair a torn cartilege in an entirely different hospital across town. Danny was born in St. Joe's - IDK where my father had his knee surgery done.

columns about quitting smoking or dieting (these could have run every other  week! - I'm just trying to jog memories.)

A Chirstmas story about a woman who was given money every year by an anonymous donor who shoved money into her hand while she was window shopping at a downtown department store. I can't remember the name exactly, but it was "????? mother" that she became known as.

I'm sure there were a blue million other stories that I've not heard anything about. The above are just a few that are either family stories, things I've seen references to in later columns he wrote, or things I remember being at (like the train wreck - I never saw the carnage, but I remember getting chocolate ice cream sodas afterward.)

Also, if anybody knows of any more efficient way that I could get copies of his work, that would be worth more than a peck on the cheek from me, too! At the Eagle-Tribune (in MA, where they would have the most recent copies of his work), I've been going through 5" x 8" envelopes of paper clippings that they've kept of his stuff going back to 1969, but important columns are still missing from these. Some of them are even prize winners - and no-body, no-where has some of those. (Ex: A column about the woman who raised him that won the New England Press Association's Local Column of the Year Award in 1975 - A Holiday Love Letter to Aunt Bub.) I visited 3 libraries before I was able to find a copy of this column. It is a piece that meant so much to both of my parents, and one that everyone in his newsroom still remembers, but nobody could find. I have no idea why NEPA didn't have one, but.....they didn't. I have it now, but it took some doing, and it was only 30 years old, not the 40 or more years that some of his BJ stuff is likely to be.

Please feel free to give my email and other contact information to whomever  would like them. I'm more than happy to share whatever I have, and to visit whomever would like to be visited, or to do the legwork it would take to put together a dinner for everyone at some mutually convenient place and time.

I have always considered the BJ a place of good memories. A place that my  dad worked that was also a home to me, too. No matter that I was a very young child at the time. I'm probably the only person around who was never afraid of Ben Maidenberg - or at least from the stories my Dad tells, I am! I always thought he was wearing "dancing shoes" like "my mommy." I never figured out that those steel tips on the toes of his shoes were meant to intimidate. Just figured he was about to break into a Gene Kelly kind of thing!

Thanks to all - and I send you only my love and best memories,

Mindy


Melinda S. Warner, Ed.D., ABPdN
Fellow Emeritus, American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology
MA Licensed Psychologist #6397
50 Palmer Street, Apt. 11
Salem, MA 01970
melindaswarner@gmail.com
978-473-2877  (cell)
psych2psych.weebly.com  

Comment on newspaper downsizing

Roger Mezger posts on facebook:

 Every time a newspaper downsizes, a newspaper editor writes one of these less-means-more-and-you're-going-to-love-it columns. By now, I think the readers who are left have learned to read between the lines. The fact is, the Cincinnati Enquirer is shrinking again. Worse, it will be printed in Columbus and designed in Louisville. So much for the state of "local" journalism.

Enquirer's new format is innovation with purpose

news.cincinnati.com

Enquirer Media president and publisher, Margaret Buchanan, explains the historic changes coming to the Enquirer in a few months -- a new look, new content, and a new, easy-to-hold and easy-to-read

Healthiest retirees? Female, white, married with money

If you’re female, white and married you’re more likely to be in better health in retirement, according to AgingSociety.org.

Divorced retirees are three times more likely to be in poor health.

Even among male retirees, whites are twice as likely to be in good health as blacks.

And, no surprise, there’s a direct correlation between financial situation and health.

Retirees who do volunteer work are three times more likely to be healthier than those who don’t. Of course, maybe that’s because those who are not healthy are less likely to do much of anything.

Another no-brainer: Healthier retirees are more satisfied with their lives and more optimistic about the future.

Still another duh! moment: There are huge drop-offs in health from people in their 50s to those in their 60s and even more of a dropoff for retirees in their 70s.

Back, neck and spine are the most prominent health problems affecting the ability to continue working.

The data comes from three national surveys of the community-dwelling population living within the United States.

