Jim Buchan--Longtime Walla Walla Sportswriter

Jim Buchan, whose name appeared on the sports page of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin in 7 different decades, died earlier this month. I wrote an article (or blog post) on Buchan a few years ago, after reading that he had been with the paper in my hometown for 50 years.  

The former editor of the Walla Walla paper, Rick Doyle, wrote a tribute you can read by clicking here

Wa-Hi Boys Basketball Championship Of 1999 Celebrated

Wow, time flies!  Walla Walla High School recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 1998-1999 state boys basketball championship of the Blue Devils.  I had already left the area 10 years before,  but was able to follow the action through the Seattle paper.  

One of the leaders of the squad, Kyle Bankhead, would go on to star at Gonzaga where he still ranks as one of the top 3 point shooters in that school's history.
Thank you to Mike for sending this article from the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.

Buchan Celebrates 50 Years At UB

A friend sent me a column from the UB.  Jim Buchan celebrating 50 years of writing sports at The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.  I wanted to link to the column, but could not find it  online.  I did find a letter to the editor from his fellow WW sports writer Skip Nichols regarding Buchan's service to the paper.  Remember that links to the UB only stay up for a limited time.

I remember reading articles by Buchan when I was in grade school.  I'm now 61.  According to the column, he began as a sports writer at the Bulletin under the late Jim Reding.  Reding would go on to become sports editor for the Seattle PI.  

Buchan became sports editor in 1983 until his retirement in 2010. He know writes a column and does feature reports.

I never personally met Buchan, but after moving to this area from Walla Walla, I still had a Walla Walla phone book.  This was the early 1990s.  I was watching a Sonics game and the announcer was  saying something about Whitworth College (a college in Spokane).  He could not remember the names of Whitworth's teams. I also wondered.  I, sitting at home, looked up Jim Buchan and called him to ask, without any sign of disgust that a stranger was calling, he told me it was the Pirates.

Congratulations to Jim Buchan on 50 years.  

My Aunt In The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

I was amused to see my Aunt Dorothy mentioned in this article in the feature section of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.  She would eventually have 3 more grandchildren.  Tod, whose first name was misspelled in this article, is now an author.

Steve Barer's Ice Hockey Career Featured

My brother, Steve  enjoyed pretty long stint as a hockey player as a youth.  He started before starting school.  Since my sports career was mostly being a fan, I was impressed.  He was interviewed in this column in the local paper.

Down Memory Lane

Even though we both lived in the Seattle area, our engagement notice appeared in the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin on June 12, 1994.  At the time, I had only lived in the area for 5 years.  It has now been almost 29 years.

Growing Up--Editorial Launches My First Letter To The Editor

I'm still trying to find the letter, which I will eventually post. After Seattle mayor Wes Uhlman announced his plans to run for Governor of Washington, the Walla Walla UB criticized him in the above editorial, which you may be able to see by clicking on the image. 
As a fan of the young mayor, I was inspired to write the letter and it was printed.  Even today, I can see holes in the editorial and feel that it fails to back up it's pretense.

My First Precinct Caucus

My parents were deeply involved in Democratic politics in my childhood.  Although neither would run for office, they would take me to picnics and rallies to meet candidates.  One of my favorite places to go was the Strohmaier Ranch, about 20 minutes west of Walla Walla, where party activist Gary Strohmaier would have a huge barbeque. Anyway, I digress.
In 1976, I was finally old enough to vote.  This allowed me to participate in my first precinct caucus. This was, of course a presidential year.  The Republicans would hold their precinct caucus at the luxurious Lonneker estate.  The Democrats held their caucus at Sharpstein School in the teacher's conference room. 
I got mentioned on front page of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin for being chosen as a Scoop Jackson delegate.  It was kind of ironic, because in 1976, I supported one of his opponents (Carl Maxey) for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.  Senator Jackson, after all, was a "hawk" on the war in Viet Nam.   By 1976, however, the war was over and many of the hard feelings toward Jackson in the party had heeled.  I supported Jackson because he was from Washington, therefore the home team.  Because of his strong views of defense, his appeal spread beyond party lines.  After all, 4 years earlier, Senator George McGovern was soundly defeated while running on an anti-war platform.
I was able to attend my first county convention, but the party regulars squeezed me out and I did not get to attend the state convention. In later years, I was a delegate many times to the state convention. 

