Top stories of decade brings back memories

Whew, am I glad that project is over!

Over the past couple of weeks, the Neosho Daily News has taken a look back at the top stories of the last decade.

The project involved innumerable hours of research, going back through microfilm, electronic copies and even stacks of old newspapers to find the stories that shaped our lives between 2000 and 2009.

I hope you have enjoyed reading those stories, derived from the front page headlines of the Daily News over the past 10 years. There were a lot of stories I’d forgotten about. And there were a lot that brought back memories.

And there were stories and photos by co-workers who are no longer with us.

One of these is Dean Keeling, whose byline graced our sports pages for a number of years. Mr. Dean, as he was affectionately known here at the Daily, passed away in 2004. I remember how he could cradle the telephone on his shoulder, eat a sandwich with one hand, type a story with one finger of the other hand, and carry on a conversation, or an argument, with the person on the phone. I remember being surprised at his method of typing, using only the index finger of his right hand to type. You could hear Dean typing on a story from the pressroom: THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP! I remember the softer, big teddy bear side of Dean, especially when it came to his family. I remember how much he bragged on his children, Heather and Brandon, and how much he loved his wife, Peggy.

Then there was Jim Burrows, possibly one of the best crime and court reporters I’ve ever known. Before the days of Case.Net, there was shoe leather, and Jim was an old-fashioned shoe leather reporter who had a good rapport with prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, cops, deputies, and even suspects themselves. Jim made daily trips to the courthouse to find out who was on the court docket, to visit with the county commissioners and other office holders, and to sit in on trials and hearings. I remember Jim had an index card on every suspect in every crime in both Newton and McDonald counties, all alphabetized, of course, so he could look one up and have an entire criminal history within minutes. And I remember how when the first few counties began using this new electronic filing system called Case.Net, how Jim embraced the technology as a way of keeping up with court records there.

Then you have Loren Lamoreaux, good old gruff “Mr. Lamor-rocks,” as we termed him. I remember how Loren came in after shooting Friday night football saying “I don’t think I got much of anything” or words to that effect and then finding five or six great shots when I developed the film. I remember seeing Loren at Crowder College games sitting in a lawn chair set up on the stage behind one of the basketball goals, shooting, shooting, shooting. He used the lawn chair at football games as well.

That lawn chair should be enshrined somewhere, as Loren got better shots from it than many sports photographers do from running the sidelines.

I remember Coach Bob Sneller, who I never had the chance of knowing before a medical condition mostly robbed him of his voice. But while his speaking voice was shot, his mind was tack sharp, and his sense of humor downright delightful. I remember chucking many times over Bobbin’ Along columns through the years. I recall the rather sheepish way Coach would come in on Wednesday mornings, asking for someone to set him up on the computer system. And I remember some of his jokes, and yes, they still get as many laughs (and groans) as they did when Bob told them.

Perhaps that was the hardest part of doing this research, recalling my friends and co-workers. But while seeing their names in print brought back sadness, it brought back joyful memories as well.
I’d like to thank the Neosho / Newton County Library for their assistance on this decade in review project. Without the help of Mary, Rilla, and Jerry, the review would not have been a reality. They patiently showed me how to work the microfilm, how to save files to a thumb drive, and worked out glitches and bugs. Plus, they let me tie up the machinery for hours at a time. For their time, and their patience, I am grateful.

And I’d like to thank you, the readers, for looking back over the past decade with me.

John Ford is managing editor of the Daily News. E-mail him at jford@neoshodailynews.com.