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A journalist’sjourney

Ed ShannonFriday, January 13, 2012

This special section is dedicated to a cherished 27-year employee of the Albert Lea Tribune

A special salute for a friend

Editor’s note: Ed wrote this tribute to Geri McShane Murtaugh after her death in August 2010. He said it was the hardest piece he ever had to write.

By Ed Shannon

The first two weeks of August will always be a very special time for Geri McShane Murtaugh and me. Now more emphasis has been given to this part of the calendar with Geri’s death at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester on Aug. 7, 2010. That par-ticular date is the exact date Geri also started her outstanding 24-year career here at the Albert Lea Tribune. Right at that time in 1986, I had been at the Tribune for two years, give or take a day or two.

On this particular morning two new em-ployees came into the newsroom. Geri and her friend, Janelle Pollack, had previously worked for the Waseca news-paper. Either that day or the next morning I was asked by the editor to take these two young ladies on an orientation tour of the city. Special emphasis was given to the city hall, courthouse, law enforcement center and the fire department. And it was on this first day that Geri met Mike Murtaugh, her future husband, who was then working in the advertis-ing department.

A few months later Janelle left the city. However, Geri stayed on at the Tribune. After all, she was proving to be a real keeper and tre-mendous asset, if I may digress. Anyway, within a few years she became the city editor, then manag-ing editor. After marriage and motherhood, she eventually took over as lifestyles editor and assis-tant editor. Thus, I take pride in knowing Geri for 24 years, plus working with and for Geri and her many, many news and feature projects.

Right at this point, if I may digress again with a sincere compliment, I’ve always been amazed at the amount of excellent news and feature articles Geri created for the

benefit of the Tribune’s readers.

During the years of knowing Geri, I could firmly rely on her help in case a ride was needed to or from some specific lo-cation. In turn, she could rely on my assistance in taking daughters Erin and Tierney to St. Theo-dore’s Catholic School from the Tribune on some days as Geri con-tinued on with preparing another daily newspaper for publication. There are other aspects of this friendly mutual assis-tance we provided for each other, but this will suffice for now.

As I was preparing this special column to honor the memory of such a nice person, there was a temptation to mention all the fine folks we worked with during her 24 years here at the Tribune. However, this would be a rather long list. It would have to extend beyond the newsroom to include advertising, classified, circulation, management, accounting, composition, and both past and pres-ent press room opera-tions. As a result, there’s a chance I might miss the names of a few folks and that just wouldn’t be fair at all.

I have no idea as to what some of her pres-ent and former Tribune colleagues are going to mention in their memo-ries of Geri. One I have is based on her enjoy-ment of eating at the Wok ’N’ Roll and seeing how many different versions of prepared chicken she could eat during one visit. I believe the record is nine. She also enjoyed making monkey bread, bars and other goodies for Tribune potlucks and special events. And what I will always appreciate sin-cerely is her consideration for my diabetic-control diet. A prime example is how she would make bars with frosting, except for a small unfrosted corner so I could also enjoy the treat.

Now here’s a point that may get overlooked. The name of Geri is actually a shortened version of Geralyn. I really became aware of this several years ago when I asked her to sign a legal docu-ment. This particular document had to be signed by someone who wasn’t a family mem-ber and a person who was more than just an acquaintance. As a close friend and colleague, Geralyn was the perfect person for this document signing.

As I mentioned at the start of this special sa-lute, the first two weeks will always be a very special time to remember Geri.

Rise and demise of a major industry

Editor’s note: Ed wrote this as a column for Between the Corn Rows on July 8, 2011. He said it’s one of the most significant pieces he’s written.

By Ed Shannon

Just a decade ago a fire resulted in a real change for Albert Lea’s economy and employ-ment. The details of this event are now being featured in a series of articles by Sarah Stultz and the outstanding photos taken by Jeff Mulfinger, the Tribune’s photographer in July 2001.

As part of my coverage of this really destructive fire, I wrote a history of the development of meat processing in Albert Lea. Here’s a summary of this part of local life for 124 years.

