Gridiron cast leaves them laughing

IN THIS ISSUE:
WEWOKA FIRE:
PG 04 | Offices of Wewoka Times damaged by fire
SUMMER INTERNS:
PG 05 | Meet the remaining interns placed by ONF
FOR THE SCRAPBOOK:
PG 07 | Snapshots from OPA Summer Conference
Official Publication of the Oklahoma Press Association
Vol. 81, No. 6 • Twelve Pages • June 2010
Download The Oklahoma Publisher in PDF format at
www.OkPress.com/the-oklahoma-publisher
7
Gridiron cast leaves them laughing
WEEKS until the
Primary Election
Newspapers
are ready to
talk to you
about print
and web
advertising.
Call your local newspaper or
Oklahoma Press Service at
(405) 499-0020 for help
with your ad placement.
Cast members focus on Oklahoma politics at
the first-ever OPA Summer Conference Gridiron
Show. The show opened with the entire cast
singing There’s No Business Like Slow Business.
From left, Bill and Barb Walter, The Hennessey
Clipper; Kim Noe, Newcastle Pacer; Jeff Mayo,
Sequoyah County Times; Victoria Middleton
and Kim Noe, The Newcastle Pacer; Jeff Funk,
Enid News & Eagle; Martha Minnis; Mark
Thomas, OPA; Ray Dyer, El Reno Tribune; Greg
Trotter; Sean Dyer, El Reno Tribune; Gloria
Trotter, Wayne Trotter and Suzie Campbell, The
Countywide & Sun; and Mollie Nagel, Hobart
Democrat-Chief.
I
ees should be a matter of public record, all three
candidates for state attorney general said yes.
Candidates attending the Summer Conference also taped a five-minute video, available
for viewing at OkPress.com.
Saturday evening it was time for some entertainment. Sixteen OPA members made their
way to the stage for the first-ever rip-roaring,
side-splitting Summer Conference Gridiron
Show, written by Wayne Trotter, co-publisher
of The Countywide News & Sun.
Emcee for the show was Mark Thomas, OPA
executive director. Other cast members were
Suzie Campbell, The Countywide & Sun, as
Mary Fallin; Ray Dyer, El Reno Tribune, as
Drew Edmondson, Tom Cole and Bob Stoops;
Sean Dyer, El Reno Tribune, as Frank Lucas
and Brad Henry; Jeff Funk, Enid News & Eagle,
as Randy Brogdon and John Sullivan; Jeff
Mayo as Mike Gundy; Victoria Middleton, The
Newcastle Pacer, a gaming girl; Martha Minnis
as Jane Q. Public and Henry’s daughter; Mollie
Nagel, Hobart Democrat-Chief, as the Twitter News Girl; Kim Noe as Miss Republican,
the Intrepid Reporter and a gaming girl; Greg
Trotter as Randy Terrill and Jim Inhofe; Wayne
Trotter, The Countywide & Sun, as Dan Boren
and Tom Coburn; Gloria Trotter, The Countywide & Sun, as Kim Henry; Barb Walter, The
Hennessey Clipper, as Jari Askins and Henry’s
daughter; Bill Walter, The Hennessey Clipper,
as Sterling Zearley; and Robin Wilson, The
Newcastle Pacer, as Miss Democrat and a gaming girl. Lois Wenzel was the accompanist and
P.J. Trotter was stage manager and prompter.
As Twitter Girl, Nagel tweeted the night
away in 140 character sound bites while Funk,
playing Randy Brogdon, wandered around the
stage dressed in Army fatigues and toting a
popgun. The girls from the Newcastle Pacer
won the audience over with their costumes and
songs but it was Wayne Trotter crooning to the
tune of Blue Suede Shoes that brought down the
house with his gyrating hip action.
After performing three skits – Oklahoma
Idol, The Terrill Hideaway and Our Demented Delegation – and a grand finale, the cast
received a well-deserved standing ovation.
It’s unclear whether the OPA Gridiron Show
will become a permanent fixture; cast members
only mumble “no comment” when asked. What
is clear is that the first-ever gridiron show made
this year’s Summer Conference one of the most
entertaining events in recent history.
t was a good time for those attending
the June 4-6 OPA Summer Conference
with events ranging from politicians in the
morning to political parody in the evening.
Twenty candidates for statewide office
appeared before members of the press at Western Hills State Lodge in Wagoner on Saturday,
June 5.
It was only the second time all six gubernatorial candidates – Jari Askins, Randy Brogdon,
Drew Edmondson, Mary Fallin, Robert Hubbard and Roger L. Jackson – have appeared
together.
After brief opening statements, candidates
answered questions from the press.
Other candidates attending Saturday’s session were Kenneth Corn, Todd Lamb and John
Wright, candidates for lieutenant governor;
Janet Barresi and Susan Paddack, candidates for
state school superintendent; Mark Costello and
Jason Reese, labor commissioner candidates;
Ryan Leonard, Jim Priest and Scott Pruitt, candidates for attorney general; Owen Laughlin
and Ken Miller, state treasurer candidates; John
Doak, insurance commissioner candidate, and
Dana Murphy for corporation commissioner.
Asked if birth dates of government employ-
2
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, June 2010
Catseye
OPA PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
BY GLORIA TRO
TROTTER,
OTTER,
Publisher of The Countywide & Sun
I’m just a lame duck limping into the sunset.
My days as OPA president are indeed numbered, so this is my farewell column
for the Publisher. I hear some cheers out there, but it doesn’t bother me. I’ve been a
community journalist for more than a quarter of a century, so my skin’s plenty thick.
I know that one or two of my columns have been a bit controversial, but I was
following the old newspaper axiom that you’re not doing your job right if you don’t
make someone mad every once in a while.
What I hope I have done is made you think — think about how our industry is
changing and what we’re going to do about it. Whether it’s opening OPA membership
to “non-legal” newspapers, or raising the dues, or re-inventing the structure of OPS,
change is necessary and inevitable.
I just ask you to keep an open mind and consider what is best for Oklahoma
journalism – not just your own newspaper.
BUT ON TO HAPPIER THOUGHTS. If you weren’t at the Summer Conference, you
really missed something special. Sure, we had fun, but more importantly, we flexed
our muscles in a big way with Saturday’s candidate panels. We had ALL of the
gubernatorial candidates, ALL of the attorney general candidates, and a bunch of others.
We put them on the spot and on the record about birth dates, autopsy reports and
open government in general. Most of them said all the right things – and now we hold
them to it, right? The candidates were thrilled with the opportunity to go face-to-face
with Oklahoma publishers and reporters, and judging from the Facebook posts, were
tickled with the resulting newspaper stories.
