Coverage on Johnny Paycheck appreciated
By
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To the editor:
Thanks for your recent coverage of Greenfield's Johnny Paycheck. I had never seen photos of him such as you used. He was a handsome young man.
When I met him in the late 1970s, he looked as if he was in his 80s. I suppose it was due to the life he led. I was working at radio station WSRW at that time as a news reporter with a daily on-air interview show in addition to the local news reports. My husband and I were going to Nashville on vacation, and station manager Willard Parr suggested I take a tape recorder and try to get some interviews. I did.
Paycheck talked with me on the street late at night, and I was grateful for the time he allotted me. I was even more grateful when the famous saxophone player "Boots" Randolph honored me with an interview at his club on Printer's Alley after his last performance of the evening. It was about 1 a.m. and he talked with me for close to an hour. He was in no hurry to end it.
Will Parr was more than pleased when I returned to WSRW with those interviews. He always teased me because I wasn't a real country music fan. After that trip to Nashville, I learned to appreciate country music and especially stars who would cooperate with requests such as mine.
I interviewed many people while I was connected with WSRW – Governor James Rhoades, Ted Strickland, local politicians and many others, usually with no opportunity for advance preparation.
I learned a valuable lesson one nasty winter day when I was dressed for the weather in slacks, sweater and boots. I was recording my daily news report when Will Parr asked me if I would do an interview with then-Ohio Representative Bob McEwen, who walked in with his beautiful wife who was wearing a full-length mink and leather coat. I felt about one inch tall, but I persevered. Never again did I dress in anything less than professional attire. As the old saying goes, "clothes make the man," or in this case, the woman.
Sincerely,
Gretchen Huffman
Hillsboro[[In-content Ad]]
Thanks for your recent coverage of Greenfield's Johnny Paycheck. I had never seen photos of him such as you used. He was a handsome young man.
When I met him in the late 1970s, he looked as if he was in his 80s. I suppose it was due to the life he led. I was working at radio station WSRW at that time as a news reporter with a daily on-air interview show in addition to the local news reports. My husband and I were going to Nashville on vacation, and station manager Willard Parr suggested I take a tape recorder and try to get some interviews. I did.
Paycheck talked with me on the street late at night, and I was grateful for the time he allotted me. I was even more grateful when the famous saxophone player "Boots" Randolph honored me with an interview at his club on Printer's Alley after his last performance of the evening. It was about 1 a.m. and he talked with me for close to an hour. He was in no hurry to end it.
Will Parr was more than pleased when I returned to WSRW with those interviews. He always teased me because I wasn't a real country music fan. After that trip to Nashville, I learned to appreciate country music and especially stars who would cooperate with requests such as mine.
I interviewed many people while I was connected with WSRW – Governor James Rhoades, Ted Strickland, local politicians and many others, usually with no opportunity for advance preparation.
I learned a valuable lesson one nasty winter day when I was dressed for the weather in slacks, sweater and boots. I was recording my daily news report when Will Parr asked me if I would do an interview with then-Ohio Representative Bob McEwen, who walked in with his beautiful wife who was wearing a full-length mink and leather coat. I felt about one inch tall, but I persevered. Never again did I dress in anything less than professional attire. As the old saying goes, "clothes make the man," or in this case, the woman.
Sincerely,
Gretchen Huffman
Hillsboro[[In-content Ad]]