The long history of meat processing in Al-bert Lea started with the Brundin Meat Market on Broadway Avenue in 1877.

A slaughter house was set up a few years later at the east end of Charles Street near the channel between the lakes.

In 1898 the Brun-din Packing Company

was organized, and the slaughtering operations were moved to a site at the corner of Newton Avenue and East Main Street.

This firm was incor-porated in 1908. Then it became the Albert Lea Packing Co., the Soth Packing Co. in 1910, and resumed the Albert Lea Packing Co. name in 1912.

The present plant site was set up in 1912. By 1914 the firm had finan-cial problems and was sold to Sulzberger and Sons of Chicago. In 1916 the Sulzberger firm was taken over by Wilson & Co.

During the era be-tween World Wars I and II, the Wilson firm expanded its Albert Lea operations to include all phases of meat process-ing. Thus, cattle and hogs came into the stockyards at the south end as live animals and left via the loading docks in both refrigerated rail cars and later semi-trail-ers as hanging carcasses or boxed meat products. Also, during this era and even later after World War II, the Wilson plant became the city’s largest employer and an important part of life for several generations of

area families.On Jan. 31, 1970, the

plant became a part of Wilson-Sinclair, one of several names used in the firm’s reorganization.

Three years later the name of the Albert Lea plant was changed back to Wilson & Co. Then, in October 1976, still another name change was made to Wilson Foods Inc.

The Wilson firm encountered severe financial problems in 1983 and declared bankruptcy. In March 1984 the Albert Lea plant was sold to Keith Barnes, a former Land O’Lakes executive. His original corporate name was CornBelt Meals, which was soon changed to Farmstead Foods. Barnes also ac-quired the Wilson & Co. plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Farmstead Foods filed for bankruptcy in March 1990 and closed the Albert Lea plant.

On Dec. 4. 1990, the Farmstead plant was purchased by the Sea-board Corporation of Kansas and reopened. This firm retained the Farmstead label for meat products. Five years later the Albert

Lea plant was pur-chased by Farmland Foods of Kansas City, Mo.

Within two years after the fire the entire plant area was demolished. Today there are very few reminders of the era when so many area folks depended on the packing house for their livelihoods. The former places of memories at what’s now Blazing Star Landing include the power plant, shop, ice house, stockyards, sewage plant and pond, office building, assembly room, hog kill, beef kill, loading docks, main gate and even the big coal piles.

What’s now left are portions of the fences, a paved roadway for the sewage plant and Gate Three (the stockyards entry) and a roadway on the east side near the corner of Garfield Avenue and Eberhart Street.

There’s still an inter-esting reminder of the century-plus era when meat processing was a major part of life in Albert Lea. It’s the spe-cial exhibit in the lower level of the Freeborn County Historical Mu-seum on North Bridge Avenue.

We’ll miss you, Ed!

Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea TribuneFormer Tribune newsroom employee Marlene Behle gives a gift to Ed Shannon last Friday of an old photo from the days they worked together.

Go inside to see testimonials from current and former staffers about working with Ed.

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Thanks for all the smiles

I worked as the photo-journalist at the Albert Lea Tribune from Janu-ary 2007 until March 2010 and my desk was right across from Ed Shannon.

And it was awesome.

He was a great help and wealth of knowledge with any question I had about Albert Lea. And he was great with his little point-and-shoot camera! If he had taken some pictures, he would wheel his chair on over to my desk with his mem-ory card, hold it out and smile. In which case, I would pull the images off the memory card and go through them with him,

to decide which ones should be printed in the newspaper.

Oh he was a wonder-ful writer, all the readers adore him, and he knows the history of everything!

But we all know that, so let’s talk about other

ways that he made me smile!

We had a secret handshake that we did at least once a day, called the BRED (BRie + ED). It was a vertical fist bump, a thumbs up,

a flying No. 1, raise the roof, and something else I can’t reveal or else it wouldn’t be a secret. We even did a video tuto-rial on the BRED that can still be seen online at http://www.viddler.com/explore/altribune/videos/20/

Oh, there were so many ways that Ed amused me.

