Dispatch - Sunday - October 11, 1987
Longtime Argus news boss dies
Lynn L. Ash, 75, former executive editor of The Argus, died Saturday night at Franciscan Hospital in Rock Island.
He retired from The Argus on Feb. 29, 1980. He had resided at 2020 106th Ave. West, Milan, until his death. Services are pending at Wheelan Funeral Home in Rock Island.
Lynn Ash was more than an excutive editor. He was a newspaper guy in every sense of the word, and if there was a job in the newsroom he hadn't done in a career that spanned 45 years, nobody could remember it.
He was born Feb. 23, 1912, in Aledo, the son of Samuel T. and Alice Ash. He attended Aledo schools and started newspapering in that city at 16, not unusual in that era when college educations weren't all that important because hopeful newspapermen -- there were few women in the profession at the time -- learned sentence structure and spelling in high school. The rest, they learned on the job. The year was 1928, and the paper was the Aledo Times Record.
His job was typical of a time when young reporters went to the homes of deceased to collect obituary material. Lynn got a better asignment than that. He met the "Dolly" a small inter-urban train that ran mornings and evenings on the Burlington Lines tracks between Rock Island and Quincy.
His job was to glean interesting tidbits from departing and arriving passengers.
He continued his interest in a newspaper career when he went to Augustana College, where he was editor of the college newspaper. A classmate was William V. Kinney, and the two came to work at The Argus after graduation in 1935. Both rose to prominent editorial positions and neither ever worked anyplace else. Ash retired on Feb. 29, 1980, Kinney eight months earlier in 1979.
Contacted at his home in Silver Springs, Md., last night, Kinney, though saddened by the passing of an old friend, recalled some anecdotes.
"When Lynn and (his late wife) Alice were married, they went to the reception and then changed clothes for their wedding trip," he said. "The only thing Lynn didn't change was his hat; he had only one.
"They drove to the Palmer House in Chicago to spend the first part of their honeymoon and when they stepped out of the car, the doorman said: "Congratulations. I hope you have a nice honeymoon and a wonderful life."
"Naturally, Lynn was puzzled," Kinney said," and he asked the doorman how he knew they were just married, since there were no tell-tale "Just Married" signs soaped on their car windows. "The doorman said. "It's simple; when you stepped out of the car, rice fell out of your hat."
Mr. Ash was at once a complete gentleman and a stern taskmaster. As city editor, a position he held from 1946 to 1967, and in every other position of authority at The Argus, he seldom used profanity, and then only mildly. He didn't really have to.
He insisted on good news writing and was a stickler for accuracy, and could be effusive in his praise of a well-written story. But when a reporter was sloppy with the facts or the English language, Ash could read the riot act.
As quickly as his temper could rise over an error, so could he quickly forget. When the paper went to press, there was a good chance he'd seek out the offending reporter and apologize for chastizing him. But the reporter knew better than to repeat the error.
To illustrate his insistance on factual reporting, Mr. Ash wrote, when typing his own biographical file for such occasions as this, "Please include dates."
Ray Tygret, at one time the newspaper's mechanical superintendent, revealed to Kinney once that he knew when to stay away from Mr. Ash. "Beware of him when he starts hitching up his pants," Mr. Tygret said. "When he does that, you know he's mad."
For his first five years at The Argus, he was the police and city hall reporter. In 1955, while still city editor, he also assumed the duties of associate editor, becoming executive editor in 1965.
That was the year he supervised the coverage of the biggest story of his career, the Great Flood. He played it on page 1 for a month and when the waters of the Mississippi finally subsided, he supervised and edited a special tabloid section of The Argus devoted entirely to the flood.
As city editor, he organized an presided over the paper's election coverage. In the beginning, that was before television, and he hired scores of extra workers to report and tabulate the returns.
The newsroom was the most popular place in town on any election night. Every politician was there, hoping to edge their way into a picture, and readers flooded the newsroom to be part of the excitement. Through it all, Mr. Ash made sure they didn't get in the way of reporters who were handling the election news.