To read the full report, click on the next line.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CGcQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.agingsociety.org%2Fagingsociety%2Fpdf%2Faarp3.pdf&ei=AiUIUI74FdKr2AWA8cjFBA&usg=AFQjCNEWKltVjuISjAKu3Bh8uBWEonUbZw&sig2=XTvCMv-2uLsXtgwFrcbS3Q

Defined benefit pensions: Going, going, gone!

The percentage of workers covered by a defined benefit pension that pays a lifetime annuity, often based on years of service and average salary in later years, the kind that Beacon Journal retirees receive, has gone from 38% in 1980 to 20% in 2008. 


Experts expect most companies to phase out defined benefit pensions within the decade. Companies pay a fixed dollar amount monthly and hope their profits and investments cover the costs. 


The percentage of workers covered by a defined contribution pension -- often subsidized by employers but owned and controlled by employees—has increased from 8% in 1980 to 31% percent in 2008. 


Employees take the risk that the value of their pensions will go up or down depending on how their investments do.


Part of the blame: Employers get better tax breaks and fewer restrictions with defined contribution pensions.


Companies with defined benefit pensions are phasing them out for current employees.

Click on the next line to read the detailed Social Security Administration report with tons of charts and graphs.


http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v69n3/v69n3p1.html

Plying both sides of the street

===============================

       COMMENTARY

===============================

BY JOHN OLESKY (BJ 1969-96)


Chris VanDeHoef has resigned his position as executive director of the Connecticut Daily Newspapers Association after starting up a SuperPAC to benefit Democrat Christopher Murphy’s U.S. Senate race.

VanDeHoef sent the association’s board a memo Tuesday announcing his temporary resignation until Nov. 9 when he will resume his post.


Newspaper people who continually cross over from covering a candidate to being paid to work for that candidate destroy the credibility of what is written in political stories in newspapers. 


Is the article written with an eye to future hiring by the subject?


The media constantly decries the tie-ins between politicians and their staffs and the lobbyists who help them write the laws. If they look to make big bucks from the lobbyists’ companies later, how can they be objective about the laws the lobbyists propose or oppose?


“60 Minutes” had a segment on lobbyist Jack Abramoff who spent millions to “own” members of Congress and the Senate of both parties and their staffs. It’s disturbingly easy, he told Lesley Stahl.


Abramoff served more than three years in prison for his crimes, but giving congressmen and senators gifts, junkets to the world's great destinations and superb tickets to sporting events and hiring their staff members at exhorbitant salaries continues.


And democracy pays the price.


Click on the next line for the article on VanDeHoef going from newsman to paid political campaign hire.

http://ctsenate2012.nhregister.com/2012/07/17/newspaper-association-exec-steps-down-to-run-superpac-to-benefit-murphy/

Online advertising bad news, too, for newspapers

After two decades of operating the way they have for nearly a century, newspapers finally turned to digital advertising in desperation. 

But now online advertising sales by newspapers are stalling, with growth declining for five consecutive quarters,  according to the Newspaper Association of America.

New York Times Company digital advertising revenue is off 2.3 percent from a year ago. It gets 10 percent of its revenue from digital ad sales and 35 percent from print ads.

Even worse: Newspaper articles don’t help ad sales. 

Advertisers "are buying audience instead of context and they don't care what sites they are on," said Gordon McLeod, president of Krux, a company that helps websites interpret data.

To read the entire, scary (for newspapers) article, click on the next line.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/07/us-newspaper-digital-ads-idUSBRE85605E20120607

Outsourced company used hundreds of fake bylines

Outsourcing company Journatic used fake bylines on hundreds of stories it supplied to the Houston Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, Poynter.org reports. Some of the stories were outright plagiarism.

The Tribune has suspended Journatic as its collector of local news. The Chronicle is investigating to decide what to do about the phony bylines and suspect stories.

This is a byproduct of freefalling newspaper revenue that led to drastic staff cuts and a use of outsourcing (translation: cheap, non-union labor) to unreliable sources.

Click on the next line to read the Poynter.org story.

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/181009/journatic-published-hundreds-of-stories-under-fake-bylines-on-houston-chronicle-websites/

Belly fat is no laughing matter

Belly fat is more than just a joke when you pat it.