Most people at the Tribune dress up for Halloween, and for my first Halloween, Ed was a hillbilly. The next year I asked Ed what he was going to be, and he said a hillbilly. Well, I told him he couldn’t be the same thing as last year! And so, I think maybe to amuse me, he dressed up as something else! A chimney sweeper, with a tiny, tiny broom.

And the next year?A member of the

Tribune Swat Team! He made a vest that had ants, wore a protective shield, and carried his two famous white plastic fly swatters, that had pen notches on the handle for each fly he flattened.

I have missed Ed a great deal since I left the Tribune and moved away from Albert Lea, and I’m certain the Tribune readers will now be missing Ed, too.

And one last thing that I have to say, that I’m certain many have already said.

If it’s old or dead, look for smilin’ Ed.

Thank you, ol’ buddy, ol’ pal, for all the smiles.

— Brie Cohen, Tribune photographer

from 2007 to 2010

Page 2 • Albert Lea Tribune • Friday, January 13, 2012

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Memories of Ed ...Ed was a grounding force at the paper

Ed would occasion-ally get fired up about topics and would go in depth about the reason why he had certain beliefs. I always appreci-ated that about him, and the fact that he would really get into his work. Ed always cared more about the person than the story and would go beyond the superficial — he was never sensational with his journalism. In many ways, I looked up to him as a reporter and a fellow human being.

I recall he used to snack on Austin crack-ers all the time — he had to have his regular afternoon snack at work. And he always offered to share.

He would have the most interest-ing visitors such as Roger Lonning, who would burst into the office with much zest, and they would recall stories from the past that would captivate the staff and be a nice break in the middle of a hectic day.

Ed was always a grounding force at the Tribune and still helps me to put things in perspective whenever I see him.

I know that, though I don’t see Ed regu-larly anymore, he is a lifelong friend, and that makes me glad! He’s just that kind of guy.

— Ann Austin, Tribune reporter from spring 2003 to August

2004

Ed is a historian, friend and mentor

Ten years ago I was sleeping in a hospital bed, with my newborn son tucked in my arm, when the nurse gently woke me up.

“Cathy,” she said, “Ed Shannon from the Tribune is on the phone and wants to come take a picture of you and the baby. He says it’s OK because he’s a friend of yours.”

Of course, it was OK because Ed was — and still is — my friend, and he was coming to take our photo because my son Ryker was the first baby of the year in 2002. As the former news editor of the Albert Lea Tribune, I knew what to expect. Ryker would be front-page news!

Ed gave me time to comb my hair and brush my teeth. Ryker slept through the entire photo-taking and interviewing session. Later that day,

I knew the moment the newspaper hit the street because my phone start-ing ringing with good wishes from friends and colleagues. Over the next few weeks, I received many calls and notes from classmates, past

co-workers and distant friends, one even from California, who saw the news in the Tribune.

While Ed’s historical column

marks his own place in local history, he also served as a mentor to dozens of brash young reporters fresh from college and ready to set the world on fire. He patiently taught them that the milestones of people’s lives were just as important to readers as the latest scandal or controversy. He was also a walking encyclopedia of names, dates and facts. Thank you Ed for putting up with me and other know-it-all reporters!

— Cathy Hay Rofshus, former Tribune editor

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Working with Ed was a blast

I was just out of college in 1983 when I went to work at the Tribune in the front office. I did accounting work and helped with classified ads, helped at the coun-ter and helped answer the phones.

