Here’s the story of Barney Alcott, editor/publisher of the Forum and Murial McDonald Alcott (Spoofhound and Bearcat teacher) who met in Michigan, graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
B.J. Alcott, Civic Leader, Forum Publisher, Dies at 64
The Maryville Daily Forum, November 28, 1975, Page 1. via Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-maryville-daily-forum-obituary-for-b/202124934/Bernard James (B.J.) Alcott, 64, newspaperman and Maryville civic leader, died at 6:42 a.m. Thursday in St. Francis Hospital.
Mr. Alcott was born Jan. 10, 1911 in Cheboygan, Mich. and was in the newspaper business for 32 years. He started his career on the Flint News-Advertiser (Mich.) as a news boy and graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism at Columbia in 1939. He worked during college as a journeyman printer.
His editorial career began in 1940 when he was named advertising manager of the Atchison County Mail in Rock Port. He came to ,The Daily Forum as advertising manager and reporter in 1942. He later became editor and business manager. In 1966 he became the Forum’s local publisher, succeeding M.W. Stauffer.
Under his direction The Daily Forum was converted to offset and moved to a new building in 1971. At the time of his death, Mr. Alcott was chairman of the Maryville Public Housing Authority, a post he assumed in 1968 to assist the financing and construction of the Margaret E. Davison complex. Former Missouri Gov.
Warren E. Hearnes nominated Mr. Alcott to the State Housing and Development Commission in 1971 for a four-year term. he became the Commission’s treasurer. He was also Vice President of the Northwest State University Education Foundation, a corporation distributing scholarship funds and acting on behalf of the University in raising funds for other projects.
In the past, Mr. Alcott served as President of the Missouri State Advertising Managers’ Association in 1951, President of the Missouri Associated Dailies in 1971, and Chairman of the Associated Press Wire Editors Association in 1969. He was a Board member of the Maryville Chamber of Commerce, served as Chairman, Vice President and Board Member of the Maryville Industrial Development Corporation. He was also a member of the Maryville Optimist Club and the Nodaway Arts Council.
Mr. Alcott was honored with the Maryville Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Service Award in 1957 and was honored in 1970 as the Junior Chamber of Commerce Boss of the year. Mr. Alcott is survived by his wife, Muriel; a son, David Alcott of San Francisco and two daughters, Mrs. Ron (Barbara) Dawson, Independence, Mo., and Martha Jeanne Alcott, Fort Smith, Ark. He is also survived by his father, James F. Alcott, St. Petersburg, Fla. He was a longtime member of and a licensed lay reader for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Maryville.
Mr. Alcott’s greatest legacy to Maryville will be his devotion to improving the housing stock in the city through the acquisition of grants and assistance for elderly and low income families through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was the prime mover in the summer of 1968 in the formation of the Maryville Housing Authority and it was through this agency that Maryville acquired units of housing now known as the Margaret Davison Complex which was completed in June 1972. Two other projects in which Mr. Alcott was instrumentally involved and which will also increase and improve the housing situation in Maryville will soon begin. The first is a 50-unit high rise development for the elderly across the street from the Washington Middle School which is being developed by Robert Wood and Associates.
Approval for the project was granted by HUD last December and Charles Baird, director of the local housing authority anticipates completion sometime next fall. The other HUD approved project was the acquisition of 50 units of existing housing under a rent assistance program where HUD pays the difference between a proportion of the income and the fair market price of the rent.
Wayne Swanson, executive secretary of the Maryville Chamber of Commerce said “My association with Barney goes back to 1948 when I first came to town and it was certainly noticeable to me then that he was one of the outstanding community leaders and developed the slogan for Maryville “The Heart of Northwest Missouri’ to show the importance of Maryville to this region and it also showed his feelings about the city.”
“Barney, to me, always had the confidence of the leaders of the community and the ability to initiate actions when things were going too slowly. “The high point in Maryville, at least as far as seeing Barney the most enthused since I’d known him, was when Union Carbide made its announcement it was going to build here and when Maryville was named an All American city.”