Family Business Mystery Maybe Solved

A mystery that was launched in Annie Charnley Eveland's Etcetera column of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin seems to have been solved  A picture was recovered showing an unidentified man in front of the steel warehouse of B. Barer And Sons, our family business.
 In depth research seems to point to a George Gibbs, a Walla Wallan who lived to be 110 Gibbs was frequently featured in articles in the UB as Walla Walla's oldest citizen.  He died in 1972.  According to the article, Gibbs lived alone, cooked for himself and chopped wood all the way into his 110th year.  Perhaps, age is just a state of mind.

Old Walla Walla Radio Remembered Part 21--Old KTEL Newspaper Ad

This ad ran in the UB in 1952.  Beven  Roth, 2nd bottom on the right, was still at the station when I worked there in the late 1970s.  He left after a disagreement with management.  Jack Keating, bottom center, still owned the station.  He was known to everyone as Mr. Keating.  You can also see the ad here or for more pictures, click here.

The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Hails Burl's Return

 

Right before I graduated from college, Burl Barer moved back to Walla Walla with his wife and daughter.  He had been a DJ in Seattle for many years and operated a production company in Bellevue. 
Burl worked at B. Barer And Sons, and did consulting work at KUJ, a top 40 station at the time.  He would later set up a cable advertising business in Walla Walla and the Tri Cities.  Eventually, he would do consulting work at KEXI, at the time, an FM station in nearby Milton-Freewater. 
Just after he moved, the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin did a feature story in it's Friday TV supplement.
Burl currently resides in the Los Angeles area.  He also has a son. 

Stan Barer Feature Found

On February 22nd, 1987, The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin ran a feature on natives of the town that succeeded on the regional and national level.  My cousin Stan Barer was featured in this article which was in a Sunday paper supplement.   Amongst those featured were Charles Luce, who would run Con-Ed, Ralph Coordiner, who would become president of General Electric, and William O. Douglas, who sat on the Supreme Court.  Also Adam West, perhaps Walla Walla's most famous native.  All in all, not bad company.

Walla Walla Paper Does Feature On Goldberg

The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin recently did a feature on TV writer-novelist Lee Goldberg.  Goldberg, a cousin of mine, has a new novel  called True Fiction.
 Lee's connection to Walla Walla is his mom, the late Jan Curran, my Uncle Dave's daughter, who graduated from Walla Walla High School in 1955.  UB writing Annie Charnley Eveland, who wrote the article on Goldberg, formed a long distance friendship with Curran, herself a newspaper feature writer. 

B. Barer And Sons In News In Walla Walla

It's been well over 17 years since the family business B. Barer And Sons was sold to Oxarc, one of it's suppliers. However the company has come up in an interesting "guess who" in the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.  Annie Charnley Eveland, published a picture taken by the Rose Street Steel Warehouse above.  Readers have had fun guessing who the bearded man could be. 
My Uncle Arny (my dad's brother) guessed that it may have been Scotty Cook, who my dad wrote about in his blog years ago.   Eveland wrote a little about what she learned about Scotty and mentioned my dad and Uncle Arny in a recent edition of her feature column "Etcetera".

Old Walla Walla Radio Rememembered 19--KTEL Newsman Terry McConn

Terry McConn was the newsman, morning show personality when I was at KTEL.  At the time, it was exclusively Country music with news and sports. The station owner had grown old and for the most part, ran the station over the phone.  The motivation had to come from within. 
McConn was a hard worker.  He was amazingly focused and always delivered. 
I worked at KTEL twice and both times, McConn was there.  I remember his work on the story of  a local elderly woman's murder by a local teen.
It was a pleasure working with Terry. We were always on friendly terms. 
After working at KTEL, McConn would begin a 30 year career with the local Walla Walla paper, the UB.   After I moved to the Seattle area, I saw him on the news, being interview after he witnessed an execution at the State Penn.  It was at the local paper that Terry probably got the recognition he deserved. 
Terry was recently featured in an article by UB columnist Annie Charnley Eveland.  After 30 years on the city beat, he is retiring.  We wish him well!

