Memories of nearly 50 years on the job

For nearly 50 years, I've been writing about issues, and photographing people and events in Sussex County.

It's been a great ride that I hope can continue for a few more years. Every day is different and exciting. That's what makes the job of community journalism so fulfilling. You never know what you will face on any given day.

I've watched as the newspaper business has changed in nearly every facet, including ushering in the computer age and the change from film to digital photography. When I started, we banged out stories on typewriters. Seems like ages ago.

AT THE START – I started my adventure in journalism working on the school newspaper and yearbook at Seaford High School. I had a great teacher, Harriet Smith Windsor, who went on to bigger things in her education career and served as Delaware’s secretary of state from 2001-09.

I started working in the darkroom at The Leader and State Register in Seaford in 1973. I told the publisher I knew everything there was to know about the darkroom. I didn’t, but learned very quickly.

It didn't take long for me to get out of the darkroom and transition to the editorial side. My first editor was Bryant Richardson, who is now a state senator from the Seaford area.

My first photo assignment was covering a youth fishing tournament with a meterless Nikkormat camera. Nikon is the brand I've used ever since, and I've covered many youth fishing tournaments over the years.

The paper was eventually sold and disbanded – even the building was torn down.

For 25 years, I worked for Chesapeake Publishing Co., owners of The Leader, as a reporter/photographer, sports editor, publisher and managing editor. That time span also included a year working at The International Herald Tribune in Paris, France, and a few years at the Milford Chronicle.

Winning the John Hay Whitney Fellowship paved the way for my year in Paris. My family and I were literally thrown into French culture, but we survived and have lots of great memories.

At the Chronicle, I had the opportunity to train a young, up-and-coming journalist from the Milford area, Jen Ellingsworth. We've come full circle, and now Jen is my editor at the Cape Gazette.

I also worked for the Seaford Star and Laurel Star before moving from Seaford to Lewes to work at the Cape Gazette in 2005.

Below are just a few of my memories:

IT'S TRUE – I had a call from a psychic in New England asking me if there was a case of a missing person. Indeed, there was an open case that had mystified police and family members for many months.

The psychic told me she had a dream about a car underwater with a boat crossing over it many times. I don't put a lot of stock in psychics, but the place she was referring to could have been the Woodland Ferry that crosses the Nanticoke River between Seaford and Laurel.

I phoned some of my police contacts and informed them of the call. I guess they figured they had nothing to lose and sent a dive team to the ferry. Believe it or not, they located the car and the missing man inside.

INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT – It's rare that community newspapers cover international news. But for awhile in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Seaford was cast into the international spotlight. Two of its own young men became headline news. Marine Corps Cpl. Michael Hastings was among the 241 victims of the bombing of the Beirut, Lebanon, marine barracks Oct. 23, 1983.

And Marine Sgt. Greg Persinger was a Tehran, Iran, embassy guard taken prisoner along with more than 50 others Nov. 4, 1979. They were released after 444 days in captivity Jan. 20, 1981. Greg re-enlisted and was part of the American Invasion Force in Grenada.

Michael lived with his family around the corner from my home, and Greg was the brother of one of my Seaford High classmates, so I knew both of the young men.

Both of the families were extremely private and struggled with the onslaught of media. TV and newspaper reporters literally camped out in the front yard of the Persinger's home.

Because I knew the families, they talked to me, and I tried to keep the media at bay by providing them with information. I received calls from news organizations all over the world.

LOTTERY WINNERS – Since living in a small town means you either know everyone or know something about a family member or friend, I covered another story that attracted outside media attention.

Thirty-three employees of The Guide, a weekly advertising publication that still exists, won a $214.7 million Powerball jackpot in October 2004. Just like that, the Seaford area became home to more than 30 millionaires. They met with a financial planner and attorney, and decided as a group they would not reveal their names or talk to the media.

I was in a dilemma because I knew many of the winners and one was a former classmate. I wouldn't say I hounded them for their story, but I did make every attempt to get it. They never cracked.

PROTEST TURNED VIOLENT – One of the most bizarre events happened on May 23, 2006, during coverage of a protest in downtown Seaford by members of Westboro Baptist Church. The fringe group claimed that U.S. military victims of the war in Iraq were God's retribution for the country allowing homosexuality, straying from God's law. They protested at military funerals across the nation.

They were in Seaford as the funeral for Marine Cpl. Cory Palmer was taking place about four blocks away from the protest site. The 21-year-old was killed when his Humvee was hit by explosives near Fallujah. He passed away May 6, 2006. Cory's mother, Danna Swain Palmer, is a friend and former classmate. The courage she has shown over the years is remarkable.

What the protesters didn't expect was a crowd of more than 1,000 angry people surrounding them.

Even with police on duty and barricades in place, some members of the crowd broke through and starting assaulting the protesters. I was right in the middle of it frantically trying to protect myself and also take photos.

The protesters were escorted away in a van but not until a few windows were broken out. Five members of the crowd were arrested.

Cory was one of three young men killed in Iraq from Seaford. Army Ranger Spec. Ryan Long, 21, died April 3, 2003, and Marine Lance Cpl. Rick James, 20, died May 13, 2006.

See a video clip of the protest at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7u2-rF0qXA.