From the Heart
It was in March of 2014 when I was driving north on 37. I was on my way home after working at the dealership. I saw the call come in through the Sync system on my Flex. I didn’t recognize the number so I answered with, “This is Janet.”
The voice on the other end of the conversation was not one that I was familiar with. “Janet, it’s Don Jellison.” I might not have recognized the voice but I sure knew the name.
I mean it was THE Don Jellison, the most respected and well know newspaper guy I knew. I had read his sports columns since I was a young girl in junior high when I discovered boys and sports.
Don was a fixture at Forest Park where the boys played Babe Ruth Baseball in the summers. I saw how he not only coached but mentored the guys. He was like a bonus dad to many young men growing up in the 60s and 70s and beyond.
And so over the years that I was in high school, I read the Noblesville Daily Ledger every day. After any game that the Noblesville Millers played, in any sport, I read Don’s play-by-play of the game.
Don called it like it was. He gave his opinions both ouchy and complimentary. Yes, he kept it real. Jellison’s writing took you to the game and his words brought out emotions as well as the facts.
Don never put a player down in print. He always found ways to highlight their achievements. He knew their names and the names of their parents and over the years, the names of their grandparents.
I would say that many a player got the attention of colleges because of his writing about them in his columns. Don wasn’t a guy who would ever want credit for it, but I know it happened.
Don kept up with the players over the years. He could tell you when they played, who was their coach and what they were doing after they grew up and had kids of their own. He was just that kind of guy. Special and unique.
Kids remembered what he said about them. Sarah Wilson, who played basketball for the Millers in the 90s, said on Facebook after hearing that Don had passed away, “He wrote so many kind words about me.” Kids remembered.
You see Don Jellison made a difference. He had a heart for athletes, he had a heart for his community.
When Don and his son Jeff started the Hamilton County Reporter some four years ago he wanted it to be a newspaper that would make a difference in his community and his people. And that he accomplished.
A small percentage of newspapers, starting up in this day and age of social media and non “hold in your hands” newspapers, make it. The Hamilton County Reporter is making it. The subscriptions are on the rise. Readership has spread in just a short time. Why? Because Don Jellison knew how to do it and do it well.
His voice will be heard and his words will continue to be read through his son Jeff and the columnists who have had the privilege of writing for him. I was blessed to be one of them.
So when that call came through three years and eight months ago, Don told me that he had heard I needed a newspaper for my column. He said, “Janet, I have read your writings. You are schmaltzy but everyone likes reading what you have to say. Will you come on board the Hamilton County Reporter?”
I had but one question. “Don, will you let me say whatever I want to say?” He laughed and said, “Heck, I’ll let you say it on the front page every Sunday morning.”
And it is there that I have been honored to be for almost four years now. Thank you Don Jellison for believing in me. I was blessed to call you my editor and my friend.
Your words, and you, will be missed.
Forever from my heart,
Schmaltzy Janet