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Longtime readers conduct wake for outstate World Herald
By SHARY SKILES
Publisher
Buffalo Commons Storytelling Festival organizers required two committees to plan Tuesday's "salute" to the Omaha World Herald. One committee was in charge of the tar and the other committee was in charge of the feathers.
A small group of long-time World Herald subscribers gathered at the Bieroc Café to share their thoughts about the Omaha World Herald's recent termination of home delivery service in western Nebraska. While some cussed the decision, most expressed a sincere sense of sadness at the loss of an old friend.
In the audience were long-time World Herald carriers, Jo and Harold Beebe, who delivered to subscribers west of Norris Avenue, and Bryan Kinne who delivered east of Norris. World Herald carriers Joe and Loretta Burns were unable to attend.
The Beebe's started their carrier route about six years ago, shortly after Harold experienced a heart attack. They took the route for the exercise and a little extra income. Seven days a week, they began their days at 4 a.m., delivering about 120 papers daily and 135 papers on Sundays.
Kinne estimated that he walked five miles each day, delivering about 160 papers, taking great care to place each paper as close as possible to the door so that his customers could simply open the door and pick up the newspaper each morning. Kinne was counting on the extra income his Omaha World Herald paper route would provide after his Dec. 31 retirement from Valmont. His route would take him about 3 hours every morning for the last 6 ˝ years.
Both the Beebe's and Kinne have begun offering home-delivery of the Lincoln Journal Star in McCook.
McCook resident John Hubert expressed his displeasure with the Omaha World Herald in the form of an original poem titled "Our Former Friend":
The Omaha World Herald is printed mostly in black, although with color sometimes.
The editor always has his say, but it may take quite a few lines
I've read the paper from front to back for many many years,
And when told I'd no longer get it delivered, it almost brought me to tears.
But now I'm sympathetic to the people who call the shots,
For they have figured out how to leave out important spots.
Like southwest Nebraska where the people are quite smart
And know how to analyze the news, as is the citizen's part.
We like to see what's happening in the city to the east,
Like who's killing who, and what politician's getting the least.
The sports page leaves us out or hardly prints a line.
But that's all right, for when we are number one, we really shine.
The old WH or the new WH, it was all the same to us.
We enjoyed the state and national news, but sometimes had to cuss.
Their city views and tax reviews left us to pay the bill
I'm not sure that's right, but in our water fight, their support was almost nil.
Hats off to the man that put us in the can, and took away our news.
He got us stirred up to a point that has given us the blues.
But as a usual, farewell to someone that deserted us because we are only a few.
We say to you Good bye, Good Luck, and Gosh Darn** You!
**the original poem used stronger language not appropriate for a family newspaper.
Video excerpts of the Omaha World Herald salute can be viewed on the Gazette's Web site.