That era died when television began setting up cameras in election headquarters and politicians could get their pictures taken right there.
Ash was serious about the election coverage, and received several commendations from the Associated Press for being the first newspaper in Illinois to report complete election returns of any county.
In the early 1970s, he and his late wife built a home at the Milan address mainly so that he could keep riding horses, which were his deep and abiding interest.
On his last day of work at The Argus, he came to work in a limousine. The limo ride was the brainchild of several of his co-workers and old friends. A man with his class, they thought, should go out with class. He did.
He was preceded in death by his wife in 1985. He is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Ronald J. (Carolyn) Kuhn, Glenn Ellyn, Ill., and a son, James L. Ash, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Rock Island Argus - Monday - October 12, 1987
Services for Lynn L. Ash, 75, of 2020 106th Ave. W., Milan, are 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. John's Lutheran Church, Rock Island. Burial is in Rock Island Memorial Park.
Visitation is 2 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at Wheelan Funeral Home, Rock Island. Memorials may be made to Franciscan Medical Center, Rock Island, or to the American Heart Association.
Mr. Ash died Saturday at Franciscan Medical Center.
Mr. Ash was born Feb. 23, 1912, in Aledo. He married Alice Anderson April 10, 1938, in Geneva, Ill. She died Dec. 18, 1985.
He was associated with the Argus 45 years, beginning in 1935 after graduation from Augustana College, Rock Island. He served in many positions at the newspaper, including police and city hall reporter, city editor and associate editor, becoming executive editor in 1965. He retired in 1980.
He was a member of the Rotary Club; Chamber of Commerce, both of Rock Island; and a former board member of Visiting Nurse and Homemaker Service of Rock Island County.
He was an avid horseman.
Survivors include a daughter, Carolyn Kuhn, Glen Ellyn, Ill.; a son, James L., Santa Barbara, Calif.; five grandchildren; and a sister, Helen Buhman, Clearwater, Fla.
Dispatch - Sunday - October 11, 1987
Longtime Argus news boss dies
Lynn L. Ash, 75, former executive editor of The Argus, died Saturday night at Franciscan Hospital in Rock Island.
He retired from The Argus on Feb. 29, 1980. He had resided at 2020 106th Ave. West, Milan, until his death. Services are pending at Wheelan Funeral Home in Rock Island.
Lynn Ash was more than an excutive editor. He was a newspaper guy in every sense of the word, and if there was a job in the newsroom he hadn't done in a career that spanned 45 years, nobody could remember it.
He was born Feb. 23, 1912, in Aledo, the son of Samuel T. and Alice Ash. He attended Aledo schools and started newspapering in that city at 16, not unusual in that era when college educations weren't all that important because hopeful newspapermen -- there were few women in the profession at the time -- learned sentence structure and spelling in high school. The rest, they learned on the job. The year was 1928, and the paper was the Aledo Times Record.
His job was typical of a time when young reporters went to the homes of deceased to collect obituary material. Lynn got a better asignment than that. He met the "Dolly" a small inter-urban train that ran mornings and evenings on the Burlington Lines tracks between Rock Island and Quincy.
His job was to glean interesting tidbits from departing and arriving passengers.
He continued his interest in a newspaper career when he went to Augustana College, where he was editor of the college newspaper. A classmate was William V. Kinney, and the two came to work at The Argus after graduation in 1935. Both rose to prominent editorial positions and neither ever worked anyplace else. Ash retired on Feb. 29, 1980, Kinney eight months earlier in 1979.
Contacted at his home in Silver Springs, Md., last night, Kinney, though saddened by the passing of an old friend, recalled some anecdotes.
"When Lynn and (his late wife) Alice were married, they went to the reception and then changed clothes for their wedding trip," he said. "The only thing Lynn didn't change was his hat; he had only one.
"They drove to the Palmer House in Chicago to spend the first part of their honeymoon and when they stepped out of the car, the doorman said: "Congratulations. I hope you have a nice honeymoon and a wonderful life."
