BJ newsroom retiree Dick McLinden, who presented a cantankerous
side while working on the copy desk while quietly working with Boy Scouts for
75 years, passed away Sunday, Sept. 6. He lived in North Canton forever.
Dick retired from Ol’ Blue Walls in 1990. He was better known for
his work in the Sunday department on the Beacon magazine.
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| Dick McLinden |
He got to the copy desk in time to encounter a slew of computer
changes as the BJ found its footing in the technology age. I was the newsroom
technology coordinator so I received Dick’s scowls as I tried to usher the
veterans into the computer age.
It was a charade. Dick and I understood and liked each other.
After his retirement, Dick never touched another computer.
He was one of five Guild retirees who had their healthcare benefits
restored to retirement day levels in 2012 by U.S. Federal
District Court Judge David Dowd.
The others were television editor John Olesky of Tallmadge, who
filed the lawsuit, photographer Don Roese of Cuyahoga Falls, reporter Dick
McBane of Lilburn, Georgia, and maintenance’s Harold Bailey and wife Elizabeth
of Kent.
By 2010, Dick has survived a heart attack, had cataract surgery in
both eyes and had a Pacemaker installed. There was more to come, but he met it McLinden style: Head on, no apologies.
Dick's wife, Alice, died in 1999 after 49 years of seeing the
cheerful and generous Scouting side of him.
He also had a wicked sense of humor. In retirement, Dick wrote this
letter to the late Harry Liggett, founder of the BJ Alums blog and another
newsroom curmudgeon:
“It took almost a week to get over the shock of learning that
somebody actually cared about whatever happened to McLinden!
“I'm a total computer illiterate as of now. Everybody and his brother seems to be bound to the computer these days, and I guess I never did run with the herd.
“But it hasn't been easy. When I get the urge to compute, I go out to lunch or something. Boy, am I well fed!
“When I'm not eating I'm taking pills or going to the doctor -- or the bathroom. Marcus Welby would be proud. Seems I'm keeping his colleagues in business. Let's see ... a second knee replacement, triple heart bypass, carpal tunnel surgery, cataract surgery, the heart failure before Christmas, a pacemaker and defibrillator, and maybe a couple of distemper shots from a passing veterinarian sometime when I wasn't looking.
“They tell me that Aetna is considering a whole new category for me -- way too risky.”
“I'm a total computer illiterate as of now. Everybody and his brother seems to be bound to the computer these days, and I guess I never did run with the herd.
“But it hasn't been easy. When I get the urge to compute, I go out to lunch or something. Boy, am I well fed!
“When I'm not eating I'm taking pills or going to the doctor -- or the bathroom. Marcus Welby would be proud. Seems I'm keeping his colleagues in business. Let's see ... a second knee replacement, triple heart bypass, carpal tunnel surgery, cataract surgery, the heart failure before Christmas, a pacemaker and defibrillator, and maybe a couple of distemper shots from a passing veterinarian sometime when I wasn't looking.
“They tell me that Aetna is considering a whole new category for me -- way too risky.”
As for his days in the Sunday department, Dick wrote to Harry:
“Anyway, you asked about the old, golden days in the Sunday
Department. And that's just what they were. I only had to worry about the
Beacon Magazine when Kenny Cole was off sick or something. My guess is that
they just wanted to keep Lary Bloom and Bill Bierman from getting us into a
lawsuit.
“The News and Views section was fun. I was pretty much responsible for it after Lloyd Stoyer left, and that was far and away my best time at the Beacon. I got to write Biography in Brief for several years as well as edit copy. That's why I went there. But Ben Maidenburg's departure changed that in a hurry. No more handling his weekly column. No more picking the Sunday features I thought most appropriate.
“So that was that. Shippy and I got the axe from that department within a few months of each other. Mostly filling space like Art Cullison, Donn Gaynor and some other rejects who didn't fit in well with the new grand design. Not that it was all sackcloth and ashes. I liked the people on the copy desk for the most part. With an exception or two, of course.
