OPINION: The learning tree of a young reporter
Aug. 31—They say you should always more forward and never look back.
Keep striving for better things. Learn from the past, but keep pushing on.
We are doing some house cleaning and have reached the basement. I came across a box of old newspaper clippings I got from my dad. Before he died, my dad read every Reflector sent to him in Michigan by mail.
Sometimes he would get the paper in a day or two, and sometimes he wouldn't see one for a week when they would come in a bundle.
He always said he figured the mailman was holding them back to read them. I always told him the mailman probably bundled them up to use as a pillow and take a nap.
But whenever they came, he would read them from front to back. He would always ask be about Louis Frey and what was going on at the Knights of Columbus. He knew more about Tom Cochran than I did. Every time I would see him he would ask me about things I didn't even know about.
He always said the first thing he would do in the morning was look at the obituaries in the Detroit News. If his name wasn't listed, it was going to be a good day.
As I started looking through all of the clippings, I saw columns from my days at Stevenson High School in Livonia, to my days at Michigan State University, and then to my days here in Norwalk.
There was a story about Jack Brown, who died in 2000 — almost six years after his retirement from the Norwalk Reflector.
Jack Brown hired me right out of college in 1979 and right away I knew he was going to be tough. I was asking for $5 an hour to start but settled on $4.90. I found out later Jack worked on a bonus system and every penny he saved the company helped pump up his paycheck.
But more than being a great businessman, Jack was a great person who loved the newspaper business.
"Jack Brown made a great difference at the Norwalk Reflector," said David Rau, then CEO of the Reflector-Heralc Inc. and Sandusky Newspapers Inc.
Rau worked as a Reflector reporter early in his career under Brown's editorship — just before I came to Norwalk. Rau covered the blizard of 1978 for the Reflector.
Right after I was hired the editor left and Jack moved back into the seat — right across from me.
He was tough, but I learned a lot from Jack Brown.
The main thing I learned was to always stay busy. If you didn't have anything to do, Brown would find something.
My next boss, Steve Trosley, promoted me from sports editor to managing editor, a move that changed my life and a move that kept me in Norwalk all of these years.
Trosley was another man who loved this business. He, like Brown, was tough at times to work for. But he always was looking to keep the newspaper headed in the right direction.
Trosley wrote about Brown and what he meant to Norwalk.
"Jack is another of the many unsung heroes who carved significant paths in the jungles of journalism," Trosley wrote. "He was a community asset and a source of inspiration for many in the Reflector family and he will be greatly missed.
"His spirit is a part of each edition we publish here and he has touched the lives and careers of numerous Reflector employees and members of the community. We extend our regrets on his passing to his family and hope they will find comfort in the life of character and integrity that he lived."
Along my career I tried to take something from the people I worked for to make me a better person.
I learned a lot from Brown and Trosley.
And then there was Richard Armbrust.
Armbrust, who recently passed away while living in Sandusky, was a columnist for the Reflector, penning the "Cheap Coffee Club" each week.
The retired educator had a few words to say when I was hired as editor.
"I see your report will new be scrutinized by yet another managing editor," commented the merchant while courteously pouring hot coffee into the scribe's cup," Armbrust wrote.
"Ah, yes. This version of a crusading newspaper person will be the third to monitor our activities, attitudes, prejudices and follies," responded the scribe. "He emerges from a world of wins and losses, chronicling the rise and fall of kids and coaches. He has faced booster bullies, disappointed dads and myopic moms. In the process, our associate tried not to hurt anyone, but separated fantasy from fact while still telling things as they are."
Armbrust would create different characters while telling his story. There was a group of "older gentlemen" who would meet every morning. They started at Berry's Restaurant, but moved their location a couple of times. They would each buy a cup of coffee and wear out the waitresses with refills.
And I heard they weren't very good tippers.
But Armbrust loved to write. The former Monroeville Local Schools superintendent had a way with words.
"Sporty is also known for his vast collection of free knit shirts which were accumulated gratis at press events sponsored by golf courses, professional sports teams and athletic supply houses," commented McBean in an envious tone. "Doesn't he have to dress up with a business shirt and tie befitting his new exalted prominence?"
"We'll have to wait and see on that one," commented the scribe. "He is a product of the 1970s-era liberal high schools and colleges. And he isn't alone in that regard among persons in the newsroom. We should be pleased if they avoid tie dyed T-shirts and sandals."
Armbrust was quite a guy and one of the people I will always remember in this business.
"Good luck and best wishes Mr. Centers, Sir, from the Cheap Coffee Club," Armbrust wrote in that column back on May 20, 2000. "Drop by sometime. See what the old guys are really like. We may even remember who you are.
"And if you misbehave, I'll tell your Dad."
That's why this business is so great. We have history right here in our hands. Something we can touch. Something that has been in boxes and scrapbooks for decades.
Go back and look at those old clippings. We always need to keep moving forward.
But it never hurts to see where we came from.
Joe Centers is Reflector community editor. He can be reached at jcenters@norwalkreflector.com.