It was a great day, ending with our mini-gridiron show. Granted, this was not the
most polished production ever to take the stage, but it was funny. After all, what’s
funnier than watching your friends make fools of themselves? Seriously, I think
everyone was surprised at the amazing talent of some of our members. Wayne and
I want to thank each and every one of you who helped make the show a (qualified)
success.
For those who weren’t there, or want to relive the experience, we have a pretty good
video of the production on our website, countywidenews.com. Check it out.
BEFORE I BOW OUT, allow me to give curtain calls to our terrific staff – I just can’t say
enough about their dedication, hard work and good humor. They are a joy to work
with. And let’s have a round of applause for the fine folks who agreed to chair OPA
committees this year. Sean Dyer, Tom Muchmore, Andy Reiger, Dayva Spitzer, Barb
Walter and Barb Walter did outstanding jobs, and I greatly appreciate their willingness
to serve. Same goes for the many folks who signed up for and participated on those
committees. There were some tough issues before them, and they handled them with
grace and fairness.
Please follow their examples and sign up for a committee for next year. Incoming
president Rod Serfoss needs your help and support as we address those changes we’ve
been talking about. As the saying goes, be part of the solution.
AND NEVER FORGET THE TRUE VALUE OF OPA MEMBERSHIP. It’s not the ad check or
the press card. It’s the lobbying to protect our industry. It’s the priceless educational
opportunities. Most of all, it’s the relationships we form with each other. We are a
family, and we count on each other for help and support.
I cherish each and every one of you. Thank you for a wonderful year of wielding the
gavel of the nation’s premiere press association. And count on me to be around to help
make it even better in the years ahead.
Athlon Media applies for OPA membership
Athlon Media has applied for a sustaining membership in the Oklahoma
Press Association.
Jerry Lyles submitted the application.
Athlon Media is located at 220 25th Ave.
N, Ste. 200, Nashville, Tenn.
Athlon Sports is a monthly newspaper-distributed magazine that profiles
America’s elite athletes, provides preseason insights from the nation’s premier
sports editors and tells compelling sports
stories from around the country.
In addition, it provides newspaper
publishers with relevant sports-themed
online content to enhance their websites.
The application will be reviewed by
the OPA Board of Directors at their
meeting on July 29 at the OPA office in
Oklahoma City.
Any current member wishing to object
to the application must do so in writing to
the OPA at 3601 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499, by Friday,
July 16, 2010.
Sign up to serve on an OPA committee
OPA President-elect Rod Serfoss is
recruiting OPA committee members.
By serving on a committee, you help
shape the future of Oklahoma newspapers.
Many important decisions are made by
association committees, from educational
workshops to the Better Newspaper Contest and legislative issues.
Members are encouraged to serve
because they’re experts in their fields and
can offer new ideas and help keep the
industry moving in new directions.
Any staff member of an OPA business
member newspaper is encouraged to serve
on one or more committees.
Most committees meet via teleconference approximately four times per year
with the possibility of one in-person meeting at the OPA office in Oklahoma City.
Here is a breakdown of committees:
• AWARDS COMMITTEE: Chaired by Dayva
Spitzer, Sayre Record & Beckham County
Democrat. Oversees and makes recommendations for changes to all awards and
recognition activities administered by the
association. Coordinates and plans Better
Newspaper Contest Awards Ceremony at
the Mid-Winter Convention and monitors
current awards as well as considering
potential new awards.
• EDUCATION COMMITTEE: Chaired by
Jeff Shultz, Garvin County News Star.
Plans the major conventions and events of
the association. Works with the Oklahoma
Newspaper Foundation to plan educational
workshops, activities and learning tools
the membership can utilize at newspapers.
Works with the Awards Committee on the
Awards Ceremony at the Mid-Winter Convention. (Approximately seven conference
calls during the year)
• GOVERNMENT RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Chaired by Jeff Funk, Enid News
& Eagle Reviews all legislative activities
of the association, works to carry out the
legislative agenda set by the board and
develops OPA legislative platforms.
• LSP COMMITTEE: Chaired by Jeff Mayo,
Sequoyah County Times. Reviews and
improves the legal services provided to
member newspapers of the Legal Services
Plan. Only staff from LSP member newspapers may serve on this committee.
• MARKETING COMMITTEE: Chaired by
Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman. Reviews
marketing efforts of member newspapers
to encourage proper marketing of newspapers to advertisers and readers. Provides
guidance to OPS staff on marketing efforts
to sell more newspaper advertising, publications, classified ads and clippings.
To learn more about OPA committees or to volunteer, contact OPA Member Services Director Lisa Potts at (405)
499-0026, 1-888-815-2672, or e-mail
[email protected].
New reporter joins staff of The Bigheart Times
Meg Foster has joined the staff of the
Bigheart Times in Barnsdall as a reporter,
reports Publisher Louise Red Corn.
Foster was editor of Oklahoma State
University’s Daily O’Collegian before
joining the paper.
Red Corn expects the newspaper to
grow in both size and circulation with
the addition of Foster, who will cover the
Skiatook area.
“We are going to add pages to the
paper to make room for more news,” said
Red Corn. “Right now it’s usually 12-14
pages... I expect it will grow to 18 pages.”
3
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, June 2010
Two Oklahoma newspapers welcome new publishers
The Pauls Valley Daily Democrat
and the Woodward News recently
announced the appointment of new publishers.
Banks Dishmon stepped into his new
role last month as publisher and advertising director at the Daily Democrat.
He has worked in the publishing
industry for more than 40 years in a
variety of positions.
Dishmon was previously with Texas
Community Newspapers as publisher of
the Fort Worth Business Press, Collin
Banks Dishmon
Rich Macke
County Business Press, Research Texas, Pauls Valley Daily Democrat
Woodward News
Energy Report and online publications
myBusinessPress.com and dfwJobNetCommunity Newspaper Holdings, Inc.,
work.com.
Community newspapers “are the grass- which owns the Pauls Valley Daily Demoroots of journalism; being a part of a crat, said Banks would make an excellent
community and making a difference in publisher for the Democrat.
“He has depth and breadth of experipeople’s lives,” Dishmon said.
ence
that will serve him and the newspaDishmon and his wife, Lou Ann, moved
per
well,”
said Pride. “His love for small
to Pauls Valley from the Fort Worth area.
markets
and
his experience in the larger
“I had an opportunity to go back home
ones
are
a
great
combination. His record of
where family lives,” Dishmon said. “And
community
involvement
is outstanding.”
