CHARLES SMITH MONTAGUE -- CHASM -- PASSES AWAY

 

Chasm – Charles Smith Montague – who was at the BJ for more than 40 years, passed away May 7.

Chasm was one of my favorite people at the BJ and there was a LOT of competition for that honor because the BJ newsroom had astounding talent and personalities.

Chasm knew how to enjoy life. More people should try it.

The Steubenville native married Rebecca Orosz. They had two sons, Jonathan and Joshua Montague, who with wife Amanda makes delightful chocolates at Lilly Handmade Chocolates in Cleveland owned by Amanda. One of their customers was Kelly Clarkson of American Idol fame.

Chasm retired from the BJ in 2008 in the same week that photographer/page designer Ted Schneider and photographer Lew Stamp did. Now Chasm and Ted are reunited in the afterlife.

Chasm was big in helping stage the famous Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race from Anchorage to Nome in Alaska.

Chasm visited 1970s BJ State Desk reporter Cathy Strong in Wellington, New Zealand, where Cathy is renown world-wide for her Massey University faculty work. Former BJ photographer Don Roese and I also visited Cathy, back to back, one year. So did Fran Murphey, BJ’s extraordinary columnist who made common folks famous.

 

When I contributed to the BJ Layoff Auction, Chasm gave me three lights from the BJ tower which I treasure and keep in my den for daily viewing.

 

One of his sons, Josh, wrote his obituary which will appear in Thursday’s BJ. I can’t add much to it. Chasm would be proud of Josh’s writing:

 

Charles "Chuck" Smith Montague, a renowned journalist, loving father, and doting grandfather, passed away on May 7, 2023.

 

Born in Steubenville, Ohio, in the 1940s, Chuck devoted his life to his family, his fervor for journalism, and his enthusiasm for sports.

 

An academic scholar, Chuck spent a summer interning in Munich, Germany, before graduating from the esteemed Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University in 1969.

 

He launched his illustrious journalism career in Elyria, Ohio, before joining the Akron Beacon Journal in the early 1970s. Chuck's journalistic accomplishments at the Akron Beacon Journal spanned over four decades, during which he served as a reporter, editor, and headline writer.

 

While at the Akron Beacon Journal, Chuck was part of the courageous newsroom team covering the tragic Kent State protest and shootings in 1970. Their efforts were recognized with the prestigious 1971 Pulitzer Prize for General Local Reporting.

 

Alongside his professional accomplishments, Chuck passionately advocated for the fair treatment of Akron Newspaper Guild members, actively participating in labor contract negotiations during the 1970s and 1980s.

 

A man of many talents, Chuck also excelled as a pitcher for the Beacon Journal Bombers Men's Softball team.

 

After graduating from Ohio University, Chuck married Rebecca Orosz. Together, they raised two sons, Jonathan and Joshua Montague, instilling a passion for sports and a deep appreciation for education. Both sons, Montessori, Cuyahoga Falls, and Hudson School alums, pursued successful careers and established their own families.

 

Later in life, Chuck became an Ohio Soccer Association referee, achieving the remarkable feat of refereeing soccer games in all 50 US states. His zest for travel persisted into retirement, leading him on eco-tourism adventures to places like Baja California, the Galapagos Islands, Antarctica, and Alaska.

 

Chuck's warmth, wit, and commitment to his craft left an indelible mark on his family, friends, and colleagues, who will cherish his memory. His sons Jon and Josh (Amanda), grandsons Charlie and Gibson, and a vast community inspired by his kindness, intelligence, and generosity will carry forward his legacy.

ERIKA SMITH PART OF L.A. TIMES PULITZER

 

Erika Smith gets Pulitzer at L.A. Times

 

Former BJ reporter Erika Smith was among Los Angeles Times reporters who won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for revealing a secretly recorded conversation among city council members that included racist comments, a scandal that prompted two officials to resign. 

 

2023 STATE AWARDS FOR BJ NEWSROOM STAFF

 

State awards for BJ newsroom staff

The Ohio Associated Press Media Editors awarded first place to three BJ reporters:

 

Amanda Garrett for best news reporter.

