To all my friends who
prowled Ol' Blue Walls

We had a ball!!!

 
May 2019 be one of the greatest years in your life, you-all!

John Olesky

BJ 1969-96

 

World traveler, WVU sports fan, Florida winterizer

Former BJ correspondent Wilma Kollert passes away

Wilma Kollert, a BJ Summit County correspondent in the 1960s/1970s, passed away on Monday, December 24.

Wilma covered Richfield, Bath Township and Boston Heights.

She covered meeting by Richfield zoning board chairman Richard Backderf.

She also wrote for the Richfield Community News and Calendar newsletter along with Mary Anne Backderf.

Thanks to former BJ sports editor Ken Krause, who lives in Medford, Massachussetts, for that information.

In case you’re wondering, Richard Backderf and Mary Anne Backderf are the parents of John “Derf” Backderf, the brilliant “My Friend Dahmer” cartoonist married to another BJ escapee, reporter Sheryl Harris who joined the parade to the PD.

Derf’s dad was a Goodrich research chemist in Brecksville for 36 years. Both parents were Akron South High graduates who winterized in Hilton Head, South Carolina. University of Akron graduate Richard passed away in 2011.
 
Advertising Art retiree Mike Williams, like Ken my Retirement Reference Library source, added:

She must have been a writer, because her first mention was as a Beacon
Journal winner in an Ohio journalism contest in 1969.  She was a definite competitor because she was runnerup to Maxine Johnson in the
Ladies Bowling competition in 1968.

 Wilma’s obituary:

Wilma Kollert

Wilma J. Kollert, 78, of Richfield, died Dec. 24, 2018 at her home.

Wilma was born Sept. 22, 1940 and graduated from Norwayne High School in 1958. She had been a resident of Richfield since 1964 and had worked at the Beacon Journal and at the former L& K Motel. Wilma enjoyed doing crafts and had set up at many area craft shows.

Surviving are her husband, Carl who she married Sept. 28, 1957; her children, Cynthia (David) Rogers and Curtis (Barb) Kollert and five grandchildren and one greatgrandson.

Private family services will be held with burial in Burbank Cemetery. Tributes may be shared at www.Murray-Funeral-Home.com    

 

Former BJ columnist Thrity Umrigar has sold movie options for 3 of her novels: “The Story Hour,” “The Space Between Us” and the “Space” sequel, “The Secrets Between Us.”

Thrity added:

“As most of you may know, selling an option doesn't mean that this will result in a movie being made. But, you gotta start somewhere, right?

“Also, I will have two new children's books out in 2020. The first is called “Diwali: Festival of Lights” (Scholastic).

"The second is about the Parsis of India, a project that's near and dear to my heart. This one will be published by Running Press/Hachette, who also published by first picture book, 'When I Carried You in My Belly.' ”

As we all know, Thrity has more novels published, many with themes about India, the country of her birth.

If any of these 3 novels do well as films you just know more of her novels will become movies.

There may be a string of Thrity movies some day.

It couldn't happen to a better person.

And to think I knew her when.

Thrity also published “If Today be Sweet,” “The Weight of Heaven” and “The World We Found.” Her memoir is “First Darling of the Morning.”

Thrity began her reporting career with The Lorain Journal. Two years later, in 1987, she came to the BJ.

She left the Beacon to attend Harvard on a Nieman Fellowship, wrote “Bombay Time” and her author career took off.

Thrity also teaches creative writing at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Thrity left India at the age of 21 to attend Ohio State University.

Union-busting comes to PD

The Plain Dealer is joining union-busters like Cox and Gatehouse Media.

The PD Guild said the PD will boot out 29 copyediting and designing Guild members and farm their work out to non-union Advance Local.

PD Guild members can switch to Advance Local and do the same work, but with being in a union.

Union-busting in 2018.

Gatehouse Media has some of the BJ work done in Austin, avoiding paying Guild members in Akron for doing it.

The PD Guild’s post:

The Plain Dealer News Guild

The Plain Dealer informed the Guild today it would move forward with a plan to outsource the jobs of 29 Guild and management employees who copy edit, curate and... design our newspaper.

The Plain Dealer unit of the Northeast Ohio Newspaper Guild for months has fought to keep this work in Cleveland because the Guild knows that having local journalists, with knowledge of the community, would produce the best newspaper.

The company had a proposal from the Guild that offered significant savings and would preserve quality. The company could not assure the Guild, other than with platitudes, that the other “bidders” would treat Guild work with the same care.

Instead, the company made its choice based on “cost savings and efficiencies.”

Plain Dealer readers deserve more than a cookie cutter newspaper.

The Guild has seen examples of mistakes in other papers using the centralized production model that concern the Guild greatly.

Plain Dealer Editor George Rodrigue told the public that all decisions about content would rest with The Plain Dealer but, based on Guild conversations with Rodrigue, that does not appear to be entirely true.

The Guild believes this clearly is a union-busting move as the company has said some non-union jobs would be offered to current employees who do essentially the same duties now but would have to work for Advance Local, which is a part of the same overall company.

Rx card sent to wrong name, wrong city !!!

Don’t ask me how it happened but my new Sav-Rx prescription card from Sound Publishing/Beacon Journal wound up with Wendell H. Miller in Canton, Ohio.

Wendell, bless his soul, mailed my new prescription card to me with a note explained that it went astray.

How the hell can a card for Tallmadge wind up in Canton!

If you run into Wendell, shake his hand and tell him you’re glad to meet an honest person. Someone else would be running up drug bills with forged ID cards that pretend to be me.

