THE JOURNALIST

There have been thousands of stories over my 20-plus years at the Huntington (Ind.) Herald-Press.

Among those, there are ones that stand out because of the magnitude of the event. Other stories are personally special for the amount of work that went into them or that I'm proud of the writing.

In nearly all of these, there was background as to how they came about or the process of how they were put together. In some cases, the story behind the story is nearly as interesting as the story itself. Here are a few of them.

STORIES BEHIND THE STORIES

STORIES • KLINE&KRAMER • STATE CHAMPIONS • COVERING QUAYLE • SPECIAL PAGES • PHOTOJOURNALISM

Watching over BreAnne

There are times as a journalist that you know you’ve got a great story. They can practically write themselves; all you have to do as a writer is not screw it up. But a decent writer can make it something special. It was 2005, and I was at the height of my career. I earned the right to brag a little bit on this one. I think I nailed it. And as good as the article was, the story behind it and afterward may be even better.

Can the Olympic Conference survive?

When I started at the Herald-Press, Huntington North High School was a part of the Olympic Athletic Conference. The OAC ranked only behind the legendary North Central Conference in terms of success. But several circumstances were threatening to tear the conference apart, including consolidation, travel, and economics. I did a ton of interviews for this one. Here’s how the story came about, and what happened after.

Vikes end Marion dominance

There were a handful of times in my newspaper career when an event I was covering just had more meaning than it normally would. It was a special moment in time, and I was going to have to find the words that would match the moment. Huntington North and Marion were meeting in a boys basketball sectional semifinal on a Thursday night in March, 1999. It was clear long before the game started that this one had a different feel.

a lesson in life

In the summer of 1990, the sports editor at the Herald-Press left, and I made the move from photographer to writer and took the position. I loved photography, and while I wasn’t giving it up entirely, it was definitely a step away. I had no idea whether I could be a decent writer, but something told me it was the right move.

On to Greener Pastures

I don’t think the group had an official name, but they were a unique club. They all coached high school baseball in Indiana and were certainly cut from the same cloth. In other sports there would occasionally be a colorful character who gave you terrific quotes from time to time. But none of them matched these baseball coaches, and I was lucky enough to get to talk with Huntington North’s Don Sherman every spring.

is also His Story

I was with writer Duane Schuman at the Big Ten men’s basketball preseason media day in Chicago. Bob Knight arrived and I snapped a few shots as he was walking in. There was a guy walking next to him, and the two were chatting away. I asked who the other guy was, and was informed that it was Bob Hammel.

1964: Huntington remembers the Vikes

Huntington North has won two girls basketball championships, and those two teams are obviously beloved by the community. But the next-most celebrated team is the 1964 Huntington High School state runner-up boys basketball team. They were coached by Bob Straight, who was probably the most revered person in Huntington.

This time, she’s PERFECT

Huntington North High School has produced some outstanding athletes. They have had individual state champions in golf and wrestling, produced an Indiana Miss Basketball, Indiana All-Stars in boys basketball, and had numerous all-state performers. But the Vikings arguably never had an athlete as dominant in their sport as Katie Hackney was in softball during her time at HNHS.

through pain for win

This one, you almost had to be there to believe it. I was there, saw it happen, and maybe still don’t believe it. But it was my job to tell the story. Nick Johnson was a cross country runner for Huntington North, was the school record-holder and had won eight of nine races he had competed in during the year. This is the story of what would be his final high school victory.

Beyond words

Sometimes a story I wrote went beyond the sports arena. Athletics might be a part of the story, but the narrative is much larger. For a story I did on the Hunckler family, I have to give credit to my friend Nick Altman. Nick did some stringer work for me while he was in high school, then later came back and joined our staff. He had high school friends who were twins, Jason and Samson Hunckler.

Stubborn spirit

Some of the most rewarding stories I’ve written have been where athletes have overcome the odds to succeed.
I’ve seen young people deal with devastating injuries, the deaths of family or friends, and defy expectation or circumstance. They are inspirations, and I’m humbled as I do the best I can to tell their stories and try to convey the feelings or emotions of the situation.