Van's obit

Here's Michael Sangiacomo's obit on Van.


Van Richmond was never comfortable in the limelight. Even though Plain Dealer readers saw his work for more than 30 years, they rarely saw his name.

Richmond, 85, of Rocky River, who died Wednesday after complications from kidney problems, was the Page One editor at the newspaper for many years until his retirement on March 1, 1994.

The day Richmond retired, he slipped out the back door of the newsroom, eschewing the usual punch and platitudes. Chuck Caton, who worked with Richmond for years and assumed some of his duties, informed the rest of the newsroom with a simple email: "Elvis has left the building."

Born in Chicago, Richmond lived in Wisconsin and Bergen N.Y., before joining the Army in 1943.

After leaving the service, he went to Villanova University, near Philadelphia, and majored in engineering until a Jesuit priest gave him some advice.

"He said the priest told him he was a pretty good writer but not so hot in engineering and suggested a career change," said his widow, Elizabeth. "He transferred to the University of Iowa, switched to journalism and graduated in 1950."

Richmond worked at the Rockford Register Republic in Rockford, Ill., for 10 years before taking a job at The Plain Dealer in 1960.

He worked in several editing positions at the Plain Dealer before becoming Page One editor.

Caton, now the newspaper's assistant news editor, said Richmond helped make the newsroom an interesting place.

"He was a rock, a feisty guy with strong opinions," Caton said. "He was quick to let his opinions be known but put them aside when it came down to the front page. There, he was always straight down the line. He was a blue-collar guy from Chicago who just wanted to do his job."

Another associate, Rosemary Kovacs, said she learned her craft from Richmond.

"He was a great editor and teacher," she said. "He tried to act like an old curmudgeon, but underneath he was a softy."

In addition to his widow, he is survived by his son, Jerome, of Lakewood, and daughter, Anne, of Harrisonburg, Va.; his stepchildren, Michelle Miller of Rocky River; James Anderson of Westlake and Kathryn Harttrup of Seattle; and eight grandchildren. His first wife, Jean, died in 1989.

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Lakewood Baptist Church, 14321 Detroit Avenue.

Curt Chandler, former photographer, recalls:I'll never forget the look on Van's face the night I ran across the top of his desk to get from my spot inside the rim to edit a breaking news picture inside the photo lab. He was a newsroom icon.


Here's a remembrance by Bill Lucey: http://www.billlucey.com/2010/12/recollections-of-plain-dealer-page-one-editor-van-richmond.html

Van Richmond dies

From the PD death notice:
VAN R. RICHMOND entered eternal rest on Dec. 22, 2010. Beloved husband of Elizabeth (nee Dillow) and the late Jean (nee Muth); loving father of Jerome Richmond and Ann Pettit (Patrick); dear stepfather of Michele Miller (Matthew), James Anderson (Carrie) and Kathryn Harttrup (Jonathon); cherished grandfather of Cody, Connall, Lilli, Mairead, Brigid, Abbi, Meredith and Max. A memorial service will be held Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011 at 2 p.m. at Lakewood Baptist Church, 14321 Detroit Ave., Lakewood. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Salvation Army.

From his PD friends:
He was.... a gigantic salad maker, some concoctions rivaling the terminal tower; an editor who knew the value of an exacto knife; a proud family man; a no-nonsense guy with a quick sense of humor.

Death of Obits

Former PD reporter Jim Naughton has a thought-provoking piece about the dearth and "death of obits" on the Obit site. He says that a study shows newspapers are running fewer, shorter obits or shifting them to classified ad revenue category.
But its study of obituary readership, mostly at smaller newspapers, “shows that obituaries -- along with community announcements and stories about ordinary people -- have the highest potential of all news items to grow readership," he writes.

You can read the complete article at:

http://obit-mag.com/articles/a-death-notice-for-obituaries

Our newest alum

Elizabeth McIntyre is leaving the PD after 20 years in the newsroom. Her last day is 11/24.
Elizabeth started on the copy desk in 1990 and ended up in 2007 as Deputy Managing Editor/Content, with many stops in between.

What's next? She'll decide on her next move after a real holiday season with her family.

Holiday book sale!

PD alumni,

Mark your calendars for one of the finest perks in our building: the semi-annual sale of books, music, DVDs, audiobooks and sundries that have accumulated all year.

You will find a boxed set of Malcolm Gladwell titles, the Doonesbury retrospective ($100 retail), impeccable classical recordings, a stylish umbrella, Barbara Streisand's new coffee table book, hundreds of children's volumes and thousands of other great gifts.

The heartwarming parts are 2-fold -- we're keeping the prices steady -- $3 hardcover, $2 paperbacks, $10 coffee-table books -- and all proceeds go to United Way.

The housekeeping parts: Pay your book cart IOUs to gain admission. No early bird bids; no cruising the items beforehand. Limit of 10 children's books the first day. No hoarding and sorting -- be considerate of colleagues.

The sale will run in the second floor community room Thursday, Dec. 2, from 3 to 6 p.m., and half-price Friday, Dec. 3, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Happy shopping,

Karen Long

Photo editor Ray Majestic dies

Ray Matjasic led Plain Dealer photographers and won national awards
Published: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 3:20 PM Updated: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 3:26 PM
Grant Segall



Whether shooting photos for the Marines or The Plain Dealer, Ray Matjasic never hesitated to charge into danger.