 

Doug Livingston and former reporter Seyma Bayram for best enterprise report for 'How Catholic Democrats in Akron helped write the conservative playbook to overturn Roe.'

Former sports reporter Marla Ridenour for best sports columnist.

 

Ridenour also won a second-place award for best sports writer.

 

Bayram also won third place for explanatory writing.

 

Other winners:

Digital project, second place: Stephanie Warsmith and Paula Schleis.

 

Sports photo, second place: Jeff Lange.

 

Sports feature writer, third place: Nate Ulrich 

 

Feature writer, third place: Craig Webb.

 

Full page design, third place: Sydney Clark.

 

Reporter Derek Kreider won second place for news writer in Division II for work he completed at the Wooster Daily Record before joining the Beacon Journal.

PAULA TUCKER'S PODCAST INTERVIEW ABOUT 1970 KENT STATE SHOOTINGS IS A CAN'T MISS LISTEN!

 

Paula Tucker’s podcast is one you shouln’t miss

Former BJ State Desk reporter Paula Stone Tucker, who in the crowd in 1970 when Ohio National Guard shot and killed 4 and wounded 9 Kent State students over the Vietnam War, gave an amazing interview on the Eyewitness History podcast.

Paula, later a clinical psychologist for Akron Public Schools after two decades in California with Kaiser Permanente, in the 38-minute, 21-second podcast gave a clear, conconside view of May 4 and the events leading up to it.

She did this one with Josh Cohen. It’s an Apple podcast.

Paula was 5 ½ months pregnant and a reporter checking out the scene with Gov. James Rhodes’ Guard, most of them the same age as the students they fired at, when the shooting erupted.

She wrote about it in her best-selling book, “Surviving: A Kent State Memoir,” which dealt with both the Kent State shootings and Paula’s personal life at the time.

It has won Florida writers awards, too.

“Surviving” is available on Amazon.com.

 

You can listen to the podcast at:

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/.../eyewitness.../id1617821942

 

This podcast is deserving of being added to the Kent State archives about that terrible time when opposition to the Vietnam War forced America to withdraw its troops from “that crazy Asian war.”

 

Paula, after California, Akron and Tallmadge homes, is living in her domicile in The Villages, Florida where 150,000 senior citizens live without being in a city. The Schwartz family owns and controls the sprawling Villages which is in three counties.

 

I spent winters there year after year. Loved it!

 

Paula also performs in various bands on her flute, in Florida and, previously, in Summit County.

 

Paula’s brother, Tom Stone, and I are golf partners in senior leagues at Brookledge and Sunny Hill.

PRESERVATION COMMISSION REJECTS BJ DEMOLITION. CITY COUNCIL NEXT STEP FOR APPEAL.

 

Preservation Commission rejects plan to demolish BJ building.

The Urban Design and Historic Preservation Commission voted 5-0 Tuesday against a proposal to demolish the former Beacon Journal building at 44 E. Exchange Street for a parking lot.

Michael Mouron, founder of Capstone Real Estate Investments in Birmingham, Alabama, bought the building for $1.1 million in 2020 after the Beacon Journal relocated to the AES Building at 388 S. Main St.

Mouron’s sons Drew Christopher and Lewis, who manage Capstone, own The Standard, an apartment complex at 22 E. Exchange St., and want to tear down the former newspaper office to accommodate parking.

John York, assistant director of law, said the owner had not met any of the criteria for demolition under Akron’s historic preservation ordinance

● Its integrity has deteriorated beyond saving.

● The building lacks historic or architectural significance or does not occupy a major portion of the historic landmark.

● Maintaining the historic landmark is not technically or economically feasible.

● The commission determines there’s no feasible alternative.

Commission members Jaunae Carter, Leianne Neff Heppner, Mark Schweitzer, Mark Smith and John Wheeler turned down Mouron’s request.

The Akron Times-Press built the downtown landmark in 1929, and it became the Beacon Journal’s headquarters after the two newspapers merged in 1938.

The Beacon Journal was Editor and Publisher John S. Knight’s first newspaper after he took over the business from his late father, C.L. Knight during the Great Depression. It grew into 32 newspapers employing 18,000 workers.