It can kill you.

Belly fat increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, rectal, pancreatic, endometrial and postmenopausal breast cancer.

What can you? Crunches and sit-ups? Nope, they don’t work.

But diet and exercise together DO work.

If you are a woman and your waistline is 35 inches or larger or a man and your wasteline is 40 inches of larger, you may be in trouble.

Click on the next line to read the article in the July-August 2012 AARP Magazine.

http://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-07-2012/battling-belly-fat.html

David Giffels' mother dies

Donna Mae Giffels, 73, of Bath, passed away peacefully on July 11, 2012, with her family by her side. Her last words were the recitation of the rosary.

Donna was born on March 6, 1939 in Akron, where she attended St. Sebastian School, Our Lady of the Elms High School and The University of Akron. She was a longtime member of St. Vincent Parish.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Eve Auseon; sister, Patricia Kormanik; and infant brother, Daniel.

Through recent illnesses, her greatest desire was to live to celebrate her 50th wedding anniversary. She exceeded that goal by two months.

Donna is survived by her devoted husband, Thomas; son, Ralph (Natalie) and their sons Ryan and Daniel; son, David (Gina) and their children Evan and Lia; daughter, Eve Brunot (Douglas) and their children Gwendolyn and Edward; and son, Louis and his dearest friend, Dana Howell and her sons, Trent and Jeffrey; sister, Kathleen Milo; and numerous relatives and friends.

Requiescat in pace.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday, July 16, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Vincent Catholic Church, 164 West Market St., where the family will receive friends from 8:30 until the time of service. Interment at Holy Cross Cemetery. 

Memorial donations may be made to the Father Thomas Corrigan Scholarship Fund at St. Vincent Parish in Akron or a charity of choice.

Hummel Funeral Homes is handling the arrangements.

=====================================

Click on the next line to post condolences to David and/or the Giffels family

http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/Batesville/guestbook.aspx?n=donna-giffels&pid=158511535

Silly season stories

Comments on newspapers in Sunday's New York Tmes--provided by Charles Buffum.

Click to enlarge for reading

Trio attends retiree lunch

 Carl Nelson, Tracy McClellan and Tom Moore

It's getting a bit lonesome at the retiree luncheon these days.

For the second month onlythree showed: Tom Moore, Carl Nelson and Tracy McClellan, daughter of the late Gene McClellan.

Tracy is still in town settling her dad's affairs. So far she's gotten rid of his cars and there's an open house Saturday for those interested in buying the house.

She expects to stick around for another month. Her husband will rejoin her soon.

She told us about her trip to Japan a few years ago. Her brother lives and works there.

We asked if she found any Japanese men that interested her? She said there was one good-looking fellow, but he was looking to marry an American so he could move to the states.

She talked about growing up in the area and going to Our Lady of the Elms school and some of her driving experiences after she learned to drive.

She said she and her mother made many trips to the Beacon to visit Gene at work...so many that the guard knew them by sight and they had no trouble getting into the building.

When Tom Moore mentioned the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway where he volunteers as a trainman, she said a ride on the train sounded great and she hopes to take the trip with her husband went he comes back into town.

Tom noticed Carl doing a bit of limping. Seems he's got a bad hip and will schedule a hip replacement in the next month or so.

Carl is always good for a good story.

And this week was no exception.

He told us about going through a tornado that hit the west side of Akron, I think he said in the 40s when he was a kid.

He was just getting ready to take a bath when things got rough. His mother and dad were in the basement in front of the fireplace. And the lights went out.

He made his way downstairs when the fury of the storm hit...knocking out windows, hitting the chimney and causing embers from the fire scatter all l over the carpet.

So the family spent the next few minutes stamping out the embers.

When the storm had subsided, he said he was glad he didn't try to take that bath....the bathtub was filled with glass and debris.

And the next day, on the way to school, he said a neighbor's car had been lifted off the ground and deposited in an upstairs room where it remained for a week or so.