"Ray was the best street photographer I ever knew," retired PD Picture Editor Bob Dorksen said Thursday. "He was aggressive. He knew the cops. He could get into places others couldn't."

Matjasic died Tuesday, Nov. 16, one day after turning 90, at the Slovenian Home for the Aged.

The nationally honored Matjasic started delivering Plain Dealers at age 9, rising at 3:30 a.m. to haul them in a wagon. The PD became his only full-time civilian employer. He worked at the newspaper from 1938 to 1983, retiring as chief photographer.

Matjasic (pronounced muh-JAY-sic) limped from bullet and shrapnel wounds incurred while crawling through the sands of Taipan, photographing the U.S. invasion during World War II. That didn't stop him, after returning to Cleveland, from rushing into riots and more, snapping on the run. He once ran alongside police chasing a gunman suspected of robberies. The suspect finally turned the gun on himself.

Matjasic could shoot joy, too. He photographed the inaugurations of presidents Nixon and Carter. He shot his daughter, Judy, and her collie playing in the family's Euclid home for a Better Living section cover on recreation rooms.

Jack Nicklaus once said his favorite picture of himself on the links was Matjasic's shot of the native Ohioan carrying his 4-year-old son, Gary, on his shoulder after winning the Professional Golf Association Championship at the Canterbury Golf Club in 1973. The photographer signed a copy, and Nicklaus hung it at home in Florida.

Matjasic covered both joy and woe with the Indians, photographing the World Series in 1948 and 1954.

Colleagues said he led the photo department like a Marine, chomping a cigar, barking orders, making sure tables were cleaned and sinks scrubbed. "He was a strong leader who made sure we got our work done as well as we could," said photographer David I. Andersen.

Matjasic was born in Cleveland and raised on Addison Road in a family of six. During the Depression, the family sometimes earned less than $10 per week. So Ray started delivering papers for $7.50 per week. Not owning galoshes, he would dry his shoes in the oven between deliveries and school.

He graduated John Hay High School and joined the PD's circulation department. He rose to district manager, befriended photographers after work and learned their trade.

Then he joined the Marines and photographed them in action across the South Pacific. At Taipan in 1944, he took shrapnel in the knee and, while lying in the sand for six hours, took a bullet in the hip.

In 1945, he joined the PD's photo department, shooting on crutches at first. He rose to chief photographer in 1964.

His many scoops included an exclusive invitation to the home of the slain Marlene Steele and her husband, Robert, a Euclid municipal judge, later convicted of conspiring in her death. He won more than 50 local, state or national awards, including best in show from the Columbia School of Journalism and a berth in the Cleveland Press Club Hall of Fame.

Matjascic lectured on photography at Ohio State, Bowling Green State, Kent State and elsewhere. In 1969, he helped found the Cleveland Chapter of the Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association and became its vice president. He liked to fish in Lake Erie, New York's Lake Chautauqua, Florida, Mexico and elsewhere.

He left Euclid for the Slovenian Home about 10 years ago. He lost his wife, the former Emma Pelcar, in July and their son, Raymond Jr., in October. The son had retired from his father's old circulation department at the PD.

Raymond Aloysius Matjasic

1920-2010

Survivors: daughter, Judith Smith of Willougby, and three grandchildren.

Funeral: pending

Contributions: Slovene Home for the Aged, 18621 Neff Road, Cleveland OH 44119, slovenehome.org.

Arrangements: Monreal Funeral Home

Former PD photographer Bill Wynne recalls:


I am sorry to hear my colleague Ray Matjasic has died. It has been most difficult for Ray and his family the past few years, Another of our great newspaper journalists has passed and we mourn each of them for the loss of their own personal contributions in communicating whether by keyboard or camera. Our whole life experiences influence how each of us see, judge, and interpret what we are witnessing. A photographer keyed to grasp instantly a situation, Ray's greatest attributes were first tenaciousness, beat the competition. This followed, whether in chess, checkers or cards , but particularly with cameras. And then interpretation, his communicating to readers, was implemented by pure instinct, He had a tough early life giving him a definite advantage. He recognized situations giving him insights in foreseeing what would unfold before him, resulting what is best expressed, by the old adage " a picture is worth a 1000 words. " May you rest in peace old friend.

Whitey Watzman wrote:

I'm really saddened to be reading about the death of Ray Matjasic, a guy I was paired with on many assignments over a long period of years.

Ray, in my opinion, was the greatest, a newsman down to the very depths of his soul, "the best street photographer" in Cleveland, as Bob Dorksen said. I like that phrase. It really sums up who Ray was. He could have been cast in the Ben Hecht play, "The Front Page."

But besides having smarts, he was a high-quality photographer, and his suggestions to me were always right on the nose, from the time he sort of took me under his wing when I became a reporter at the old P.D.

Whitey

Dan Coughlin's new book

Lorain Journal Columnist and former Cleveland Magazine Editor Rich Osborne has a nice column about former PD sport writer Dan Coughlin's new book, “Crazy, With the Papers to Prove It,” published recently by Gray & Company. He talks about the story Dan didn't put in his book -- the time Dan was president of the Press Club of Cleveland and talked the board into buying a racehorse. You can check it out at http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2010/11/14/opinion/mj3668858.txt

Fashionable Kim's boutique

Former PD style editor Kim Crow has gone from telling us about fashion to selling fashion. She has opened a fabulous boutique in Tremont called Evie Lou, offering contemporary clothing for all shapes and sizes. (She named it after a mini-fashionista niece.)