The Beacon Journal won four Pulitzer Prizes.

The owners can appeal the commission’s decision to Akron City Council.

MARK DAWIDZIAK AND POE TOGETHER, FOREVERMORE!

 

Forever more!

 

Mark Dawidziak is continuing his Cuyahoga County Public Library tour with his latest book, “A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe.” 

 

Mark appeared at North Olmsted on Thursday, April 27 and will be at the Chagrin Falls branch at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 17.

 

Chagrin Falls registration:

https://attend.cuyahogalibrary.org/event/7584426

The launch event was February 14.

JANE SNOW AND TONY KAWAGUCHI CELEBRATE 16th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

 

Jane Snow, the best BJ food writer (and there was plenty of excellent competition) in history, and Japanese native and sushi chef Tony Kawaguchi celebrated their 16^th wedding anniversary at Henry Wahner’s in Kent, a restaurant Jane reviewed for the BJ more than 30 years ago.

Quips Jane: ‘It’s just as good as when I reviewed it. Tony has held up well, too.”

When Jane walked into Tony’s Sushi Katsu restaurants in the Merriman Valley, where I have enjoyed the cuisine from time to time, Tony swept her off her feet when he hugged her into the air and said, “You’re going to be my girlfriend.”

Two weeks later, they were engaged. The next year, they were married.

When a sushi chef marries a food writer you know that’s a match made in cuisine heaven.

There were two Snows who were BJ food wrtiers. The first was Glenna Snow, whose 1944 “Glenna Snow’s Cook Book” has been purchased for decades and decades.

BJ readers thought for decades that Glenna and Joan were related. They aren’t. Just had Snow for a surname.

In between was Polly Paffilas, Charlene Nevada and Connie Bloom.

Glenna retired from the BJ in 1944. Jane, who started at the BJ in 1979, in 2006.

Jane once told me:

“Glenna Snow’s son called me once from his home in Biloxi, Mississippi. He wanted to know why the BJ was still using his mother’s name. Her cookbook usually can be found at The Bookseller in Wallhaven.”

WILL BJ BUILDING BE DEMOLISHED FOR A PARKING LOT. TUESDAY, MAY 2 MEEETING BY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION

 

Parking lot or salvation for BJ building?

 

The Urban Design and Historic Preservation Commission on Tuesday, May 2 will consider whether the former BJ building is demolished and the the property turned into a parking lot or saved as a historic site.

The 230,000 square foot BJ building and tower was bought by Capstone Real Estate Investments in Birmingham, Alabama.

Capstone founder Michael Mouron paid $1.1 million in 2020 for the 44 E. Exchange Street building. The BJ moved to the seventh floor of the AES Building at 388 S. Main St., a former rubber company building.

Mouron’s sons Drew Christopher and Lewis, who manage Capstone Real Estate Investments, own the former student housing building at 22 E. Exchange St. and have converted it into a conventional apartment property known as The Standard. They want more parking for the apartments.

The meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 2, on the third floor of City Hall in the City Council chambers.

The Akron Times-Press opened the downtown landmark in 1930, and it became the Beacon Journal’s headquarters after the two newspapers merged in 1938.

The Beacon Journal was editor and publisher John S. Knight's first newspaper after he took over the debt-ridden business during the Great Depression from his late father, C.L. Knight. JSK created Knight Newspapers,, which once owned 32 newspapers and employed 18,000 workers.

KNIGHT FOUNDATION CEO ALBERTO IBARGUEN RETIRES

 

                                   Alberto Ibarguen, wife Susana

Legendary Knight Foundation CEO Ibarguen retires

Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for 18 years, is retiring at the age of 79.

Ibargüen, who was publisher of the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald before agreeing to oversee the multibillion-dollar endowment of the Knight Foundation.

In 2021 his wife for 53 years, Susana Ibargüen, a civic leader and a board president at Pérez Art Museum Miami, passed away after a two-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurological disorder known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

 

Under Ibargüen’s leadership, the Knight Foundation poured $2.3 billion into media, tech development and arts and community-building organizations in states where the Knights had newspapers.

the Knight Foundation operates in Akron; Miami; Charlotte, North Carolina; Detroit; Macon, Georgia; Philadelphia; San Jose, California; and St. Paul, Minnesota.

