As a kid, my goal in life was to succeed my hero, Ted Simmons, as catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.
When I got a little older and it became apparent I would not follow Simba as the Cards’ backstop, it dawned on me I could talk to and write stories about Simmons and other interesting folks.
Being a journalist means you get to meet fascinating people in all walks of life, some rich and famous but most just ordinary folks with out-of-the-ordinary tales to tell. Some are reluctant to talk, while others enjoy delving into a particular subject.
I have interviewed governors and senators and other politicians, as well as celebrities like John Goodman. I spoke to Goodman by phone while he was on the set of the TV show “Roseanne” in the early 1990s for a story I wrote about him for an Old Newsboys edition. He was great, and his agent told me Goodman had instructed him to take special care to accommodate journalists from his home town.
While those types of stories give you some interesting conversation starters, the stories about regular people are the ones that often strike a chord with you. It’s surprising to learn how many people walking among us have done extraordinary things.
For instance, last fall I interviewed two World War II veterans I met during a local Veterans Day celebration. One was 106 and the other was soon to turn 106 and both lived in the Festus area. Who could have imagined two guys that age who served in the military would be living within 10 miles of each other?
About 20 years ago I came up with an idea to write a series of stories about Jefferson County churches. The idea came to me while I was on my way to report on a story in the hinterlands and found a church in the middle of nowhere, leaving me to wonder who attended services there.
While working on that series, I remember learning that one De Soto church high on a hill had been struck by lightning multiple times. I also found the backgrounds of some of the clergy leaders fascinating.
I remember one priest had been a brewmaster before getting the calling. Several pastors had served in the military. At least one of the clergy people I interviewed was a motorcycle enthusiast. I found plenty of gold when I went out to gather information for that series.
One of my favorite tasks at the Leader has been handling our Pet Spot features. They are short stories we post on our website, myleaderpaper.com, based on pet photos our readers send us. After receiving the photos, I call the pet owners and talk to them about their animal friends.
With some of the stories I write, the people I need to speak to aren’t thrilled to talk to me, but the people I call to interview for Pet Spot almost always are happy to talk about their dogs, cats, birds, snakes, alpacas or whatever creature they call a pet. Often, after I explain the purpose of my call, I can tell the people on the other end of the line have lit up, realizing they get to make their animal buddy famous.
Over the years, I’ve met tons of people with inspiring tales. I have lost count at the number of cancer survivors I’ve interviewed, including a high school cheerleader who had been a gymnast before losing a hand to the disease. Despite this, the girl cheered on her schoolmates and performed stunts at games.
At the time, I was a sports editor and got to pick one male and one female high school athlete of the year for my region, as did all the other sports editors in the newspaper system. I chose the cheerleader for my female pick since no athlete had impressed me more than her that year.
As part of the high school athlete of the year program, the athletes chosen and their parents, along with all the sports editors who picked the honorees, got to go to Busch Stadium for a recognition ceremony. Before that day’s Cardinal game, the stadium announcer introduced each athlete of the year and read a synopsis on each of the athlete of the year winners. He choked up while reading the bio I’d written about the cheerleader.
Many in attendance told me the crowd cheered louder for her than for any of the other athletes of the year. I remember her beaming.
If I do nothing else in life, I know that I at least made that girl’s day. I remember the father of the male athlete of the year leaning over to whisper to me, “You made a great choice.”
Stories like that show the value of local journalism. Without my story, maybe that girl would have gotten recognition. Maybe not.
We tell you about what happens in your community and the people who live in it. I may not have been able to catch pitches from Joaquin Andujar and John Tudor, but I have told the world about many wonderful people.
The Leader, like other community newspapers, also informs readers about accidents and crimes that occur near them, as well as about the goings-on in their cities, school districts and other governmental agencies. The Leader staff works hard to keep up with and report about the issues and events happening in our coverage areas, which includes all of Jefferson County, Eureka and the Grover area in Wildwood.
Leader reporters encourage readers to let us know when they have information they think is newsworthy. And, the entire Leader staff relies on and appreciates the support from local advertisers and readers who help us continue delivering the news, for free, straight to your mailboxes.