Stop in for a look at 2153 Professor Ave. in Cleveland. Hours and details can be found at her website, www.evielou.com.
Her husband, Ted Crow, is an artist at The PD.

Mark Russell, editor of Orlando Sentinel

Former Plain Dealer assistant ME and reporter Mark Russell was named editor of the Orlando Sentinel on Tuesday, accepting the top newsroom job six years after arriving at the news operation.

Russell, who was managing editor and then "print news manager" in a newsroom reorganization, succeeds Charlotte Hall, who retired on Oct. 1.

"I am honored and humbled to become editor of the Sentinel and the leader of such a talented and hard-working staff of journalists," Russell said in an announcement. "I intend to drive hard to produce watchdog journalism and expand our digital game to make sure we're delivering compelling content on mobile and the web as well as in print."

Before joining the Sentinel, Mark was assistant managing editor/metro at The Plain Dealer. Before that, Mark was The Plain Dealer's business editor for four years. He started at the newspaper in 1987 as a business reporter and later moved to the city desk and then served as an assistant city editor. Mark left The Plain Dealer to join The Boston Globe as assistant metropolitan editor in 1993, a position he held for two years before returning to The Plain Dealer.

Earlier in his career, Mark was a staff reporter for nearly three years in The Wall Street Journal’s Cleveland and Pittsburgh bureaus.

Let's have lunch!

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: Noon, Friday, Oct. 29

PLACE: Li Wah, 2999 Payne Ave (Asian Plaza, E 30th St, and Payne)
Parking adjacent to plaza and in lot off E. 29th St.

COST: $12 Janet and JoAnn will collect money so, if possible,
please have correct change

MENU: Family style meal includes Won ton soup, appetizer, chicken and beef main dishes, rice, tea, cookie

RSVP By Tuesday Oct. 26
Janet Beighle French (216) 221-2318, or jbfr519@sbcglobal.net or
JoAnn Pallant (440) 734-1923, or japallant@sbcglobal.net

Re-connect with Pauline Thoma

Pauline Thoma's daughter, Judy Nicoloff, reports that Pauline has moved to assisted living and would love to hear from other retirees.
Pauline is at Sunrise of Rocky River, 21600 Detroit, Rocky River, OH 44116 and her phone is 440-895-2355.

Cavs writers joins ESPN

Brian Windhorst, who covered the Cavs for the Akron Beacon Journal and The Plain Dealer is going to ESPN's new show: “The Heat Index," a special venture devoted to coverage of the Miami Heat and LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

You can read more about it at Clevescene.com and the BJ alumni blog:http://bjretirees.blogspot.com

Dubail on the move

After nearly 19 years, Jean Dubail is leaving The PD. HE says" "I'm staying in Cleveland, but leaving the newspaper to work for patch.com, which is a network of local news websites owned by AOL."
Jean was a reporter, an assistant city editor, editorial writer, metro editor and online editor for Cleveland.com. He's a native of St. Louis.

It was a full house at Don Bean's funeral and friends from far and wide were in attendance. Bean told people that he liked to go to funerals as long as he was the star. That day, he was the star.

Jim Naughton, former PD and Philadelphia reporter came from Florida. George Condon came from Washington. He said Bean was so proud of influencing Naughton in prank making. In the photos, from top, George talks with Doris O'Donnell, Naughton talks with Olga Bean, and Jim and George.

Jeanne Albers

Jeanne Albers died at age 66 in Santa Monica, California, Thursday morning. Cancer. She wrote in The Plain Dealer fashion department for a few years in the late 1960s. She wrote occasional essays in a form called "Dear Friend" letters. She was a Cleveland native, West Park area. She then went east for a few years and then to California. She and her second husband lived in Santa Monica for the last 20 years or so. No children. Dan Coughlin got the news from his sister, Cathy Breninghouse, who was her good friend since high school and kept in touch

Bean wrote his own obit

While Grant Segal wrote the official obit of Don Bean for The Plain Dealer, Bean wrote his own draft of his obit. Former obit writer Alana Baranack posted it on her blot at:http://obitsohio.blogspot.com/

Bean's obit

This is the official obit as written by Grant Segal. Bean wrote his own obit and former obit writer Alana Baranack posted it on her blog:obitsohio.blogspot.com

Parma -- Unfortunately, this obituary isn't just another of Don Bean's pranks.

The long-time Plain Dealer scribe, who phoned in tycoon Cyrus Eaton's death under deadline in 1967, 12 years too soon, died Sunday at MetroHealth Medical Center from pneumonia. He was 82.

As Bean often shouted, "It really happened."

In a free-wheeling field, "Beaner" led the way. He convinced rookie reporters to go interview the mother of the unknown soldier and cover a convention of black governors when there were none. He persuaded editors to run a fictional story about "Johnny Pot," supposedly the Johnny Appleseed of marijuana.

When Bean wasn't funny, he was passionate. Short, stocky and loud, he climbed onto chairs at meetings and exhorted colleagues as president of the Cleveland Newspaper Guild and as a trustee of Church in the V.

During a strike, he stood up to a charge by mounted police. He also pressed charges in vain against a member of a rival union who supposedly struck him in the head from behind.

But Bean didn't just inspire stories. He wrote them. Colleagues say that beneath the commotion was a great reporter and mentor.

"He had sources all over the place and got all the information the rest of us couldn't get," said Tom Gaumer, a retired reporter and editor.

