Our Time In South Haven Comes To An End
From James Donahue’s Diary
It began when Tom Renner quit his job at the South Haven Tribune and went to work as a public relations person for Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Tom continued to live in South Haven, remained active on the Fire Department and the Centennial Committee, but he was commuting back and forth to work at the college.
We noticed that Tom’s life-style had improved. He was making good money and he said the work involved writing press releases about events occurring on campus, which are usually always interesting. One day he said he heard that Kalamazoo College had an opening for a public relations person and suggested that I take a look at the job. I called, made an appointment, and interviewed for the position.
The minute I walked in the place and began the interview I realized I had made a mistake. The person who interviewed me and the atmosphere of the place was somewhat stiff, as if I were daring to enter some kind of ivy covered palace on a hill, high over the lives of the commoners. By the time I left the campus I was sure that even if they offered me the position, I would not take it. Public relations work was not something that interested me.
Not long after that I received a telephone call from Dan Ryan, the publisher of the Kalamazoo Gazette. It turned out that Ryan was on the board of directors of Kalamazoo College, owned a summer cottage in South Haven, and was familiar with my work for the News-Palladium. He offered me a job at the Gazette. After thinking about it for a few days, I called him back and accepted.
There were some factors involved in my decision. Doris had a disagreement with a nurse over a procedure she did not think was in the best interest of a hospital patient. When the doctor backed up the nurse, Doris resigned rather than do the test. That put a crimp in our budget. The Gazette was a Booth Newspaper, a chain of papers in Michigan that offered excellent insurance and retirement benefits, unlike anything the News-Palladium offered. As much as I hated to leave South Haven and all of the friendships we had accumulated there, I saw it as move up for us.
All of this was going on as South Haven was moving toward the great event that was to be the town’s centennial celebration. I told Ryan I could not come to Kalamazoo until after the centennial was over and he agreed. I notified Bert of my decision, and Doris and I started packing.
But wait. Lindenfelt called me a day or two after that and made me a counter-offer. He said that if I would stay he would move me to St. Joseph and make me editor of the Herald Press. He said an increase in salary would go with it. Suddenly I was hanging in a web of indecision. With the centennial demanding almost all of my time, I had a problem deciding which position I should take.
But wait. Yet another amazing thing happened that same week. Apparently the word was getting out that I was considering another job and might leave town. I received a call from the president of the bank and an invitation to come in for a talk. When I showed up, I was offered a position as a public relations officer for the bank. They said the bank was going into a partnership with several other state banks so I would be working for several divisions. I would also have other banking duties. I walked out of that interview dumbfounded to say the least. Now I was getting really confused as to what I wanted to do.
The very next day I received a call from the president of a local piano factory. I had written about this place and the president and I were good acquaintances. He offered me a job if I would stay in South Haven. It seems that the local merchants were so happy about the work we did in organizing and producing the centennial celebration, they were going out of their way to keep me there. I was flattered by all the attention.
In the end, I chose to move to Kalamazoo. To this day I have wondered how our lives would have turned out if I had moved south to St; Joseph or remained in South Haven.
In later years when back in the area on a business trip I learned that the News Palladium office was closed and the entire newspaper was moved to a new building constructed south of St. Joseph. The paper was publishing under one name, the St. Joseph Herald Press. The man who had been assistant managing editor in Benton Harbor was the managing editor of the Herald Press. If I had moved to St. Joseph, would I doubt if I have been in that slot instead.
Thinking back on just how active my life was in South Haven, had I remained a resident there I probably would have died young. I really needed to slow down.
From James Donahue’s Diary
It began when Tom Renner quit his job at the South Haven Tribune and went to work as a public relations person for Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Tom continued to live in South Haven, remained active on the Fire Department and the Centennial Committee, but he was commuting back and forth to work at the college.
We noticed that Tom’s life-style had improved. He was making good money and he said the work involved writing press releases about events occurring on campus, which are usually always interesting. One day he said he heard that Kalamazoo College had an opening for a public relations person and suggested that I take a look at the job. I called, made an appointment, and interviewed for the position.
The minute I walked in the place and began the interview I realized I had made a mistake. The person who interviewed me and the atmosphere of the place was somewhat stiff, as if I were daring to enter some kind of ivy covered palace on a hill, high over the lives of the commoners. By the time I left the campus I was sure that even if they offered me the position, I would not take it. Public relations work was not something that interested me.
Not long after that I received a telephone call from Dan Ryan, the publisher of the Kalamazoo Gazette. It turned out that Ryan was on the board of directors of Kalamazoo College, owned a summer cottage in South Haven, and was familiar with my work for the News-Palladium. He offered me a job at the Gazette. After thinking about it for a few days, I called him back and accepted.
There were some factors involved in my decision. Doris had a disagreement with a nurse over a procedure she did not think was in the best interest of a hospital patient. When the doctor backed up the nurse, Doris resigned rather than do the test. That put a crimp in our budget. The Gazette was a Booth Newspaper, a chain of papers in Michigan that offered excellent insurance and retirement benefits, unlike anything the News-Palladium offered. As much as I hated to leave South Haven and all of the friendships we had accumulated there, I saw it as move up for us.
All of this was going on as South Haven was moving toward the great event that was to be the town’s centennial celebration. I told Ryan I could not come to Kalamazoo until after the centennial was over and he agreed. I notified Bert of my decision, and Doris and I started packing.
But wait. Lindenfelt called me a day or two after that and made me a counter-offer. He said that if I would stay he would move me to St. Joseph and make me editor of the Herald Press. He said an increase in salary would go with it. Suddenly I was hanging in a web of indecision. With the centennial demanding almost all of my time, I had a problem deciding which position I should take.
But wait. Yet another amazing thing happened that same week. Apparently the word was getting out that I was considering another job and might leave town. I received a call from the president of the bank and an invitation to come in for a talk. When I showed up, I was offered a position as a public relations officer for the bank. They said the bank was going into a partnership with several other state banks so I would be working for several divisions. I would also have other banking duties. I walked out of that interview dumbfounded to say the least. Now I was getting really confused as to what I wanted to do.
The very next day I received a call from the president of a local piano factory. I had written about this place and the president and I were good acquaintances. He offered me a job if I would stay in South Haven. It seems that the local merchants were so happy about the work we did in organizing and producing the centennial celebration, they were going out of their way to keep me there. I was flattered by all the attention.
In the end, I chose to move to Kalamazoo. To this day I have wondered how our lives would have turned out if I had moved south to St; Joseph or remained in South Haven.
In later years when back in the area on a business trip I learned that the News Palladium office was closed and the entire newspaper was moved to a new building constructed south of St. Joseph. The paper was publishing under one name, the St. Joseph Herald Press. The man who had been assistant managing editor in Benton Harbor was the managing editor of the Herald Press. If I had moved to St. Joseph, would I doubt if I have been in that slot instead.
Thinking back on just how active my life was in South Haven, had I remained a resident there I probably would have died young. I really needed to slow down.