As I age I find myself thinking about the past and, as I travel here and there covering sports events, I meet and talk with sports writers who have been around for a number of years and this triggers my memories reminding me that I have worked in newspaper and radio journalism for 78 years.

I celebrated my 86th birthday this past May 5th and this turned my attention to the news media in Sullivan, Delaware and Orange County and the many reporters, writers, columnists, editors and publishers we have had the pleasure to know over the 78 years that I have been penning articles for various news media.

Yes…you read that number correctly folks…78 years in journalism. I started writing at the age of 8 while attending the Liberty Elementary School on North Main Street and remember well how I started.

My uncle Cliff Sprague, who owned and operated Sprague Printing and also published the Liberty Gazette along with his brothers, asked me one day to pen a column about what was going on in the elementary school some several blocks down the street from their publishing and printing plant.

I was a frequent visitor to the Liberty Gazette as my aunt Mable and Uncle Cliff lived four houses down the street from our home on Winslow Place in Liberty, and I would walk down to the Gazette office and wait for a ride home with my uncle.

Since I was always asking Cliff what he was doing (he was the Linotype operator) one day he introduced me to Hazel Leroy who was famous in Liberty for writing the Liberty locals column, and she and Cliff taught me how to write a column…so the beginning of a long rewarding career.

I wrote in high school for the school newspaper, college for the college newspaper and was a Journalist in the U.S.Navy where at one time I served as sports editor of the China Lake military base newspaper in California and later was the press secretary for the Admiral of Com Crew DesPack.

Following my four years in the Navy I worked in advertising at Radio Station WVOS and announced high school basketball games.

Then worked as a reporter and columnist for Harold and Clara Schue at the Liberty Register, served as assistant editor when Dick Rosenbaum took over as editor following the passing of Harold, worked with Don and Emily Battey at the Livingston Manor Times and had a joint venture with them in the purchase of the Liberty Ad-Visor and Sullivan County Press from Harrison Krum, worked as a reporter, advertising rep and later as editor of the Hancock Herald replacing Paul Fagen, served as advertising manager with Ruby Katz of Southern New York Publishers and worked with outstanding journalist like Art Sugerman and Les Woods.

Served a number of years as a photo-journalist for the Times-Herald Record working with well-known journalist Charlie Crist.

Also around that time Bruce Wells was a popular news announcer for WVOS.

My association with the Stabbert family and this newspaper tops my list with cherished time I spent with Fred Stabbert Jr. particularly at the summer picnic and Christmas party when Fred and I could slip off in his office and reminisce about many of the same things I have mentioned in this week’s column.

Hold dearly these memories…see ya at the next event.