Pauls Valley is only a couple of hours from
Rich
Macke,
a
26-year
veteran of the
Ft. Worth. It’s an important part of why we
newspaper
industry,
is
the
new publisher
relocated here.”
at
the
Woodward
News.
Linnie Pride, division manager for
Guthrie residents file
suit against local paper
A suit was recently filed against the
Guthrie News-Leader alleging negligence and libel.
The suit, filed by Roy Nelson and
Susan Ryan of Guthrie on May 17,
involves a June 2009 issue of the NewsLeader in which an Oklahoma sex
offender registry list was published.
The plaintiffs’ address was mistakenly printed as part of the list in both the
printed newspaper and on the paper’s
website.
A retraction was printed in the NewsLeader but Nelson and Ryan say it was
not placed as prominently as they would
like and was not published in the issue
they wanted.
They also allege that the errant listing was not removed from the NewsLeader’s website.
The plaintiffs seek recompense in
excess of $10,000 for each of three
causes - negligence, libel and punitive
damages.
Macke came to the News, which
is also owned by Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc., from Lee Enterprises where he served in a number of
capacities, most recently as circulation
director in Santa Maria, Calif. He also
served as advertising director and general manager in his hometown of Lompoc, Calif., and as a group production
director over eight papers in Texas and
Oklahoma.
Macke was ready to return to the
southwest to be closer to family in
Texas and also to get away from the
hustle and bustle of California. He and
his wife, Jennifer, have one daughter,
Samantha.
Macke is the sixth publisher of The
News since it began daily publication in
October of 1984.
“I have some big shoes to fill with the
previous publishers,” he said. “I definitely
want to become involved in the community and with the people of Woodward.
“Hometown newspapers need to be the
information source for the community they
serve and I’d like to see the Woodward
News as the information source for the
community.”
Longtime Review-Courier reporter to retire
Helen Barrett, key news writer at the
Alva Review-Courier, is retiring.
Review-Courier Publisher Lynn L. Martin called Barrett “irreplaceable” and an
expert on Open Meeting / Open Records
laws.
“There is no one in northwest Oklahoma who understands the nuances of those
laws better than Helen,” Martin said.
Barrett gave a two-month notice of her
retirement after working for the Review
Courier for more than 17 years.
Barrett plans to take up a previous
position she held as accompanist for the
schools’ vocal music department.
“We will miss her greatly and want
everyone to know our appreciation for a
job well done,” Martin said.
ISSN 1526-811X
Official Publication of the
OKLAHOMA PRESS
ASSOCIATION
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499
(405) 499-0020 • Fax (405) 499-0048
Toll-Free in Oklahoma: (888) 815-2672
Web: www.OkPress.com
E-mail: [email protected]
PUBLISHER
Mark Thomas
[email protected]
EDITOR
Jennifer Gilliland
[email protected]
OPA OFFICERS
Gloria Trotter, President
The Countywide & Sun
Rod Serfoss, Vice President
Clinton Daily News
Joe Worley, Treasurer
Tulsa World
Mark Thomas, Executive Vice President
Oklahoma City
OPA DIRECTORS
Steve Booher, Past President
Cherokee Messenger & Republican
Rusty Ferguson,
The Cleveland American
Jeff Shultz, The Garvin County
News Star
Jeff Mayo, Sequoyah County Times
Jeff Funk, Enid News & Eagle
Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman
Dayva Spitzer, Sayre Record &
Beckham County Democrat
SUBSCRIBE TO
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postage paid at Oklahoma City, OK.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE
OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, 3601 N. Lincoln Blvd.,
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499.
4
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, June 2010
OPA CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Complete Listing of Events at
www.OkPress.com
JUNE 25 – OKC
ONF: FEATURE WRITING
WORKSHOP
You know those stories that grab you right
from the first line? The ones that give you
so much detail you can see or hear or smell
what’s happening? Come find out how to
draw readers into your feature stories at this
workshop led by Dr. Terry Clark, journalism
professor at the University of Central
Oklahoma.
JULY 15 – NORMAN
ONF: BUILD YOUR NEWSPAPER
FASTER USING INDESIGN
AND PHOTOSHOP
Learn tools and techniques from Adobe
certified trainer Russell Viers that could save
you hours each week building pages and ads.
Registration is only $20 and includes lunch.
JULY 22 – OKC
ONF: OPINION WRITING
WORKSHOP
Learn how to express your personal opinion
with sound reasoning. Kathryn Jenson
White, an assistant journalism professor at
the University of Oklahoma, will lead this
workshop at Metro Tech in Oklahoma City.
For more information on upcoming events,
visit the website as noted in the calendar, go to the
OPA website at www.OkPress.com or contact
Member Services Director Lisa Potts
at (405) 499-0026, 1-888-815-2672 or
e-mail [email protected].
Oklahoman makes layoffs
Fifty-seven jobs were eliminated at The
Oklahoman last month.
The layoffs affected all departments,
including the news staff, said David
Thompson, publisher of The Oklahoman.
The May 6 staff reductions were about
one-third the size of the job cutbacks in
October 2008.
“Like most media companies, we are
trying to adjust to our environment,”
Thompson said.
Thompson pointed out several positive
developments at The Oklahoman:
• Audiences at NewsOK.com, the organization’s
award-winning website, continue to grow.
• The organization has a team of digital specialists who are working to bring The Oklahoman’s
brand to new platforms to deliver news and
information.
• The number of home delivery subscribers to
The Oklahoman has increased this year and is
ahead of the same period in 2009.
“Our commitment to quality for readers, advertisers and the community is
unchanged,” Thompson said.
Fire damages Wewoka Times’ office
The offices of The Wewoka Times suffered smoke and water damage when a restaurant next door caught fire on May 28.
Firefighters responded to the call shortly after 9 p.m. By the time they arrived,
flames were swirling from the secondstory of the building that houses CJ’s
Restaurant.
Henry Wells, a Times’ employee, dashed
into the smoky Snider Printing building,
where the Times’ office was located, to
save some of the newspaper’s equipment.
The printing company building suffered fire, smoke and water damage in the
blaze.
With a breaking news story, the staff
went to work producing a new front page
for the weekly issue.
Since the fire broke out close to press
time, the staff attacked the news from
several angles.
The production manager made room on
the front page while the news editor stood
by the emergency scanner trying to glean
as much information as possible for the
story he was writing.
With photographs, text and layout complete, the presses rolled about an hour after
the fire was reported, said Times Publisher
Stu Phillips.
The State Fire Marshall’s Office is
Wewoka firefighters aim water at the flames shooting out the second story window of a
building next door to the Wewoka Times’ office.
investigating the incident but no cause has
been determined.