Gene Conley--2 Sport Athlete With Northwest Ties

Gene Conley, a professional NBA player and pitcher with Washington ties, died last month.  Conley,  was part of a 4 man pitching rotation for the Milwaukee Braves that included the legendary Warren Spahn, won the 1957 World Series, with sluggers like Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews. He was the tallest man to ever pitch in the majors at the time.  He was also part of the Boston Celtics team that won three consecutive world NBA championships beginning in 1959.  Although a little more than a handful of players have two major league sports, Conley is one of  only two to win a championship in both.  The other player is Otto Graham.
According to Walla Walla Union Bulletin sportswriter Jim Buchan, Conley grew up in Richland Washington after his family relocated from Oklahoma.  He pitched and played basketball for the Washington State Cougars.  He pitched for the semi pro Walla Walla Bears in 1950.  His son lives in Walla Walla. 

Ready For The Game

The summer of 1969,  Walla Walla had a brand new Northwest League Baseball team known as the Bears, this picture was taken at Borleske Stadium and appeared in the Sunday paper.  I am in the back between my two parents.  My brother, Danny and sister, Debbie are in front.  My brother, Steve was born two years later.
Thank you to my brother, Danny for posting this on Facebook.

Walla Walla's Jim Buchan Still Sports Writing

At least one name from my childhood is still around, Jim Buchan started at my hometown paper,The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, in 1968. That's before I was a teenager, I'm now 57.  Buchan still writes for the UB, on a part time basis.  Seeing his name on a sports column byline that my friend sent caught my eye.  When I used to read about the local baseball team and high school sports, I would see his writing along with the late Jim Redding, who went on to a great career here in Seattle.  He would also write with Skip Nichols and eventually, Don Davis.  He left briefly in the early 1970s to work in Phoenix.  I would think Buchan is ranked high in the nation amongst long serving sports writers.

Former Walla Walla UB Editor Bill Asbury Dies

Bill Asbury became editor of The Walla Walla Union Bulletin in the 1970s.  He assumed a much higher profile than previous ones.  A native of Western Washington, his more Liberal views did little to endear him in a small town, at least as I remember.
Seattle mayor Wes Uhlman was a  good friend of my Uncle Arny.  When Uhlman announced that he was running for Governor of Washington, the UB carried a scathing editorial.  Although, I had not lived in Seattle at the time, I was a big fan of Uhlman's so I wrote my first letter to the editor.  I will always credit Asbury for inspiring me to write it.  I was so excited when it was published. 
During Asbury's tenure, the journalism staff of the University Of Washington newspaper, The Daily, came to Walla Walla to put out an edition of the UB.  They largely published a satirical look at some of the town's institutions that enraged locals.  In an e-mail several years ago, Seattle Times Publisher, who at that time, was publisher of the UB, hinted that this was Asbury's idea. 
Asbury would eventually leave the UB, and become news editor at the Seattle PI, where he eventually became executive editor.
He would later serve on the staffs of three Washington governors.

Walla Walla Trivia Posts Mentioned In That Town's Paper

Walla Walla Union-Bulletin feature editor Annie Charnley Eveland has recently mentioned this blog in a couple of separate features. 
First was the Denney's Hi Spot commercial (above), one of my memories from childhood.  It was a local classic and had been hoping that someone had it on tape.  Enter Wa-Hi graduate Hank Unck, who worked at KTEL during the early 1970s and was able to e-mail it to me. 
The next was Eddie Feigner (pronounced Faynor).  Eddie was a legendary fast-pitch softball pitcher, who traveled the world with his 4 man team known as the King And His Court.  Eddie was inducted into the Washington State Sports Hall Of Fame, along with some other better known sports figures in a ceremony before a Mariners game that my wife and I attended earlier this month.