`Swap Shop' columnist Melba Lovelace dies at 90
Legendary columnist and hall of fame journalist Melba Lovelace died Wednesday. She was 90.
Born in Red Oak, Lovelace graduated from Panola High School and came to The Oklahoman as a secretary who managed the dictation and typing pool in the early 1970s.
“Our office was right next to Mr. E. K. Gaylord's,” she recalled in a 2018 interview. “I even took some dictation from him.”
Her team also was responsible for typing up stories called in from reporters and columnists in remote locations. That required fast-twitch editing skills, which managing editor Jim Standard recognized and made her a copy editor, too.
Pretty soon she was named general news editor, which she described as “making sure people were getting things done.” It also put her eyes on a lot of bad copy, which sparked another conversation with Standard.
“I had this one column that just wasn't very good, so I approached the managing editor and said, `I can write a better column than this.' He said, `Put something together,' so I did.”
She chose to write about her passion for cooking and offered tips for homemakers and hobbyists. It was a hit. Mail was so intense she began sharing questions from readers in search of answers from other readers. Melba's Swap Shop was born.
The column first started appearing in December 1975 in the Saturday edition of The Oklahoma City Times and in the Comics section of The Sunday Oklahoman. By spring 1977, the column had grown so popular it went daily.
“I was getting over a hundred letters a day,” Lovelace said. “Sometimes I wonder: `How was I able to do that job?'”
She retired from fulltime employment in 1992 and the daily column became a weekly addition to the Wednesday Food page, where it has run ever since.
Before she came to Oklahoma City, Lovelace had worked as a reporter at the Latimer County News Democrat in Wilburton. She took that job after the publication's editor, Harold Moore, spoke to a class she attended at Eastern Oklahoma A&M.
“I practically ran back to his office,” she said.
Lovelace said she accepted the job before knowing what it entailed or how much it paid, which turned out to be covering tea parties and social events for 50 cents an hour.
Lovelace also did television shows, and after her retirement she hosted a radio show with Carol Smaglinski. Lovelace taught cooking classes at the University of Central Oklahoma and wrote 16 books, mostly about recipes but also including crafts, quilting, and household hints.
She was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2010.
Lovelace was always easy to find at the State
Fair of Oklahoma. She judged cakes, pies, ice cream and many other ribbon-seeking desserts for decades, not only at the state fair but also at the Oklahoma County Fair and many others.
Among the many benefits of working at The Oklahoman for Lovelace was meeting the love of her life, John Abrams, who preceded her in death. She is survived by her sister Mary Lee Colwell, her daughter Sandy Killian, son- in- law Don, stepdaughters Rikki and Jill Abrams, and stepson Jeff. She also leaves behind three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Services are pending.