Musings: Columnist Recalls Years of Writing
Last updated Friday, August 29, 2008 6:33 PM CDT in Religion
Hall First Ventured Into Journalism In Junior High
My first venture into journalism occurred when I was in junior high. I walked into the office of Ben Epstein of the old Arkansas Gazette in Little Rock and spoke to him of my interests.
He said, “Son, there are some notes of a junior high football game over there. See what you can do with them.” I jotted down a story and they published it. Later, I wrote a piece about a school called John Brown University in Northwest Arkansas for the Democrat and got paid $4 for it.
This led to my being sports editor of the Little Rock High School Tiger in 1939. I have all those columns in a blue notebook that cost five cents at the time. The sports figures featured include Howard Hughes, Ken Kavanugh, Binks Bushmeir and Lowell Martindale. I plan to give that notebook to the high school museum on my next trip to Little Rock. The pictures, columns and print are in surprisingly good condition.
Later I wrote extensively for Baptist periodicals such as Home Life, Open Windows, The Sunday School Builder and many more. In the towns where I have served I have written for The Hartford (Ky.) News, the Lake Wales (Fla.) Weekly and the Delray Beach (Fla.) News Journal. I called those columns “Parsonally Speaking.”
When Burton Miley, who first wrote “Musings” for The Morning News, became ill, I volunteered to take his place. He passed away and I continued. Burton wrote the columns for about 18 years and I have done them for seven.
I have served under three editors. I refused an offer from The Times in Fayetteville and opted to stay in the “family.” (Son Grant was a sports writer for The Morning News from 1992 to 2007.) I have written without renumeration as a gesture of giving back to the community I love.
Now the editor tells me they are moving in another direction. They want input from more clergymen and I understand that. Thanks to the people who have mentioned the column to me from West Fork, Huntsville, Hindsville, Rogers, Siloam Springs, Springdale, Fayetteville, Farmington and other places.
With the author of 2 Maccabees I conclude “If I have written well and to the point this is what I myself desired, but if meanly and indifferently, this is all I could attain to.”
The Rev. Andrew Hall was pastor of First Baptist Church in Fayetteville from 1953 to 1970.
Editor’s note: Andrew Hall has written the Musings column for The Morning News for seven years. His kind-hearted wit has touched many. Next week, we begin a new format. Several area faith leaders will take turns writing a column for this space.
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