Bean covered the Hough and Glenville riots and Dr. Sam Sheppard's murder trial. He persuaded George Steinbrenner, who ran American Ship Building Co. before the Yankees, to release the names of three workers killed in an explosion. He said he pressed a suburban police chief so hard for information, the chief lunged across the desk and grabbed Bean's throat.

He could be sensitive, too. "This guy felt for the people he wrote about," said long-time colleague Jack Hagan.

Bean was inducted to the Press Club of Cleveland's Journalism Hall of Fame.

He once played Santa Claus on downtown streets. The rest of the year, he felt like Santa's favorite.

"There wasn't a day that I didn't want to go to work," he recently wrote.

A pro to the end, Bean wrote up material for his obit. He said he was one of five boys raised in Northfield. He graduated from what's now Nordonia Hills High School in 1946 and served in the U.S. Air Force off the Bering Strait. He graduated from Kent State University in 1954.

He worked for the Cleveland News, Cleveland Press, wire services and radio stations. He lost a race for Parma city council in 1959.

In 1961, Bean joined the PD. He variously worked as assistant city editor and covered features, courts, cops, City Hall, general assignment, obits and more.

While working at a southwest suburban bureau, the long-time Parma resident swung by the downtown office in a Stroh's T-shirt, Bermuda shorts and white socks.

Working nights for years, Bean was the rare father in the 1960s at his three children's school events and on their field trips, including a three-day tour of Washington, D.C.

Bean wrote a PD magazine piece in 1983 about giving up liquor. He'd been one of many hard-drinking reporters and driven a company car into wet cement.

In 1980, he checked into Edwin Shaw Hospital for four weeks of treatment for alcoholism. He said he never had another drink. But other habits died hard. After checking out, he bought a carton of pop, called the city desk and bragged about downing a six-pack.

Bean retired in 1994. He golfed, hiked, wrote a history of his church and gave several gallons of blood over the years.One of the most popular Bean stories has him pushing the publisher out of a first-story window.

"Wish I had," Bean said last year. "Great story."

Donald Lee Bean

1928-2010

Survivors: Wife, the former Olga Fedorovich; children, Nadine M. Bean of West Chester, Pa., Matthew M. of Wickenburg, Ariz, and Scott A. of Parma; six granddaughters and a great-granddaughter.

Funeral: 11 a.m. Saturday, Church in the Valley, 2241 Everett Road, Boston Township.

Arrangements: Mallchok Funeral Home

Bean's life in the Depression

Don Bean wrote a 19-page remembrance of life in the Depression. It can be seen at http://hson.info/Bean.pdf

says Stu Abbey.

Don Bean dies

Donald Leander Bean, bean like in lima bean, died Sunday afternoon, Sept. 19, 2010, at Parma Community Hospital. He had been in the hospital about a week or so with pneumonia and congestive heart failure. They were planning to transfer him to Metro General but he didn't make it. Services are pending.

They don't make 'em like Bean anymore. Bring on the stories. Big Jaw Jackson. Johnny Pot. The plane crash that wasn't. The mother of the unknown soldier assignment. All those Guild meetings, Stand up, Bean.

Here's a shot John Tidyman took of him golfing about 2 weeks ago. Played better than ever, he said.

Send us your memories...

Dan Biddle, author

Former Plain Dealer reporter and all-around great guy Dan Biddle (and some other guy) wrote a great book called "Tasting Freedom" about the early days of the civil rights movement. I just spent a week with Dan and Cindy Roberts and they are lovely as ever.
You can go here to read some excerpts or skip to the bottom of this message to get to the link to amazon.com if you'd like to order the book. Spread the word about the book.. I'm sure Dan will be in Cleveland for a book signing one of these days. I'll keep you posted. - Jack Hagan

http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/1839_reg.html

This just in!

Want to be notified when we post something new to the PD alumni blog?
Go to http://www.pdalumni.blogspot.com/rss.xml and follow a couple of easy steps.
You'll be the first to know when we have news.

Look who we ran into

Lots of former PD people were spotted Sat. night July 31, 2010 at a birthday party for Sue Zimmerman, former free lancer for the PD now teaching at KSU.
Former bureau chief George Condon Jr. right, of Washington, D.C. was back in town visiting his father who was in the hospital. George is now with Congressional Daily since Copley closed its Washington Bureau.
With Sue Zimmerman, right, is Betsy Lammerding, retired Beacon Journal deputy features editor.,
Below them is former reporter Tom Andrzejewski, now a media consultant, and Terry Pederson, former Living editor and now a writer for a Cleveland Clinic publication. Wilma Salisbury, former dance critic, sits with Tom A. Former photographer Diana McNees didn't have a camera but Paula Slimak, former reporter, did. Bob McAuley chats with Doug Kramer, who still works at the PD as a copy editor.
Also there were Jim Cox, former PD reporter and now a media consulant, and Jim Darr, who works for the Bond Accountability Commission which works with Cleveland Schools.

A Tinker sighting in central Pennsylvania!

Former PD infographics artist Virginia Tinker Brace stopped by Philipsburg, Pa., for a visit with former PD photographer Curt Chandler and his wife Stacie. Tinker was in the area for a reunion at her alma mater, Lock Haven University. Tinker lives in Fredericksburg, Va., with her daughters Ali and Emma and works for Capital One Finance in Richmond, Va. Curt and Stacie both work at Penn State University, where he teaches multimedia reporting and she works in the Intensive English Communication Program.

