Show me a 20-year-old today who isn’t intimidated by celebrities, particularly the governor of your state and I’ll…well…

I’d attended college for two years and sort of ran out of money. A job came open at my hometown newspaper. Since I could live at home, I would have no room and board costs and could afford to take the $45 a week job as the news editor in 1958. 

Anyway, I was faced with that imposing challenge of “celebrity intimidation” when it was announced that Gov. Price Daniel Sr. was coming to town to speak to the Methodist Men’s Club and that the meeting was being opened to the public. 

Instead of the church fellowship hall where the Methodist men normally met, the speech would take place in the high school gymnasium in order to accommodate the anticipated large crowd. 

Adding to the pressure on this not eligible-to-vote-yet, wet-behind-the-ears greenhorn newsman was the fact that the leading icon in our town was the moving force behind the governor’s visit. 

Bill Boyd was the retired president of the American Petroleum Institute, the official legislative affairs arm of the U.S. oil and gas industry. Boyd, an attorney, had run the organization in New York City for decades and retired to his hometown in 1950. 

The mayor declared Bill Boyd Day and there was a parade, complete with the high school band. I don’t know where they found all of those convertibles, at least half a dozen, in a town of 3,300 population. But, there were cars for all the dignitaries (all males in that era) and cars for the wives

Of course, he had tremendous contacts through his years as the chief lobbyist for the oil and gas folks. It was no problem for Boyd to pick up the phone and get the governor on the line hastily. 

So, here he was bringing the governor of the Lone Star State to town for a speech. I was going to get to cover the biggest wig in state government at age 20. If only my buddies at college could see me now, I thought. 

Boyd easily intimidated me, although he didn’t know I was just a very impressionable, not so professional (yet) newsman of just a few months real experience. Not too long before the announcement of the governor’s visit, Boyd brought his resume in for use in his obituary when he died. 

Here I am, a wannabe sports writer about to cover a speech by the governor of Texas and that is making it possible for me to hob-knob with all kinds of high muckety-mucks. Gee whillikers and gollleee. Boyd probably thought I was Gomer Pyle, or Goober at the very least. 

Bill Boyd. Wow! I was as impressed with him as I was with the governor coming to town. 

He saw to it that the publicity flowed regularly so as to assure of a huge crowd to make Gov. Daniel feel welcome and appreciated. 

I had no idea about big newspapers and their covering the governor. It didn’t seem to be as big a deal in those days as it is now. Communications weren’t as instantaneous and governors didn’t have a giant entourage of press types following them around as is the case today. 

One big daily reporter was there, Tommy Turner of the Dallas Morning News Waco bureau. I watched him dash off after the meeting, grab a phone and start dictating a story. 

It appears our coverage was sufficient. Bill Boyd liked it because it filled the gymnasium. Gov. Daniel liked it because HE filled the gymnasium. My boss liked it because those folks liked it and apparently our readers liked it because they’re the ones who filled the gymnasium. 

Willis Webb is a retired community newspaper editor-publisher of more than 50 years experience. 

wwebb@att.net