Snider Printing purchased the building
from Phillips several years ago. The Times
rented office space in the building.
There is no word when or if the paper
will be able to move back in.
33,000
Since ad production, pagination and
printing is done at The Times’ sister newspaper, The Seminole Producer, only one
employee was stationed in Wewoka, said
Phillips.
There were no injuries reported as a
result of the fire.
OKLAHOMA NEWSPAPER PAGES PRINTED
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(417) 336-3457
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5
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, June 2010
Meet the 2010
OKLAHOMA NEWSPAPER FOUNDATION
Summer Interns
The May issue of The Oklahoma Publisher featured 10 interns. In this
issue we introduce you to nine more students that will be interning at
newspapers across the state this summer.
This is the third year the Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation has provided
funding for student interns to work for eight weeks at Oklahoma
newspapers.
The ONF internship program is made possible with a grant from the
Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.
JANNESSA CRUZAN
NORTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA A&M
LANE GOODNER
NORTHWESTERN OK STATE UNIV.
Jannessa Cruzan, a student at
Northeastern Oklahoma A & M, has
accepted an internship at Miami NewsRecord. She was the editor of her high
school newspaper and yearbook in
Quapaw, Okla.
Lane Goodner has accepted an internship
at The Okeene Record. Goodner is a
senior at Northwestern Oklahoma State
University studying mass communications.
She is currently involved in NOSU’s
student newspaper, The
Northwestern.
Cruzan, who
is majoring
in English,
plans to go to
a university
after obtaining
a degree from
NEO.
TYLER DUNN
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
Tyler Dunn will intern at Mustang News.
Dunn is majoring in journalism at the
University of Oklahoma. He attended the
University of Central Oklahoma before
transferring to OU.
Dunn has served as a contributor to
Routes, a studentproduced Web
magazine, and The
Vista, UCO’s student
newspaper. He has
been a member of
the Air National
Guard since
2007.
“I plan to build my
knowledge in order
to be a successful
employee in the
growing field of mass
communications,”
she said.
ADAM KEMP
OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
Adam Kemp is a junior majoring in sports
media broadcast at Oklahoma State
University. He will intern at the Oklahoma
Gazette this summer. In addition to writing,
Kemp would love to become more involved
in telling a story through pictures or videos.
He currently serves as
the Daily O’Collegian’s
sports editor and
as a freelancer for
GoPokes magazine and
GoPokes.com.
KAEAN RUSSELL
OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
SARAH WILSON
NORTHEASTERN STATE UNIVERSITY
KaeAn Russell will intern at the Muskogee
Phoenix. She is a sophomore majoring in
journalism at Oklahoma State University.
Russell has been featured on KXZY
radio and currently writes for The Daily
O’Collegian.
Sarah Wilson has accepted an internship
at Tulsa County News. She is a junior at
Northeastern State University where she
currently serves as senior staff writer and
editor for the Northeastern newspaper.
“When I came to Stillwater
to attend Oklahoma State
University, it felt like my
dreams could become a
reality if I worked hard to
make it happen,” said
Russell, who is
from Elk City.
ZACK STOYCOFF
ROGERS STATE UNIVERSITY
Zack Stoycoff, a liberal arts senior at
Rogers State University, has accepted
an internship at the Claremore Daily
Progress. Stoycoff served as editor-inchief for Rogers State University’s student
publication, Hillpost, and previously worked
at the Inola Independent.
“I have always
loved discovering
things – mundane
or interesting – and
turning them into
something interesting. I
have always loved telling
stories,” he said.
STEPHANIE TAYLOR
OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
Stephanie Taylor, a news-editorial
journalism major at Oklahoma State
University, will intern at the Owasso
Reporter. Taylor has worked with the
Tulsa World and written for Oral Roberts
University.
“I hope to become an editor of a young
women’s magazine and
lead philanthropic
work targeting female
audiences,” she said.
She currently serves
as staff writer for the
Daily O’Collegian.
“After graduation I plan
to work for a newspaper,
magazine or some form
of media as a journalist,”
she said.
DUSTIN COMPTON
WESTERN TECHNOLOGY CENTER
The Elk Citian has hired Dustin Compton,
a student at Western Technology Center in
Sayre, to intern at the paper this summer.
Compton is a graduate of Elk City HIgh
School and attended Victory Bible
Institute in Tulsa as
well as Southwestern
Oklahoma State
University in
Weatherford before
enrolling at Western
Technology Center to
study web design.
Internships, such as the ones that these
nine students and the 10 last month are
about to embark upon, are beneficial to
everyone.
They give students a chance to witness
firsthand how much work goes into
delivering the news, and lets them
confirm their passion for the industry.
For newspapers, hosting interns can
give seasoned reporters a fresh dose of
enthusiasm and creativity, helping them
to look at stories in a way they might
not have before.
Congratulations
to all of this year’s
ONF interns!
6
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, June 2010
THE OGE
PHOTO
CONTEST
APRIL 2010 DAILY WINNER:
JACK WILLIS,
Muskogee Phoenix
Britton Ewy of Owasso goes up for a header against a Sand Springs opponent during district play.
Photo by RICK HEATON, Owasso Reporter, Published April 22, 2010
APRIL 2010 WEEKLY WINNER:
RICK HEATON,
Owasso Reporter
WINNERS OF THE MONTHLY OGE PHOTO CONTEST
WIN $100, A CERTIFICATE AND
RECOGNITION IN THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER!
To review complete contest rules and see all winning photos,
visit www.OkPress.com/OGE-photo-contest
Medics wheel a man injured during a shooting Saturday, April 10,
in Muskogee’s Arrowhead Mall. One man was killed and five people
were injured in what Muskogee police say is a gang-related attack.
Photo by JACK WILLIS, Muskogee Phoenix, Published April 11, 2010
7
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, June 2010
A look at
the Lighter
side of
Summer
Conference
OPA SUMMER CONFERENCE
JUNE 4-6, 2010
WESTERN HILLS STATE LODGE
WAGONER, OK
85 SPF: Andy Rieger, left, The Norman
Transcript, rubs suntan lotion on Mark
Thomas’s head. Thomas is executive vice
president of the OPA.
DANCE MOVES: Wayne Trotter, The
Countywide & Sun, shows his moves
during the Saturday night Gridiron Show.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: Jeff Mayo,
Sequoyah County Times, prepares to film
20 candidates during the conference.
DINNER TIME: A hayride builds up a
healthy appetite. OPA members go
through the line for a BBQ dinner.