Latest lunch

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: Noon, Friday, July 30

PLACE: Nighttown, 12387 Cedar Road, Cleveland Heights

(top of Cedar Hill)

COST: $20.50, includes salad, non-alcoholic beverages, tax and tip.

CHOICES: Roasted Duck Breast Salad (baby greens, shallots, walnuts)

Dublin Lawyer (lobster and mushrooms in whiskey sauce)

Grilled Vegetable Plate

Hamburger Plate

RSVP by July 23

Janet Beighle French (216) 221-2318, or jbfr519@sbcglobal.net or

JoAnn Pallant (440) 734-1923, or japallant@sbcglobal.net

PD book sale July 8-9

Thousands of books, music CDs, books-on-CD -- as well as a few movies and TV series DVDs --will go on sale July 8th and 9th in the second floor community room.

The sale will run from 3-5:30 p.m Thursday, July 8 and from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, July 9. Prices will hold steady at $3 hardcover and $2 paperbacks. The second day is half-price (meaning a hardcover, retailing for as much as $30-$35, will be available for $1.50). Proceeds go to the United Way.

We have hundreds of children's books, including some classics, best-sellers in fiction and nonfiction, as well as new authors to take a chance on. We have romance, poetry, science fiction, mystery and graphic novels. We have cookbooks, history, biography and memoir. We also have hundreds of books on CD for those long car trips -- which we sell for $8, retailing for as much as $45-$50.

Here is your chance to contribute to charity and scoop up some bargains. See you there.

Karen Long

Richard Kendzierski, 79, dies

Richard Kendzierski, who directed The Plain Dealer's commercial photographers for 29 years, died Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at the Hospice of the Western Reserve from complications of cancer. He retired in 1994. He took over the ad photo department in 1970 and led it until it merged with news photography. He became a news photographer until his retirement.

Kendzierski shot breaking news and sports but specialized in portraits and feature shots, especially of food.

For the full obituary click on:www.cleveland.com/obituaries/index.ssf/2010/06/richard_kendzierski_led_the_pl.htm

A Toast To Ted

Reader rep Ted Diadiun joined the ranks of the retired on Friday, May 28, with a gathering of friends and family at the Rock Bottom Brewery.

At right, Ted reveals the secrets of his success to colleagues Bill Mickey and Tom Breckenridge.



See more photos from the party at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mNLAaWsUtc

Zina's back in town

From Zina Vishnevsky:

I'm back in Ohio this summer, but only one week in Cleveland, for Cleveland Clinic stuff. The rest of the time will be spent in the little town I call home, Malvern, OH.

So, to celebrate wrapping up at the CCF, there will be a happy hour corner for me and my friends at Sergio's on Shaker Square. It's 5:00 -6:30pm. Friday June 11. Be there or you don't care!

Jane Scott celebrates 91st

From Reader Rep. Ted Diadiun's day note:

" JANE SCOTT: 91 AND STILL GOING STRONG
Our ageless former colleague Jane Scott celebrated another birthday on Monday (, May 1, 2010 ) and (photographer) Peggy Turbett was there with her camera. ...Coincidentally, I was looking up something from 1970 on microfilm recently, and happened across some of Jane's work. Everyone knows that Jane covered the rock scene in Cleveland during that time (and of course for years before and after), but I had forgotten that she simultaneously wrote a column for senior citizens during those years. I can remember reading her work around then when I was in college, and thinking how odd it was that the paper would have such a young person writing the seniors column in addition to the rock coverage. She was, uh, 51 at the time. "

To drop her a note, her address is: Jane Scott

Ennis Court
13323 Detroit Ave,
Lakewood, Ohio 44107.

Regina Brett book tour

Want to get your personalized copy of Regina Brett's "God Never Blinks"?

Check out this list of her upcoming book signings in the Cleveland area. Warning: Some of these events are already sold out, so make your reservation early.

She is drawing a big crowd wherever she goes. Book stores are seeing brisk sales. Borders in Westlake sold out of their first shipment in two hours!

Here's where to find her:
http://www.reginabrett.com/news_speaking.php

May 4th, 40 years later

The Press Club of Cleveland presents:

“May 4th, 40 Years Later - Reporters Who Were There”

May 4th, 2010 from 7:45- 9AM
KIVA Student Center, Kent State University’s Main Campus.

Hear from the reporters who were there,
May 4th, 1970 as they discuss the 13 seconds of gunfire that
changed the campus forever.

Mike Roberts
Former City Editor of the Cleveland
Plain Dealer
Author of “13 Seconds: Confrontation
at Kent State”
Currently with Cleveland Magazine

Chuck Ayers
Kent Stater photojournalist,
Former cartoonist with the Akron
Beacon-Journal,
Current nationally syndicated
cartoonist of “Crankshaft”.

Jan Leach
Former Akron Beacon-Journal
Managing Editor
Current Kent State Journalism
Professor.

John Filo
Pulitzer Prize winning
photographer for his iconic May
Fourth photo
Currently with CBS.

