Saying Goodbye to Respected Newspaper Mentor

It was way back in 1988 when I walked into the small building which operates as the office for my hometown newspaper for the first time.

By a twist of fate, I had begun writing articles about my high school football team and would drop the articles off at the newspaper office each week.

Many times I would stop by Sunday afternoon since I knew Mr. Bill Hughes, editor, publisher, owner and everything else under the sun for the paper, would be there.

It would take me some time to realize just why he was always there on Sundays, but something about that small paper — as well as something about him — intrigued me.

Perhaps, it was the way he sat at his desk, vintage typewriter (that didn’t work half the time) by his side, cigar smoke rising in the air. Perhaps it was the smell of the old building, filled with yellowing newspapers. Perhaps it was the way he would pound the keys on that typewriter, pounding out polished stories as only I wish I could do (that remains true to this day.)

Whatever it was in the air in the office of my hometown paper (other than that cigar smoke) seemed to hook me.

Mr. Hughes, with his quiet laugh, offered words of encouragement on those Sunday afternoon visits to his office.

The makings of a journalist were born back in the late days of the 1980s and I’ve always been thankful to Mr. Hughes for that.

As the years have passed and I have tried to make a living in the newspaper profession, Mr. Hughes has never been far from my mind. I always think of him when I work on Sunday. I always think of him when it seems I’m going to pull my hair out while trying to put another edition to bed.

I think of him when I make it home on Wednesdays, exhausted from another week, another paper. Few people truly understand what those of us inside this business do. Few understand the stress, the agony or the aching body that comes with the job. Mr. Hughes knew it though and knew it all too well.

I received word over the weekend that Mr. Hughes has passed away. Word was he had not been doing well recently, although I admit I figured he would pull through this time like he had done so many times before. It was just another battle for my newspaper mentor, like so many battles he had faced and won before. Unfortunately, this time was different and I found myself wishing I had been able to talk to him just once more. I loved hearing newspaper stories, especially the ones from his days in Atlanta.

One of the funniest moments for me involving Mr. Hughes came at a Georgia Press Association convention in 1996.

Mr. Hughes was there to receive another award for his column writing. (I’ve often wondered how many awards he won through the years.) When the slide show presentation showed his picture, it was not a current photo but one from at least 30 years earlier.

A black and white photo of a young man popped up on the screen. Not everyone in the room knew Mr. Hughes, but I found it funny. It would have been like my baby picture being shown.

I asked him about it after the presentation (all the while trying not to laugh.) He said he sent in a new photo but for some reason they showed the old one instead. “That’s how my luck usually goes,” he said, laughing at himself. “I’ll have to let someone know about it.” We then both laughed about it before going our own ways at the convention.

While I still only know a fraction of what Mr. Hughes knew about this business, I did try my best to pick up bits and pieces of knowledge from him. He opened the door to his world to a young, know-nothing kid. It was something he certainly didn’t have to do but it is something I have never forgotten. I remember him today as I keep his family, who continue to run my hometown paper in my thoughts.

Monticello native Chris Bridges is editor of the Barrow Journal in Winder. He welcomes feedback from readers of The Monticello News at cbridges@barrowjournal.com.