A part of my life went up in smoke–column by Harry Whiteley
It was Sunday morning about 7:30 when my friend, Mike Eustice, called and said ?The Advance office is on fire!? For some reason, I didn?t get excited or too concerned but dressed and went down to see what was going on. When I arrived on the scene and saw the building engulfed in smoke I must have gone into shock. Suddenly 50 years of my life unfolded in front of me in a matter of minutes. Mayor Beach Hall and Mike and Sally Eustice came up to me but I couldn?t speak. I fell apart with emotion. I couldn?t believe what was happening to me but there I was, speechless, with tears streaming down my face.
My first thoughts were of Rich and Riconda Lamb who had worked so hard to produce a good community newspaper, and Darrin Darga who was just getting started in the pizza and baking business, along with Paul and Barb from The Painted lady, a store which is a showplace for visitors. I remembered the old newspaper plant on Second Street that my dad had built (now the Bike Shop). It was there I folded papers by hand every Wednesday after school, and how I hated it. I thought that pile would never go down!
It was in 1960 that we acquired the Hoeft store building and what an undertaking that was. Here we were with a huge frame building that was to house numerous pieces of heavy equipment. We reinforced it from one end to the other and moved in over a matter of several weeks. The biggest project was getting a very long and huge camera in place upstairs. There was only one way to do it and that was to get a crane from Michigan Lime and have the operator lift it in place through the big center window. From then on we grew and prospered and running a newspaper and print shop was one of the most rewarding and fun adventures of my life.
My thoughts went back to the many men and women who were my associates over the years. There was but little turnover of men, but the gals would come and go. While the fire was burning several came up and put their arms around me and it brought back a lot of memories. How faithful these people were! As time went on, I became involved in numerous outside activities but the place continued to run in spite of my absence. And it was because of my staff?s loyalty and dedication to their jobs, something that every business owner is not so fortunate to have.
It was heartwarming to see the stoicism and never-say-die attitude of Rich Lamb as his business was going up in flames. Rich and I don?t always see eye to eye on how to run a newspaper, but I was extremely proud of him at that moment. I was also grateful to Riconda, who walked over to where I was standing and gave me a hug. She sensed what I was going through. Let?s consider Presque Isle Newspapers as the ?Eternal Flame? (no pun intended). Back in 1960 when we made our
My best days that I so enjoyed are over, but to the victims of this fire, please know that my heart goes out to you, along with best wishes for the future. Don?t give up. Keep smiling. The best days are ahead of you.
Harry Whiteley is former publisher of The Advance