A few notes about Chadron newspaperman Don Huls

by Larry Miller

Those of us who are a bit more fickle about the weather than most folks sometimes find it desirable to escape southward during winter -- for at least a few weeks.

So when Karen and I packed for Arizona in late December, I grabbed a stack of old Chadron Record newspapers to read the "breaking news" from the 20th century -- some of them from 1959 when our town was battling with Frontier Airlines over their twice daily flights in to DCI (my favorite moniker for Dawes County International just west of Chadron.)

It's likely the November 20th front page story "State Seeks Early Hearing on Airline" was written by Don Huls, Editor and Publisher of the twice-weekly paper, for which subscribers paid 15 cents each.  A yearly subscription would set you back $3.50.  While there were lots of outstanding reporters who worked for the paper during those years -- including folks like Ted Turpin, Bob Bishop, John DeHaes and Con Marshall -- the abiding column that remains indelibly imprinted in my mind was "The Dude," in which Huls would ruminate about everything from the weather and local politics to social affairs and sporting events.  

I chuckled when I read about the November 1960 Chadron High-Crawford High football game at which "The Dude" (always a third-person guy) saw something "...that he hasn't seen in many years. After Crawford scored its touchdown in the second period, a Crawford player by the name of Dick Smith dropped back for the extra point attempt and durned if he didn't drop-kick that ball right between the uprights for the extra point."  Huls reminisced that, as a youngster, he saw the legendary Jim Thorpe drop-kick a football from one end of the field to the other as a half-time demonstration at the old Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, Kansas.

A young Don Huls at KU

Lawrence was Don Huls' hometown.  And it was there that he began his love-affair with journalism, pledging the SDX (Sigma Delta Chi) journalism society while reporting and selling ads for the University of Kansas school paper.  He was a good-looking "Dude," too, as evidenced by this photo. 

I first knew of Don Huls when his family moved from Ottawa, Kansas to Chadron in 1957, when he took over operation of the Chadron Record. His wife, Frances, was co-publisher, and would also teach social studies at Chadron High School.  Their children were F.D., Cyndi, and David.  

Although I don't remember for which class it was, I do recall Don Huls coming to Chadron High School one day in the late 1950's to share his experiences as a Naval Intelligence officer in World War II. He had witnessed the aftermath and the horrific consequences of the atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. 

Huls remained a staunch fan of Kansas University and was known to attempt recruiting a few area football players to try their hands at being Jayhawks.

All of these memories, and a few others that have blurred over time, came rushing back when I saw the online story that the Chadron Record is celebrating 130 years during 2014.  The Record and its predecessors date back to 1884, when Ed Egan settled along Chadron Creek and began his modest newspaper named the Sioux County Journal.  Later known as the Dawes County Journal (our apologies for lifting that old name for this web site) and later the Chadron Journal.

Those were the years when Egan was at odds with the remarkable Fannie O'Linn, who fought hard to maintain the name "O'Linn" as the official name of the town -- even persuading the postal service to adopt the name for the official post office.  Egan, however, "continued to publish his newspaper from 'Chadron,' which met with vigorous opposition from the good Mrs. O'Linn."  And we know who eventually won the fracas.

That's one of the many stories recounted in the Chadron, Nebraska Centennial History (1885-1985), and we suspect that Don Huls -- as one of its authors -- had a hand in that story, too. 

Read Chadron Record celebrating 130 years by  editor Kerri Rempp.

Ex-KCSR GM honored in Colorado

by Larry Miller
We’re not the swiftest of messengers, but we do like to share good news about folks who’ve been a part of the Chadron community over the years.

Many of you will remember Jack Miller, a native of Norfolk who moved to Chadron in 1959 to be manager of KCSR Radio. His wife Connie was a nurse for many years at the Chadron Community Hospital, and they both had a big impact on Chadron for the decade or so that they were in the community.

So it was with pride that we wrote a note on our Radio-TV Journal site about having lunch and visiting with Jack and another KCSR veteran, Don Grant, while we were in Fort Collins earlier this year.

Both Jack and Don had come out of WJAG Radio in Norfolk, the oldest licensed radio station in Nebraska. Don returned to Norfolk in short order, but Jack remained in Chadron, becoming involved in a wide range of civic activities, including a long tenure on the hospital board.

