Passing the Torch
Jackson County Advocate owner &
editor Andrea Wood reflects on moments of synchronicity during her 10 years
with the newspaper, announces new ownership that will proudly continue the
tradition of our hometown newspaper being family owned and operated by those
who also call this area “home.”
I remember
clearly the day I was hired at the Jackson County Advocate, nearly ten
years ago.
Aggie
Turnbaugh was sitting at her famous desk just inside the front door of the
office at 5th & Main, her trusty
typewriter and canine companion at her side. No job had been posted for the
newspaper, and I wasn’t sure why exactly I had felt compelled to walk in with
my resume.
But I did.
Later,
Aggie told me she felt Jim had sent me.
The passing
of her husband in spring 2003 had been incredibly hard on the family, as well
as the entire community. Jim had started the Advocate in 1953, and the
Turnbaugh family had run the newspaper for 50 years. My own family has lived in
Grandview for
generations, so I knew how important the Jackson County Advocate was to
our hometown. I was happy to help in any way I could.
Through the
years, as I worked my way from reporter to editor, and from editor to owner, I
took to heart that moment of synchronicity that had brought me into the Advocate.
I was proud to be a steward of something precious that our community has, and
to continue the tradition of Grandview and South Kansas City having a top-notch newspaper that was
run by one of their own.
Now,
synchronicity has once again stepped in to guide the future of the Jackson
County Advocate.
(Thanks
Jim!)
For the
past few years, I have had a number of health issues arise, and this summer, I
underwent neck surgery to have an non-cancerous tumor removed from my
parathyroid gland. I needed desperately to have time to focus on my health. At
the same time, we were looking for someone to fill Seann McAnally’s shoes after
he had the opportunity to become the editor of a locally-produced magazine.
That’s when
I met Mary Wilson, the editor of The Raymore Journal, and her parents
Mike and Becky Davis. When Mary was a kindergartner at High Grove Elementary School, my husband Gavin had
been her sixth-grade “big buddy.”
Within
moments of talking to this wonderful family, I knew it was time for us to pass
the torch. Next week, their first as the new owners of the Jackson County
Advocate, I’m sure they will introduce themselves more fully. But suffice
it to say, their history with our area is rich, and one that also spans
generations. I’m excited to announce that the newspaper is in safe, capable,
and caring hands.
So now, as
I look back on nearly a decade of involvement with my hometown newspaper, I’m
overwhelmed with gratitude. I’d like to take a moment to talk about what it has
meant to me to be a part of the Jackson County Advocate.
To all of
you who wrote us kind letters and e-mails over the years--even notes at the
bottom of your subscription renewals--thank you! Your words brightened my days,
and I posted each of them on the wall behind my desk as a reminder of who I was
really working for all these years.
A big
“howdy” to Eileen McCoy, whose adorable cartoons adorned my office walls, and
to Velma Pittman, whose treats and smiles were always appreciated!
Thank you
to our office neighbors, Lauri and Tammy, for working with us over the years!
A huge hug
to all my former teachers and parents of schoolmates who wrote me saying how
proud they are of me. (Hi Kathy Brown! Yes, we remember Karyn, and please tell
her we said hello! Thank you for your kind notes!)
A shout-out
to the Boy Scouts who toured our office and wrote us thank you letters--in
particular Max Christy, whose family I first met when working with the
Turnbaughs. We did a story on the return of Max’s father Roy who had been
deployed in the Middle East. Years later, when
Max’s pack toured the Advocate office for their Communicator badge, I pulled
out the archives and showed him the story. “Thank you for showing me my Dad in
the newspaper. Love, Max” His note said, pinned on my wall.
By far, my
favorite part of this job has been writing about the amazing people in our
community.
There’s a
saying among media professionals that “if it bleeds, it leads.” Just watch a
few minutes of local news to see the truth in that statement. But I could never
muster that philosophy, not when I saw so much “good news” in my fellow
neighbors, whose stories I found a valuable thing to share.