Every morning we used to take a “coffee break,” which amounted to me running over to the Kwik Trip to get cheese and crackers and whatever any-one else requested. Then I would run back to the Tribune and have to walk through the newsroom to the break room. I was not old enough to drink coffee but did buy myself a glass bottle of Moun-tain Dew (young person’s coffee). I had used some of my time to run to Kwik Trip so I never had enough time to finish my Mountain Dew, and we were not supposed to have pop and food at our desks. So I thought it would be funny to leave my half-empty bottle of Mountain Dew on Ed’s desk. (Trying to get him in trouble and take the heat of the new person) I also opened his desk drawer and would put all of the pens and pencils he had in the drawer all over the top of his desk. That started a tradition that lasts still today. I always stop by Ed’s desk when I am at the Albert Lea Tribune and open his drawer and scatter his pens and pencils. I had to give up on the Mountain Dew tradition.

Even on his last day celebration, I went to his desk and scattered the four pens across his desk. I know he knows I have been there to see him, it was my way of saying “Hi.”

Ed was always in a good mood. He was like a grandfather to you. He always asked about you but then always wanted to know what was up, anything going on in town? I left the Tribune and went to work for In-terstate Power Company for over 20 years, and he would always ask me the same question of whether anything was going on in

town. I am now em-ployed by the Albert Lea Police Department and it is now Ed’s job to ask me, “Anything going on in town?” Funny how things work out. It is also funny that Ed looks the same all these years later… I wish I could say the same about me.

Another funny thing we would do is that the phone was really a cord and cable plug switch-board. I thought it was awesome! You had to answer the phone and put the plug into the

extension you wanted and then manually flip the lever to make the phone ring. So being the youngest I thought that was fun. You can make it ring as many times as you wanted. So if he didn’t pick up the phone and you wanted him to you just kept ringing. I think that switchboard is now at the museum.

Good times were always had at the Albert Lea Tribune when Ed worked there. We were a family.

— Mary Steffen-Schroader, former Tribune employee

Friday, January 13, 2012 • Albert Lea Tribune • Page 3

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Memories of Ed ...

Ed has a lot of knowledge

Ed was my con-stant in the news-room. Occasionally grumbling, hunt-and-peck clicking on the keyboard, always wanting to make sure things were going OK. He was a great place to start when working on a new story; he usually knew someone or something that might be able to help. If I had time,

it was just fun to sit and listen to him. The knowl-

edge that man has stored about our community is fasci-nating. There was a saying while I was at the Tribune, “If it’s old or dead, look for smilin’ Ed.” The Tribune won’t be

the same without “smilin’ Ed.”

— Jennifer Levisen, Tribune reporter

2004-2005

Ed has a great sense of humor

Ed Shannon has been welcoming and helpful since I first started at the Tribune. Anytime I had a question he would give me an answer or go look it up and get back to me. Because I’m from Manchester, he’d ask me if I knew certain surnames or old busi-nesses. We always joke about getting educated at the Hartland University, which was funny to us without fail because it’s an odd name for a bar.

I’ll miss Ed’s sense of

humor and his cursing after a bout of sneezing. I’ll also miss his enter-taining and educational

stories that took hours of research at the Freeborn County Historical Museum. He truly kept history alive for all parts of Freeborn County, and when

he couldn’t find an answer he smartly asked for help through his weekly col-umn. The newsroom will be very different without Ed pecking away at his keyboard with two fingers.

— Kelli Lageson, Tribune special projects

editor

Tribune gang got along well

What can I say about Ed Shannon? Well he’s one of the nicest, kindest, honest, caring and modest men I’ve ever known.

Eddie had come to the Tribune in 1984, the year before I was hired. Jim Oliver was editor and Kevin Sweeny was assistant editor during those first years.

As I remember, Eddie’s assignments took him to the police and city departments to get the daily news and records. Naturally, that led to Eddie being the perfect one to write his semi-an-nual stories for the bridal editions.

He always wrote a very thorough story on where to go in the courthouse to get a marriage license, to whom you would be speaking, the cost of the license and what months were the most popular for weddings.

The whole staff at the

courthouse knew him well. After all, he went there every morning to get police reports.

But what he really liked was working at the microfiche in the news-

room doing his notes on historical events that were in the early editions of The Evening Tribune through the years. And Ed-die will have left

his mark on the Freeborn County area with his weekly columns.