Great story and I'm sure a lot of us has a few to share with our colleagues, so mark the second Wednesday of August about 1 p.m. at Papa Joe's in Merriman Valley on your calendar .

We'll exchange “war “ stories and any others we can come up with.

Dave Allbaugh, former BJ reporter, dies

By John Olesky (BJ 1969-96)

Dave Allbaugh, who once covered Wayne County for the Beacon Journal, passed away July 3. 

Dave was the only one who spoke up to management when I was fired for union activities by Dayton Daily News management. Everyone else ran for cover so that they wouldn't be next. I had been at DDN for 13 years when the axe fell and the blackballing began. 

Ben Maidenburg knew about it when I applied for a job at the BJ but said, "If they kept you 13 years, then they were wrong. Pick a side and stay on it while you're here." I did, till later management broke the covenant after Maidenburg's death, and I joined the Guild as a militant member.

Dave exhibited what John Kennedy wrote about in "Profiles in Courage," having the courage of your convictions when it put you at risk.

Dave was highly intelligent, a digger-type newsman, an expert in labor writing.

Bill Hersey, another former BJ reporter, maintained his friendship with Dave to the end. Both worked together, as I did, at the Dayton Daily News.

Dave's obituary in the Dayton Daily News:

Roy Dave Allbaugh

ALLBAUGH, Roy Dave, 83, of Dayton passed away July 3, 2012 at The Hospice of Dayton. He was born on September 14, 1928 in Niles, Michigan to the late Floyd and Lucille (Redke) Allbaugh.

He was a graduate of University of Michigan and received his Masters from George Washington University. Dave served in the Army from 1946-1948 in the Occupation of Japan and then from 1951-1952 at the Atomic test site in the Pacific. Formerly, Dave was a reporter with the New Heaven Register in New Haven, CT and Akron Beacon Journal in Akron, OH. In 1960 he started at Dayton Daily News and retired there in 1988.

Mr. Allbaugh is preceded in death by his parents and 2 brothers, Floyd and Edward Allbaugh.

Dave is survived by his loving wife of 59 years Rose T. Allbaugh; 2 sons, David B. Allbaugh of Arlington, VA. and Mark G (Florence) Allbaugh of Brevard, N.C.; 2 grandchildren, Alex and Lea Rose Allbaugh; 2 nephews, Tom and Michael Allbaugh.

A Memorial Service will be held 4PM Sunday July 8, 2012 at Baker-Hazel & Snider Funeral Home 5555 Philadelphia Dr. Dayton @ N. Main. The family will receive friends 2PM until time of service at the funeral home. Memorial Contributions may be made to The Hospice of Dayton or CASA. Online memories and condolences may be left for the family at www.bakerhazelsnider.com.

The Golden Era of the State Desk

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COMMENTARY

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By John Olesky (BJ 1969-96)

When Harry Liggett visited our Tallmadge condo to straighten out some problems I had with contributing to the BJ Alums blog after I purchased a new computer with its superior – allegedly – software, it got me to thinking about our days together on the State Desk.

After my 1954 graduation from West Virginia University School of Journalism and till my 1996 retirement from the Beacon Journal, I had a 43-year career on newspapers in Charleston and Williamson in West Virginia, Glendive in Montana, Dayton and Akron in Ohio and St. Petersburg in Florida. But the five years on the State Desk among my 26 at the Beacon Journal were the jewels in my memory crown.

Why?

Well, State Desk Editor Pat Englehart, the man with the ever-present DeNobil cigar, had a passion for getting the news, and getting it right, that I didn’t see anywhere else in my career to such an extent. Oh, I worked with a lot of good newsmen, and John S. Knight was the most remarkable owner to allow me into his tent. But the fire in Pat was unstoppable. If a siren went off in a vehicle passing the BJ building, Pat grabbed the phone to find out what was up. And he pushed and even threatened his reporters to do the same. It was easier to placate Pat rather than to face him if you handed in a “horseshit” story.

That trickled down to everyone on the State Desk, from Pat’s assistant State Desk editors like Harry Liggett and myself, to the reporters in Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit and Wayne counties. Pat had the entire staff as persistent in pursuing information as chipmunks were in making Swiss cheese of my former Cuyahoga Falls lawn that surrounded The Pool That Channels Built. There was a spine-tingling pride in putting together a story that Pat liked.

