Waggener High School - RingBrothersHistory.com

The Voice, July 25, 1974:25th Anniversary IssueIt always distressed me that St. Matthews never had a two-party system. The George Washington Party, in all its history,had never been effectively opposed. This is not healthy in a democracy. No party is perfect.I distinctly remember some citizens complaining that the area near the new firehouse had become a dog and cat burialground -- creating a stench so great that people in the neighborhood couldn’t enjoy themselves on their back porches. Oneguy even said St. Mathews was going to the dogs.This one incensed Bernie. Gruff and red-faced he came to The Voice office at my beckoning. Together, we toured the area.Foot by foot. Yes, dogs and cats had been buried there. Deep.A land dispute that erupted in Jeffersontown in 1969, as I recall, caused me the most personal trouble. For two days, myphone rang off the wall with complaints from those who hadn’t liked the way we’d covered the dispute. One guy eventhreatened to “box my ears.” My editorial answering this pressure later was reprinted in Publishers’ Auxiliary, a Nationaljournalism journal.For our story on an open-housing demonstration in the Highlands -- a story entitled “A Profile of Hatred,” he received thebest news story award if the Kentucky Press Association in 1967. This was an incisive close-up of the marchers and theirhecklers.That same year we won ten other awards, including Best Front Page, Best Feature Story, Best Sports Page, Second PlaceEditorial Award and the coveted Sweepstakes Award, the top award of the KPA.But perhaps the most startling story we ran during my editorial tenure was the banner-headlined story on the mysteriousdeath of William Henry Davidson, a Crestwood truck driver, Davidson’s smashed body was found early in the morning onBreckenridge Lane. Either a victim of a hit-and-run driver or a murderer. The Voice story triggered a massive police investigationinvolving county, state and St. Mathews police.But, after six weeks of hard work tracking down leads, the police finally halted their investigation. Davidson’s mysteriousdeath is still a riddle. The Voice’s coverage led to another Kentucky Press Association top news award in 1968.The way I increased coverage and depth was to add correspondents to the staff — competent writers who were paid by thestory or by the inch.These included Al McCreary, now a staff writer for “The Record;’’ Glee Crutcher, former Courier-Journal reporter;Marilyn Frederick, now news bureau chief for the U. of L. Public Relations Department; Barbara Brumley, in Anchorage.Somewhere along the way, though, as we grew and the communities the paper served grew, we lost our warmth-- our humanity.At least, that’s my view.Partitions went up in the office. An addition separated some key staff members from others. A certain formality began tocreep into our affairs, a certain coldness. An efficiency that turned my stomach.I’m not at all uncertain the same thing wasn't happening outside -- in the communities around us.Good earth was being smothered by concrete and asphalt. The air was being fouled by car pollution and business exudations.Zoning laws had been bent to an unbelievable point. Government had become less accessible and accountable. Theschool systems had become gigantic communities of their own, ruled by only a handful of people.The years 1965 to 1970 had brought progress, if new roads, new buildings, shopping centers and sophisticated traffic lightscan be called progress.After resigning as editor of The Voice-Jeffersonian in 1970, Oglesby worked as a staff writer for The Catholic Record andthen became a free-lance writer. He has since published two books and has completed a third. He lives on Cross Hill Roadin Louisville.Schansberg, retired, recalls fruitful years, by Al Shansberg, Publisher 1952—1971Now, after three years of delicious retirement, my 19 years of living really close to the finest people inthe world --those of St. Matthews, Jeffersontown, and, in fact, a lot of Louisville and Jefferson County --retrospect takes on a golden hue.Those were good years, great years but retirement is even greater. I’ve been frequently asked, ‘Don’t youmiss being in the newspaper business?” From the first time, the answer has been “Yes, delightfully!”There’s no harder job in the world than being publisher of a small news-paper, especially when startingout with far more debt that capital. But no other job holds the personal satisfac-tions of the big frog in thesmall pond.No one is better able to see growth from effort, see and sense the throb of a burgeoning community and