Viewpoint: You may know Terry McFadden as South Bend's newsman. To us, he's just dad.
Everyone knows Terry McFadden. He’s told your stories, walked your neighborhoods and proudly delivered your news for nearly four decades. He’s the familiar face you’ve welcomed into your homes throughout the years. While you know him as South Bend’s newsman, we know him as our father.
Dad thought he was going to be a lawyer. After graduating from Notre Dame in 1983, he planned to follow in his father Vic’s footsteps, a Korean War veteran turned successful defense attorney. But when he told his father about his interest in television, Grandpa Vic gave it to him straight: “If you like TV, give it a shot.” Dad listened.
The decision to pursue journalism ultimately kept his roots planted in Michiana. He met our mother, Laurie, in 1989 while working together as reporters at WSBT. They married, moved to the Harter Heights neighborhood, and raised us just a block from his childhood home.
Signing off: WNDU's 'calming force' Terry McFadden retiring after anchoring 6 p.m. Friday newscast
Growing up, friends and strangers often asked what it was like to have a parent on television. They wondered how it felt to see our father on screens around town or at our sports games clad in a suit and his studio makeup. That’s always been easy to answer. To us, he’s just dad.
He’s the man who braves each frigid South Bend winter to build us a hockey rink in the backyard, which he affectionately dubs the “M.O.U.S.E.” (the McFadden Outdoor Urban Skate and Exposition Center). When we aren’t around to enjoy the ice, he makes sure it’s fresh for the few neighbor kids who pine all year for the chance to play pond puck.
In the summers, after he’s done covering the news for the week, he delights in driving down to our family’s lake cottage in Pierceton, Indiana. We have fond memories of escaping there with him and mom nearly every weekend of our summer breaks. It’s where he taught us how to fish, appreciate the great outdoors, and bask in the glory of an Indiana sunset. It’s also where we learned never to step on a Catfish’s stingers while wearing rubber-soled beach shoes. Dad learned that the hard way.
While he was busy telling your stories, he was helping us write our own. He introduced us to the joy and suffering of Notre Dame football fandom, a rite of passage for every boy who grows up in South Bend. He took us to Dyngus Day celebrations, ball games at the Cove, and for evening strolls on the East Race. He raised us to appreciate the importance of hometown loyalty.
Some people grow up wanting to get away from their homes, never to return. They dream of moving from their small town, their parents and the community that raised them. Dad recognized what he had here was special. He wanted to be a journalist in South Bend because it’s where the people he cares for most are.
Here, our father shared the anchor desk with our Aunt Maureen for 25 years. He gave back to his town through the Logan Center, Toys for Tots and the annual South Bend Community School Corp. spelling bee. He cared for his late mother and father as they aged.
Dad often tells us he’s the last of a dying breed — a local kid who never got the urge to sail off in search of greener pastures. He’s right. It's rare to find someone with such a long tenure in one place. Especially a journalist, especially today. We admire him for it. It’s why his oldest son already moved back home, his middle son will move back in a month, and his youngest will return in due time. South Bend is our father’s town, and it’s our town too.
Terry McFadden’s retirement on March 1 marks the end of an era. He won’t be on your television screens to bring you Michiana’s news each night. But he’ll always be here to tell your stories, visit your businesses and walk your neighborhoods as he’s done his whole life. That’s because he’s proud of his town.
We’re proud to be his sons.
Michael, Sean, and Charlie McFadden are WNDU anchor Terry McFadden’s sons.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Longtime WNDU anchor Terry McFadden retires.
