Farewell to a friend

By Mike Peticca, Plain Dealer Reporter

Saturday June 13, 2009, 5:39 PM

Bill Nichols, who broke the story for The Plain Dealer in early 1970 that Cleveland would be awarded an NBA franchise, died early Saturday morning of a heart attack suffered at his home in Rocky River.
Nichols, 79, had battled a heart condition for several years, but remained active and was near completion of writing a book about Canterbury Country Club. He attended Lakewood High School, served in the U.S. Navy for four years and covered the Cavaliers for The Plain Dealer during their first 11 years.
During his 30-year career at The Plain Dealer, Nichols was also a beat writer for Cleveland State basketball and local small-college sports, besides working a range of other assignments. He was appreciated by peers and those he covered for his warmth and sincerity, besides his determined professionalism.

Former Plain Dealer Indians' and Browns' beat writer Russell Schneider, 81, sometimes met with Nichols and another former Plain Dealer sports reporter, Dick Zunt, for breakfast after they all retired.
"I knew Bill as a friend, and had great respect for him as a journalist," Schneider said. "He was always a good guy. He did a good job with the Cavs. Obviously, he was a good journalist, or he wouldn't have been teaching journalism."
Nichols taught college classes on sportswriting and public relations for more than 20 years, including stints at Baldwin-Wallace, John Carroll, Cuyahoga Community College and Hiram, before retiring several years ago. He was the 2004 recipient of the Jake Wade Award, presented annually to an individual in the media for contributions to the advancement of inter-collegiate athletics. Other winners of the award from the College Sports Information Directors of America include Keith Jackson, Dick Enberg and Billy Packer.
In 1980, Nichols received an "Excellence in Journalism" award from the Cleveland Press Club.
"Bill was a fantastic person. He loved students, loved teaching students and the inter-action with them," Baldwin-Wallace sports information director Kevin Ruple said. "And, all that was secondary to family."
Nichols graduated in 1947 from Lakewood High, where he played baseball for three years. He married schoolmate Jean (Havens) Nichols in 1957. Between his service in the Navy and his hiring by The Plain Dealer, Nichols worked for eight years at American Greetings. Following his retirement from The Plain Dealer, he was an official scorer at Indians' games for several years.
A longtime friend of Nichols' was Merle Levin, who worked 38 years as the sports information director at Cleveland State and its forerunner, Fenn College, and died on Wednesday night at age 81.
Nichols is survived by his wife, Jean, son, Wade, daughter, Lee Anne Chambers (John) and grandson, Andrew. Visitation will be Tuesday, 4-8 p.m., at Zeis-McGreevy Funeral Home, 16105 Detroit Ave., in Lakewood. Interment will be at Riverside Cemetery in Howe, Ind., on a date to be announced. Memorial contributions can be made to the American Heart Association.

Also: Terry Pluto remembers Bill -- http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2009/06/to_both_friends_and_his_story.html

A Hall of Fame Reunion

By Stuart Warner


Angst over the future of the business. Concern for our younger colleagues. Yet belief that their technical wizardry will produce an economic model that will allow them to earn a living practicing the craft that we loved. All words spoken at the third Annual Press Club of Cleveland Hall of Fame Reunion & After-Work Party on May 18 at Nighttown where the skills and virtues represented by our Hall of Famers were represented, discussed and debated, including the hope that the journalism values they stood for will not be lost in an industry that is spinning upside down.

At least a dozen HOF members were on hand. TV-8's Danny Coghlan, the last to arrive, of course, making a boisterous entrance.

Hall of Famer Cynthia Dettelbach was making her final appearance as editor of The Cleveland Jewish News, her retirement effective by the time you read this.

Former PD reporters Tom Andrzejewski, Don Bean, Bob Dolgan and Dick Zunt were on hand along with Fred McGunagle and Betty Klaric of the Press and legendary editors like Arnold Miller, Mike Roberts and Rich Osborne, who has crossed over to the publishing side. And how do you categorize Ned Whelan, former print and TV reporter turned author and public relations guru? That why he's in the HOF.

Photos of the event can be viewed online at http://tinyurl.com/qxbjln.

Two finalists for the Class of 2009 were also there -- two-time Pulitzer finalist columnist Regina Brett of the PD and author and former PD photographer Bill Wynne, who was recently inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame.

Bruce Hennes of Hennes Communications, chairman of the event, welcomed the Hall of Famers as did club president Ed Byers and vice president/programming Bonnie Godbey. Ron Syroid, president of the Press Club of Akron, acknowledged the new reciprocal arrangement between the two clubs, allowing members to attend each other's events at membership rates.

After that, the honored guests and friends did what journalists do so well – enjoying the drinks and free food supplied by Nighttown, home of the Press Club of Cleveland.

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Editor’s Note A new crop of Hall of Famers will be inducted this coming October. Members of The Press Club of Cleveland will receive their 2009 HOF ballots in June.

PD friends say good bye to Bob Snyder

Some ex Plain Dealer colleagues met in Worthington, Oh May 13, 2009, for the funeral of their friend, Bob Snyder, who died Sat, May 9.
Botton,left, Margie Frazer, Christine Jindra Conway, Chris Pett-Ridge, Kathy Burke Williams, Ron Rollins, top left, Rosemary Kovacs, Jack Murphy, Richard Conway,
Chris is at the Post-Gazette, Jack heads the press association in Maryland, Kathy Burke Williams was editor of the paper in Hattiesburg, Miss. The rest are in Cleveland, retired, except for Christine who works part-time at Cleveland Scholarship.

