The Cities | Bill Wundram-Q.C. Times & Katie Watson-Eastern Iowa Community Colleges | WQPT

production funding for the cities provided by a grant from the doris
and victory day foundation
bill wundram and joins us with a look back
and how community colleges are hoping you look forward
in the cities
it's an interesting story the kid from central hiding it out in the news
business news and ooz
now sixty seven years later bill wundram of still thinks he shouldn't tell
bosses what he does for a living because they want and if they knew
of course
that's not even close to being true bill wundrams daily column the quad city times
is a must read material not only for its quit
one in a kind treatment of its subjects its ability to break the news that no one
else has uncovered but also
its shares staying power forget the energizer bunny bill wundram of keeps
going
and going
and going
that is until now
first time night were forcing bill sit down and talk to us for a second mister
wundram how are you good evening good evening were on tape we gotta kind of fudge that
sixty seven years with the same company sixty seven years
some people don't live that long that's what i've heard you couldn't say that no
what's the staying power what's the secret to success uh...
I
love what i do
had he to work for a living meaning
i know what that's one time
actual that to a publisher
i love what i'm doing so much
that i'd work for nothing
his name is john gardner
god's truth next pay check
good zero
zero now there are
he finally
well you know what getting at a paycheck all zeros wasn't so much different than when
you first art your first pay check your regular twenty five dollars a week that
prints or use some of twenty five dollars a week
that was in nineteen forty four
and they took out
savings bonds war bonds war bonds
and so
my paycheck was really
how i'll never forget it
eighteen dollars and seventy five cents
would you do with all that
uh... was that a wage bad back then
that was a horrible wage
it was terrible welcome journalism
i've never recovered i can see that i've never recoved never never recovered
young man someday that's what i was told so let's talk about your starts in
journalism the big J in davenport two newspapers back you had a times
he had a democrat the democrat and leader
and you're with the
i was at the democrat what you think of the time ... that
was not necessarily friendly competition or is that they were owned by the same
corporation
that
it was one of the last years of
front page journalism
after you don't hear the word anymore
scoop
you'd find each other and i think that physically but you'd
you you were just always biting at each other biting at each other
it was a mark of pride because to beat somebody and something
in
but then
maybe
after both p_m_ papers then
then and maybe after
both editions were out
we were did you learn
decals tavern by they alley have some cookies and milk and cookies
ginger bread and talk it all out
you still have the same typewriter that u
ad from day one exactly have a royal
and you know i have kids come into my office
almost not just
little kids
college kids
look at that
what is that
especially lillte kids and what is that thing
now so that's a typewriter
run the carriage
and they get scared
i love that typerwriter it still works at had a renewed
all refurbished everything works refurbished it works wonderful
it has a new ribbon even it works wonderful
can't be easy to find. Its not self reversiable. I remember those. Thats all i wanted in life in
newspaper
was a self reversing ribbon that was a message on change in those ribbons or
but we talk about what it was like a me now you walk into the times or
any other place that practices journlism its so quite quite
i miss
after
all these years
i miss the clacky clack of typewriters
and that wonderful
sounds of tell type machines
b_b_b_b_
constant constant
and then every now and
then ding ding
that would be special bulletins coming in
the hot story
as were wonderful days i still love them
there was also a lot of cigarette smoke in there too and pipes mode and that was an
amazing place the way it was a haze it was a haze
i never smoked but there was a haze
and i will say that in those days in journalism
it was not uncommon
for a reporter
of
a little refreshment
just between us
that was back then that was back then
what was your first story but but your first page one story
uh... is your walking downtown davenport you noticed something
i would not first made my first page one story
i jsu came
has a kid as just that
i had only high school of journalism
my high school english teacher told me
that i couldn't write
she said don't ever try writing why don't you be used-car salesman
i think we had the same teacher
you never stopped talking
we did at the same teacher
we has
that is funny i had that that teacher
in later years when i was city editor
she retired
and came to work for me
i didn't hire
somebody on higher power higher
after about
three months i had to tell her
miss
and he's in the very nicely
i'm sorry
and then have to let you go
you've fired your old english teacher i said
i'm sorry if i have to carry a copy at up all the time
you can't write
who it was a wonderful feeling
but it was a cruel felling you have ice water in your veins young man
tell me about the jay walking story
well i was just a dumb kid
and the paper they were trusting me with anything important
i would get news in brief
bridge club scorers
