That was our Bill Smith -- somewhat self-deprecating, but always a disseminator of useful information -- the perfect combination for a "newspaperman." Former colleague Georga Bray once paid him the highest compliment one editor can give another: "If Bill were to cut his hand, he would bleed ink."
I got to know Bill when we worked for sister newspapers. I didn't know him well, though, until one joint-office Christmas party, when I found myself sitting next to him talking politics and newspapers at great length. I developed a deep respect for his vast knowledge and integrity.
That's why a few years later, when he had started the Trail Communities Messenger in Elroy, Wis. (after our parent company had closed his Elroy newspaper office), and I had been urged by community leaders to start my own newspaper on the other side of the county, the first thing I did was to talk to him. I thought maybe we could sell ads into each other's newspaper, offering customers one-stop countywide coverage.
But Bill was a little more forward-thinking than that. He thought about it for a month or two, and then came back to me with a different idea. What if I bought into The Messenger, and we took it countywide? I actually liked his idea better than mine; I had been terrified of trying to start a newspaper from scratch. So another colleague, Betty Waits, and I became his business partners, co-publishers, and co-owners of The Messenger of Juneau County.
Those early days were incredible. We could not believe how the people of Juneau County accepted us with open arms. I remember Bill clapping his hands with delight when I came back to the office with two full-page ads after my first day on the job. I wasn't even selling ads. That was when we knew our beloved county stood behind us. After the required two years of being a newspaper, The Messenger was named the official newspaper of Juneau County (over the existing 100+ year old newspaper).
Over the several years that we worked together at The Messenger, Bill and I had many deep discussions about politics, journalism, and faith. Although he wasn't very vocal about it publicly, he told me that he had accepted the Lord as his Savior. And he showed that faith in his integrity and his willingness to help others.
Bill had always dreamed of being an "editor emeritus," and his last few years he realized that dream. He would make his way down the street from his apartment to the newspaper office less and less to write his column, lay out a page or two, or just visit with people. He entered hospice late in 2013 and went to be with "his Mary" (late wife) the morning of Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014.
There are a lot of things I'll miss about Bill. I'll miss knowing that he was out there, pacing back and forth on the sidewalk outside the newspaper office, formulating articles in his mind and keeping an eye on things. I'll miss his gentle mentorship. But most of all, I'll miss his friendship.
