BY TOM MOORE, BJ newsroom retiree
What can I say
about my longtime friend and colleague?
One sentence
sums him up: "A dedicated journalist; better get it right and watch those
errors."
Tom Moore, Harry Liggett in 2007 |
Harry sat
across from me for 20 years at the Beacon Journal. We were assistant news
editor together--and did whatever other jobs needed.
And he was top
notch in all that he did.
For a while he
left the Metro side of the news desk on Friday nights to design and makeup page
one and the A section.
But then one
night when an Indian pitcher turned in a perfect game, Harry gave it the play it deserved. But the assistant
honcho for news at that time was miffed that Harry had not called him about the
"big story."
I don't know
what he could have done at that time, but evidently he decided that since he
didn't get that call, Harry wouldn't be called on to do the A section again.
Harry was a
mentor to many while on the State Desk and, of course, on the Metro desk.
He presented a
gruff exterior, but was a lamb at heart. When he came in a bit more grumpy than
usual, you knew his blood sugar was acting up. But that didn't deter him from
doing a great job.
When I lost
interest in keeping up a website with BJ happenings after having a quad
by-pass, Harry immediately established a blog and he kept it up-to-date for
many years...our old colleagues, what they were up to now, and what else was
happening in the world of journalism.
Lately,
retiree John Olesky has taken up the torch and we hope will continue the great
job Harry did.
Harry and his
late wife showed up at most of our monthly retiree luncheons. Her loss was
devastating to Harry.
But at the
luncheons, he joined in the reminiscing
and old stories. One of the ones he really liked (and it was read at his
retirement party) concerns a new
reporter who had to cover a sewer meeting. She didn't particularly like
her assignment from the State Desk and left a memo quitting the job.
Harry, you
will be missed. But you can now show St. Peter how to really put out a paper.
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