GOLFER GREETINGS: Bill Harper, left, Tulsa
World, and Sean Dyer, El Reno Tribune,
get ready for the OPA golf tournament on
Friday, June 4.
ON THE WAGON: OPA members board the wagon for a hayride: Dayva Spitzer, Sayre
Record & Beckham County Democrat; Debby Hubanks, Sayre; Jerry and Sherry Lankford,
Shawnee News-Star; Mike and Karen Brown, Neighbor Newspapers, Tulsa.
THE NEWCASTLE GIRLS: Singing about
gaming at the Gridiron Show are
Kim Noe, Robin Wilson and Victoria
Middleton, The Newcastle Pacer.
MEET THE CANDIDATES: All six gubernatorial candidates address members of the
Oklahoma Press Association at the Summer Conference.
KEEP IT TOGETHER: Mark Thomas, left,
and Jeff Funk, Enid News & Eagle, try to
keep straight faces at the Gridiron Show.
8
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, June 2010
Bright ideas for increasing revenue
Oklahoma newspapers
“Newcastle: Looking
are finding creative ways to
Back at Looking Forward”
increase revenue.
was printed at Lulu.com, a
Several ideas ranging from
publishing and printing compublishing a history book
pany. The initial press run
to promoting a newspaper’s
was 250, which sold out in
website on garage sale signs
about three months. The book
were presented during the Idea
remains available at Lulu.
Breakfast Exchange on June 6
com, where one book at a
at the OPA Summer Confertime can be purchased.
ence at Western Hills State
Noe added that if any misLodge in Wagoner.
takes are found in the book, a
The top two ideas each
new PDF of the page can be
won $50; those honors went to
uploaded to Lulu and anyone
Jerry Quinn, publisher of the
purchasing the book from that
Bartlesville Examiner-Entepoint on receives the correctprise, and Kim Noe, advertised version.
ing director at The Newcastle
Other revenue producPacer.
ing ideas presented at the
Bartlesville
The Examiner-Enterprise
exchange breakfast included:
Examiner-Enterprise
is selling business-card size
•
“Family” special secand The Newcastle Pacer were
ads bundled with web ads as a
winners at the Idea Breakfast Exchange at the tion inserted quarterly in The
new revenue producing idea.
Shawnee News-Star. Ads are
Summer Conference with these revenue-producing ideas.
The print ads are inserted
sold locally with copy proin the paper on an 8.5x11
duced by the News-Star’s
tributed to advertisers, who could sell the
perforated sheet that displays 12 color ads. calendar for $1 each.
parent company, Gatehouse Media.
Web ads are on the newspaper’s site at
“All together, it was $3,800 in revenue • Marlow Review’s “Election Advertisexaminer-enterprise.com.
ing” rate sheet offering two cost-saving
in November, which is not typically a great
“We brand those two together and month for us,” said Noe.
options – bulk rates and frequency rates
it brings in $1,200 every month,” said
– to candidates for the 2010 campaign.
Noe brought two other ideas to the sesQuinn.
sion including the Pigskin Press Pass and • The Countywide & Sun’s election
The Pacer found new revenue by sell- a history book of Newcastle.
advertising campaign offering three
ing ads in a calendar featuring photos
ways for candidates to save money. A
This year the Pacer staff created Pigskin
from the newspaper that depicted life in Press Pass, its annual football preview edi$400 button directory provides online
the community.
and print exposure. A 100-inch VotePak,
tion, as a comic book.
Small ads filling the blank days of each
available for $500, gives candidates a
“Every page, every picture, every quote
month were sold for $100 each; banner was designed to look like a comic book
break by reducing the regular $6 per
ads at the bottom of each month sold for and it was amazing,” said Noe.
inch political rate to $5. The best buy,
$175.
the 200-inchVotePak for $800, reduces
The high-end piece, which cost
“I had one company buy all of the around $5,000 to print, brought in around
the per-inch rate to $4.
small ads on the first day, and then we $15,000.
• The Sequoyah County Times created
just matched up the months with our other
garage sale signs that included the
Another revenue producing idea was
advertisers,” said Noe.
newspaper’s website, sequoyahcountythe creation of a history book in 2008. The
The calendar was inserted into sub- hardbound copy containing the history of
times.com. The signs, which are sold
scriber copies. Additional copies were dis- Newcastle contains stories and photos of
to customers, can be seen in neighborhoods throughout the town.
the city through the decades.
LEGAL ADVICE
is just one of the benefits of being a member of the Oklahoma Press
Association’s Legal Services Plan. Remove the worry of needing
professional advice by enrolling today. For more information contact:
OKLAHOMA PRESS ASSOCIATION’S
LEGAL SERVICES PLAN
1-888-815-2672 or 405-499-0020
DEATHS
HERBERT DEAN ‘DUTCH’ MILLER,
longtime publisher of the Taloga TimesAdvocate, died May 23, 2010. He was 70.
Miller was born on March 19, 1940, in
Las Animas, Colo. He moved to Oklahoma
when he was five years old and graduated
from high school at Taloga in 1958.
He began working at the Taloga TimesAdvocate in 1952 and continued working
there until he purchased the newspaper in
1982. He continued to operate the newspaper until his death.
Miller, who started as a “printer’s
devil,” worked over 50 years in the newspaper business. He was inducted into the
Oklahoma Press Association’s Half-Century Club in 2008.
He is survived by a sister, Norma Rice,
of Woodward; two brothers, Irvin Miller
of Taloga and Curtis Miller of Guymon;
16 nieces and nephews; 14 great-nieces
and nephews; and three great-great nieces
and nephews.
NORMA GENE BUTTERBAUGH
YOUNG, former owner of the Boise City
News, died May 26, 2010. She was 85.
Young was born March 26, 1925, in
Texhoma, Texas. She soon moved with
her family to Boise City, Okla., where she
remained until June 2007.
After graduating from Boise City High
School in 1943, Young spent two years at
what is now West Texas A&M University in Canyon, and then returned home to
work for her father, Roy Butterbaugh, who
published The Boise City News.
She married William Robert (Bob)
Young on June 9, 1947. The Youngs made
their home in Boise City, joining Norma’s
parents in the newspaper and printing business. Butterbaugh retired in 1966 and the
Youngs took over, operating it until 1983
whey they sold the business.
She is survived by two daughters, Christy Young of Edmond, and Laura Smith of
Elkhart, Kan.; two granddaughters; and
one great-grandson.
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9
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, June 2010
Streamline printing by setting up printer styles in layout programs
computer notes
from the road
by WILMA MELOT
Soon you won’t need a PC to print
a document; you’ll just print from your
phone.