Ibargüen was a Peace Corps volunteer in Venezuela, too.

“I think we did OK,” Ibargüen said.

Indeed!

Ibargüen was Puerto Rican-born, New York-reared, and educated at Wesleyan University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

JIM DETTLING'S FAMOUS BROTHER PASSES AWAY

 

Jim Dettling’s brother

Passes away

 

Brother of Jim Dettling, the late delightful BJ co-worker, passed away.

Jim Dettling and Bill Bierman added joy to my 26 BJ years.

Obituary for Jim’s brother:

Dr. John J. Dettling, age 94, of Akron, Ohio, passed away peacefully at home, on March 22, 2023, with his family by his side.

John was born in Akron and was a lifetime resident of the area. He was an Obstetrician and Gynecologist. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame and received his Medical Degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He interned at St. Vincent Hospital in New York City. Following his internship, he completed a four year Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Downstate Medical Center and King's County Hospital in New York. The following year he received a Fellowship in Gynecological Oncology at Downstate Medical Center and King's County Hospital from the American Cancer Society. He was a diplomat of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He was a Captain in the United States Air Force, serving in Japan for two years.

John was the past Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and member of the Executive Committee at St. Thomas Hospital, in Akron. He later was the Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Akron City Hospital and a member of its Executive Committee and Finance Committee. He was also past Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Lakewood Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. He was an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northeast Ohio Medical University.

John was past President of the Akron OB-GYN Society, past President of the American Cancer Society, past President of the Ohio Ballet, and past member of the Board of Trustees of the Akron Symphony Orchestra.

Following retirement from private practice in 1992, John worked for the Fairview Hospital System in Cleveland and at the Cleveland Clinic Health System. He retired from the Cleveland Clinic in 2003. He was a former member of the Summit County Medical Society and Bluecoats.

He was a past member of Portage Country Club and Catawba Island Club, where he was a Past Commodore. He was an avid boater on the Great Lakes for 25 years and was a member of the International Order of the Blue Gavel. He loved to ski and had a home in Vail, Colorado for 30 years. He was a member of St. Sebastian Church and later St. Victor Church.

John was preceded in death by his parents, John Alfred Dettling, Jr. and Hazel Diener Dettling, sister, Joan Botdorf, brother, Thomas Dettling, and brother, James Dettling.

Married to the former Marjorie Beringer for 62 years, he was the father of five children: son John C. ( Dr. Jacqueline) of Arlington, Virginia, daughter Rosemary of Chevy Chase, Maryland, daughter Karen Stultz (John) of Reston, Virginia, daughter Gail Morrison (David) of Cleveland, and son Scott (Karrie) of Akron and 12 grandchildren.

The family would like to express our most heartfelt thank you to the SummaCare Hospice care staff, who treated John with kindness, respect, and compassion.

There will be no calling hours. A graveside service will be held at Holy Cross Cemetery for the immediate family only. A Memorial Mass will be held on April 14, at 11 a.m. at St. Victor Church, 3435 Everett Road. Should friends desire, memorials may be made to the Department of Obstetrics, Summa Health System, 525 E. Market St., P.O. Box 2090, Akron, Ohio 44309 or to St. Victor Parish Foundation, 3435 Everett Road, Richfield, Ohio 44286.

Arrangements are being handled by the Hummel Funeral Home.

 

CHERYL SCOTT SHEININ HURT AGAIN IN FALL .... 'WEAK LEGS'

 

Cheryl Scott Sheinin

Hurt in fall

Blame it on all that star bowling!

BJ Finance retiree (after 45 years) Cheryl Scott Sheinin, who blames her “weak legs,” fell again “and my neighbor had to come over to help (husband) Neil get me up. We owe him big time.

“Not hurt, just my pride.”

Garfield High graduate Cheryl and Neil both are bowling stars. Neil had a high handicap for a 3-game series with 685. Cheryl had high series raw score of 463!

