Park Cities People May 2021

Page 38

38 May 2021 | parkcitiespeople.com

Living

RECEPTIONIST TO EDITOR: A JOURNALIST’S UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

I

came to Dallas in 1985 looking for something, although I wasn’t sure what. Although, taking a job as the Park Cities People receptionist didn’t feel like a life-changing experience, little did I know. I just needed a job. The economy — thanks to the oil industry — in my home state of Oklahoma was in the GLENDA dumpster. Businesses VOSBURGH were closing almost hourly in the town where I lived. Dallas — too big, too impersonal, seemed the last place I’d end up — yet here I was. I’d answered a help wanted ad. The word newspaper got my attention. I’d worked in advertising sales and production for a daily paper and, after working briefly in another industry, wanted to return. The woman at the employment agency told me excitedly that the job was in the Park Cities. “What’s the Park Cities?” I asked. She answered with phrases like “wealthy

enclaves” and “high society.” I decided the job probably wasn’t a good fit for me. Nonetheless, I interviewed with owner and publisher, Reid Slaughter. Not long after, he offered me the job. A few months later at a company party, I mentioned that I wrote fiction in my spare time. Slaughter asked to see my work. After reading a recently published short story, he told me to let him know when I wanted to write for the paper. My answer was immediate: “How about now?” My first assignment was for an advertising section on the antique stores in Forney. I spent an entire day wandering from shop to shop, interviewing owners and customers for my article. I was hooked. I was still the receptionist but was able to write articles, too. After proving myself, publisher Tom McCartin made me a fulltime reporter. I was ultimately promoted to senior writer, then managing editor. One of the best things about my job was the variety. My duties included covering Highland Park schools and University Park police, fire and municipal news. I wrote about high-profile murder trials, school board and city council elections, non-profits, community leaders, school carnivals, and the list goes on. I also served as the movie reviewer, allowing me to interview celebrities. One thing I’m most proud of, along

Opportunity doesn’t often come with a neon sign. Sometimes, the most benign situations turn out to be the most profound.

Seldom has our reporting tackled more unsettling or graver concerns than with the suicide of Elisa McCall, who struggled with an eating disorder and depression. (PHOTOS: PEOPLE NEWSPAPERS ARCHIVES) with fellow reporters and long-time friends Carolyn Tillery and Janet Ragland, is winning a Katy Award from the Dallas Press Club for the series Elisa’s Story. It focused on a young woman, Elisa McCall, whose personal struggle with eating disorders drove her to end her life. The Elisa Project, founded in her memory, helped others embroiled in the same battles. It was a privilege to have a role in telling her story.

One of my favorite interviews was with the Grande Dame of real estate, Ebby Halliday. She was witty, entertaining, and incredibly gracious. My plan was to stay a year at the paper, maybe two. It turned into more than 13 years. Opportunity doesn’t often come with a neon sign. Sometimes, the most benign situations turn out to be the most profound.

John Wesley’s Traveling Pulpit Gets New Home at SMU

SMU will house collections of the closed World Methodist Museum, including John Wesley’s traveling pulpit, Frank O. Salisbury’s portrait of John Wesley, The Scholar, and a Henry Perlee Parker painting of the child Welsey’s rescue from a fire. (PHOTOS: COURTESY SMU)

The World Methodist Museum’s historical and theologically significant collections are moving in May to SMU’s Bridwell Library, where public exhibits and opportunities for study will ensure their long-term integrity and accessibility. The collections tell the story of Methodism, which began in England with brothers John and Charles Wesley meeting as a small student group at Oxford University in the early 18th century before their mission work carried their beliefs to the American colonies and beyond. Portraits of the early founders are included, plus rare books,

manuscripts, letters, and the traveling pulpit of John Wesley. One painting depicts the young John Wesley’s rescue from a fire that consumed the family home in Epworth, England. “Is not this a brand plucked as from the burning” became a verbal and visual motif and mantra for Wesley’s life. “We are very proud to assume the responsibility for these collections, which tell the very human stories behind the faith and vision of the Wesley brothers and illuminate the impact they have had on Christianity,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. The World Methodist Museum in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina,

closed in February, Part of the collections focuses on Charles Wesley, who wrote more than 9,000 hymns and poems, including such interdenominational favorites as “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” and “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.” Craig Hill, dean of SMU’s Perkins School of Theology, said the acquisition would enhance Bridwell’s standing as a global center for students of Wesley and the world Methodist traditions. “Wesley Studies has always been a strong point of Perkins, and this gift creates new and undreamed-of prospects for its future,” he said. – Staff report

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