Norem, Enoch A

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The Palimpsest

As Others Saw Him

Iowa Research Online

Masthead Logo The Palimpsest
Volume 53 | Number 2 Article 6
2-1-1972
As Others Saw Him
Enoch A. Norem
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Norem, Enoch A. "As Others Saw Him." The Palimpsest 53 (1972), 71-76.
Available at: https://ir.uiowa.edu/palimpsest/vol53/iss2/6
As Others Saw Him
By E noch  A. N orem 
Retired A ssociate City Editor 
M ason C ity G lobe-G azette
It was my privilege to work for and with Earl H all for 
40 years as a reporter, city editor, and associate editor of 
the M ason C ity G lobe-G azette . I was there when he s ta rt­
ed as a young editor and rose from one achievement to an ­
other in community, state, and national affairs.
T hose were exciting, fruitful years. E arl H all w as a 
great editor to be with. H e had boundless energy and 
a capacity to get things done. H e was a power to be reck­
oned with w hether on the handball court or in a political 
battle for better government. W h en  it came to m atters of 
community improvement he placed his new spaper in sup ­
port with a bang.
Lester Milligan, long-time secretary of the M ason City 
Chamber of Commerce, said of him: “ I remember him for 
his persistent and unfailing support of public causes such 
as the U nited Fund, Fam ily Service, or the building of a 
Y M C A . H e was alw ays pleased when an associate was 
named as a board member or officer of such organizations. 
No other new spaper I know of had such credentials."
Charles Schaffer, a businessman, said: "H e w as one of 
the greatest am bassadors M ason City ever had- M any of 
the good things we enjoy in our community were sparked 
by him. I found in my travels over the country that both 
Earl H all and M ason C ity were well-known.”
Dr. Raymond Kunz voiced the conviction of many when
71
72 THE PALIMPSEST
he said: 'H e  w as the best friend I ever h ad .” Dr. Kunz 
and Hall were members of the famous Rusty H inge q u ar­
tet which spread good will for M ason C ity far and wide.
M any events come to mind when looking back. I re ­
member one hot day in A ugust, 1932, we were huddling 
over the telephone to catch the first word on the race for 
state com m ander of the American Legion. O ur press d ead ­
line was nearing and Earl Hall was having a tough battle 
for the office at the state convention at Fort Dodge. F inal­
ly the word came: “Hall elected.” T h e  big type w as a l­
ready out so it d idn ’t take long to get the presses running. 
T he next year he was constantly  on the go, visiting most 
of the Legion posts in the state  and dashing home to pur­
sue his editorial work.
O ne time, when Earl was traveling in Europe sending 
us a story every day by airmail, we noted one installm ent 
was missing. W e  got word of this to Hall and— would you 
believe it— along came a carbon copy. Be ready for any 
contingency— that was the Hall motto.
Earl Hall was as proud to call himself a reporter as edi­
tor. In fact, some of the most interesting things he did 
were on his travels. His description of the first Allied 
troops to enter Paris after the occupation was a m aster­
piece.
His travels took him to all parts of the world. He once 
expressed regret that he never reached Mecca. He could 
tell you the w hereabouts of the w orld 's finest harbor: Rio 
de Janeiro: the w orld’s most beautiful women: V ietnam ; 
the best place to live: M ason City. Iowa.
Hall kept up an amazing am ount of correspondence 
with persons in all walks of life, including many prominent 
in governm ent and business. He was in close contact with 
every former M ason C ityan who had distinguished him­
self— such as M eredith W illson. H artzell Spence and Bil 
Baird. W h en  we started the historical museum here he
was the one who contacted such persons and got them to 
donate exhibits.
T he good will he created in this is still bearing fruit. 
Bil Baird has just sent the museum a shipm ent of m arion­
ettes. T he little perform ers are Charles Dickens, E dgar 
Allan Poe, and Dostoevski. T his will be one of the top 
exhibits for the coming season.
I am sure Earl Hall, himself, would regard as the ulti­
mate accolade of his life's w ork this simple but powerful 
sentence: H e w as a dedicated editor!
AS O THERS SA W  HIM  73
By A l E fner
Retired Editor-Publisher, O ttum w a Courier
It is especially appropriate tha t an issue of the Iowa his­
tory publication, T he Palim psest, be dedicated to Earl 
Hall. Few  have done as much to carry the word about 
Iowa— and his beloved M ason City— to the rest of the 
world.
I recall a Pacific crossing in 1951 on the Battleship Iowa  
during which Earl and several others of us from Iowa 
were guests. Few  of the 2,000 sailors aboard were Iowans, 
however. But “ Iow ans” they became, because of the en­
thusiasm— and teaching and singing— of one, Earl Hall. 
H undreds of male voices, under the Pacific night sky on 
