From the editor:
When I transitioned into the role of editor last month, I promised to bring back the popular “Listening Post” feature that ran for many years in The Chronicle. I am a man of my word, so here’s the first of what I hope to be many more installments. Keep the material coming my way!
Promises, promises
Loyal readers will no doubt recognize the name Marvin Fremerman, the former Kansas City ad man who now lives in Springfield, Missouri. He is a frequent correspondent -- he has a letter to the editor in this issue, in fact – and can always be counted on for a good joke like the one below.
This Jewish guy is driving downtown and is late for a business meeting. The traffic is thick and there’s no way he’ll be able to find a parking space in time to make the meeting. He looks up into the sky and frantically yells: “Dear God, please help me find a parking space. If you’ll help me, I promise to attend services every Friday night for the next year. Pleeeze God, please help me!” Just at that moment a parking space opens up right in front of the building where the meeting is to take pace. The Jewish guy looks up into the sky and yells: “Hey God! Never mind. I found one!!!”
No slowing down
Shepherd’s Center Central is a Kansas City, Missouri, nonprofit with the mission of empowering “mid-life and older adults to live healthy, engaged and independent lives.” One of the ways it does that is through its annual 70 over 70 program, which honors seniors who remain strong contributors to their community. Honorees have often included members of the local Jewish community, and Susan Lebovitz let me know that this year was no exception. The program took place last month.
I am really crossing my fingers here, because I don’t want to leave anyone out. (If I do, you know where to find me.) In addition to Lebovitz, this year’s Jewish honorees were (as listed on the Shepherd’s Center website): Joan and Steve Israelite, Gayle Krigel, Sandra Lerner, Daniel Schlozman, and the duo of Ron Zoglin and Susan Shouse.
Family tree
When I introduced myself to the readership last month, I noted my strong ties to the Kansas City Jewish community and my journalism background. Afterward, my father pointed out that our journalistic paths had come full circle in a way. Here’s how he put it:
A long time ago … in 1960 … here in Kansas City, I started my second job as editor of The Plaza Magazine as a May graduate of MU’s highly regarded J-School. (My first job out of school was with a small, local advertising agency, which followed the policy of “last in, first out.”)
As it happens, the few months I spent there came in very handy. The art director was a genial guy and spent some time with me, letting me absorb as much as I could over his shoulder. So, armed with this formidable background, I found my second job, still in 1960, very well-equipped to become editor of The Plaza Magazine.
This area publication served the relatively new and upscale neighborhoods of northeast Johnson County. Well, enough about me.
The magazine was originally “11 x 14” on slick paper, printed in black and white, free of charge. It was distributed by mail and published monthly. The magazine was supported by the advertising of local merchants. The magazine featured copy and photographs of local interest. This consisted primarily of society news, stories about the high schools and their sports teams, and general information useful to area residents.
Coincidences seem to happen when all the parts are positive as well as serendipitous, a father and son share a common experience. So, the newly named editor of The Chronicle , formerly owned by the Rose family, finds that his father also was an editor of a Rose publication all those years ago: the Plaza Magazine.