Bob Carpenter
Former WKSU and
WKNT radio reporter

It's spring luncheon time, Friday April 30

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: Noon, Friday, April 30
PLACE: Champps Americana, 5989 Canal Road, Valley View
North of Rockside Road, behind Hoggy’s Barn and Grille, which fronts on road.
From north, Interstate 77, to U.S., 21 south exit to Ohio 17, east to Canal Road south.
Luncheon Choices (generous portions):
Cobb Salad: mixed greens, chicken ,bacon, eggs. avocado, cheeses. olives, roll for $10.29
Parmesan Crusted Chicken: vermicelli with marinara sauce and soup or salad for $10.29
Champps Cheeseburger: Angus beef, turkey or veggie burger with everything for $8.99
California Turkey Wrap: tomato tortilla with turkey, bacon, avocado, tomato, provolone and tomato vinaigrette, side of pasta salad for $9.99
Special diets accommodated

RSVP by April, 22 to Janet Beighle French (216-221-2318) or jabfr519@sbcglobal.net
or Jo Ann Pallant (440-734-1923) or japallant@sbcglobal.net

Anyone remember Ron Kaye?

PD reader rep Ted Diadiun asked that question in his daily morning note to the editorial department. There's an interview with Kaye, now a blogger in the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles.

Ted notes: "Kaye got a job with the Cleveland Plain Dealer as a copy boy, making $60a week. He moved up the ranks quickly, and became a reporter on the police beat, working 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. He loved the lifestyle, theatmosphere. "When I got off of work, the bars were closed and we'd go to some Greek joint, and we'd drink till dawn and play liar's poker. Drinking shots with all these guys that were crippled by the Korean War, who were wonderful, amazing journalists, filled with great, legendary stories andwho played a very different game than anyone would play today. They would steal papers off of cops' desks. They would do anything get an angle. To take the story away from the other guys. So it was a great education."

Here's a link to the whole piece: http://blogs.uscannenberg.org/neontommy/2010/04/citizen-kaye.html



If you remember him, send a comment.

Dianne Griggs, calm among the chaos

Cheerful, unflappable Dianne Griggs, secretary to editorial editors Brent Larken and Mary Anne Sharkey, died Tuesday at the Hospice of the Western Reserve after fighting cancer for seven years. She was 62.

Services will be at noon Tuesday, April 20 at Church of the Master, 4050 Monticello Blvd., Cleveland Heights OH 44120.

You can read the whole obit at:

www.cleveland.com/obituaries/index.ssf/2010/04/dianne marie griggs_kept_the_p.html

Paul Baumgartner found dead

Paul Baumgartner covered bowling, harness racing and more for The Plain Dealer

Visitation will be Monday April 12 from 4 to 8 p.m. in the Gluvna-Shimo-Hromada Funeral Chapel, 3224 Broadway Avenue, Lorain. A memorial service will be conducted by the officers and members of the Lorain Sports Hall of Fame there at 7:00 p.m. Additional visitation will take place on Tuesday in First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Sixth St. and Washington Avenue, from 10 a.m. until time of funeral services at 11:00 a.m. Reverend Jimmy Madsen and Reverend Dr. Linwood H. Chamberlain, Jr., Co-Pastors of the church will officiate. Burial will follow in Ridge Hill Memorial Park in Amherst Township.

The family encourages you to consider memorial contributions to the Lorain County Free Clinic, 3323 Pearl Avenue, Lorain, OH 44055.

To leave private on-line condolences for the family please visit www.gluvna.net.

By Grant Segall

April 07, 2010, 3:43PM

Sheffield -- When he wasn't covering sports, Paul Baumgartner liked to play, coach, officiate and honor them.

"Bummy" covered Lorain County scholastic sports, pro bowling, Northfield Park and more during 35 years at The Plain Dealer. He won several awards and led civic groups.

Baumgartner, 75, was found dead Tuesday, April 6, at home in Sheffield. Officials he died sometime between Sunday morning and Monday morning. For the rest of the PD obit click on: http://www.cleveland.com/obituaries/index.ssf/2010/04/paul_baumgartner_covered_bowli.html

The Morning Journal in Lorain also led the local section with a nice obits: http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2010/04/08/news/mj2566733.txtt

Bill Hickey remembered

Bay Village -- Bill Hickey claimed to have taught a famous singer to sing, roomed with a famous actor and covered a Korean football game called the Sake Bowl.

This much is sure: Hickey, who died Friday, March 19,2010, at age 83, wrote several books, churned out countless articles, won many awards and made many friends during 36 years at The Plain Dealer.

The journalist and goodwill ambassador staged shot-putting tournaments, judged a "Most Pleasant Voice" contest for receptionists, underwent charity roasts and filled in for an ailing Bob Neal on an Indians' broadcast. He also reviewed restaurants under the pen name of Forchette Escargot and called the cafeteria of the rival Cleveland Press "efficacious."

Hickey died at his long-time home in Bay Village from complications of cancer.

For the rest of Grant Segall's Hickey obit click below:

http://www.cleveland.com/obituaries/index.ssf/2010/03/bill_hickey_was_a_plain_dealer.html

Hatch is back

After several years in his home town of Altoona, Pa., former PD reporter and Guild Executive Secretary Steve Hatch is returning to Greater Cleveland. Rumor has it that after being a night club owner (and chef and bouncer and customer), he developed a proprietary formula for men's grooming products and started an online business to market them. He's moving his growing business empire back to Northeast Ohio. His email is shatchsr@gmail.com.

David Dugan, Irma's husband, dies

David R. Dugan, 93, husband of former PD garden editor Irma Bartel, died March 1, 2010, after a lengthy illness.



