Click here to access all three episodes of the podcast ---------------------- The first time I walked into Rhodes Stadium on the campus of Elon University one thought immediately jumped into my mind. “Bill Hunter would have never believed this to be possible.” This happened in 2007, nine years after Hunter’s death in 1998 from cancer … Continue reading An Elon Football Odyssey: The impossible became possible (includes photo gallery)
Don Bolden
Saying goodbye to Frances Woody, a community treasure
Local newspapers used to be in the business of creating community treasures. They did so either through stories about people who step up to make a positive difference time after time in the cities and towns where they live or through manufacturing them in-house. The former was relatively easy. The latter takes some doing. Time … Continue reading Saying goodbye to Frances Woody, a community treasure
From the Wayback Machine: Tribute to a true sports writing legend
The other day I wrote about the sad departure of Burlington Times-News sports editor Bob Sutton after 25 years due to corporate layoffs related to the merger of GateHouse Media and Gannett. I noted then that I had worked with the best sports editor in the newspaper's history -- the late Bill Hunter -- and … Continue reading From the Wayback Machine: Tribute to a true sports writing legend
Helping cancer patients and remembering friends like Don Bolden and Mike Wilder
Last year at this time I was in the middle of the tough two-month process of saying goodbye to Don Bolden, who would pass away quietly on Aug. 2, 2018 after a battle with cancer that lasted a little less than nine months. Don, the editor emeritus of the Burlington Times-News and the man who … Continue reading Helping cancer patients and remembering friends like Don Bolden and Mike Wilder
The curious case of Joe Golombek is neither myth, nor hoax
Let me begin by stating that this isn't one of those "Sidd Finch" stories. It's not April 1, either. But the strange tale of a former Elon football player from the 1930s and '40s named Joe Golombek could very easily be dismissed as myth, hoax or both. His story is a bizarre one that took … Continue reading The curious case of Joe Golombek is neither myth, nor hoax
Good homes for Don Bolden’s images of Alamance County
My one-time newspaper editor and longtime friend Don Bolden had by his own estimation more than 2,000 photos in his possession at the time of his death. They are images of Burlington, Graham, Elon and other points in Alamance County dating to his start in media as a photographer for his high school newspaper just … Continue reading Good homes for Don Bolden’s images of Alamance County
The life of Don Bolden: Editor emeritus, citizen emeritus
I wrote this news obituary about my one-time boss and longtime friend Don Bolden for the Burlington Times-News in advance of his death. I was asked if I would take on this assignment so the newspaper would have something substantial in hand when the end came. I sent this to city editor Tom Jones in … Continue reading The life of Don Bolden: Editor emeritus, citizen emeritus
Wanted: A gathering of Burlington newspaper people
Sunday afternoon we said goodbye to one-time newspaper colleague and lifetime friend Don Bolden, who died Aug. 2, 2018 at age 85 after an eight-month fight with cancer. I made the short drive from my house in Burlington to First Baptist Church in downtown just a few miles away. Others traveled far greater distances to … Continue reading Wanted: A gathering of Burlington newspaper people
Don Bolden, Jan. 19, 1933-Aug. 2, 2018: There will never be another like him
NOTE: Please follow this link to read the comprehensive obituary story about Don in the Times-News. I walked through the entrance to Alamance Regional Medical Center and headed toward the reception area. I applied hand sanitizer from the nearby dispenser and asked the woman behind the counter which room Don Bolden was in. "He's in … Continue reading Don Bolden, Jan. 19, 1933-Aug. 2, 2018: There will never be another like him
Inside Elon’s Schar Center: It’s ‘unreal’
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Photo gallery at the end. "Unreal," Don Bolden said. "This is just . . . unreal." I had to agree. Don, my longtime friend and former boss, was getting his first look inside the massive (160,000 square feet!) Schar Center. He's a longtime Elon supporter and basketball fan who also spent more than … Continue reading Inside Elon’s Schar Center: It’s ‘unreal’
Madison's Avenue 