Chris Shocker, a worker in the pressroom, remembers that all we had to say to Eddie was “we need rolls” and he would go to get them.

By the way, Eddie, I forgot to give you the hug from Chris at your retire-ment party.

During those early years, the Tribune gang partied together a lot. We had fun and were a tightly knit group. And always remember, Ed, that the “old timers” all loved you!

— Marlene Behle, for-mer Lifestyles editor

Will miss reading Ed’s columns

It was 27 years and four months ago, when the Albert Lea Tribune’s Editorial Department needed a reporter. I know that because I read Ed Shannon’s farewell column online last week.

I don’t remem-ber much about our initial meeting except that he had some writing experience in the public relations area. He seemed like a pleasant sort who was willing to go to work for the “mod-est” salary that the Albert Lea Tribune paid in those days. Another important factor was that because he lived in the commu-nity, we wouldn’t have to waste a lot of time showing him how to find the fairgrounds and other local landmarks. I also don’t remember if I hired him on the spot or if we let him stew a few days, but ultimately he came to work in the newsroom.

His farewell column also reminded me that my judgment was often flawed when it came to selecting columnists. As he pointed out I blew off his initial requests to write a regular column. I liked to have a local column on each day’s Editorial Page and at that point there was one for every day. It was my ex-perience that having re-porters and editors write columns on a weekly basis was an opportu-nity for the newspaper’s readers to get acquainted with them. And readers seemed to enjoy them

for the most part. The popularity of his columns in the years since a space opened up for him on the Editorial Page indicates that I perhaps should have found room for him

much sooner.I’m not sure how

Ed falls on the list of longest-tenured Tribune Editorial employees. I know that the late Love Cruikshank served as the lifestyles

editor for more than 30 years before retiring to become more recently a popular columnist for the newspaper. Before that, there was a long-time editor named Burt May in the 1920s and 1930s and Russ Voight, who had been sports editor and later news editor before he retired in the late 1960s.

I will certainly miss reading Ed’s columns. Thanks to the Internet, I have followed his his-torical pieces with great interest having lived in Albert Lea for nearly 20 years myself. Because we had a significant amount of turnover in the news-room during my 15 years as editor, I certainly didn’t expect Ed to stay around as long as he has. Perhaps my leaving the following year had some-thing to do with it.

I wish Ed well in his retirement. He man-aged to put it off longer than most of us. At the same time, I hope he will continue to write in a way that those of us who en-joy his work can continue to do so.

— Jim Oliver, former Tribune editor

Will miss Ed’s history lessons

What I will miss most about Ed is his seemingly end-less knowledge of history — not only Freeborn County, but across south-ern Minnesota and northern Iowa. I came to the Tribune last year from a newspaper in Osage, Iowa. Ed quickly welcomed me to the newsroom and sur-prised me with a lesson about the 1901 Frazee. The Frazee was the first registered gas-powered vehicle in Iowa — built in Osage — and remains on display in a museum

there. Of course I was vaguely familiar with this antique car, but certainly didn’t expect to get the

full education about it in the Tribune newsroom! Ed continued to edu-cate me about little nuggets of history in towns dotting the map from north

Iowa to Albert Lea and beyond. I know I’m not alone in telling Ed I will certainly miss learning these nuggets of history that I would not have otherwise known through his columns, stories and office conversations.

— Michelle Haacke, Tribune marketing

executive

Honored to have worked with Ed

I am honored to have worked with Ed Shan-non for the final six years of his career. When I came in February 2006, I had talked quite a bit about making the opinion page more interactive with the community by do-ing things such as moving the letters to the top of the page, inviting more guest columnists and shift-ing some content around. I wanted to make the emphasis on dialogue, not just filling space.

One of the first ques-tions Ed had for me was whether his col-umn would remain on Fridays. Photographer Adam Hammer jumped in to say how long Ed’s column had printed on Friday.

Of course it would stay on Fridays, I said. That’s where readers expect it and it’s the kind of column we want more of — where the writer intimately knows the readers.