It was this same incessant pursuit of journalistic quality that made Pat the perfect point man for the Beacon Journal’s coverage of the 1970 Kent State shootings by James Rhodes’ National Guard. Managing Editor Bob Giles had Pat leave the State Desk to Harry and the others while the Englehart energy focused on the KSU tragedy. 


The boxes of evidence piled up, with Pat cracking the whip and assigning reporters to check this angle and that angle. There should have been a special place on the BJ’s Pulitzer for Pat’s name because it was his drive that made it inevitable.

And you had to prove your stance to Pat every day. The verbal fire was fast and furious. But both sides had the same goal: The best dadgum stories we could ferret and write. And there was no resentment over the journey. Once the job was done, we would go across the street to the Printers Club and have a beer together and laugh about it all.

It was fun. I ran to work every day. It felt that special.

There was Frances B. Murphey – her retort was “Go to Hell!” in a way that made you feel appreciated – with her nearby clutter. But if Fran wanted something, she could reach into the seemingly disorganized pile and pull out the one piece of paper that she sought. 


When I was put in charge of handling one of the many newsroom furniture and wall-moving reorganizations, Managing Editor Scott Bosley, a fellow West Virginian, told me to “find a wall” away from the third-floor elevator so that visitors wouldn’t see what looked like carnage surrounding Fran. 


I did, arranging Fran’s desk so that it was ensconced within three walls. Hey, I had to give her a place to get in and out; otherwise, there would have been four walls and a private dumbwaiter to get her in and out of her estate.

People like Bill Hershey and Jim Ricci, who went on to larger and bright spotlights in the journalism world, still marvel and revel at the electricity and magic that Pat created.

Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose

However . . .

Oh my friend we're older but no wiser
For in our hearts the dreams are still the same

Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end. 


But they did, in 1974.

The wake for the State Desk was EIGHT hours of partying at Sanginiti’s. We laughed forever and a day.

With apologies to Gene Raskin, the Limeliters and Mary Hopkin.

The excuse was to create a Super Desk. But I suspect the real reason was to break up the empire that Pat had built. He evoked such loyalty from his staff that I think others in management were threatened by that.

Pat was given a small office that is the JSK Room today, isolated from the newsroom and anyone who didn’t want to deal with his firebrand journalism. 


Harry got shunted to Makeup Man.  


I was assigned to the Copy Desk, got a lot of late-night shifts that no one else wanted and was called into Managing Editor Bob Giles’ office with Al Fitzpatrick as a witness while Giles suggested it might be better if I found employment elsewhere (my response was to join the Guild, since management had broken the covenant I made with Ben Maidenburg, and be a union thorn in management’s side by doing exhaustive research of mostly retirement issues when contracts talks loomed; and, today, being the only Guild retiree who risked his own money to file a lawsuit that BJ management settled that will restore retirement-day benefits to maybe 50 retired printers, editors and reporters).

The breakup was complete.

And that magic never happened again.

Nothing seemed the way it used to be – again, from “Those Were the Days” song.

Pat died in 1995 in Florida to a cancer that even his Mogadore fighting spirit couldn’t defeat.

Fran, who began her newspaper career by tagging along with her mother, Marie Thompson Murphey, as a child, died in 1998. There’s a rest area in I-77 in Bath Township just south of I-271 with her name on it, which is fitting considering her penchant for outhouses. 


My daughter, LaQuita, who does stained-glass work, once gave Fran a stained-glass outhouse which Fran kept on her desk for weeks, then submerged it into the Boston Heights mess of her Murpheydale house.

Harry and I have been retired for 16 or more years, and dabble in blogs, such as this one, and high school newsletters via email. 


I’ve traveled to 50 countries with Paula Stone Tucker, who as a reporter experienced the State Desk chaos, euphoria and creativity in 1971 and 1972.

Those were the days, my friend. Too bad they came to an end.

RIP, Pat, Fran & the state desk . . .