He had served as Lake County deputy nursery inspector, a Cornell University extension specialist and, in 1956, he became president of the family-owned and operated Dugan Nurseries, Inc., in Perry, Ohio. The wholesale nursery, consisting of more than 200 acres in Lake County, was founded by his father and uncle in 1919 and continued in operation until 1992.



Memorials may be forwarded to St. Thomas Lutheran Church, or to Judson Retirement Park, 2181 Ambleside Drive, Cleveland, OH 44106, where he and Irma lived.


A memorial service for Mr. Dugan will be at 1 p.m. March 14 at St. Thomas Lutheran Church, 21211 Detroit Road, Rocky River, Ohio, with visitation prior to the service from noon to 1 p.m.

Who are these guys?

Found in an old file drawer, this photo taken by Frank Reed, on July 29, 1977 when they held a party for the closing of the old jail at Cleveland Central Police State at 2007 Payne Ave. Lots of PDers served at the police beat through the years. A bunch attended the party. It looks like Don Bean (white shirt) is aghast at something Dennis Kuchinich (suit) said. Was he the mayor at the time? That's the late Bill Miller to the left of Dennis. Johnny Reese, the late PD assistant city editor is to the right of Dennis. We also see Tom Quinn in those lovely plaid pants. Smiling behind Bill Miller is Andy Juniewicz, left, and John Coyne, right.

If you can identify others in the photo, please send us a note.

Bill Fenton sez "guy on the extreme right and front in black shirt is Henry (Hank) T. Jacques.
He graduated BG 1957 or '58 and was a reporter at PD. He left about the time I got there ('66). I vaguely recall he went to Blue Cross/Blue Shield or Medical Mutual and possibly bounced into government after that. I knew him from my BG News days."

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A really nice person needs a card

Dianne Griggs, secretary to editorial director Brent Larkin before she took the buyout in 2006, is in the Hospice of the Western Reserve, 300 E 185th St. , Cleveland 44119. She has stomach cancer. In a Dec. 2006 posting on this blog, there's a photo of her leaving the PD.

Jim Nichols on the move

Jim Nichols reports that he left the PD just before Christmas after 19 years as a reporter, editor and sycophant. He moved over to a new job at an organization that is just about as noble: the Cleveland Foundation, where he is as senior communications editor. That means he writes speeches, edits various publications, plans the annual meeting, relates to the media and does lots of other fun stuff to spread the word about the great things the Cleveland Foundation and its partners do.

He is too young, at age 47, to be a PD “retiree,” but notes that he worked there long enough to be eligible to stop by for a bite at an alumi luncheon. If he does, he will surely rub everyone’s noses in the fact that he still has all of his real teeth.

Send a card

Bill Hickey, former tv critic and instigator of the infamous Sake Bowl, is battling cancer, reports Dan Coughlin. You can send Bill a card at 29932 Ednil Dr., Bay Village, Oh 44140-1628.

All his sources are in jail

Reporter Joe Wagner said he had to retire from the PD. All his sources are in jail, he told about 50 people at Massimo de Milano Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010. But some of those sources seemed to send telegrams of farewell, read by Powell Caesar, friend and coroner's office spokemen. For more photos go to www.flickr.com/photos/photos

Look who you missed

About 30 mostly PD alumni gathered for their quarterly luncheon at Der Braumeister on the West Side Friday, Jan. 29, 2010. In the crowd: Wilma Salisbury and Dan Coughlin; Tom Quinn and Bob Dolgan; Pat and Ralph Gessler.

Eat and greet

More faces at the lunch: Jud Shelnutt and his wife Marty; Patti Graziano and husband Tim; "It really happened," Don Bean tells Chris Jindra; Janet Beighle French takes photos;

More diners

Among the diners were
Richard Conway, Bill Wynne, Bob Finn, Tom Gaumer and Helen Cullinan, top; Donna Hayes, right. Millie and Vince Mattecci and Dan Coughlin; John Coyne and Doris O'Donnell, Don Bean and Mary Engle, formerly of the Catholic Universe Bulletin, (we think)

Chris Pettridge retires!

Here's a note from Chris:

Yes, I bailed out at the end of the year from the Post-Gazette, and it feels very strange now, living a deadline-free life. I've been looking at the clock since 1963 when I started as an apprentice reporter on a weekly paper in England, mostly interviewing the local vicar on what he said in his Sunday sermons and sitting in a hospital emergency room hoping for some disastrous collision that would make a story.
I emigrated in 1966 to be with my beloved (She Who Must Be Obeyed) and happened to get off a Greyhound in Cleveland. I walked into the PD with my clips looking for a job and was pretty much hired on the spot because on my accent (the executive editor was a Scotsman, Tom Guthrie). Try doing that today.
After three years as a suburban reporter I was invited to join the U.S. Army -- a charming interlude in Fort Campbell, Kentucky -- before rejoining the paper, where they decided I was prime material for the copy desk. That gave me the chance to have all my headlines rewritten by Art Milner before I saw an opportunity to escape into laying out pages, working with Van Richmond.
Since then, putting out the paper each night has been my amusement. Even the move to Pittsburgh in 1985 as AME/Graphics at the Post-Gazette changed little. The same rhythms of news still apply, although I have missed all the joys of the composing room and surly printers in recent years.
I guess we retirees should be grateful for having caught a wave in print journalism. We experienced some of the glory days of newspapers, although we may not have realized it at the time.
Now I am trying to justify my existence with a bunch of things: Resuming my rowing career, running a lot (I did a 60K last month in New Zealand's Southern Alps), volunteering for the local nature conservancy, traveling with Jean (mostly to Kiwiland) and, of course, enjoying our kids and the little grandnippers on the West Coast.
Hope I have a chance to see you guys under happier circumstances than Snyderman's funeral last year. You can reach me at pettridge@verizon.net
Bottoms up!