I’ve been editing his column and placing it on the page for six years now, and I enjoyed every

one of them. Only three times did it not print on Friday, and two of those times it was my fault. The other was long ago. Ed could explain. But for those two that were my fault, I had other col-umns that had to print

before some set time and date to be relevant. Both times, I asked Ed if his column could move to another day that week. He smiled and agreed both

times.So that means the man

never skipped a column. It just printed on a differ-ent day. Never skipping a column — ever — wow! That’s dedication to readers.

Ed Shannon cannot be replaced. He knew so much about so many people, so many artifacts, so much of the past that over the course of his Tribune career he went from being a journalist to being a first-rate histo-rian, too.

Ed was semi-retired already, so it seems fit-ting to say: Farewell, Ed. Enjoy full retirement. We will miss you.

— Tim Engstrom, Tri-bune managing editor

Ed knew how to entertain readers

Ed Shannon is a fa-miliar face at the Free-born County Historical Museum. His requests for photos and docu-ments frequently peak my curiosity.

How would he weave these seemingly unre-

lated pieces into a rich tapestry of local history? He never fails to amaze.

His readers have always been given an en-joyable and entertaining way to learn about our county’s history.

— Linda Evenson, librarian at the Freeborn

County Historical

Award-winning news coverage.

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In loving memory of Grandma Lola Jane MatsonGranny passed away on her wedding anniversary (Aug. 20, 1911-Jan. 15, 2011).

With love and wonderful memories from your family of 84 and counting.

GRANDMA’S KITCHENThe aroma of fresh baked bread surrounds my nostrils as I enter my favorite place of all. It’s grandma’s kitchen. I might hear the growling of my stomach as I envision a slice of warm bread covered with butter. The radio quietly catches my ear in the background telling me it is sunny and seventy-five degrees. A cool breeze stirs my hair, as I walk in. Grandma is there. She is wearing one of her colorful house dresses. She gives me one of her “I’m so glad to see you smiles.” Grandma feels so little and fragile as I hug her close to my heart. Suddenly, I am a child again and the whole world feels safe and warm. Grandma’s kitchen holds many gentle memories that stir up my emotions, just to think about them.

I notice the shining sun beaming through the window over the sink. The huge table sits in the center of the room. White flour is dusting half of the table. The other half beholds racks with lightly browned bread. It’s bread day and I don’t want to miss sharing with grandma the joy of such a simple pleasure.

As I enjoy my fresh bread with a cup of ice cold milk, my eyes take in the homey yellow room. There are pictures everywhere of my family. On the large refrigerator are handmade drawings from my cousins. I can sense the love that has always lived here. In all the world I can’t think of another place quite like it. Thank you grandma for all the tasty soft bread and all the happy times spent watching you make it in your kitchen.

Quentin, Lorelei Thompson, Eugene, Ma,

Roy, Darryl, Greg, Richard, Dale Matson

Written by Denise Sheryl Jacobson. Always and forever Denise, Sandy and Ellen.

Page 4 • Albert Lea Tribune • Friday, January 13, 2012

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Best wishes on your

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St. Theodore Catholic Church315 E. Clark St., Albert Lea

5:15 p.m. Saturday Mass

9:30 a.m. Sunday Broadcast Mass

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Memories of Ed ...

Remembering fun times with Ed

It’s hard to believe that it was over 27 years ago that I was start-ing my first job out of college as an advertis-ing sales representative at the Albert Lea Tribune. That day I was given the usual walk around the building to be introduced to everyone. It was that day that I got reacquainted with Ed Shannon. When I say got reacquainted, it had been three years earlier that I had been contact-ed by a freelance writer that happened to be Ed, to do a story on my unique bottle collection of old bottles that I had pulled off the bottom of Fountain Lake. When this story came to print in the magazine West-ern and Eastern Trea-sures in their October of 1981 issue, the byline was from a Marty Von Kratz, a far cry from the name Ed Shannon who had done the story. He

then explained to me that Ed and Marty were one in the same, and he featured my bottle collection in a series of columns a few years back, explaining how the name Von Kratz came about.