E-print is here – featured on all new HP
printers that cost more than $99. E-print
will let users print directly from a remote
mobile phone or other wireless device,
such as an iPad, without connecting to a
PC.
Internet folks are predicting that by this
time next year more printing will be done
this way than from computers. That’s a
pretty bold claim, in my book. I’d keep a
computer around for the time being.
The document is sent from your wireless
to HP’s data center, properly formatted and
sent to an in-house personal printer. The
process takes about 25 seconds. E-print
works with Apple iPhones, Palm, Android
and Microsoft smart phones. Google is
also working on a version for its documents.
The potential for reports from the road
might make that iPad a little more attractive.
That’s talk of the future. Let’s talk
about something that can help you today
– print presets.
Many newspapers use their copier as
the primary printer in the shop. It’s a hassle
to go through the steps of setting up print
commands each time a job is sent to the
printer – you might have to adjust as many
as six dialog screens.
Setting up a print preset is a simple
process that’s often overlooked, but a real
time-saver. Just follow these steps:
1. From InDesign, choose File > Print
Presets > Define. A dialog box labeled
“Print Presets” will show up. Select
“New” to start a new print preset.
2. Go through the normal steps to set a
print job on the copier. Don’t forget
to use the “Page Setup” and “Printer”
buttons at the bottom of the box. The
job may not work if you forget them,
especially on those copiers.
The Printer button not only allows you
to determine which printer you want to
send the job to but also what tray you
would like the paper to feed from.
3. When the “Save” and “Load” buttons
show up, save the preset using a name
you’ll remember. Then load the preset
onto as many computers as needed. You
can also save the preset to a server or a
jump drive for safe-keeping.
2. It’s necessary to use “Page Setup” and
“Printer” at the bottom of the Print dialog box when creating the style.
In Mac OS X, there’s a little blue button
to the right of the top line in the “Save,”
“Save As” and “Print” dialog boxes that
expands and collapses the box. If you forget that, it’s often hard to see file folders,
options and settings.
ART, FONTS & MORE
Now when you print, you can select
your preset from the print interface. Set up
multiple presets specifying different trays,
or for tabloid pages vs. broadsheet pages
sent to an imagesetter.
It’s much the same process for Quark
Express and PageMaker. In fact, it works
nearly identically to InDesign – only the
function names are different.
In Quark, it’s “Output Styles,” which
is found under the “Edit” menu. “Import”
and “Export” are used to move the styles
between documents and computers.
Quark added the ability to create an
Output Style in the Print dialog box.
1. Go to Print > Print Style > New Print
Output Style. Give the style a name and
then set it up. The new style will appear
in the “Print Style” list when saved.
If you’re looking for art, images, fonts
and things like crossword puzzles, I have a
few suggestions and warnings.
For artwork, many newspapers use
Metro Creative Graphics (metrocreativegraphics.com). Clipart.com is another good
site; they charge $15 a week. You can get
a lot of graphics, if you spend the time
downloading them. Another one that’s
been around for a long time is iStockphoto.
com.
It’s easy to find images on social networking sites, but ask permission before
using them due to copyright issues.
If you don’t trust the Internet, try a
clipart book with a CD. You can preview
them at Amazon or Borders.
Watch out for free art. Much of it is low
resolution and won’t print well unless you
run it very small. It might be old art that’s
fallen into the public domain or it could
be bootleg work taken from someone else.
Truth is, most people don’t give their art
away.
Font copyrights are just like art when
it comes to ownership and usage rights.
Looking for free fonts almost always leads
you to a site where you choose between
paying for the full font set or getting a limited version (no bold, italics, etc.) for free.
It’s best to buy your fonts. Look at
Fonts.com, 1001freefonts.com, Myfonts.
com, linotype.com and Veer.com. Veer has
both images and fonts.
A good place to find crossword puzzles
is Statepoint.net. Remember, though, nothing is truly free.
Computer Consultant Wilma Melot’s column brought
to you by the Oklahoma Advertising Network (OAN).
For more information on the OAN program, contact
Oklahoma Press Service at (405) 499-0020.
10
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, June 2010
Stories of World War II veterans need to be told
Clark’s Critique
BY TERRY CLARK, Journalism Professor,
University of Central Oklahoma
[email protected]
“We’ve flown with 99 living history
books and we’re only on the front page.”
That was Linda Banz of Midwest City
talking about the World War II veterans
returning from the inaugural Oklahoma
Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.
She and her husband Gary, a state representative, are among the organizers that
raised more than $95,000 in a few months
to pay for the trip. With another 250 on the
waiting list, they’re planning more flights.
Those on the flight you would know
were Ben Blackstock, Ed Livermore, Sr.
and George Nigh.
Are you listening, journalists? If you
don’t tell their stories, who will? World
War II vets are dying at the rate of about
1,000 a day. There’s not much time left.
Oh, the stories.
“Harry Truman is my best friend,” one
veteran told me. “He dropped the bomb
and I got to come home.”
“The P-51 is the best aircraft ever,” said
another.
On the day-long trip were survivors of
Pearl Harbor and the Battle of the Bulge
and Iwo Jima. One saw the flag being
raised there. There were former POWs and
Purple Hearts.
One Tulsa vet, the oldest on the trip at
94, volunteers three times a week at the
Tulsa VA center.
One was shot down in a B-24 over Holland when I was three months old, safe
in my crib in Dallas. He managed to stay
free with the Dutch underground for four
months before the Gestapo got him and he
spent the rest of the war in POW camps.
One Oklahoma City vet was a crew
chief on B-17 Flying Fortresses. His aircraft bombed the D-Day beaches four
times, getting an engine shot out. There
were husband and wife veterans there.
Convinced? What are you waiting for?
Your local American Legion or VFW posts
will know who the World War II vets are
in your area.
I got to go on the flight, courtesy of
OPA, to cover it for Oklahoma’s smaller
newspapers. I’ve got stories galore. The
rain in DC caused problems with identification of all the photos I took. And it took
days for my notebook to dry out.
GREAT MEMORIAL DAY COVERAGE in the Muskogee Phoenix and
Chickasha Express-Star. Above, Oklahoma veterans get an opportunity
to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., thanks to the
Oklahoma Honor Flight. Time is running out to tell their stories.
But several of you ran the story, or better yet, localized it. But there’s more to be
done.
We left by the dawn’s early light from
the Air National Guard tarmac in Oklahoma City, and returned in darkness to flagwaving family members, having toured
the WWII Memorial, the Marine Iwo Jima
monument and changing of the guard
at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at
Arlington.
Newspapers’ strengths are being the
storytellers for our readers, and these are
stories that need to be told, not just for the
veterans’ sake, but so younger people will
understand what has been done for them,
and their responsibility.