Jack and Don were only two of several ex-KCSR staffers who migrated to KCOL radio in Fort Collins in the 1970s. Veteran newsman John DeHaes and programmer Wil Huett both landed there, too. DeHaes had worked for the Chadron Record before switching to broadcast news with stints at KCSR and later at KMMJ in Grand Island. Huett – if memory serves me correctly – had come out of southeast Iowa, perhaps the Keokuk area – before arriving in Chadron.

Of course, they’re all gone from the Chadron scene, but Jack Miller – no relation to yours truly – made quite a splash with Colorado broadcasters. Two years ago, he was named to their Colorado Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Hence, my opening apology for a long delay in acknowledging that recognition.

Jack Miller and Don Grant are retired in Fort Collins, as are – I believe – John DeHaes and Wil Huett. Both John and Wil are widowers. John married a bit later in life to Lorraine Ford, mother of JoAnne and Laurie Ford, Chadron High graduates from the early 1960s.

This posting was spurred by the video tribute to Jack Miller that we found on the worldwide web. We've archived it below. Simply click on the arrow at the bottom left of the image box to see the video. If you watch closely, you can catch a glimpse of John DeHaes, too.

A belated tip of the hat…again…. to Jack Miller!

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NOTE:  We're saddened to report that Jack Miller passed away in April of 2013.  You'll find his obituary on our Radio-TV Journal site.

KCSR vets retired in Colorado

We think Dennis Brown and his crew do an excellent job operating KCSR in Chadron. Its focus on the community and abundance of local programming help it continue a tradition that was started back in the 1950s.

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It was fun visiting this week (3/24/09) with two fellows who helped shape KCSR back in those days..

While taking refuge in Denver from a massive snowstorm across the Black Hills and the high plains, we took a side trip to Fort Collins. That’s home now for both Jack Miller and Don Grant, broadcast veterans who at one time worked – as did I – for the “Beef Empire Stations” owned by the Huse Publishing Company, publisher of the Norfolk (Nebr) Daily News.

The photo here -- taken in Jack Miller's driveway in Fort Collins -- shows Don Grant (left) with Jack donning his trusty Navy baseball cap.

Jack Miller was named Manager of KCSR in August 1959, when the station was bought by the Norfolk group. A native of Norfolk and a Navy veteran who served aboard ship during the Korean War, Jack cut his broadcast teeth announcing and selling for WJAG beginning in 1956. Don, who hailed from LeMars, Iowa, was an Army veteran and attended the University of South Dakota after he left the service. He also worked at WJAG and did a stint at the Chadron station.

The “Beef Empire Stations” included flagship station WJAG in Norfolk, KVSH in Valentine, and KCSR in Chadron. The group later expanded to include KCOL in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 1971, Jack took the helm of KCOL, bringing along several of the KCSR staff – including Don Grant (Sales), John DeHaes (News), and Wil Huett (Programming). Many folks will remember John DeHaes as a reporter with the Chadron Record for a few years before swapping printer's ink for a microphone. He married long-time Chadron resident Lorraine Ford, who has since passed away in Fort Collins.

Jack’s leadership at KCOL continued well into the 1980s before the station was sold. He twice served on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Broadcasters Association and was named “Broadcaster of the Year” in 1981. Not surprisingly, KCOL was strong on local service during those years, and instituted local editorials – not something lots of local broadcasters were always willing to undertake. Appropriately, Jack was named to the Colorado Broadcasters “Hall of Fame” in 2007.

Seeing Don Grant was a real bonus. Since we had worked together for only about a year (and I was a part-timer still going to school), I’m surprised he remembered me at all. Jack waxed eloquent about Don’s superb sales skills – of which I have no doubt. Don remains as I remembered him from 50 years ago – a warm and personable guy. Beyond our common friends and co-workers at KCSR, it was a further surprise when he revealed that he had spent time in Vermillion, South Dakota. We also lived in Vermillion and worked on the USD campus, albeit some 30 years after Don had been there. Still, we both remembered “Monk” Johnson and Martin Busch, both well-known broadcasters across South Dakota in those years. Don and I also spent time working in the Sioux City market.

I believe Don Grant said that another veteran broadcaster, Kent Slocum, was from his hometown of LeMars. I remember Kent from his years at KOTA in Rapid City. Wonder where he is these days?

After many years at KCOL, Don later returned for an encore at WJAG in Norfolk.

During our morning discussion, which was continued over lunch at Red Lobster, we tossed out names of one-time colleagues, and occasionally we all three would remember someone – or a memorable incident that would bring a chuckle. Like the case of the “sleeping announcer.”

But that’s another story……for another time.