It was with great sadness that I learned Dickie Elston had passed away.
His daughter, JackieEllen, had been very good about keeping me informed about his health and had let me know Friday evening he had taken a turn for the worse.
Early Saturday morning she sent me a text saying he had died and I couldn’t stop the tears. Dickie was so much more than a fellow employee at the Beacon - he was my friend.
Dickie had a long career at the Beacon, beginning while he was in high school. Over the years he learned how to operate, and repair, every machine the Beacon owned - from the various printing presses, strappers, numbering machines, plate burners and computers to developing film and printing photos.
He never let the changing methods of laying out the paper make him anxious; he just learned the new method and then helped the rest of us adapt.
It was so very interesting to see how he took to using the digital cameras to replace film, and then making the transition from the original “cut and paste” - using paper, melted wax and an Exacto knife - to the computer version done with a keyboard and mouse.
When it came to archives, he maintained our “morgue” files, first with paper copies of each edition, then moving to copying each week’s paper on a compact disk. Somehow he managed to honor all the old newspaper traditions while moving confidently into the modern era.
He was a one-man encyclopedia of all things “Beacon” with an amazing recall of people, places and events.
Over the years he worked with a number of owners and editors and I, for one, knew he would be able and willing to help with whatever I needed.
I remember during the days before one of the all school reunions, he arranged for us to go up in a bucket truck to take a photo of the entire Cordell school campus. The only problem was, I got spooked when the bucket was extended to height and couldn’t let go of the safety railing.
Dickie confidently took the camera and proceeded to take wonderful photos.
Much the same thing happened when we were on the roof of the Washita County Courthouse to take photos of the restored Washita Theatre - he had to hold on to my hand as we inched over the triangular peak and over to the edge to get the perfect shot.
Dickie had a special affinity for photography, probably dating back to his early training in film development and photo printing.
He was always eager to grab a camera and take photos of events and people.
In October 2001, he didn’t wait for the tornado to pass before he was out taking photos first of the tornado itself and then of the damage. His photos were the stuff of legend when they were printed the next week and were used extensively in the months that followed, culminating in a special edition entitled “Tales of the Twister.”
Dickie left the Beacon in 2011 after nearly 45 years of being in the newspaper industry.
He had seen a lot of change in those years - including a woman hired as the editor - but being a newspaper-man was in his blood and he worked hard to help make the Beacon the best it could be.
He will always be part of the Beacon’s legacy and he will be missed!