So Long, Farewell Ted.

Bob Dylan, the self-proclaimed prophet of the 1960s, said it this way: “For the times, they are a changing.’” From the moment his words were first preserved on a vinyl record album, they’ve proven true. Now, as Ashland Times-Gazette editor Ted Daniels retires, Ashland can sing, “The Times, they are a-changin’” once again.

More than eight years ago, I raised a question with a T-G marketing staff member, “Does the T-G ever run guest columns?” I’d submitted some columns to the Canton Repository in 2001, chronicling our week of service in New York City after the Twin Towers were attacked, and I wondered if I might contribute to the pages of our local newspaper in some way. Jason walked me across the newsroom to the office of the editor, where I repeated my question. Ted Daniels replied: “What do you have in mind?”

I hadn’t thought that far ahead, but somehow I sputtered out how much I liked our new community, having immigrated to Ashland about six months earlier.  Maybe I could write about that, and about the Salvation Army Kroc Center development. Maybe a submission once a month or so, as the spirit moved me or the muse showed up. Could that work?

“Get me a couple of samples and I’ll see what we can do,” answered Ted. Those early columns described life in a small Ohio city, quite a contrast to our previous inner city assignments in Philadelphia and Cleveland. Even Canton had a more metropolitan flavor than did Ashland, with its Amish buggies, John Deere tractor traffic jams, and numbered roads (I still get confused with the numbered roads).

As I kept writing, I expanded my range of subjects to address social issues (child abuse, hunger, homelessness, and addictions), current events, holidays, and the changes taking place in the life of the Shade family. I had fun detailing my search for the perfect dress for my son’s wedding (navy blue, of course) and often told of the on-going joys of grandparenting the lovely Madelyn Simone.

Not once over the past eight years did Ted turn down a column or suggest a different path. Nor did he warn me of the treacherous road I was taking when I wrote a tongue-in-cheek piece on gun control. In fact, he got a kick out of watching me squirm with that one, recounting a similar experience of his own. He forgot to tell me that “to disagree publicly was considered a sign of incivility,” as he noted in last week’s T-G interview.

I’m currently compiling a third book of columns to join “Only in Ashland’ and “Family Connections,” already in print. My working subtitle for that collection is, “Reflections of an Opinionated Lady.” That’s what Ted Daniels has allowed and encouraged me to be, as I’ve (at least on my good days) expressed my opinions with passion and hopefully with grace. Thanks, Ted, for the chance you took on this fledgling columnist. I’m especially glad for the discipline of my current Saturday morning column rather than the “when the mood strikes me” submissions of those early years.

Ted, I’ve watched from a distance as you’ve mentored young journalists, and I’m grateful for the ways you and Kathy have invested in their lives. I’ve also felt your pain as you’ve attempted to navigate the mine-laden fields of contemporary journalism, being pulled along by the treacherous current of change but longing for the old days when the newsroom was ruled by the resident curmudgeon editor.

Gregory Favre reminisced about two of his editors, and his words speak to your work as well: “They shared an affection for the community in which they lived . . . one that allowed you to point out the good and the bad; they continued a culture built on the belief that newspapers share a sacred trust with their readers and the idea that good journalism is good business.” Thank you, Ted, for upholding that sacred trust and preserving our institutional memory as a community through these ‘changin’ times.’ A traditional Irish blessing echoes my wishes for your retirement: “May you have warm words on a cold evening and a full moon on a dark night.”