Tom during his Lorain Journal days

Tom & wife Dot

 Once the lad from Lorain

BJ newsroom retiree Tom Moore has buried more newspapers than Tony Ritter just by showing up for work. J

Sorry, Tom, I couldn’t resist.

Tom's 41-year newspaper career included the Zanesville News, Columbus Citizen and Columbus Citizen Journal. All went belly-up.

Eventually Tom came to the BJ, where John S. Knight began building the Knight Newspaper chain. We all know what happened, right, Tom? 

Tony Ritter sold Knight-Ridder into extinction so he could buy more yachts and throw more parties.

Seriously, the photo shows Tom early in his career, at the Lorain Journal. He’s the guy sitting in front of the wire machines. If you’re under 50, have your journalism grandfather explain to you what they are.

Thomas the Tank Engine and Tom the conductor

Let Tom clarify:

“This was the news and copy desk of the Lorain Journal. The editor and I edited the  A-section. The editor drew the pages every day. The news and city editor took care of the local news pages and the state editor took care of news from correspondents in the area.

“At that time it was a great place to work and these guys are some you won't find any more. They were always looking for stories and would write them themselves if a reporter wasn't available. Long live good journalism.”

Marvin Katz, whose 40-year career included the BJ, was at the Lorain paper in 1958-60, in the Elyria bureau with Andy Cota. Marv retired in 1998.

Today, the giant building that housed the Journal in downtown Lorain is nearly empty. One room is used for a handful of ad people and a few reporters. The rest is just vacant.

Sounds a lot like the three-story BJ structure, doesn’t it, which razed its parking lot, sold the printing presses and is trying unsuccessfully to get someone to occupy the first two floors while putting out a newspaper on the third floor with about 60 people, down a long ways from my 1996 retirement when there were 250?

Tom was born Dec. 14, 1930 in Richmond, Virginia, but was adopted by Spotswood and Virginia Moore in Tazewell, Virginia. "I didn't know I was adopted until I was 21," Tom said.

Tom's 41-year newspaper career included the Bluefield (WV) Daily Telegraph.  Bluefield, West Virginia, was the birthplace of the legendary John S. Knight. But JSK left at the age of 3 when his family moved on its way to starting the Knight Newspapers empire.

In addition, Tom for four years worked part-time in the Ohio State Patrol headquarters in Columbus, editing the patrol's magazine, The Flying Wheel.

As Tom ID’ed the guys in the Loraine photo: From left, Brian MacMara, guy by name of Totten, Tom next to the wire machines and Editor Ed Lapping.

Brian and Tom both went to Columbus, then Akron.