That fact was brought home to me with
the “Exchange Ceremony” the day before
the flight at the Reed Convention Center
in Midwest City, attended by more than
500 people.
The vets marched into the reception
hall to the cadence of a military drum and
the standing ovation of the crowd. The
Governors’ Honor Guard presented the
colors, and the vets, many with walkers
and wheelchairs, stood for the flag!
Each vet was presented a copy of the
Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Then in came the school children
of the Mid-Del district with commemorative coins for the vets, exchanging them
for the copies of the American documents.
That was the idea of Rep. Banz, a former
government teacher.
By the way, the school kids raised
$25,000 of the total project cost, some
from poor schools. Talk about stories.
You start dealing with veterans, and
the stories never stop. The organizational
details of the trip boggle the mind, especially since it was all volunteer. The busses, the send-off celebration, the welcoming committees, the hats, the T-shirts, the
rain slickers, the wheelchairs, the guardians, the police and fire escorts, the military help – the list just keeps going.
Here’s a list of the stories I’d like to
do that are related: the school children’s
efforts, Midwest City and the military, the
veterans’ hats, a vignette on each veteran,
how volunteers put the whole thing together, the police and fire escorts at 4 a.m. See,
the list just keeps growing.
And they’re planning more trips, perhaps as early as October.
Go to the Oklahoma Honor Flight website (oklahomahonorflights.org) to see
photos of the entire trip. You’ll be amazed.
Steve Coleman of Midwest City is chairman.
How it should have been covered? See
Karen Brady’s story in the Chickasha
Express-Star. Zack Stoycoff of the Claremore Progress told Ed Livermore’s story.
Other bylines I saw with local angles were
Marshal Miller at the Daily Ardmoreite,
John Watje at the Mustang Times, Jim
Powell at the Yukon Review, and Michelle
Charles at the Perkins Journal.
I’ll admit, this is special to me and it
was an honor to go on the flight. My last
uncle is a WWII and Korean War Navy
vet. His stories are fantastic. And on this
anniversary of D-Day, I paid to fly on a
B-17 at Wiley Post airport. You can see
some of my photos of the trip, and of the
B-17 flight on my blog: http://clarkcoffee.
blogspot.com.
OTHER NOTES: A lot of papers had
Memorial Day coverage, but did you know
D-Day is virtually ignored in the state?
I only saw a few newspapers that even
mentioned it.
Wendy Burton of the Muskogee Phoenix did it right at the national cemetery at
Fort Gibson.
PERSONAL NOTE: Friend and
journalist Helen Barrett is leaving the Alva
Review-Courier after 17.5 years. Helen is
one of the original graduates of the Harry
Heath-Terry Clark journalism school. We
met her at one of our workshops years ago,
and she’s become one of the best reporters
and writers in the state. Her coverage of
trials is meticulous, and she’s become the
scourge of local governments not following
the Open Meeting law. And on top of that,
she’s got a real knack for writing stories
people love to read. Publisher Lynn Martin
referred to her leaving as “the end of an
era.”
Helen, your readers are going to miss
you indeed. You’re the kind of journalist
who makes newspapers worthwhile. Good
luck, and thanks.
11
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, June 2010
Use e-mail to build website readership
That InterWeb Thing
by KEITH BURGIN, OPA STAFF
Between spam blacklists, automatic
junk mail folders, choices between opt-in
and opt-out programs, etc., you’d wonder
why anyone uses e-mail to bring in new
website readers.
Well, for one thing, it’s highly effective
– if used properly and conscientiously.
A recent survey released by ExactTarget, an e-mail and digital marketing
firm, showed that 58 percent of people
who sit down at their computer in the
morning check their e-mail before websites, Facebook, search engines, online
portals or any other communication service. Only 5 percent checked their favorite
news site first.
A good way to take advantage of that is
to let your readers have a sneak peek at the
news on your website in their e-mail. Daily
or weekly headlines e-mailed early in the
morning are an excellent way to do that.
Many newspapers already do it.
Take care not to overwhelm your customers, though. Multiple deliveries and
unsolicited messages will put you in the
recycle bin, on permanent ignore or floating around on a spammer blacklist. I also
suggest using opt-in instead of opt-out; in
other words, ask readers to subscribe to
your service rather than unsubscribing.
If you send unsolicited e-mail to everyone on your list and ask them to take the
time to tell you they don’t want it, many
are going to automatically round-file that
note until the next time you send out, or
the next, or the next.
By the time they get fed up enough to
“opt-out” of your mailing, some percentage of them will already have either put
you on their personal spam list or reported
you to the national ones. Once that happens, you’ll have a rough time sending
e-mails of any kind to anyone.
Start by gathering e-mail addresses
from your subscribers, who you already
know. Give them the opportunity to sign
up, and make it easy for them to do so. An
online form is a great option here. If you
have the means, send them a confirmation
e-mail asking if they actually signed up.
Make sure you clearly state that you’re
gathering this information for the purpose
of sending morning headlines and nothing
more. Assure them that no one else will get
this list (especially marketing companies)
and abide by that.
Next, create an e-mail template for your
staff in plain text – not HTML. Many folks
don’t accept HTML precisely because it
offers opportunities to spammers that plain
text does not.
The template should be easy for your
staff to fill with links to website headlines
and stories. The simpler the template, the
better it works and the more people like
it.
Finally, be consistent. Make sure subscribers receive that e-mail in their box at a
set time, every time. Soon they’ll begin to
count on it. I would only send once a day
to avoid overload.
After you get your “morning headline”
system in place, you might offer “breaking news,” “local deals” or coupons – if
it’s appropriate. Again, only send to those
subscribers who ask for it.
Many subscribers actually enjoy services like this as long as they feel it is
safe, reliable and done with their interests
in mind. An important question to ask
yourself when creating parameters for a
program like this is: “Would I want it?”
For the last two years,
the OPA has been advising member newspapers to
make sure that they had
protected their trade names
by registering them with the
Secretary of State. The most significant
trade name is probably the newspaper’s
name.
CELEBRATING
Some newspapers have done so and
others have not.
Two recent lawsuits show some of the
consequences of failing to protect a newspaper’s trade name. The suits were brought
against the wrong party because of trade
name registration errors.
In addition to these possible costly consequences, the law states that: “A corporation or other business entity doing business
$100
off a new subscription to one
Mention this ad and get
of the following Metro services:
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ADMINISTRATION
MARK THOMAS, Executive Vice President
[email protected] • (405) 499-0033
ROBERT WALLAR, Accounting Manager
[email protected] • (405) 499-0027
SCOTT WILKERSON, Front Office/Building Mgr.
