A former employee of this newspaper, Tom Zoellner, recently commented on a social media page about the appearance of The Superior Express office. According to Tom, the office looks the same now as it did when he first visited it while applying for a job 33 years ago.
I prefer to think he was commenting on general appearance, Rita thinks he was commenting on the editor’s filing system.
Over the years did opinions on the proper way to file has created numerous arguments. I’ll not mention names but one long-standing employed filed chronologically. Her files (or should I say stacks) were organized by the date received.
Another filed by the first letter of the first word. According to that system, The Superior Express would be filed under “T” A co-worker said it should be filed under the first letter of the first significant word and would file under “E” for Express. Windstream Telephone listed us under “S” and our listing became “Superior Express Newspaper The.” It was not uncommon for customers to complain the had tried and couldn’t find our telephone number in the directory. As a result I paid for multiple listings.
The most difficult to understand was the person responsible for filing negatives used in the commercial printing department. I can’t explain his system so I will give you an example. He would file a job negative for the First United Methodist Church under “O”
I asked for an explanation and he told me: “Olive Hill is a church and I put all churches under “O.”
When I arrived at The Express, accounts receivables were kept in a handwritten post ledger that was about 12 inches thick and you had to know the history of the business. For example, Ideal Cement was under “N” for the plant’s original name of Nebraska Cement Company. Deuel Drug store was under “F.” Mr. Deuel bought the business from Mr. Lesh who has purchased it from Mr. Fisher.
I prefer to think when Tom said the office appearance hadn’t changed, he was referring to the physical appearance of the office.
There have been changes but they have been slight. Our office supply display, for example, has expanded over the years and most of the typewriters staff members then used when Tom worked here have been replaced by computers. However, two orange drapes Norma Riddle made for the front windows in 1975 still hang in place. In the early years, we took the drapes down to beat the dust out, perhaps even washed the drapes. But no more. The last time we took one down, it fell apart in our hands. Thus the east window has no drape. We haven’t disturbed the drapes in the other two windows and if do, I’d suggest you wear a respirator. We have avoided seeing how dirty they are by placing office supply display shelves in front of the windows.
The walls are still covered with paneling of the same design used in homes and businesses throughout Superior in the 1970s. The owners of the lumber yard must have bought that paneling by truck load. They had other choices but this one was their least expensive and best selling paneling option.
The newspaper has it, the chamber of commerce office I worked in before the newspaper had it, my church has it, my house has it other downtown buildings I own has it. I remember when Superior Publishing Company was one of several Superior businesses to cooperate with the University of Omaha business college in hosting a contingent of graduate students. A participating student’s graduate paper was based upon a multiple week study of a Superior business.
UNO was the first university in the nation to participate in the program sponsored in part by the Small Business Administration. Superior was the school’s first participating community. The study was the basis for a front page story in the Wall Street Journal.
While the students were interviewing me, one asked, “Why do all Superior businesses have the same paneling?”
When I retire, I suspect my successor will change the editor’s office.
I know the first weekend after Howard Crilly retired, a van load of stuff was hauled from the newspaper office to the Superior dump. ‘And that process was to be repeated over and over.
I now regret having thrown away some of the things.
I suspect Mr. Crilly didn’t appreciate the office paneling for it covered up notes he had written on the wall. More than once, he attempted to find an address or other bit of important information he had written on the wall near where his desk had been.
I don’t write important information on the walls but he wasn’t the only one. In my home garage, there is a big note preserving a truck’s oil filter number. Should I ever buy a 1964 International truck, I know where to look for the oil filter number, Writing on the garage wall may not have been a bad idea.
In the warehouse, I keep a clipboard with important part numbers of things I sometimes use there, But paper ages, breaks and falls off or somehow gets lost.
Here in the office, I keep a card file with important information. This morning I had information I wanted to save. In the early years here, I used a Rolodex but it got full and was hard to expand. It still sits on my desk and I refer to it ocassionally but it is obvious that is not often for it is kept behind my computer monitor. Now I make three index cards. One is taken home, one kept near my office desk and one near a workstation available to all fellow workers.
With that system, can I always find the number or password I need? Unfortunately, the answer far too many times is no.
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