I was
fortunate enough in my first year as editor to have the time to spend Thursday
afternoons eating lunch with a lovely group of people at the Hillcrest Community Center.
Wilma Heckart took me under her wing, and introduced me to a number of true
American heroes, whose stories I will never forget. They inspired me to begin a
series I called, “A Story to Tell...” which featured, among others, Charlie
Platz--a WWII aerial gunner, John Irvin--a WWII and Korean vet, Bun Olson--who
re-wrote the safety manual in the early days of the U.S. Air Force, and Jack
Williams and Josie, his WWII “war bride” from England.
The first
veteran brave enough to allow me to share their story of wartime memories was
the incredible Ben Alvarado. Many may know him as the owner of Ebenezer the
Donkey, who was himself an icon of our community. But Ben’s story touched my
heart.
In 1944, 18
year-old Ben arrived on the front lines of WWII armed with a shovel, a
raincoat, a canteen, a mess kit, a rifle, and a letter from a girl named Vicky,
who he had only met twice before being shipped off to war. Ben and Victoria
have now been married for 60 years, and the Ruskin Heights
residents and former local business owners have left quite an impact on our
community.
In 2006, I
wrote about GHS Senior Brandon Thibault-Burkett, a brave young man who dreamed
of competing in the paralympic games and had won several races using a
standard, manual wheelchair. After hearing about his story, the community
rallied to buy him a wheelchair racer, and he was invited to the Paralympic Academy
in Torino, Italy.
Although I
may not have written an article about each of them as individuals over the
years, there are the unsung heroes of our community whose activities we tried
to bring to light in nearly every issue--the community organizers like Carol
McClure, Orrin Ellis, Karry Palmer, April Cushing, Tim Henry, Vernon Wilson,
JoeAnn Herron, Irene Lynch, Ann O’Hare, Lou Austin, Sharon Kinder, Carol
Bird-Owsley, Jim and Judi Beckner, Grandview Mayor Steve Dennis, Alderman Jim
Crain, Councilman John Sharp, teachers, school board members, librarians,
veterans and elected officials who are unpaid or underpaid to serve their
community--the list goes on and on!
But if I
had to pick a favorite article I’d written over the years, it was about
Grandview FD Captain Tom Marinan, who was receiving a Medal of Honor in 2009
for saving the life of fellow firefighter Colin Richards in 1988. Tom and Colin
had been trapped in the basement of a burning house, when Colin’s oxygen tank
ran out. As Colin’s helmet began to melt in the intense heat and he began to
lose consciousness, Tom was able to share his own oxygen and locate a basement
window through the thick smoke, punching a way out to safety.
There were
few dry eyes the moment that the medal was placed around Tom’s neck in honor of
his bravery. But notably missing from the ceremony was Colin, who had left
firefighting in the years following the near-death experience to become a
nurse. No one could track him down to be part of the ceremony.
So I put on
my investigative reporter’s cap and spent a few days tracking him down to a
hospital on the East Coast. When I told him about Tom receiving an award after
all these years, Colin was overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude.
“I still
think about that day all the time,” he told me, adding that he had goosebumps
just thinking about the day he nearly lost his life. “If it wasn’t Tom down in
that basement with me that day, I don’t think we would have....”
He couldn’t
finish his sentence.
I was able
to put the two former partners in touch with one another again, and was honored
that they allowed me to share their story. Following the publication of the
article, Tom sent me an e-mail that was also promptly printed and hung on my
wall:
“What an
unbelievable job you did writing this. I was able to keep my emotions in check
throughout this recognition but you got me with this article. I can’t express
my appreciation and thanks enough...”
To be able
to meet heroes like this man, who serve our community every day, made the past
ten years completely worthwhile.
The timing
of Captain Marinan’s medal of honor was done so that his father William
Marinan, a WWII veteran, would be able to see his son receive the award. In
another moment of synchronicity, his father passed away at nearly the same time
last fall as my grandfather, Huey Thompson. My grandpa represents another category,
one that fishermen sometimes call “the one that got away.”
