THE BULL
Legends come in all shapes, sizes and levels of impact, as I see it, and with the recent passing of former owner and publisher of the Clay County News, Don Russell didn’t receive his legendary status upon his passing Wednesday, July 15, becoming a legend came far far before the world lost a wonderful, kind, and gentle person.
Of course, Don was a legend in far reaching areas of his life. He was a statewide leader in the business that he loved with a passion, the newspaper business, but he also earned his legendary status as a Scoutmaster, a scouting leader, as a fan and champion of this county, helping in any way that he could possibly help, and as a Teammate at Sutton Public Schools.
I was lucky enough to get to know Don far before my tenure began here at the Clay County News in 2009. We ran into each other often, whether it was at the Nebraska Press Association’s annual convention, or at the state track meet, where Don and Linda both volunteered to work the Media table, handing out programs, and those ugly yellow vests that we have to wear, but more importantly, they greeted you to make sure you started your day off on the right foot, and in a good mood.
When I came to Clay County to take over the reins of the Clay County News, I remember one of the first conversations I had with Don sitting in what used to be HIS office, and then became MY office, one that Don often visited with me in.
He was an endless and passionate promoter of this newspaper craft, but I remember him saying early on that if I ever needed any help, or advice I’m here to help you, but now this is YOUR place to run and operate, and I will keep my distance so that you can build this paper the way you and Ted see fit.
He did just that, he held up to his word, as he always did. He kept his distance and opinions at bay, but man I tell you what, once you asked, within five minutes he was “back home” doing what he loved... “newspapering.”
It was our last face-to-face conversation we had about a month and a half or two ago that really hit me though.
I could tell he “was under the weather,” but he still hustled around town, playing cards with people, leading the monthly Sutton Boy Scouts paper drive, working with the youth of the area and teaching them how to be an outstanding citizen, without “pushing them” but instead, guiding them.
Not once had I ever seen Don raise his voice, curse or talk bad about someone. His soul just wouldn’t allow Don to yell and scream, or berate someone, because to him, as he said in our last conversation “Everyone has something good in their hearts and minds, I look for what it is I can help bring out that good,” and man oh man, could he ever bring out the good in people.
I truly think that Don was put on this earth to be that person that could find the good in everyone. He found it in the kids he worked with in the scouting program. He touched the lives of the kids he mentored in the Teammates program, the people he volunteered with in anything he was involved with.
Don just had that knack of being a positive problem solver, choosing to solve an issue at hand with his always positive personality.
I know there are so many people that he touched in Clay County, in Nebraska and throughout this country, even overseas.
As you read through the salute to Don, starting on the front page this week, or after you have read the tribute, written back in 2012 when he received the prestigious Master Editor-Publisher award, the highest award an editor, or a publisher can receive in the Nebraska Press Association, you’ll better understand the impacts he’s had on people in general, but especially those of us in the newspaper industry.
I’ve enter worked for, or been associated with five Master Editor- Publisher honorees, and there is a reason Don is in that same class as my dad, who earned the award in 1994, or Ted Huettmann of the Wisner News-Chronicle, or Ted Gill, our current publisher, or Mark Rhodes, the former publisher of several Nebraska and Iowa newspapers.
Don carried the same aura about him as the four mentioned above.
Ted Gill’s standards were: “Is it fair? Is it right? Is it accurate? Is it relatable? Those are the core things a strong newspaper person needs to have in Ted’s eyes and heart.
Don had all of those qualities during his 50-year newspaper career, because he was always fair, and even if he wasn’t right, he’d get the right answer, and above all, he was always accurate.
With the implementation of social media, and the impact that it has had on the newspaper business, both good and bad, I remember Don one day, in the past two or three years, asking me, actually stating to me in so many words, “Tory, I don’t know how you deal with all the negativity you guys get hit with at times, it just boggles my mind how hard people are these days. I wouldn’t have enjoyed dealing with that.”
Somehow, knowing Don, he’d have dealt with the negativity better than I do at times, but he would have figured it out, because that was Don Russell, a man that figured out life, lived life to the fullest, and with his passing has left a huge hole in a lot of hearts, because man, this loss hits hard!
I can guarantee you this, with the group of men that I have worked for in this business, or worked with, like Don, the wealth of knowledge is never- ending, and I need to remember the things that people like my dad, the two Ted’s, Mark and certainly Don taught me, without “forcing it on me.”
You just don’t replace 50 years of knowledge and “move on.” You remember what a legend like Don Russell brought to the table each and every time he stepped into the Clay County News office, or on the street, at a gas station, or while leading his beloved Boy Scout or Cub Scout troops during his vibrant, caring and very fulfilled life.
Don, you are missed, and you will continue to be missed by many, your family, your friends and newspaper family, but I’ll miss your wit, laugh, even your “nosy ways” which I say with full do respect.
Rest in Peace, Donald Lee Russell, rest in peace, my friend!!
