Just call me one of ‘John’s kids’
(Editor’s note: This column was originally published June 21, 2004. It’s being reprinted in honor of Father’s Day) My dad was a councilman for the small town of Monaca in Beaver County for a number of years while I was growing up.
It was pretty much of a thankless job as it entailed mainly taking phone calls from residents upset about various problems. With eight kids, a full-time job, plus being involved in a myriad of civic and church organizations, I don’t know how he found time to take on this duty. But dad felt that being a councilman was an important way of giving back to the community, so he answered all of those phone calls and tried as best he could to help everyone who called.
One part of the job, though, was somewhat mysterious, and I didn’t find out what was going on until later, when I began working as a newspaper reporter.
Some of those phone calls my dad got were from a newspaper reporter. When I asked my dad what the reporter wanted, he was kind of vague. My dad’s name rarely appeared in newspaper stories, so it didn’t appear that he was giving away any kind of big scoops. Besides, he would never do anything just to get his name in the paper. That just wasn’t in his makeup.
So, what was he talking to the newspaper reporter about? Well, after becoming a reporter myself, I often talked to public officials off the record for background information. These sessions were invaluable, especially when you ran into officials who were honest and straightforward.
All too often, public officials either like to operate in the dark and don’t want to let reporters or the public know what’s really going on, or they give their own spin to things, trying mostly to make themselves look good.
So, reporters get really excited when they find a public official they can trust and depend on. In the business they’re known as a “good source.”
Imagine my pride when I put the pieces together and realized my dad had been such a person.
When I asked my dad later about the calls from the reporter, he downplayed his role, noting he was only trying to make sure the public understood through the newspaper what was going on behind the scenes.
Looking back, it all made sense. My dad wasn’t part of the inside clique on borough council. He didn’t get invited to the meeting before the meeting or the meeting after the meeting. He wasn’t interested in acquiring power or feathering his own nest.
No one ever asked him to do anything shady, because they knew he would never go along with it. It was simply out of the question.
Dad also wasn’t interested in sensational headlines. In fact, he was rarely quoted in the paper. He preferred to stay in the background, taking calls from residents and helping them in any way he could.
Dad never talked much about community service or doing the right thing. He just did it. Even now at the age of 83, he’s much more concerned about how others are doing than himself.
It’s funny, growing up as one of eight children, I always wanted my own identity.
Everyone knew everyone in Monaca, a small town with about 5,000 people, and I was tired of only being known as one of “John’s kids.”
Eventually, I went away to college, and I never moved back. I started my own career and raised my children here in Uniontown.
I liked visiting Monaca over the years but never really wanted to move back.
Like most people, though, I never realized what my parents did for me until I became a parent myself.
And now one of the best things anyone can ever call me is one of “John’s kids.”
Mark O’Keefe is executive editor of the Herald-Standard. He can be reached by e-mail at mo’keefe@heraldstandard.com, by phone at 724-439-7569 or by regular mail at 8-18 Church St., Uniontown, Pa., 15401.