When I
hired Arthur McGregor in 2007, we soon discovered that our grandfathers had
been competing milkmen in Grandview and South Kansas City around the 1940s and 50s. My grandpa
had worked for Country Club Dairy, while his had worked for Sunrise Farms. We
thought it would be wonderful to share their milkmen adventures, competing to
serve the families who were stationed here for the Richards-Gebaur Air Base,
running into President Harry Truman and his family...
Needless to
say, Arthur’s untimely passing in a car accident in late 2009 was a low point
in my years here. The milkman story never got written, and my grandpa joined
Arthur in October last year.
Not all of
the stories in the “ones that got away” category are tear-related, however. In
fact, one brings a smile to my face every time I think of it!
In 2007, we
got a report that a cow was missing in Grandview
and South Kansas City. It had escaped a
trailer while the owner was stopping to get gas off Blue
Ridge, and had run away. I could not resist putting a picture of
the cow on milk carton with the words “Have you seen me?” to accompany the
article! Some had seen the cow in the woods near Wayside Waifs, and in fact, a
young man named Joe Paine came very close to roping the cow and returning him
home.
That was in
2007. Just last week, a young woman named Lora contacted me about the trials
she has been through in the past year. (Look for her remarkable story in an
upcoming issue of the Advocate.) She wrote to me a few days ago after
remembering that her brother, Joe, had been in the newspaper when he had nearly
caught a missing cow...
Small
world.
We are all
connected, our stories and lives, and this newspaper is a place where those
connected paths have often intersected. Maybe that’s what synchronicity is:
When we become aware for a moment that our stories are intertwined with others
in a meaningful way.
With that
in mind, I am so incredibly thankful for the opportunity to work with people
over the years that have often felt more like family than co-workers: Aggie and
Annette Turnbaugh, Linda Weise, David Weikal, Colleen May, Nicole Higgins, Nate
Taylor (Who is now a sports reporter for The New York Times! I’m so
proud of you!), Stephen Hale, Arthur McGregor, Mary Kay Morrow, Sally Morrow,
Seann McAnally and Paul Thompson...such talented, creative individuals.
And to
those who dedicate their writing talents as well to our pages--Emmerson Brown,
Everett Lee, Cheryl Wills, and Joe Dimino--your work is appreciated!
Thank you
also to John Ivey and Diane Wolfe, as well as Jonathan Freiden, who believed in
the importance of local newspapers, and without whom the Jackson County
Advocate may have slipped away.
To my
actual family, who made it possible for me to make sure that the Jackson County
Advocate was one of the best, award-winning weekly newspapers in the state of Missouri, my endless
love and thanks: My husband and partner in this adventure Gavin Wood, his
parents Hal and Lyn Marie Wood, and my parents Gary and Kathy Thompson. Each in
their own way has sacrificed to make this newspaper possible, particularly in
the past four years. Gavin, as co-owner, spent countless hours doing the
bookkeeping for the newspaper after a long week teaching middle school science
and math.
My family,
along with our little boy Ethan, are the absolute treasures in my life.
Shortly
after we purchased the Jackson County Advocate in 2009, the radio
station KCUR, Kansas City’s
National Public Radio affiliate, did a couple of stories featuring the Advocate.
I said in the interviews that the newspaper business is about people,
connecting neighbors and bringing to light the news from city halls and school
districts that directly impact our back yards.
“There’s
something special about sitting down with your hometown newspaper,” I said
then. “It ends up in scrapbooks, and being sent to grandparents. There’s a
special-ness about newspapers that I don’t think you get from the internet or
any other medium.”
As I look
back, this business has never been about owning a business. It was about the
people, the community, and being a good steward for something we felt was
important and special.
There are
many, many stories left to tell, and I will continue to write them for the
newspaper I love. With your continued support, as well as support from local
businesses and our community, the future is bright. I can’t wait to see what is
in store in this next chapter of the Jackson County Advocate!
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If you’d
like to contact me, I can be reached at andreanote@aol.com.
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