The Carthage Press did right by one of its own, tonight with Buzz Ball's article on the death of longtime Press mainstay Jack Harshaw:
“Jack will be best remembered as a longtime sports editor for the Press,” said good friend and fellow Press colleague Marvin VanGilder. “But there were periods of time when he was the city editor, briefly the managing editor and the associate co-publisher for a short period of time.
“He was a very skillful person and in the years when I was the city editor and he was the sports editor, we worked hand in glove,” continued VanGilder. “He was one of the most reliable journalists I have ever known. Of all the journalists I have worked with, he was the most consistent and most trustworthy.”
The article also contains tributes from Jo Ellis, Sue Vandergriff, and me. I appreciate Buzz quoting The Turner Report's tribute to Jack.
The only problem with the article, and it was a minor one, was it said that Jack worked at The Press until 1998. I wish that would have been the case. Jack's retirement came in 1994, one year into my tenure as managing editor. I would have loved it if Jack had been there for my first five years as editor. His professionalism was always an asset for The Carthage Press.
Randy:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words. Regarding the retirement date, that was the information given to us by the funeral home. Since I didn't know Jack, I had to assume that the information was correct.
Buzz Ball
I had assumed that was what happened. I wasn't making a criticism, just saying it would have been nice to have had Jack around for a few more years.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words about Jack Harshaw. I am his wife's first cousin and have known him since he and Betty were married. A big part of my extended family is from the Carthage area. We were in Carthage for my mohter's funeral the first part of June. My husband and I visited Jack, and he was very, very ill and wasted away to almost nothing. But he was mentally alert, and knew who we were. And he was reading the Joplin Globe! Reading was the only thing he had the energy to do. I will miss Jack, I have many fond memories of Betty and Jack from my years in the Carthage area. Sincerely, Phyllis Greenwood (rek9cat@hotmail.com)
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