Chris PR
-----

Do you blog?

Here's note from John Kroll:

I'm sure many former PDers are now writing blogs, or even using Twitter. Could you use your blog to tell them that we're now compiling what we hope will be a fairly comprehensive list of NEO blogs and Twitter feeds? The registration forms are up now. We'll have the searchable directories online in a few weeks, once we've got a substantial number of entries.
>
> http://bit.ly/75KhFS>
> thanks,
> John
>
> John Kroll
> Director of Training and Digital Development
> The Plain Dealer<

Party time for Joe

Former Plain Dealer colleagues and associates --

Joe Wagner left the PD rather quietly (for such a vocal guy), after a long and legendary career of busting pols, cops and more.

But don't let him slip into obscurity and flakdom without a sendoff. His friends at The Plain Dealer have organized a party and asked me to help find former PD staffers/ friends.

Come eat, drink, roast and salute Joe after 6:00 on Thursday, Jan. 28, at Massimo da Milano, W. 25th and Detroit.

$12 will cover a full buffet, a modest gift, and, if any spare change remains, a donation to Joe's alma mater. (If you need to ask where, you don't know Joe.) Pay at the door. Cash bar.

Pls RSVP, if you can to me (cjindra@gmail.com) by Friday, Jan. 22.

-- Chris Jindra

Next Lunch Bunch scheduled for Jan. 29

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: Noon, Friday, January 29

PLACE: Der Braumeister, 13046 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland

(Intersection with W. 131st Street)

Interstate 90 West to W. 117th Street, south to Lorain, then west

Park behind restaurant, on the street, or in CVS lot not near the door to drugstore

Luncheon Choices

Jager Schnitzel (veal in creamy mushroom sauce) $9.95

Chicken Paprikash (chicken in sour cream sauce over spaetzle) $8.95

Peanut Crusted Tilapia (fish with choice of potato or dumpling) $9.95

Munich Melt (roast beef w/grilled onion, provolone & horseradish sauce) $8.95

Maul Taschen (Vegetarian, pasta pocket filled w/ spinach, goat cheese w/ sauce & vegetables) $9.95

Most meals include soup or salad. Beverages, tax and tip extra.

RSVP by January 22

Janet Beighle French (216) 221-2318, or email jabfr519@sbcglobal.net

JoAnn Pallant (440) 734-1923, or email japallant@sbcglobal.net

Bob Stock's Advice for Journalists

In light of all the deaths, memorials, funerals on this blog in recent months, it was decided to run this piece from the late reporter Bob Stock, a wry wit. The article is dated but still amusing to those of us who remember the good old days. But so many things are gone: copy paper, Perk, makeup men, office parties, the Press, new hotels. The yellowed clipping had no date but an ad on the back had a 1978 date. It ran on the op ed page which Stock edited. He died in 2003.

So here’s Bob Stock’s Advice for Journalists:

In his recent talk to Sigma Delta Chi, the professional journalism society, Mayor Perk was kind enough to quote from a column I wrote for the Sunday Magazine some years ago.

It seems only fair that I share the entire essay with persons, especially young journalists, who could not have read it the first time it was published.

It went as follows:

Young reporters rarely come to me for advice, perhaps because I dislike them intensely. I am sure they all smoke pot and are unkind to their parents.

Nevertheless, I am persuaded to offer them some journalistic pointers which will help them become as respected and well paid as I. These observations apply especially to The Plain Dealer, but they can be adapted to any publication.

1) Demand an adequate supply of paper and type on only one side of the sheet. Try not to think of the forests you are destroying.

2) Leave room between lines and in the margin so editors can express their own views.

3) Don’t park on the sidewalk.

4) Makeup men make a practice of throwing stories into page holes which are not quite big enough. Therefore always add a paragraph at the end which means nothing and can be thrown away with no loss. It is sometimes wise to put such a paragraph in the middle of the story too, so the editor will have something to kill. This improves his opinion of himself and makes him forget to kill the stuff you actually want printed.

5) If you are assigned to write plans for a new hotel in downtown Cleveland, make the report as colorful as possible, since many new hotels are announced daily.

6) Learn to play a musical instrument.

7) Don’t volunteer to tend bar at office parties because you will miss a lot of the fun.

8) If assigned to cover a fire, you will be expected to advise the firemen on their work. For example, I was the first reporter on the scene when the famed Hut bar at Superior and W. 3d caught fire. “Look out for broken bottles,” I warned.

9) Upon receiving an assignment, do not say, “Gee whiz, that is groovy.”

10) Read the paper every day so that when you get an assignment you don’t like, you can say, “We had that already.”

11) Read the Press every day so you can say, “They had that already.”

12) Avoid any story which lies within another reporter’s “beat,” or area of continuing responsibility, such as City Hall, the county courts, labor, medicine, education and bowling. With practice, any assignment whatsoever can be regretfully passed on to a beat reporter.

13) Do not refer to yourself as “a media” or “ one of the media.” You are not even a medium.

14) Try to think of the paper as your very own. And see what happens.