A link to Bob's obit in The Plain Dealer is below:

/www.cleveland.com/obituary/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1242203505199160.xml&coll=2

Bob Snyder dies

Bob Snyder, a former assistant manager editor, national editor,

Washington and Columbus bureau chief, died at his

Worthington, Oh home

Saturday, May 10. His wife,Pat, found him in

front of the tv, the golf
channel on. He was 64.
Calling hours 6-9pm on Wednesday, May 13 at the RUTHERFORD-CORBIN FUNERAL HOME, 515 High St., Worthington.
Memorial service at 11am on Thursday, May 14 at Congregation Beth Tikvah, 6121 Olentangy River Road, Worthington, 43085

Ray Hart dies

Friday, April 24, 2009
Grant Segall
Plain Dealer Reporter
Ray Hart seemed to have spies everywhere.
"He had a scoop every day," said Bill Hickey, Hart's longtime partner in covering TV and radio for The Plain Dealer. "He drove the Press nuts."
Hart died April 14 at Fisher Titus Medical Cen ter, near his home in Nor walk. He was 80.
Hart spent about 32 years at The Plain Dealer, starting as a school sports reporter and winding up as a features copy editor. But the big, quiet, cheerful man was best known for a long stint in between with TV and radio.
He was born in North Canton and graduated from Hoover High School there. He spent a few years living in Canal Fulton and working for his father's meat and meat locker business.
"Ray hated every minute of it," his wife, the former Joan Dimpsey, recalled Tuesday.
Hart briefly studied undertaking in Indiana, then came home and found his life's work. He covered the region's acclaimed school sports for six years with the Canton Repository and several with The Plain Dealer.
Then he covered TV and radio with equal enthusiasm. He hit it off with touchy stars such as Dorothy Fuldheim and went fishing with a few of them.
In a sometimes slovenly profession, he favored a tie and jacket. He also smoked a pipe for many years. The doctor finally told him to cut down. Hart quit cold turkey.
He broke another longtime habit last year. He missed his first Ohio basketball championship in 56 years.
"He thought 55 was a good place to stop," said his widow.
Hart retired from The Plain Dealer in 1993 and edited stories for the Sun Newspapers.
In 1997, the couple moved to Norwalk to be near their daughter, Karen. There he wrote and announced for WLKR FM/95.3 and edited the bulletin of First Presbyterian Church.

This would have been a great contest

A Plain Dealer wry wit revisited by Richard G. Ellers

The late Robert T. Stock was variously a Plain Dealer reporter, editorial writer, Letters to the Editor editor and a not-often-enough humor columnist.

A spouse-induced chore of cleaning my desk was pleasantly interrupted today when I found a clipping I'd saved, a prime example of Bob's wry wit.

No matter that the date is missing from the clip, most of his words still work, albeit some lines outdated: Sorry, these were pre-computer days, you hadda be there to enjoy them.

Thoughts

by Robert T. Stock

By the time you read this, the Press Club of Cleveland will have picked its news media award winners and they deserve a lot of credit, but I would like to suggest some additional award categories, all in the newspaper section.

As follows:

1 Best news story written while intoxicated.

2. Snottiest remark by assistant city editor to a male reporter under 40.

3. Snottiest remark to an assistant city editor by a reporter (male or female) over 55.

4. Best feature story by a reporter sticking his nose into somebody else's beat.

5. Neatest copy boy. (Repeated efforts to revive this category have failed for lack of competition., but it is worth one more try.)

6. Most imaginative expense account by a reporter working under deadline pressure ("How was I to know they had another hotel in Chicago?")

7. Tallest copy editor who graduated from a Big Ten college.

8. Best sports story written in long hand.

9. Most attractive wig worn by a society editor who does not have a private office.

10. Most incisive quotes composed by reporter writing without help of notes.

11. Best editorial written without nagging fear of facts.

12. Longest hook shot into city room wastebasket. (Separate competition for Plain Dealer and Press due to higher ceilings at Press.)

13. Best sports story written in high German under deadline pressure.

14. Most vicious memo by a reporter who is sure of employment elsewhere.

15. Most vicious memo by a reporter who is not sure of employment elsewhere.

16. Any sports story which gives the score in the first paragraph.

16A. Headline least related to a story.

17. Neatest locker

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Adios to David Briggs

Help send former religion writer David Briggs off to Nashville! Join him at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, at the Agora, 5000 Euclid Ave. Cash bar and menu.
Pls help spread the word accordingly.
Agora management asked for a crowd estimate. Pls RSVP with a yes, no, maybe, depends if I've finished my 1040, whatever.
Hope to see you there!
Please RSVP to Grant Segall: grantsegall@msn.com

It's lunch time!

PD Editorial Retirees & Expatriates
Casual unstructured lunch troupe
Gather for lunch on the last Fridays of January, April, July and October
Spouses and guests always welcome

NEXT LUNCHEON: 12:30 p.m., Friday, April 24

PLACE: Li Wah Restaurant, 2999 Payne Avenue (Asian Plaza, E. 30th Street and Payne)

MENU: (Family style) appetizer, cashew shrimp, chicken with mixed vegetables, pepper steak, rice, tea and cookie.

Cost: $12 plus tip

RSVP by Monday, April 20
Janet Beighle French (216) 221-2318, or email jabfr519@sbcglobal.net
JoAnn Pallant (440) 734-1923, or email japallant@sbcglobal.net