Friday, April 10, 2015



64 years ago Tom and Dot Moore boarded the wedding train.

Happy anniversary, kids!

Let Tom, in the Air Force at the time and now a BJ newsroom retiree whose favorite word is “goddammit,” tell it:
“How time flies when you're having fun. Here's my beautiful bride and I 64 years ago sampling our wedding cake. On the way to the chapel, my NCO (Bob Thorne) said if I wanted to back out at the last minute, he could arrange orders and a plane to take me to England.”
Tom and Dot, who live in Akron, have four children:

Tom's son, also named Tom, who with wife Sabrina Naylor are the parents of Amanda Jean. Son Tom deals in pallets and junk.

Amy Moore, the youngest daughter.

Caroline Jean Krack, the oldest daughter, who lives in Minnesota and retired as a teacher's aide.

Katherine Ann Moore, who lives in Cuyahoga Falls, and retired from the Environmental Protection Agency after 34 years with the government.

All of Tom and Dot's daughters were copygirls at the BJ in their younger days.
Tom was born Dec. 14, 1930 in Richmond, Virginia, but was adopted by Spotswood and Virgina Moore in Tazewell, Virginia. "I didn't know I was adopted until I was 21," Tom said.

Tom's 41-year newspaper career was on the Bluefield (WV) Daily Telegraph, Zanesville News (now defunct), Lorain Journal, Columbus Citizen-Columbus Citizen Journal (both defunct) and the BJ. Bluefield, West Virginia, where the legendary John S. Knight was born. But JSK left at the age of 3 when his family moved on its way to starting the (now defunct) Knight Newspapers empire.

In addition, Tom writes, "For four years I worked part-time in the Ohio State Patrol headquarters in Columbus, editing the patrol's magazine,The Flying Wheel,” a reference to the logo you saw on the side of patrol cars.

"I got my journalist 'degree' from the Air Force via GED and correspondence courses," Tom wrote. "I wrote for the base newspaper in Washington, D.C. and became editor six months later."

Maybe Tom can get Cincinnati native Doris von Kappelhoff to sing to him again, as she did in 1949 when she performed with Bob Hope in an Air Force amphitheatre. You might remember her as Doris Day – she changed her name to match the song, “Day by Day.”
Doris singing “Sentimental Journey” to Tom and Dot seems fitting to me.
Or Tom could just find the tune on one of his 31 Doris Day albums in his home.
Doris, 91, lives in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.

I can hear Tom on his wedding night, as Dot displays his wedding present:

“Goddammit!”

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