In 1983, one hundred years after the founding of the Calhoun Chronicle (founded in 1883), I was hired for what I considered my first dream job; that of Advertising Manager for the Calhoun Chronicle. With my flair for artistry and love of people, I was a natural for the job. I had the privilege of working for Editor Merrill Pollack. A real, honest to goodness, newspaper man, who had lived the dream in New York City, but working then in Grantsville, West Virginia. As is so often the case in our community, Calhoun didn’t know the treasure they had. Merrill Pollack was a sculptor, writer and former editor of The Saturday Evening Post, an executive editor for Viking Press, editor for Simon & Schuster and after moving to Calhoun County in 1977 he became Editor of the Calhoun Chronicle, working for then Publisher, Carl Morris. He also served on the art faculty at West Virginia University. He was one of the most interesting characters I have ever met in my lifetime and was an admired mentor and hero in my desire to work for the news. He retired in 1986 and passed way in 1988 following surgery, and broke my heart.
I also worked with Photographer Frank Libel, who was photographer during the Vietnam war, and taught me much about designing not only the ads but the production side of the newspaper. They were fun times.
Scroll forward forty years later and I find myself the publisher, editor, chief cook and bottle washer for the Ridgeview News, being paid far less than I was even in 1983. But I’m living the dream! When I began the Ridgeview News I had a “friendly working relationship” with Newton Nichols, Editor and Bill Bailey, Reporter of the Calhoun Chronicle; but Bill’s left leaning reporting style wasn’t something I cared for, so other than sitting together at County Commission meetings he and I had little in common. Newton and I were cordial at board meetings and that sufficed for my involvement with my long ago dream job. But a recent change of staff at the Chronicle Office sat me beside the new girl in the business, Melissa West, who is currently single handily putting the Calhoun Chronicle into the homes of subscribers and local citizens. When editor Newton Nichols left because of health issues, and Bill Bailey exited shortly thereafter, Melissa was left to learn the business of putting out a paper on her own.
And being a determined woman, she did!
She and I became fast friends with the same goal; providing the truth in Calhoun County. She did it via the Calhoun Chronicle, and I online through the Ridgeview News. What would have once been considered rivals, is now a helpmeet in the field of journalism. Together we’ve worked on stories, provided news tips, comforted each other in the frustration of local politics and laughed at many of the antics we’ve witnessed together.
While I love being a daily source of news for the community, with Melissa’s help, she has also connected me to the roots and foundation of my love for journalism by allowing me to submit articles for their weekly publication. Both versions of the news are very necessary. There are people who will never see the Ridgeview News on the internet, and by the same token, there are people who will not see the physical edition of the Chronicle. Working together we cover a far broader audience and serve our community much better.
It feels a little like home.
Thank you Melissa, and thank you to the Calhoun Chronicle Publisher, Michael Showell and Editor Stephen Smoot for permitting our professional friendship to grow.