It’s good to know that I’m not the only honest person in America. Wendell, I salute you! And yes, I did text Wendell at the phone number on the card to thank him, too.

But methinks Sound Publishing and/or Sav-Rx need to be more accurate and careful with where they are sending the Rx cards.

If you don’t get your card, maybe Wendell got it, too. Or someone not as honest as Wendell.

Obituary, calling hours for Ted Schneider

Calling hours for Ted Schneider will be 3-7 p.m. Friday, December 28 at the Donovan Funeral Home on Tallmadge Circle.

Ted Schneider

There will be a Celebration of Life open house at Ted and his widow Rose’s home at 505 Letchworth Drive in Akron at 1-5 p.m. Saturday, December 29.

Ted passed away Sunday, December 23.

Ted’s obituary:

Theodore “Ted” R. Schneider, Jr., 72, died December 23, 2018.

He leaves his ex-spouse, Sally, wife, Rose, his daughters, Tanya (Erik), Renee (Rick) and Stacy (David); his son, Theodore, III (Jessica); and extended family, Jeff (Lesley) and Lauren (Fred).  He leaves a combined number of grandchildren of 14.  He leaves his siblings, Beryl (Karen) and Cheryl (James) along with three nephews, five nieces, many cousins, and friends.  He was preceded in death by his daughter, Nicole.

Ted was born in Cleveland and was a lifelong resident of Northeast Ohio. He attended Brooklyn High School.  Upon graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he honed his skills as a photographer. After an honorable discharge, he pursued his passion as a photojournalist beginning with the United Press International, The Cleveland Press and finally with the Akron Beacon Journal. In addition to photographer, he held various design and page layout positions, retiring after 38 years of service.

Three of his favorite pastimes included Monday golf, Wednesday “poker nights” and tinkering with and driving his classic British MGBs.  He served as secretary of the Northeast Ohio MG Club and the Emerald Necklace MG Register.

Calling hours will be 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. Friday, December 28, 2018 at the Donovan Funeral Home, 17 Southwest Ave. (On the Historic Tallmadge Circle).

A Celebration of Life open house will be held at Ted and Rose’s home on Saturday, December 29, 2018 from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. at 505 Letchworth Dr., Akron, OH  44303.

In lieu of flowers, family members suggest memorials be sent to the Cancer Research Institute National Headquarters, 29 Broadway, Floor 4, New York, NY 10006. www.cancerresearch.org

Ted Schneider, former BJ photographer and line- drawer and by far the best Ann Hill letter-reader ever, has passed away.

That’s the word from Ken Krause, former BJ editor who lives in Medford, Massachussetts, who added:

“I had heard from Mike Herchek that he had been diagnosed with throat cancer in November.”

Ted left the BJ in 2008 at the same time as reporter Charles Montague, aka Chasm, and photographer Lew Stamp. Ol’ Blue Walls lost 38, 38 and 37 years of experience, respectively.

Ted not only regaled Guild members with his Ann Hill skits, including one with Ted dressed as a nun, but he took a trip to California, tracked down Ann Hill and told her what a legend the Ohio State grad was at the BJ for her “I didn’t come here to write about shit” memo to managing editor Bob Giles.

Ann was given the Pat Englehart shock-troop treatment and sent to cover a Canton sewer meeting. Hence the appropriate terminology in her memo.

Ted tried to entice Ann to return to the annual BJ Christmas parties that featured a reading of the Ann Hill letter for three decades, and to read herself on the 25^th anniversary of the writing of the scathing memo, but she declined. So Ted did the gig in rap that time.

Last I heard, Ted’s daughter Tanya lives in Oregon, Renee in Wooster, Stacy in Florida and Ted III (the baby in Ted, Jr.’s arms with Jim Ricci) in Akron. 

The woman in the photos with Ted and the babies is his wife, Rose.

Peace. Love. Joy.
God bless us, everyone.

Deadliest year for journalists

Jamal Khashoggi 

 

Time Magazine’s Person of the Year are journalists killed or in prison for doing their job.

262 journalists were imprisoned in 2017 because national leaders didn’t like the way they wrote or spoke the news.

That’s a record!

And a sad commentary at a time when America’s President labels the media “the enemy of the people,” which is what all dictators call the media.

Read the article at https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/time-s-2018-person-year-killed-imprisoned-journalists-n946311?cid=eml_nbn_20181211&fbclid=IwAR1FrzbATcR07BVw5bqTNryAcgL8H_pjjHXJUsGEiBYVTwdX8x5G0p3OhBA

A target in a scary way

We live in a world where journalists have to worry far more about being physically attacked for doing their jobs.

President Trump’s labeling the media “the enemy of the people” has unleashed those who would do physical harm.

People have always gotten angry at what they read if it didn’t match their opinion. But they resorted to writing a letter to the editor or muttering under their breath.

Now they take a gun into a Maryland newsroom.

Read the article on the Poynter web site at https://www.poynter.org/news/stakes-are-higher-women-charge-safety?fbclid=IwAR38NNTAY94Y6NlYEmyhFhLooTXb8K2F_BMFIxerEDDseSzceTqYrnIzbyY

 

As a side note:

 

I've told this story before, but Bill Hershey was covering roving United Mine Workers pickets at non-union mine sites. He was discussing his findings so far when he said, "I have to hang up."

 

Later, he called back. "A (union miner) guy pulled a gun and me and asked me what I was doing," Bill said.

His response: "People are telling lies about you and I'm hear to learn the truth."

The gun-toting union supporter said, "OK, come along with us."

Bill is an excellent writer. That night, he was a quick thinker.

And he got the story to the BJ on deadline from his southern Ohio stopover.