Leigh Wilson, president of the Maryville Industrial Development Corporation said “I think he was one of our key civic leaders and his death will mean a great loss to the community.’ “And on a personal level he was a good friend of mine and his death has affected me deeply.’
Dr. Robert P. Foster, president of Northwest State University said that “I think that Barney’s death will be a real loss to the community. He was certainly a dedicated man, he was dedicated to his profession and to this town and he will be sorely missed.
He was a fine man and he was also a fine friend.” Private funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at St. Paul’s, Ninth and Main streets.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at the First Methodist Church, First and Main streets. The family requests donations in lieu of flowers to the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Memorial Fund or the American Cancer Society.
The above image is labeled as coming from the 1967 Tower. I am not 100 percent sure if that is accurate. I had another photo from the 1966 J-Day publication but I didn’t like that Barney’s head was turned away from the camera. The two people by him look more like high school rather than college students.
Today Is 28th J-Day Issue
The Maryville Daily Forum, April 27, 1974, Page 7. via Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-maryville-daily-forum-history-of-j-d/202131419/
Today marks the 28th annual J-Day edition of the Hi-Lights, which is held in cooperation with the Forum Staff to give MHS journalism students practical experience with a full-size newspaper.
J-Day is now: a tradition which is somewhat taken for granted, but there was a time when this was not so. The premier issue in 1946 was arranged between Mr. Barney Alcott, editor of the Forum and Mrs. Opal Eckert, the journalism teacher at MHS who also created the HiLights.
During the first years the students literally took over the running of the Forum for one day, including beat coverage and Associated Press editing. Now the Forum publishes a few pages of local, national and world-wide news and the rest of the paper is devoted to student news. Much more goes into a J- Day issue than meets the eye. Planning and preparation begins several weeks in advance and each member of the staff (there are 10 this year) is put in charge of a page. They must decide which stories and pictures to use and if they want sketches or artwork.
Everyone was expected to sell advertising. A list of local merchants was compiled and students sold the ads and made them up to fit their customer’s description. Ads were sent to the Forum to be printed and then back to the high school to be put on the pages. Mrs. Norma Fattig, newspaper adviser, and Mrs. Peggy Kennon, her student teacher, set up staggered deadlines for both copy and ads so that all the material wouldn’t have to be checked at once.
Each student had at least three copy assignments and made arrangements for student photographers to take pictures that were needed. Headlining and extensive copyreading and double checking had to be done.
Headaches, excitement, and hectic activity prevailed the last few days before publication. After the ads were placed on the pages, copy came back from the Forum in long strips of newsprint that was cut apart and made to fit the layout.
(That was the hard part!) Pictures were added and each page was carefully straightened and proofread. Students then took the pages up to the Forum where they finished last minute details and put on corrections. Saturday morning, interested student journalists go to watch their weeks of work become a newspaper and to work beside Forum staff members. Then everyone sighs in relief and prepares for the next regular issue of the Hi-Lights.
Jokes About Students Totally Taking Over the Forum Once a Year
- “Maryville Daily Forum: the only paper where the deadlines are flexible and the subscription includes bragging rights for 364 days.”
- “Our journalism class publishes one issue a year — we call it ‘quality control.’”
- “They say journalism is a race against time. At Maryville, we call it a sprint to the printer… once a year.”
- “We don’t do breaking news — we do ‘occasionally-made-available news.’”
- “Selling ads is our cardio. Writing stories is the warm-up. Printing the paper is the victory lap.”
- “Our motto: Investigate thoroughly, sell aggressively, publish ceremonially.”
- “The Maryville Daily Forum — reporting what happened last week, last month, and sometimes last year.”
- “Journalism students: part reporters, part sales team, part miracle workers (somehow we make one issue look like we meant to).”
- “Why publish once a year? Because greatness takes time — and a sponsorship from the math club.”
- “Our editor-in-chief runs deadlines like snow days: unpredictable and celebrated when they happen.”
- “Sure, we only print once a year — but when we do, it’s an event. There’s confetti and leftover pizza.”
- “The Maryville Daily Forum: where a semester’s worth of drama fits neatly into 12 glossy pages and one very proud advisor.”