"Naturally, Lynn was puzzled," Kinney said," and he asked the doorman how he knew they were just married, since there were no tell-tale "Just Married" signs soaped on their car windows. "The doorman said. "It's simple; when you stepped out of the car, rice fell out of your hat."
Mr. Ash was at once a complete gentleman and a stern taskmaster. As city editor, a position he held from 1946 to 1967, and in every other position of authority at The Argus, he seldom used profanity, and then only mildly. He didn't really have to.
He insisted on good news writing and was a stickler for accuracy, and could be effusive in his praise of a well-written story. But when a reporter was sloppy with the facts or the English language, Ash could read the riot act.
As quickly as his temper could rise over an error, so could he quickly forget. When the paper went to press, there was a good chance he'd seek out the offending reporter and apologize for chastizing him. But the reporter knew better than to repeat the error.
To illustrate his insistance on factual reporting, Mr. Ash wrote, when typing his own biographical file for such occasions as this, "Please include dates."
Ray Tygret, at one time the newspaper's mechanical superintendent, revealed to Kinney once that he knew when to stay away from Mr. Ash. "Beware of him when he starts hitching up his pants," Mr. Tygret said. "When he does that, you know he's mad."
For his first five years at The Argus, he was the police and city hall reporter. In 1955, while still city editor, he also assumed the duties of associate editor, becoming executive editor in 1965.
That was the year he supervised the coverage of the biggest story of his career, the Great Flood. He played it on page 1 for a month and when the waters of the Mississippi finally subsided, he supervised and edited a special tabloid section of The Argus devoted entirely to the flood.
As city editor, he organized an presided over the paper's election coverage. In the beginning, that was before television, and he hired scores of extra workers to report and tabulate the returns.
The newsroom was the most popular place in town on any election night. Every politician was there, hoping to edge their way into a picture, and readers flooded the newsroom to be part of the excitement. Through it all, Mr. Ash made sure they didn't get in the way of reporters who were handling the election news.
That era died when television began setting up cameras in election headquarters and politicians could get their pictures taken right there.
Ash was serious about the election coverage, and received several commendations from the Associated Press for being the first newspaper in Illinois to report complete election returns of any county.
In the early 1970s, he and his late wife built a home at the Milan address mainly so that he could keep riding horses, which were his deep and abiding interest.
On his last day of work at The Argus, he came to work in a limousine. The limo ride was the brainchild of several of his co-workers and old friends. A man with his class, they thought, should go out with class. He did.
He was preceded in death by his wife in 1985. He is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Ronald J. (Carolyn) Kuhn, Glenn Ellyn, Ill., and a son, James L. Ash, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Rock Island Argus - Monday - October 12, 1987
Services for Lynn L. Ash, 75, of 2020 106th Ave. W., Milan, are 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. John's Lutheran Church, Rock Island. Burial is in Rock Island Memorial Park.
Visitation is 2 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at Wheelan Funeral Home, Rock Island. Memorials may be made to Franciscan Medical Center, Rock Island, or to the American Heart Association.
Mr. Ash died Saturday at Franciscan Medical Center.
Mr. Ash was born Feb. 23, 1912, in Aledo. He married Alice Anderson April 10, 1938, in Geneva, Ill. She died Dec. 18, 1985.
He was associated with the Argus 45 years, beginning in 1935 after graduation from Augustana College, Rock Island. He served in many positions at the newspaper, including police and city hall reporter, city editor and associate editor, becoming executive editor in 1965. He retired in 1980.
He was a member of the Rotary Club; Chamber of Commerce, both of Rock Island; and a former board member of Visiting Nurse and Homemaker Service of Rock Island County.
He was an avid horseman.
Survivors include a daughter, Carolyn Kuhn, Glen Ellyn, Ill.; a son, James L., Santa Barbara, Calif.; five grandchildren; and a sister, Helen Buhman, Clearwater, Fla.
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