This will be a big year for me as I go through ‘My Journey’

You know the saying, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” I regret not recording the many stories my late sister, Bena Mae, told me on our many talks in the last years of her life. We talked about it but procrastinated.

I would sit in awe as I listened to what she had experienced in her life. At age 80 she developed leukemia and fought it until her death at age 89. I visited her often at her home in Clinton, Tennessee. Also, we talked on the telephone everyday.

Many of you will remember her column in this newspaper called, “Simple Pleasures.” It appeared here for 25 years. Not only that, she authored a book of the same name that featured several of her stories along with recipes submitted by readers of this newspaper. The hardbound edition of the book sold out in a hurry.

Bena Mae’s column was the most popular column ever to appear in this newspaper. We received more letters and telephone calls about the column than any other ever.

When I became publisher of this newspaper in 1987 she advised me that we would need a page devoted to women. I agreed and that is when she started writing the column, but without her name attached to it.

She wanted me to leave off her name because she wasn’t sure our readers would like it. After three months I told her we were selling newspapers just because of the column and people were raving about it. I told her from then on her name was to appear.

From time to time after her death we would run editions from the past. Her stories never got old and I could reprint them today and although you may have read them in the past you would enjoy them as much today. However, space in the newspaper has been at a premium since we sized down after Covid and we use this page to express the views of those of us working here.

But because of my lack of judgement to record the stories Bena Mae told me, it taught me a lesson. You see, I am at the end of my line also. This will be a big year for me and I want to write about some of the past happenings of my life. I will never be the writer Bena Mae was, in my opinion the best writer I have ever read, but I will attempt to document what it has like to grow up in Whitley County.

Like I said, this is a big year for me. Most importantly it will be the 60th anniversary of my marriage to Judy Holman Estep on June 1. That is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

Also in June it will mark a completed 37 years as publisher of this newspaper. Back in 1987 Terry Forcht put his trust in me to run this operation. And I will add that working for him has been a pleasure. I don’t think either of us ever thought that we would have the success that we have had with a weekly newspaper.

Next, I will turn 85 years of age this year. Never would I have thought that I would still be working at this age. Really it is not work if you enjoy what you are doing.

It wasn’t easy.

The first several years of this operation were hard. But because of a good staff and the backing of Terry Forcht, we persevered and became the largest and best weekly newspaper in the state.

At age 65 I had in my head that it was time to retire so I went to Terry and told him that I was thinking about retiring. He said to me, “We don’t use that word around here!” I am so thankful he said that. I’m also so thankful he has put up with me another 20 years.

I will never come close to storytelling the way my sister could do it in her column, but there are so many stories in my head that I want to share that mostly from now on I will leave the editorializing to our news staff while I reminisce.

I also want to touch on current events from time to time. One such event is the induction of Coach Larry “Cotton” Adams being inducted into the 2024 Dawahares/KHSAA Hall of Fame.

The event will take place Sunday, April 28, at the Central Bank Center Ballroom in Lexington.

Tickets for that event are now on sale at www.khsaatickets.org. The last day to purchase tickets will be April 23.

Congratulation to Coach Adams for this honor. I have seen the plaques of those honored in the past and it is very impressive.

Finally, there is a song that goes, “I wouldn’t take nothing for my journey now,” and that gave me the idea for a new column heading. From now on it’s “My Journey!”