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Mississippi Press - Pascagoula, MS - October 12, 2006

Remembering Mr. Harkey

I noted with sadness this week the passing away of Ira Harkey, a true Pascagoula journalistic icon.

Harkey was owner, publisher, and editor of the Chronicle-Star, the Mississippi Press' predecessor as our local daily newspaper from 1948-1963. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1963 for his crusading editorials supporting school integration. Although Harkey's cause was noble and just, his stance was unpopular with some back then, and he left Pascagoula soon after winning the Pulitzer. A few months before he moved away, he gave me my first job.

Back then, many papers, including the Chronicle-Star, employed high school and college students to serve as sports correspondents. Noting that older friends of mine like John Corlew and Tommy Houston had been doing it, I decided, at age 14, that I was ready to give it a shot.

I wrote Mr. Harkey a letter telling him of my ambition. At my age and with no real experience (hey, I was editor of the Junior High Jingles at PJHS), I didn't really expect a positive response. However, Mr. H called me up, told me what he expected of me, and said to come on down and he'd put me to work. Other than a few lemonade stands and lawn mowing jobs, this was my first true venture into the working world.

Mr. Harkey showed me the ropes, then sent me out to cover the Babe Ruth and Pony League baseball circuit. What I would do was go out and keep the scorebook at one field, go pick up the scorebook from the other field, then go home and tap out the game stories on our trusty old Royal typewriter. Lots of times I would be playing in a game myself, which further complicated matters.

The next morning I would take my masterpieces (Jimmy Don Bryant twirled a four-hitter for Wayne Lee's as the Grocers slipped by Castigliola 4-3 in Babe Ruth action) down to the Chronicle-Star office and hand them in on my way to school.

I was paid -- get this -- 12 and a half cents per column inch. At the end of each month, I clipped all my articles, pasted them onto construction paper, and took them down to the Chronicle, where a seedy little guy in a green visor would literally measure them with a ruler, total it up, and turn in an amount for me to be paid accordingly. You can now quit wondering why my columns get a little long every now and then.

I continued my correspondent's job all the way through high school, and eventually expanded my assignments. I covered the state semi-pro baseball tournament one year, and got to help put together the paper's first annual football tabloid.

All in all, it was a great experience. I learned a lot, and met a bunch of different people. Thanks to Mr. Harkey, I got a start in an area that has helped me with both my vocation and avocation.

Ira Harkey took courageous stands and won journalism's highest award. He also gave young guys a chance to explore what might be in their future, and for that, I'll always be grateful.

Richard Lucas can be reached at lucassports@ bellsouth.net.