[email protected] • (405) 499-0020
MEMBER SERVICES
LISA POTTS, Member Services Director
[email protected] • (405) 499-0026
ADVERTISING
SARAH BARROW, Ad Director
[email protected] • (405) 499-0021
CINDY SHEA, Media Manager
[email protected] • (405) 499-0023
LANDON COBB, Account Executive
[email protected] • (405) 499-0022
Importance of registering your newspaper’s trade names
By MICHAEL MINNIS, OPA ATTORNEY
OPA STAFF
DIRECTORY
in the state under any name other than its
legal name shall file a report with the Secretary of State setting forth the legal name
of the corporation or business entity.” 18
O.S. § 1140(A).
In addition, if an entity ceases doing
business under a trade name, “it shall file a
report” withdrawing such trade name.
In some states (e.g., Pennsylvania), the
penalty for not registering a trade name is
a fine. In other states (e.g., Iowa), a failure
to register could incur a criminal penalty.
Oklahoma has not statutorily provided
penalties for failing to register a trade
name.
Thus, not all of the legal consequences
that may result from failing to follow
the trade name laws have been legally
defined.
Newspapers should make sure that they
have registered all their existing trade
names and withdrawn all the trade names
they no longer use. These prudential
actions can save a lot of future irritation
and expense.
CREATIVE SERVICES
JENNIFER GILLILAND, Creative Services Director
[email protected] • (405) 499-0028
KEITH BURGIN, Editorial Assistant
[email protected] • (405) 499-0029
COMPUTER ADVICE
WILMA MELOT, Computer Consultant
[email protected] • (405) 499-0031
POSTAL ADVICE
BILL NEWELL, Postal Consultant
[email protected] • (405) 499-0020
OPEN (DIGITAL CLIPPING)
LOUISE GARVIN, OPEN Manager
[email protected] • (405) 499-0032
GENERAL INQUIRIES
(405) 499-0020 • Fax (405) 499-0048
Toll-Free in Oklahoma: 1-888-815-2672
12
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, June 2010
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE APRIL 2010 CONTEST WINNERS
Column:
Editorial:
FAITH
WYLIE
KIM
POINDEXTER
Oologah Lake Leader
Tahlequah Daily Press
APRIL 2010 COLUMN WINNER FAITH
WYLIE, OOLOGAH LAKE LEADER
Going home for the holiday
We gathered at home for Easter, like we have done so
many times since 1959 when my family moved into our
brand-new house in Shawnee Mission, Kansas.
We awakened Easter morning to candy eggs near our
pillows, just like when we were children. We searched
for candy eggs throughout the house, looking high and
low. Potato salad and ham were consumed in appropriate
quantities.
It was just like always.
Except.
Except we are no longer children. Mark, the oldest
child, is 58 and a grandparent. Dawn, Celeste and I are all
in our 50s.
Except we are no longer a family of seven. Dad has
been gone since 1991 and baby sister Heidi has been gone
since 2006.
Except it was the last holiday for the Lubbens in this
old house.
Thursday, Mom and Celeste move to a 50+ condominium community.
We spent the weekend packing boxes, sorting files and
exploring the deep recesses of the basement.
Each dish, each piece of paper, each old game and record
album has a place in our collective family memory.
We laughed about our Easter egg hunts. To make it fair
for the little girls (Celeste and Heidi), we gathered all the
eggs and candy then split it five ways. We could eat the
candy in reach without getting out of bed, but anything else
went into the common pot for redistribution. Mom always
stressed sharing, but I suspect the bossy big sister devised
this organizing and counting of eggs.
Saturday I packed the contents of the china cabinet and
buffet. The turquoise glass martini set was always a family
favorite. The vases brought back the scent of mock orange
and cherry blossoms and soft feel of early spring pussy willows, all gathered from our gardens. Dad called irises “poor
man’s orchids.” With all the flowers, we were never poor.
In the fall, the vases displayed seed heads, grasses and
other bits of nature gathered on Dad’s hunting trips.
I boxed up the “good china” to bring to sister Dawn in
Oologah. How many Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving
dinners were served on those translucent white plates with
delicate pink flowers and gray leaves?
A few pieces of glassware snuck into my car instead of
the boxes for the new house.
My brother got the tough job of sorting Dad’s paperwork. Even after 19 years, I recognized that distinctive Art
Lubben handwriting and printing.
Dad was a trustee for his union pension plan. One notepad outlined a presentation on raising the retirement plan
contribution from 30 cents to 50 cents per hour. The important points were underscored. Twice. Dad’s homework and
persuasion paid off.
We laughed and cried though memories and treasures.
Mom plans to write notes on special features in the
house.
Will a new family appreciate granite cobblestones
salvaged from the old streets of Kansas City edging the
flower beds? What about the towering evergreen that was
the home’s first Christmas tree in 1959? Will they notice
the interesting rock formations that were hand-selected for
the rock garden?
The entry floor has endured lots of wet boots, muddy
bare feet and doggie paws from our family. But that travertine marble also felt the steady tread of early Kansas City
founders as it graced the halls of the original Kansas City
Board of Trade in the 1880s. Dad couldn’t stand to watch
history hauled off to the dump.
Our next family holiday will be in a more practical location. The new condo has a great layout all on one level, with
handicapped accessibility throughout. Mom won’t worry
about snow removal or lawn mowing.
Easter is about new beginnings, about hope coming after
sadness.
The new house will become our home. It will be a new
beginning with fewer challenges.
I pray that our old house finds a young family with children who use and abuse the house just like we did.
I hope they like flowers and collect vases, just like
Mom.
Enter and Win a
$100 Check from ONG!
1.
Each month, send a tear sheet or photocopy of
your best column and/or editorial to ONG Contest,
c/o OPA, 3601 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK
73105-5499.
2.
Include the author’s name, name of publication,
date of publication and category entered (column
or editorial).
3.
Only ONE editorial and/or ONE column per writer
per month will be accepted.
4.
All entries for the previous month must be at the
OPA office by the 15th of the current month.
5.
Winning entries will be reproduced on the OPA
website at www.OkPress.com.
Entries must have been previously published.
Contest open to all OPA member newspapers.
Although Oklahoma Natural Gas Company selects
representative contest winners’ work for use in this monthly
ad, the views expressed in winning columns and editorials
are those of the writers and don’t necessarily reflect the
Company’s opinions.
Thank you for continued support of “Share The Warmth”
Read the Winning Columns and Editorials on the OPA website: www.OkPress.com (Under Contests)