“But no JSK and no Maidenburg took away the feeling that I was helping contribute to the best paper in Ohio. So retirement couldn't come too soon. I have a hunch some of the rest of you felt that way, too.
“There it is. My BJ career in a cracked nutshell. Sorry about the lack of a photo. An old one of Tyrone Power will do nicely.”
“The News and Views section was fun. I was pretty much responsible for it after Lloyd Stoyer left, and that was far and away my best time at the Beacon. I got to write Biography in Brief for several years as well as edit copy. That's why I went there. But Ben Maidenburg's departure changed that in a hurry. No more handling his weekly column. No more picking the Sunday features I thought most appropriate.
“So that was that. Shippy and I got the axe from that department within a few months of each other. Mostly filling space like Art Cullison, Donn Gaynor and some other rejects who didn't fit in well with the new grand design. Not that it was all sackcloth and ashes. I liked the people on the copy desk for the most part. With an exception or two, of course.
“But no JSK and no Maidenburg took away the feeling that I was helping contribute to the best paper in Ohio. So retirement couldn't come too soon. I have a hunch some of the rest of you felt that way, too.
“There it is. My BJ career in a cracked nutshell. Sorry about the lack of a photo. An old one of Tyrone Power will do nicely.”
Ah, classic McLinden. As he wrote, “I never did run with the herd.”
Mavericks are what made newspapers -- Ol' Blue Walls, in particular -- such a grand and glorious place to work all
those decades.
Bon Voyage, Dick. I’m sure you’ll meet Fran Murphey and quip: “You
didn’t go to Hell?”
Dick’s obituary:
Richard J. McLinden
1927 - 2015 |
Richard J. McLinden, 87, of North Canton, died early Sunday morning, September 6, 2015, following an extended period of declining health and is now reunited with his beloved wife, Alice.
Born in Canton, October 2, 1927, to the late James and Grace (Buchtel) McLinden, Dick graduated from Timken Vocational High School in 1945. He served honorably in the U.S. Army before graduating from Kent State University in 1951 with a degree in journalism. His 40-year professional career as a newspaperman included staff, feature and editorial positions with The Canton Repository, The Marion Star and The Akron Beacon Journal.
In his leisure time he enjoyed a good round of golf, a game of cards with friends and playing the saxophone and clarinet. Closest to his heart, however, was his long-time commitment to Scouting at the Troop, Explorer Post and Council levels. His dedication to the Boy Scouts of America spanned more than 75 years, during which time he served as a role model to thousands of young men. Other memberships included the Catholic Men's Luncheon Club and the Timken High School Alumni Association where he was a member of the reunion committee.
Predeceased by his parents; his wife, Mary Alice (Boerner) McLinden; his brother, Jim McLinden, and 2 great-granddaughters; Dick is survived by his children, Tim (Pam) McLinden, of Yellow Springs, Ohio, Suzie Collins (and Ken Wilhelm), of Fort Mill, S.C., Jeff (Lynn) McLinden of Colorado Springs, Colo., Amy (Ed) Kuhlman, of Rockford, Ill., Andy (Maura) McLinden, of Lakewood, Ohio and Jenny (Mike) Bachtel, of Massillon. Also surviving are 11 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren; his sister, Mary Katherine Hembree, of Canton; cousin, Patricia Bird, of Canton; sister-in-law, Jean Roberts, of Akron; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and treasured friends.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Wednesday, September 9, 2015, at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Canton with burial to follow in Massillon Cemetery. Calling hours will be Tuesday evening, September 8, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Atkinson Feucht Hare Funeral Home in Massillon and thirty minutes before Mass, from 10:30 to 11 a.m., Wednesday morning, in the church.
The family wishes to thank the staff of Brookdale Senior Living Community and Crossroads Hospice for their kind service and have suggested memorial contributions in their dad's name made to the Camp Tuscazoar Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 308, Zoarville, OH 44656-0308.
To sign our on-line guestbook and confirm driving directions, please visit, www.atkinsonfeucht.com
Atkinson Feucht Hare Funeral Home Massillon, Ohio 330-833-4193
Published in Akron Beacon Journal on
Sept. 7, 2015
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