On a Friday afternoon in September of 1971, I mumbled some sort of lame excuse and knocked off a half-hour early from my construction job.
A few minutes later, I was shown into the office of the managing editor of the Woodstock Sentinel-Review. John Wilson did not even seem to notice I was wearing work boots, blue jeans and a sawdust-flecked T-shirt with the words “Zeke’s General Store” printed on the front.
Mr. Wilson looked tired and a bit beaten down. I would soon learn that this was an acquired trait for just about anyone who worked for Lord Thomson of Fleet’s many little newspaper/sweatshops.