Tribute to Allen V. Stock

"Mention their name. Tell their story. Continue to live their legacy by remembering them with me." – Nathalie Himmelrich

Allen Stock, publisher of the Foster County Independent for 46 years, left this world on Christmas Day.

I first got to know Allen about four years ago. He was a fellow publisher, but he hadn't attended a newspaper convention or other gathering for several years.

I remember him calling to ask if he could rerun articles we had printed in the Transcript, and he requested help setting up credit card processing.

He also knew the Independent needed an online presence, but that certainly wasn't his forte.

We talked weekly during the COVID-19 pandemic, shared articles and photos, and my staff completed some print projects for him.

I learned a lot about him in the months leading up to the purchase of the Independent, but I learned even more working alongside him and watching him go through 46 years of memories in that office in the year that followed.

One thing stands out to me that I will never forget: He left notes everywhere, even on the bathroom wall!

"Don't move this scissor, damit" one reads. "NOTE: Do Not use chipboard under paper being cut. BLADE IS SHARP!!" the sign on the guillotine paper cutter warns.

He also left newspaper clippings with little notes attached on our desks, to mark press releases he thought were pertinent to our newspaper and article ideas he thought we could localize.

That was his way, as he was a writer by trade, and he expressed himself the most, and the best, in writing. His distinctive handwriting was known by all, especially since he signed everything AVS.

So were his typewritten letters, and the sound the typewriter made when he went to work on his column. Distinctively AVS.

Speaking of columns, he convinced me to write one. In six years as publisher of the Transcript, I had maybe written a dozen or so editorials, and I resisted writing weekly columns. I was happy to comb the nationally-syndicated columns and emailed editorials and find ones that spoke to me each week rather than write my own. I resisted the idea altogether at first. I remember telling Allen, "I wouldn't even know what to write about each week."

"I'll show you what I do," he replied.

For a while we took turns writing the weekly column, and I found it easier to come up with topics when I had a couple of weeks to think. Then, the words started to flow. Many weeks I knew what I wanted to write about on Monday, others I cranked out at the last moments before press time.

Allen had 46 years of documents, photos and random things "stuffed" in that office, for he spent every day of the week there. We'd come in to do a special project on a Saturday afternoon and find him sweeping the concrete floor in the newsroom. If the phone rang on a Sunday afternoon, he'd probably be there to answer it.

It took him 18 months, but he did manage to get (almost) everything he wanted to keep out of the office. He left the electronic supply drawer, full of relic cords, PC peripherals and other odds and ends, which I didn't know existed until a couple of weeks ago.

I'm told he had come in one day and scoured the drawer looking for a cable. This particular cable was for his digital camera, one of the two items of modern technology in the office that he operated (the other was the digital printer/scanner/copier). The goal was to retrieve some photos off the memory card in the camera. He didn't find the cable, so I hope he was able to get the photos. "This drawer is a mess," he told Leasa.

When he cleaned out his office, he left a few things for me. One was a large white "A", and next to it the words "The Boss"! You got that right, Allen!

He also pinned up a prom photo spread from the Transcript on the bulletin board. There were pictures of both my daughters on it, as that was the only year they both went to prom. He praised our work on that spread, and there was no bigger compliment than having him pin something to the wall.

He was recently honored by the Kiwanis Club for his 35 years of service to the organization, and he received a special award from the Carrington School District for his 46 years of news coverage.

I remember when he introduced me to the Carrington school board, for it was the first function I attended as the new publisher of the Independent. He highlighted my professional background, but made a point to include anecdotes about my family and the sports they played. He had asked many questions of me, as a true reporter does, so he could give them a glimpse at who I was as both a publisher and a person. We both had tears in our eyes at the end of that one!

We may not have always agreed on some things, like what to put on the front page ("No, that turkey does not need to go on the front page every Thanksgiving," I said) or how long articles should be ("Less is more, you lose people when they get too long," he would say), but I think we both realized that even though our styles and systems were different, they both worked. After all, every great newspaper has a great publisher at the helm.

I find myself asking "why" the staff does things a certain way before I attempt to make a change, because it helps me understand the philosophy behind the business and editorial decisions he made. I enjoy hearing their answers, because I almost always learn something new about the man that left such a mark on this business and community. His memory will live large at the Independent for years to come.

P.S. I think he still owes Linda a bag of ice melt. The whiteboard in the back by the engraving machine says so, so it must be true.

See our full tribute to AVS, featuring reminiscences from his employees and fellow newspapermen, available in pdf at this link: https://www.fosterconews.com/home/cms_data/dfault/pdfs/misc/2024-01-01.pdf