A pair of escapees from Ol’ Blue Walls, Beth Thomas Hertz and David Hertz, are observing their 22^nd wedding anniversary today – Friday, Oct. 23. Dave left the BJ, as the business editor, after 15 years to become a vice president in the media relations department of Dix & Eaton, a firm in Cleveland.

He came to the BJ after five years at another Knight newspaper in Boca Raton, Florida. At the BJ he was night metro editor, deputy business editor, region editor, business editor, metro editor, enterprise editor and then business editor again.

There was a crowd from the BJ when Beth Angela Thomas and David Ralph Hertz were married on Saturday, October 23, 1993 in the Akron Civic Theater.

Beth was at the newspaper from February 1991 to November 1995 in several jobs including page layout and design. She became managing editor in the Communications Department at the Cleveland Clinic. After six years, she left to be a full-time freelance writer. She has recovered from her July 2015 surgery.

Writes Beth about #22: “We will be celebrating by helping at the concession stand at the Copley High School football game, because that's our life. And we're OK with it. Right, honey?” They live in Copley, where Alyssa and Josh attend school.

Writes Dave: “I married this cute redhead copy editor from the Akron Beacon Journal. Not much has changed, except we have two kids, two cats, sit through band competitions, attend Boy Scout campouts, swim meets, social media escapades, oh, and someone gets foot rubs on a semi-regular basis. I won't say who. Yeah, not much has changed, and I wouldn't have it any other way.”

As for the 1994 photo in the montage above taken the night the Beacon Journal won the Pulitzer prize in 1994, which Dave had a major hand in, only two in the photo are still at the BJ -- editor Bruce Winges and entertainment writer Kerry Clawson. Another reminder of all the firepower that left the building – somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 years of newspaper experience. The newsroom population plummeted from 250 to about 60.

Sitting around the table at Larry’s Bar, starting with Winges (hand raised) and moving clockwise is Michelle LeCompte (deceased), Joette Riley, Steve Berta, Debby Stock Kiefer, Jim Kavanagh, Fred Gerlich (deceased), Phil Glende, David and Beth Hertz, Kerry, and Athena Forrest.