The Shinnston News and Harrison County Journal, honors, celebrates, and appreciates Jim Hunt’s 500 columns, each offering healthy helpings of fun and good information. We are proud of his contributions and looking forward to celebrating many, many more.
By Jim Hunt for the News and Journal
Each week, after finishing my column for the Harrison County Journal, I email it to the
editor and place the Word document in a folder on my computer named "News &
Journal Columns." Over time, the file has grown considerably. A few weeks ago, I
decided to count all the columns I’d written over the past ten years, and I was surprised
to find the number approaching 500. That’s nearly 300,000 words—enough to fill six
average books. The column appears on the front page, accompanied by a small photo
of me that hasn’t changed since I began writing.
I still remember the day Kim Gemondo, then-owner of the News and Journal, called and
asked if I would consider writing for the paper. When I inquired, “How often?” he replied,
“As often as you’d like.” I’d been thinking about writing a book, so I figured a column
would help me develop the habit. I suggested starting weekly, with the option to scale
back if needed. But week after week, I got into the rhythm of writing every Thursday
evening, and here I am, ten years later, still at it without missing a beat.
Writing the column did indeed help me complete my book, The Amazing Cities: 7 Steps
to Creating an Amazing City, and a number of my columns even found their way into its
pages. Through this process, I discovered the discipline writing requires and the art
behind it. While most of my columns, including this one, are written from the comfort of
my La-Z-Boy recliner, I’ve also crafted several on my iPhone while returning from distant
travels. I keep a notebook handy, where I jot down ideas for future columns. Not every
idea makes it into the paper, but I enjoy having a few simmering—it keeps my mind
engaged.
Many of my columns have been inspired by travel. Putting my thoughts on paper helps
me remember the little details that make travel so memorable. I’ve been fortunate to
travel extensively throughout the United States and abroad, and I relish sharing my
observations from other cities and countries. Occasionally, I encounter someone whose
story inspires a column, often individuals who wouldn’t ordinarily be in the spotlight.
These columns are some of the most fulfilling. Years ago, a man I used to deliver
papers to as a boy stopped me at the mall to thank me for writing about his parents’
wedding anniversary. He told me his family had placed the laminated column in his
mother’s coffin when she passed. I was moved to tears and resolved to seek out more
stories that might offer comfort to others.
People sometimes ask, “How much do you get paid?” Though I wouldn’t mind the fame
of a big-time columnist like the late Jimmy Breslin, I write for the sheer joy of it. My
greatest reward is when a reader tells me they enjoyed a column or felt like they
traveled with me through my words. I used to keep a stack of my columns in the office
until the shelf began bowing under the weight. I eventually enlisted my granddaughter,
Ali, to organize the columns on my computer by theme in hopes of compiling them into
a book someday. However, with the recent release of The Entrepreneurial City-Building
Smarter Government Through Entrepreneurial Thinking, my column collection might
need to wait; perhaps it will become a holiday gift for family and friends down the road.
I owe thanks to the many people I’ve connected with through my writing and to the loyal
readers of the Harrison County Journal. For much of my tenure, Leigh Merrifield was the
editor, and I was always pleased when she sent me a note about one of my columns.
My current editor, Stephen Smoot, is both a skilled editor and a talented writer himself.
Journalism holds invaluable importance in our society; social media and online
platforms cannot replace it. As a former paperboy who delivered thousands of papers in
my youth, perhaps I absorbed some of that newsprint ink—it certainly left me with a
lifelong love for the printed word. Let’s keep this genre alive. And if you ever see one of
the News & Journal columnists, let them know you enjoy their work—it will make their
day!