Because of this, I would often greet Ed in the morn-ing with a “Hello Marty” or “Hello Martin” as I made my way around the building during my 13-year tenure at

the Tribune. We loved to discuss the history of Albert Lea, and I often gave him ideas for stories over the years.

When Ed would cover the courthouse beat, I would ask him what hap-pened the night before. If nothing of excitement went on, Ed would refer to it as “Dullsville U.S.A.”

Ed, Marty or Fred, as we often called you, it was great to see so many people turn out to wish you well in your retirement.

— Tom Jones, former Tribune sales staff

Ed is always thinking of others

I will never forget Ed and his knowledge of our area. It amazes me how much he knows. I admire his quick wit and sense of humor. There are so many things I will remem-ber and cherish about him.

When something odd or strange hap-pened in our area or country, Ed would always say, “Only in America.” I have found myself saying that from time to time.

When Ed needed a picture pulled off his memory card or some-thing scanned for his columns or Lifestyles features, he would ask, “May I step into your office?” Then he took a seat on a table next to my desk. Now I can’t say I have an office without him here.

Many times Ed would tell me he had a present for me, or rather my kids. He’d find things when he was cleaning or orga-nizing his house. My daughter was always excited to get stuff from him. She still plays with a bunny he gave her. He was always thinking of others.

Thanks Ed. I’ll miss you.

— Danielle Boss, Tribune community

editor

Newsroom was comfortable for Ed

Growing up in Albert Lea, Ed Shannon was somewhat of a folk hero to me. While I saw his byline almost daily, it wasn’t until I was an intern at the Tribune, during my senior year at Luther College, that I met Ed in the flesh.

The first thing I noticed about Ed was, despite nearing the end of his career, he still felt very comfortable in the newsroom.

He was fun, too. He had a secret handshake with the Tribune’s pho-tographer, Brie Cohen, a business card claiming he was the “fastest two-fingered hunt-and-peck

typist” around and took pride in swatting flies, for whatever reason, draw-ing notches on his swat-ter for each one he killed. In fact, he even dressed up once for Halloween as a member of a “swat” team, and, as I notice

now, there’s still a fly swatter under his former desk.

Ed was a great resource anytime I wrote a story with a historical aspect. He could answer

many of my questions off the top of his head and if not, would volunteer to do some research for me.

I will miss sitting next to Ed in the newsroom and wish him the best in his retirement.

— Andrew Dyrdal, Tribune sports editor

Ed is known for his kindness

In the more than five years that I have worked at the Albert Lea Tri-bune, I’ve been able to see many sides of Ed Shannon, my co-worker and friend.

While I will always remember Ed’s phenom-enal knowledge of history and of Al-bert Lea, it’s his kindness and humor that I will remember most.

Ed, who sat next to me in the Tribune news-room, always had a way of making me smile.

He sincerely seemed interested in me as a person and would often ask questions, following up on different aspects of my life.

Most recently, Ed and I have been dealing with a similar medical problem, and he has been consis-tent with asking me how I am handling it and what the ups and downs have been for me. It’s been nice to have someone around who has experienced something similar.

A couple years ago, Ed asked me if my daughter needed a twin mattress, headboard and box spring that had belonged to one of his children. At that point, my daughter, Sophie, was getting ready to move out of her crib into a toddler bed. I knew that soon enough she’d be ready for a twin bed.

I agreed to his offer.As my husband and

I sat the twin bed up recently as we moved our daughter into a bigger bedroom, I thought back to his generosity.

For him it might have been an opportunity to get rid of something he no longer needed, but for me it represented one of the many times Ed has given of himself to help another person.

I will be forever grate-ful for this generosity and kindness and for the con-sistent friendship I knew I could rely on each day he was at the Tribune.

Thanks Ed!

— Sarah Stultz, Tribune city editor

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