By SHELLEY TERRY - Staff Writer - sterry@starbeacon.com
Young people!
Everywhere you look these days they’re texting, twittering, and writing things like, “25 things you didn’t know about me.”
Why don’t they just talk to each other? But, faithful readers know I like to be “in” so, I’m writing this column about 25 things YOU didn’t know about the newsroom!
1. Everyone keeps at least one toy of some sort on their desk.
2. We display several American flags.
3. Photos of family, pets, and each other are big.
4. Duct tape fixes everything.
5. Our average age is 50.
6. We’re not very good in math, so No. 5 may be off by a month or two.
7. There’s an old dial phone on the back wall that rings occasionally, and we fight each other to answer it. We find this amusing. Seriously, it’s a lifesaver when the power goes out.
8. We celebrate birthdays for weeks at a time.
9. Warren Dillaway boasts a vast collection of Winnie the Pooh items.
10. Some of our signs (Happy Birthday, Congratulations, etc.) we leave up for years.
11. Sports editor Don McCormack sits in the biggest chair.
12. Sports writer Bob Ettinger would win the “neatest desk” award.
13. Conneaut reporter Mark Todd has been with the company the longest.
14. Spontaneous dancing is allowed.
15. Knowing I raise chickens, people bring me dozens of empty egg cartons. They tend to pile up around my desk.
16. Cut-out photos of Bob Lebzelter’s head are stuck throughout the newsroom.
17. At least two police scanners are always on.
18. A mannequin, a water cooler and a mini-refrigerator can be found in our editor’s office.
19. When schoolchildren tour the building, we tell them the old darkroom is where Superman changes his clothes.
20. I believe I’m the only official member of the Bobby Sherman Fan Club. Lebzelter is a Rolling Stones fan. Ellen Kolman and Nicki Wilpula love Donny Osmond.
21. We have no windows in the newsroom, but we have a paper sun hanging from the ceiling.
22. A fiber optic poinsettia plant is our night light.
23. Sometimes, it rains inside when it’s raining outside.
24. The ladies of the newsroom look forward to seeing the UPS delivery man, Phil, every day.
We smile and say in unison, “Hi, Phil!”
He smiles, waves, and we giggle.
25. We’ve had senators, state representatives, governors, teachers, managers, attorneys, local celebrities, fancy folks, families and even a few criminals walk through our door. It’s never dull. It’s always interesting and sometimes it’s fun.
Come see us sometime. We’ll talk.
Now that Star Beacon staff writer Shelley Terry has shared all our secrets, there’s no sense in visiting, unless you stop by on a day when Terry is not here, in which case we’ll share 25 things about Terry Cloth.
