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July 2010 - Posts
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I did this follow up story on ex-Omaha heavyweight boxer Ron Stander about seven or eight years after the first story I did on him, which you will also find on this blog. In that earlier piece Stander was still fighting some demons, still in the throes Read More...
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This is the first story I wrote about Omaha sports legend Ron Stander, a journeyman heavyweight boxer who got his Rocky and Great White Hope moment in the sun when he fought reigning world champion Joe Frazier for the title in the challenger’s adopted Read More...
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I remember as a kid learning about the rich sports legacy at Boys Town, the youth development center founded by Father Edward Flanagan and forever immortalized in the MGM movie classic. When I looked into that athletic history a few years ago for a story Read More...
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Here’s another Boys Town sports story. It’s about tradition and legacy and giving back, George Pfeifer played for legendary Boys Town coach Skip Palrang when the school’s founder, Father Edward Flanagan, was still there. After Pfeifer graduated high school Read More...
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When I became aware of the fact that Father Edward Flanagan, the Catholic priest and Boys Town founder whom Spencer Tracy won an Oscar portraying in the classic MGM movie, was close friends with prominent American Jewish leader Henry Monsky, I was intrigued. Read More...
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TCM (Turner Classic Movies) is asking viewers to write in and tell stories about when Hollywood came to their hometown. In that spirit, I am reminded of perhaps the biggest film event in the history of my hometown, Omaha, Neb., and for that matter in Read More...
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For anyone of a certain age, shopping at the downtown J.L. Brandeis & Sons Department Store in Omaha was a pinnacle experience for the sheer size, opulence, and wonder of it all. Any city of size had its equivalent, but I didn’t grow up in any city, Read More...
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The story that follows is a kind of sequel to the first story I did on Art Storz Jr., the beloved Omaha eccentric who had a magnificent obsession with his family dynasty and the mansion they built and that he tried to preserve as a lasting tribute. That Read More...
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The late Art Storz Jr. was a strange, lovely man whose fierce devotion to his family and to their legacy as successful beer brewers, as civic leaders, as philanthropists, knew no end. He was a mass of contradictions. Generous to a fault. Shy, unassuming, Read More...
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I was raised Catholic. Long after I became a lapsed Catholic, my mother and an aunt attended a church on the south side of Omaha that offered a Mass said in Latin. I am barely old enough to remember that Masses said in Latin, with the priest’s back to Read More...
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Nebraska doesn’t have mountains or oceanfront beaches. What few iconic things it does have speak to the work ethic of its people. Omaha Steaks is a national brand, like Mutual of Omaha insurance or Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett, that people know Read More...
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My most extensive *** Cavett story among a handful of stories I’ve written about the entertainer follows. What I try to do in this piece, and I believe I succeed, is lay out the impressive scope of his career and humanize him. Cavett was a superb talk Read More...
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To date, the only ride along I’ve done as a journalist was for this story following paramedics. I enjoyed the challenge of reporting and scene description the assignment presented. It’s the type of project I do from time to time in order to push myself Read More...
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To be honest, I was hoping for something dramatic to happen in the ER that agreed to accommodate for a few nights my hanging around, asking medical staff and paramedics and patients questions and taking voluminous notes. Nothing much did. That is to say, Read More...
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Spend even a little while with Evie Zysman, as I did, and she will leave an impression on you with her intelligence and passion and commitment. I wrote this story for the New Horizons, a publication of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging. We profile Read More...
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Omaha’s produced many black sports legends, and I’ve had the privilege of meeting, interviewing, and profiling most of them. Arguably, the biggest name of this group is Bob Gibson, the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher. The following story for Read More...
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Mentoring programs, whether community or school-based, along with mentoring done more informally, on one’s own, offer effective ways for reaching at-risk youth. The following story I did for The Reader (www.thereader.com) about 10 or 12 years ago profiles Read More...
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This is another of the many stories I’ve filed on aspects of Omaha’s African-American culture, in this case a retrospective piece on a long defunct black owned and operated taxi company, Ritz Cab. An old of age but young in spirit gentleman by the name Read More...
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I am drawn to stories with multiple layers and textures, and the following story I did for The Reader (www.thereader.com) is a good example, as it resonates on social, cultural, historical, and artistic levels, among others. The piece uses the production Read More...
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Meeting real life heroes and historical figures is not an every day occurrence, even in my line of work, and so given the great legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen it was a real honor and treat interviewing a handful of these men living in and around Omaha. Read More...
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One of the nice things about a blog like mine is that I can revive or resurrect stories long ago published and forgotten. Here’s a story I did about a man who had a remarkable military service record. His name was Chuck Powell. He passed away recently, Read More...
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The subject of this profile, Donovan Ketzler, is like one of those romantic adventurer figures from a Jack London or Rudyard Kipling yarn. I believe you will find his adventures as a cavalryman and recreational horseman will enchant you as much as they Read More...
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It was the 40th anniversary of the Peace Corps and I just happened to know a few veterans of that renowned service program, and so after they agreed to share their stories with me, those experiences formed the backbone for the following story. One of Read More...
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If you saw the odd little old couple on the street you would never guess they were serious art connoisseurs. But get them in their element, at a museum or at a gallery opening, and get them talking art, and then there would be no doubt that Bob and Roberta Read More...
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This is the second story I wrote about poet Ted Kooser. It followed the first one I did on him by several months. That earlier story is also posted on this site. This second profile appeared in The Reader (www.thereader.com) and nearer the completion Read More...
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Ted Kooser was already well into his term as U.S. Poet Laureate and had recently been awarded the Pulitzer Prize when I wrote two stories about him. This is the first. It appeared in the New Horizons, and it ‘s based on an interview I did with him at Read More...
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Roger Welsch is a born storyteller and there’s nothing he enjoys more than holding sway with his spoken or written words, drawing the audience or reader in, with each inflection, each permutation, each turn of phrase. He’s a master at tone or nuance. Read More...
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I couldn’t resist posting another boxing story. This one is about an interesting venue that is one part hardcore gym for amateurs and professionals and one part community resource center for at-risk youth. The CW fills a lot of missions and many of those Read More...
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Eleven years ago or so I wrote this story about Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, the home of the College World Series. The stadium hosted the NCCA Division I men’s baseball championship for 61 years. The 2010 series marked the last at the venerable old site. Read More...
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There is a very cool site called Star City Blog (www.starcityblog.com) that I've begun contributing stories to, and I wrote my first couple pieces for the site related to the College World Series and Rosenblatt Stadium. One of the stories follows. The Read More...
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There is a very cool site called Star City Blog (www.starcityblog.com) that I've begun contributing stories to, and I wrote my first couple pieces for the site related to the College World Series and Rosenblatt Stadium. Here is one of them. Omaha's Big, Read More...
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As the College World Series entered the stretch run of the 2010 championship, I offered this story as a slice-of-life capsule of the local color that can be found in and around the event and its festival-like atmosphere. The subject is Greg Pivovar, who Read More...
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The College World Series in Omaha is a major NCAA athletic championship that attracts legions of fans from all over America and grabs gobs of national media attention. With this most recent one being the last series played at the event’s home these past Read More...
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Journalists look for hooks to hang their stories on, and anniversaries of major events are always convenient pegs to use. On the 50th anniversary of the Korean War I profiled the combat experience of Bill Ramsey, an amiable man who made a rich life for Read More...
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Here is my cover story on Alexander Payne and his new film The Descendants , his made-in Hawaii feature starring George Clooney. The film wrapped there the end of May and should be out in 2011. For this piece, which originally appeared in The Reader (www.thereader.com), Read More...
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