The Shell Answer Man revisited

By Rory Ryan
The Highland County Press

Some years ago, after a day of non-stop phone calls and various and sundry inquiries, I wrote a column under the headline of "The Shell Answer Man."

For those unfamiliar, The Shell Answer Man was a series of television advertisements from the 1960s-1990s sponsored by Royal Dutch Shell in which answers were provided to questions from the public about driving, with advice on vehicle maintenance, repair and safety, as well as guidance to users of home heating oil. Companion booklets, a series titled the "Shell Answer Books," were inserted into magazines and distributed at Shell gas stations.

The day before Halloween 2023 was a Monday. It was a real Monday all the way around.

The office was busy with a newspaper and Real Estate Monthly deadline less than 48 hours away. In order to help out those who do the real work around here (not this guy), I answered phone calls – and there were quite a few.

In no particular order, they ranged from these:

• Kylie Fauber from Rep. Bob Peterson's office in Columbus called to ask about an address for a Hillsboro resident. The resident, Mrs. Frieda Redkey, had her 100th birthday on July 8, and Rep. Peterson had tried to send a gift, but it was returned due to an incorrect address.

Kylie asked me if we had an address for Mrs. Redkey, since we had published a story on July 10. (See https://highlandcountypress.com/frieda-crum-redkey-celebrates-100th-bir…)

I told her to give me a few minutes, and I'd call her back. I keep a weathered telephone book at my desk for those times when the internet does not have all the answers. Within moments, I was on the phone with Mrs. Redkey. We had a pleasant conversation, and I forwarded the necessary information to Kylie.

• A few minutes later, Gary Duffield called. He wanted a copy of a story from The Highland County Press in 2007 and could not find it on our website. Well, that's because we bought the paper from Bill Latham in September 2009, and our online section was started anew that month. 

Again, I took his phone number and said that I would check around. Maybe we could find a printed copy of that edition.

Sure enough, it turns out that those bound papers were donated to the Highland County Historical Society, and perhaps someone there could assist.

Two calls, two answers from The Shell Answer Man. (Party on, Garth.)

• Next up was Highland County Auditor Alex Butler, who was asking about the village of Greenfield's proposed lodging tax and the recent decision by the city of Hillsboro to cease and desist its lodging tax. No problem. I quickly forwarded a link to this summer's story.

• Then, I had yet another call and learned that not only did Highland County have a resident who turned 100 this year, but we'll soon have a resident who will be turning 107, thanks to a call from Fred Snyder of Worley Mill Road way. (I probably should not mention any more about this until next week. Sorry, Pastor Hurd.)

• The last call before I thought it was close enough to Happy Hour to head south was from another business claiming that if we left Ohio AEP, they could reduce our monthly electric bill. 

I asked the not-so-pleasant annoyance if, when we had an outage, I could call him for service.

He didn't like that. Shocking.

I'm not complaining whatsoever, mind you. Rest assured, we appreciate everyone's interest in The Highland County Press. 

As always, thanks for reading – and advertising. That's what really keeps the lights on.

Rory Ryan is publisher and owner of The Highland County Press, Highland County's only locally owned and operated newspaper.