the ship's fantail, sang the “ Iowa Corn Song” until King 
N eptune himself must have joined in to compete with the 
booming H all bass that carried the lead. T hat, plus the 
hundreds of right arm s raised in the appropriate Iowa sa ­
lute, make up a memory that few other Iowans have. I t’s 
a delicious one, too, especially for one who associated for 
years with Earl and who knew of his dedication to his 
state.
Earl Hall was just as dedicated to honest newspapering. 
He w as editor and, at the close of his career, publisher of
74
the M ason C ity G lobe-G azette. But first, he w as a report­
er to most of us in the business— and one of the best.
T h e  M ason C ity editor covered more than  a score of 
national political conventions across the country from 1924 
until the close of his career— just about as m any as any 
new spaperm an anyw here. H e seldom had difficulty a r ­
ranging interview s with the most im portant political fig­
ures. T h e  press sections w ere filled each time with hun ­
dreds of w riters. But E arl H all stood out in these crowds 
— and not just because of his shaggy  w hite mane. H e had 
a reputation for asking intelligent questions and listening 
to and recording the answ ers the w ay those interviewed 
intended them to sound. E arl never sought to trap  a poli­
tician. H e w anted the individual to get his ideas over, and 
he gave him every opportunity  to do so. H e reported 
them honestly and then if he disagreed. Earl w ent to the 
editorial page to say so.
E arl knew the highest and the lowest on the political 
party  totem poles— and they knew  him and trusted him. 
T his trust is one of the highest m arks a new spaperm an 
can earn.
Earl w as more than fair to his fellow reporters, too, as 
we struggled  to develop news at these unique American 
institutions— national conventions. Because of his ability 
to reach and to talk to the news makers, and because of 
his great vigor at a typew riter keyboard, Earl H all turned 
out great quantities of interesting and often significant 
copy. It filled his daily column in the G lobe-G azette, 
found its w ay into page one stories, and provided excel­
lent speaking prose for his radio com mentary. "O ne M an ’s 
O pinion."
But it w as never "exclusive.” H e never harbored a copy­
right thought. H e turned out carbon copies of everything, 
and offered the H all "press service" free to the rest of us 
if you find any  of it useful." T here  were instances of
THE PALIMPSEST
AS OTHERS S A W  HIM 75
convention correspondents who “went out on the tow n” 
instead of covering the activity, and then mailed H all car­
bons home.
W e  recall one instance. Earl came up with a bright 
story involving the “Y oung T u rk s” of the Democratic 
party, a t the w ar-tim e Chicago convention in 1944 when 
FD R  was nom inated for the fourth time. T hese “Young 
T urks” included the P resident’s son, Franklin, Jr., 
Soapy” W illiam s, the governor of M ichigan, and Senator 
H ubert H um phrey. Earl interviewed them all, then tossed 
the carbon into the “help yourself” pile. A Chicago new s­
paper writer, drooling a little, still hesitated to convert it 
to his own use. “O h, go ahead ,” said E arl H all w ith a 
twinkle. “Y our paper doesn’t bother us in M ason C ity .”
T h a t was a point E arl also liked to make.
M eredith W illson 
1950 CBS N etw ork Radio Program
T o me Earl H all will alw ays be the W illiam  Allen 
W hite  of Iowa. H e’s made his paper the community look- 
ing glass and for 30 years now Earl has been holding it 
up while M ason C ity looks in to see her good points and 
her bad . . .  and by the way, though it hurts me to admit, 
in M ason C ity things aren ’t alw ays perfect, and whenever 
Earl finds something wrong with the old girl, he comes 
right out and says it to her face.
T hirty  years an editor— isn 't that something? Just think 
the exciting things that go across his desk every day. 
Think of being able to read Dick T racy  a whole day ahead 
of anybody else. But even at that I don’t envy the editor 
his job. H e sees so much trouble and sorrow, so much in­
tolerance and crime and pettiness and selfishness.
But if you ask Earl how he stands it, he just says, “O h
well, people are like new s— there’ll alw ays be more good 
than  bad ."
W h a t I w ant to say is that I never knew a tow n that 
w asn ’t richer for having an editor like E arl Hall. If you’ve 
got an  editor like Earl in your town you’re lucky, because 
like the tow n clock he keeps the old burg aw ake. Like a 
wise father he compliments it w hen it’s right and spanks 
it w hen it’s w rong. H e never makes the money your W all 
S treet stockbroker does, but he never treats the commun­
ity like stock, either. I m ean he never sells it short.
W e  offer tonight for A m erican approval the name of 
E arl Hall, editor— he certainly is one of the good guys.
76 THE PALIMPSEST


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