President Barack Obama makes an impromptu stop at Galesburg High School on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011.
Happy Friday, everyone. We're near the end of just another ordinary work week in Galesburg ... not! As Galesburg is still a-buzz following President Obama's surprise visit Wednesday, today's Jay Talking topics include more reaction on the commander-in-chief in our town, a former Silver Streak and Siwash baseball star samples an Elvis burger (peanut butter and banana) and a Galesburg native plays at a memorial concert at the Indiana State Fair.
Needless to say, many of you and certainly most of us here at The Register-Mail are still riding high after President Obama made an unannounced stop at Galesburg High School on Wednesday. I can't imagine the thrill for all of the Silver Streaks athletes, coaches, teachers, staff and District 205 administrators who got up close and personal with our commander-in-chief.
Politics aside (please, I'm not coming out pro- or anti-Obama here), I continue to be impressed with the president's people skills. He genuinely appears to be interested in every person he meets, always greeting them with a big smile and a handshake or a pat on the back.
New Streaks football coach Tim Daugherty told our Aaron Frey was neat it was to share a conversation with the president. It was so cool to watch the video of the president talking with the Streaks football players. It's something they'll treasure and remember the rest of their lives. CNN has awesome footage of President Obama talking with the Streaks football team, which you can see here.
Meanwhile, The Register-Mail continues to get recognition for our coverage of President Obama's visit to Galesburg and Alpha . I documented in great detail in Thursday's blog how all 17 of us in the R-M newsroom worked as a team to bring you comprehensive coverage of the historic day.
But wait! There's more ... (Hey, if you can't toot your horn in your own newspaper, there's something wrong.)
After being named a Top 10 Page of the Day by Newseum in Washington, D.C., the news people at GateHouse Newsroom awarded us GateHouse Page of the Day.
GateHouse Corporate Design Director Joe Greco said, "When the president comes to town for a visit, as he did here in Galesburg, Ill., rally the staff for big-time coverage. That's what the editors at The Register-Mail did yesterday for today's fantastic front."
And today, renowned newspaper design guru and freelance visual journalist and instructor Charles Apple blogged about how The Register-Mail covered the president's visit to Galesburg. I've joked back and forth with Charles about his labeling us a "tiny" newspaper.
Charles said, "I'd argue anything below 50K is "small" and anything below 15K is "tiny." But as you and your crew proved, tiny town or tiny circulation doesn't necessarily mean tiny coverage. That was big-city quality news coverage."
In an email, Charles told me:
"Your folks did great work. And that front page was perfect. You don't see papers your size put together that well.
"I spent several years at the front end of my own career in a newsroom that put out two daily papers: A 10,000-circulation morning paper and a 12,000-circulation afternoon paper. I think I know "tiny" pretty well. And "tiny" papers don't look as good as yours does, nor can they pull together quite like you did on Wednesday.
"Be proud. Because by the weekend, no one will remember it. :)"
Be sure to check out "presidential" blogs by Assistant Sports Editor Aaron Frey and sports writer Todd Rudolf. Todd proves you just can't get past the Secret Service if they don't want you to.
And ck714 commented on my Thursday blog, "In doing a search this afternoon I noticed that Obama visiting Galesburg has reached the UK...The Daily Telegraph. The President cheering with the football team was included in their 'Pictures of the day'.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/picturesoftheday/8708553/Pictures-of-the-day-18-August-2011.html?image=21
And Mike Morrison wondered why the president didn't stop at Sully's for one of its famous giant tenderloins.
Elvis fans (yes, I am one) remembered the 34th anniversary of the King's death Tuesday by flocking to his former Graceland home in Memphis (no, I didn't go.) But a week earlier, former Galesburg Silver Streaks and Knox College baseball standout Jon Ripperger honored the King by eating an Elvis burger at The Vortex in Atlanta.
What is an Elvis burger, you ask? If you guess it has to include some form of bananas and peanut butter, you are correct.
Jon posted on Facebook that consuming an Elvis burger was one of the highlights of his recent vacation. Also on Jon's highlight list was "watching the Cubs take two of three games from the Braves," but I won't comment on his choice of baseball teams to follow.
I asked Jon to describe his Elvis burger experience:
It was certainly interesting! I liked it, though it could have used another piece or two of banana, both for the sweetness and to help balance the gooey peanut butter. This was Saturday at The Vortex in Atlanta ... the Little Five Points location (the one with the skull for an entrance). www.thevortexbarandgrill.com (check out the "Stuff You Need to Know" part of the menu) So it's a half-pound burger (I had mine medium well) with a big glob of smooth peanut butter, a couple pieces of fried banana, and three strips of bacon. If you go, try it with the tater tots! I do like Elvis but wouldn't say I'm a huge fan."
Jon, a 1982 GHS grad, lives in Ann Arbor, Mich, where he is web project manager for MGoBlue.com at the University of Michigan.
Jay Talking fan and friend of the newspaper Bill Spilman sent me a note earlier this week about a local connection to last week's tragic stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair.
Bill said, "I just read that Steven Potaczek andplayed at the memorial service today for the tragedy at the Indiana State Fair. Potaczek is a Galesburg native and the Christian band played recently in Galesburg."
Bill include the following link to an AP story: www.wsmv.com/story/15265985/ind-fair-to-honor-collapse-dead-before-resuming
Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend ...
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