 

Neil bowled Cheryl over the first time she saw him. I’ll let Cheryl tell the story:

“We met at the Beacon. I worked the Public Service counter when it was on the 2nd floor. This handsome guy got off the elevator from the 3rd floor and came up to me to buy stamps. I looked at him, leaned over to open the drawer to get the stamps and fell off the stool. Great first impression.

“I found he was a copy runner in editorial and the chase was on."

“He left the BJ to work in Pennsylvania for Brunswick Bowling for a couple of years. When he returned to Akron he worked at Fairlawn Lanes and that is where our BJ ladies bowling team bowled.

“We caught up again there and the dating began. We got married in 1979.”

The math says that’s 44 years!

 

They did more than park themselves together in bowling alleys.

Neil and Cheryl have visited national parks like Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota (with the 4 Presidents), Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota, Devils Tower in Wyoming and Teddy Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.

 

Cheryl’s brother, Don Scott, passed away in 2020. Their parents were Louise and Everett Scott. Don was a Goodyear supervisor for 35 years. During the 1950s when he was in the Army he got a tank injury that caused continuous back problems, but not enough to keep him from golfing, bowling and fishing.

 

Cheryl is a remarkably constant friend to have, too.

When former BJ security guard Anna Nitz passed away, Cheryl was in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 2012 for the spreading of Anna’s ashes into the Atlantic Ocean area Anna loved so much.

Anna’s husband, Bill Nitz, was there. Bill’s cousin Albert Nitz was Bill’s chaffeur for the seaside ceremony. Bill passed away in 2019.

Anna began with the Pinkertons for 42 years, starting in 1968, and migrated to spending much of her life greeting visitors to 44 E. Exchange Street. For those not in the dinosaur age that was where the BJ building was before moving into an former rubber shop 7^th floor on Main Street in Akron. 

GANNETT KING OF THE GOUGE-IT NEWSPAPER OWNERS!!!!

 From Gannett

To dammit!!!

In FOUR years Gannett reduced from 27,600 employees to 11,200 employees.

Politicians, major corporations and the weathiest Americans must be giddy that 16,400 watchdogs of democracy are gone!

Gannett is not slashing employees. It also is torching newspaper throughout America. In 2019 Gannett owned 261 daily and 302 weekly newspapers. By the end of 2022 Gannett had 217 daily and 175 weekly newspapers.

Digital newspapers are far less profitable than printed versions people can hold in their hands.

 

Detroit Free Press, which lured BJ management to it decades ago because of its reputation, went from 217,471 circulation in 2018 to 103,606 in 2022 – a 52.4% drop!

Arizona Republic (74.7%), Indianapolis Star (74.5%) and Louisville Courier-Journal (74%), one bluebloods of journalism, makes the Free Press plunge look anemic by comparison.

Even Gannett’s USA Today went from 579,692 paid subscriptions in 2018 to 134,629 in 2022.

Wonder what the future holds for the BJ, a Gannett newspaper that began in 1897 with a merger of the Summit Beacon, born in 1839, and the Akron Evening Journal, founded in 1896.

Charles Landon Knight bought the BJ. John S. Knight, best newspaper owner in American history, took over with his father passed away in 1933 in the throes of great debt and the Great Depression and built it into the Knight Newspapers empire of more than 30 newspapers.

It's downhill for local newspapers today with no brakes and no sympathy for thousands tossed into the streets without a job.

CATCHING UP WITH ARNIE ROSENBERG

 

Former BJ Deputy Metro Editor Arnie Rosenberg posted a lovely tribute to his wife, Fran Sherman, on her birthday:

“Happy birthday to my wonderful, beautiful wife . . . who puts up with my “crap,” as the greeting card said! I've got so much to be thankful for, but nothing more than her good health and terrific recovery from surgery. We started celebrating two weeks ago and will keep it going until at least this weekend! You're the best!"

Glad to read about Fran’s recovery from her surgery.

These days Arnie is Treasure Coast Newspapers Editor.

Also after leaving the BJ Arnie was GIE Publishers editor in chief, Denver Post former assistant City Editor, Sun Sentinel Metro editor for Palm Beach County.

His resume includes Sun News editor, Painesville Telegraph reporter.

The Beachwood High and Ohio University graduate lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

One photo shows Arnie and Fran in Colombia.