Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Copy Editor Decides To Step Back, Retire
Editor’s Note: While the “Looking Back” column written by Jackie Brooks did not appear in the Enterprise-Leader, Jackie has helped our paper behind the scenes for many years. This is her farewell column, mainly to Herald-Leader readers in Siloam Springs, but the Enterprise-Leader also wishes her the best in retirement.
“I “I have have worn worn many many hats hats along the way in this quarter century-plus and now I’m putting on another hat — it’s time to begin “Looking Forward” and enjoy whatever time God allows me on this earth and hopefully I will continue to make a positive difference in this world.”
This is the last issue of the Herald-Leader that the “Looking Back” column will appear with my byline. My husband and I have decided that it’s time we slow down, so I am retiring from the paper and I thought I would do a little “Looking Back” over the last 25-plus years.
I’m not originally from Siloam Springs. I met my future husband, Don, when he attended Arkansas Tech in Russellville, Ark. I was a city girl and when we married I moved to the Siloam Springs area to a dairy farm. Talk about change! We eventually sold the farm and moved into town.
I hadn’t held a ‘real’ job since we were married. I had filled in a few jobs for a week or two to help out a friend and I had a ceramic shop for a short while, but nothing regular. My husband worked for Community Publishers Inc. (CPI), the parent company of the Herald-Leader, and in June 1995 he came home one day and said there was an opening at the Herald-Leader that he thought I might like and God opened that door for me.
I was one of two applicants for the job of dummying the paper (designing the advertising layout) at the Herald-Leader. Scott Harrell, then publisher of the Herald-Leader, took a chance on me and age won out over beauty. My husband often jokingly, I think, referred to me as the chief dummy. I did that for a lot of years, along with helping with advertising. In addition to my regular job at the paper, I have worked in other departments filling in where needed. I started out working three days a week for a total of 20 hours. Now, I’m working four days a week for a total of 28 to 30 hours a week
But, changes are a part of life and so it was with the Herald-Leader. When I came to work here the office was downtown across from the fire station; the paper was published Sunday and Wednesday. The ads and editorial content were designed on the computer but printed here in Siloam Springs, pasted on newsprint-size pages and delivered by hand to the press in Bentonville. Then we got a program that would allow the pages to be built on the computer and sent to Bentonville electronically so the trips to Bentonville were no longer necessary.
At the time, there was a publisher, an office manager, two staff members in the front office, a managing editor, a news editor, a general reporter, a sports editor, two sales people (eventually there were three), three people in graphic design and me. I think I’ve worked for five publishers and I’ve lost count of the managing editors, reporters, office personnel, graphic designers and sales people who have come and gone.
After a few years, I’m not sure how many, CPI and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (ADG) joined together and there were more changes. Eventually ADG bought CPI’s interest. Then a few years later there was the merger of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the Morning News and my job changed. Dummying the paper was moved to the Fayetteville office where it could be done electronically. Then I helped in the front office until some of those duties were moved to Fayetteville.
In December of 1999, with the turn of the century in view, Shelly Moran, then publisher of the Herald-Leader, said she wanted to start a history column in the New Year and wanted me to compile it. My first “Looking Back” column appeared in the first Wednesday issue of 2000. In the beginning there was a section for each decade starting 50 years ago. Then one of the managing editors along the way decided he only wanted three decades so things changed again.
One day, Kent Marts, then publisher, said “we need a copy editor and you’re it.” My job as copy editor encompassed The Herald-Leader, The Washington County Enterprise Leader, The Westside Eagle Observer, The Weekly Vista, The Pea Ridge Times, The McDonald County Press and The Fayetteville Free Weekly. In addition to copy editing for these papers I was assigned the job of filling the editorial page and entering obituaries for the Washington County Enterprise Leader. I have done this for several years now and have thoroughly enjoyed my time in this job.
More changes came and the staff was downsized and parts of the Herald-Leader operation were moved to Fayetteville. The Herald-Leader moved to Highland Park Shopping Center about three years ago. Now our staff consists of an office manager, publisher/editor/news editor, assistant editor/reporter, reporter and copy editor. In March of 2020 with the covid-19 issue, most everyone in the company started working from home.
This job has blessed me with many friends along the way. My co-workers have become friends and some of them really close friends. With the advertising part of my job I have enjoyed friendships with the advertisers and looked forward to seeing them twice a week. Now, with the copy editing job I have made ‘telephone friends’ with the folks at many businesses including the funeral homes as a result of editing the obituaries. I will miss all these people who have become a part of my daily life. I would like to name all those people but I surely would leave someone out, so will just say ‘thank you’ for being such a special part of my life. A big thank you to those people who have made my job easier along the way, you know who you are.
I appreciate all those who have congratulated me on my retirement and wished me God speed.
I have worn many hats along the way in this quarter century-plus and now I’m putting on another hat — it’s time to begin “Looking Forward” and enjoy whatever time God allows me on this earth and hopefully I will continue to make a positive difference in this world.