Beginning was almost the end

I have been in the writing business almost 70 years. It started under difficult circumstances and almost ended the same way.

I took a couple of journalism classes early on and my prof, Helen Wilson, took a liking to my work. When an opening came up on the staff of the small daily paper in Nampa, Idaho, she arranged for me to go in for an interview.

I talked with the editor, Jack Scudder, who sensed my hesitation. He explained that as sports editor I would be following and writing about sports events in the area.

After I said I didn’t think I was ready to start writing, Jack explained that I would write and he would edit my copy and that he wouldn’t let me embarrass myself.

That’s how it all began.

It almost ended as suddenly. I had reached the level of being comfortable with writing when I suffered a ruptured appendix. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. I was more comfortable lying on the floor than sitting in a chair. That’s the way I tried to work, and Scudder kept sending me home. I finally got so bad that I ended up in the hospital, a very sick person. I was there 15 days. To my surprise, Scudder saw to it that my pay continued through that time.

It took some time before I was back to normal. Things went on pretty well. I was always trying out ideas and decided to do a series of stories about Idaho athletes for our paper and the UPI (United Press International).

As it happened, the owner of the Idaho Statesman in Boise saw the series, and that’s how I ended up in Boise.

The sports editor there, Dick Eardley, decided to go into politics and eventually became mayor of Boise.

It’s strange the way people help you and how events change things. At Nampa, Scudder had stated that there was no budget for travel. One of the first talks I had with the owner in Boise, Jim Brown, was that at the Statesman its writers always traveled first class.