once in awhile they throw me a obit to do the old junk news of the
junk
junk
also story that the police
when the city had passed an ordinance
that jay walkers
work should be fine
they should be get it ticketed
well i told the city editor
at boldly come up and said
sep his nickname set
i think there is a story here
why don't you
allow me to go out on the street
and see how many people are getting
tickets
for jaywalking
he says
billy
called me billy
that's not a bad idea kid
so i went up
and uh... it into that the pretty decent piece
how many people
weren't getting arrested
sort of the end of may be doing a column at sixty seven years later to see if
it's change
i think that is a good idea
you know i don't think it's illegal and no you know what you find out quick
if you did it telling about writing a column on almost a daily basis
i mean you were doing at seven days a week which was phenomenal in itself i do
that for seven days a week ago it was for twenty five years
that was
almost cruel an inhuman treatment that i loved yeah
it was a case where
i would be to work on saturday to work sunday
had come to work on sunday to work for monday right
his outright fresh
and i i i don't
stockpile anything
and in stock now because i don't have enough brains to get that much material
ahead
but one of things that you used to have you loved your bishops
you love places like that you said that when you first started love stopping at
the fire stations to get all the information i love fire stations
because fire talk
they used to iced say they still talk
uh... recall
just a few years ago
when the black hawk hotel fire was
that could have developed into major absolutely
deal young reporters today
are smarter
uh...then i am
that's argumentative but alright they're smarter if but yeah i i have said this
to them
i've told editor this
they don't have the nerve
guts
that we used to used to
i remember in the black hawk hotel
whoowoo
fire lines of
yellow tape
i came in the office that afternoon the man said has anybody been in the
building yet
no no no you can't do that
you just wait and see
i just walked right threw the fire lin
walked into the building smoke water
there's the chief
he says bill how are you we've got a big day going on here
you want to see the room where it started
all it takes is guts
and friendship
tenacity
trusted
very much stronger actions
trashes everything
uh... what do you have favorite topics when it comes to writing your column
people absolutely
people you can't beat people i'd always have thought that as a reporter and i
would assume is a columnist
you have to get out of the way of the story a good story was writes itself
what story writes itself
listen at when i write a column
it's tougher
too write
a rotten column
I've written plenty of them
so much easier
and quicker
to write good column
when you have good material
spreads like butter
it spreads like butter
a good column writes itself absolutely
the greatest let's be honest you've had a lot of good columns well hello say
that that uh...
i've had a lot of wonderful time
is the pace different now that back then
uh... the pace is different now than it is so quiet
there was always yeahing all the time
that would come out
what the h is going on here high like this lead
come on start this up again it's still that way
they're not yelling in
it
it's quiet
computers
computers
i've had to learn to live and
uh... love computers
not easy i would assume
i could see you learning to live with them
i can't say i love the we're getting closer than getting closer
has done an ancestor
it
i couldn't work anymore on a typewriter
doesn't the quietness also uh... if you have a writer's block
doesn't that only add to it or do you not have any more i should have
that precisely where writer's block is do you do know what a writer's block is
if when you went
formatting work not saying it to them assuming you might have had one maybe i
should not have done that
i don't mean me
vain but my wife will asked me this and other people
with us in this
don't you run dry
is there some days when you're coming in
and say
oh god
having
believe me
in this
weak mind
it always has something
i don't think i will every go dry
uh... and uh... uh...
ahh...i'm trying to think about what I'm going to write tomorrow
no no no
i wrote that this morning but i don't know what and knew it was coming
i had something coming
uh... that for
sundays
yes
it's a little far ahead as a that's too far ahead and
um... i will come morning
on
probably saturday morning
and i really
don't quite know
when i'm going to do
but i will do something
if you think you know people think
you must live one tips
people call you all the time with ideas
uh... on
you get if you get it
to get tips bite every now and then a little bite
something that's so dull
my little boy lost his front tooth in these mad because he losses under the
pillow
isn't so that a cute item
oh man isn't that cute
isn't that something
i don't want to be cruel
you know i had to put that on the back burner
thats a good line i've got to remember that put it on the back burner
so is there a particular area that you like to write about i've know you love
of the circus although i love the circus and i know you like talking about
uh... davenport quad cit history as well and the history
i love to talk about the river
i don't i think get in the history so much i'd do maybe too much
my mentor
whereas uh...
great
columnist herb kane
san francisco chronicle
uh...
highly night early days of talk to him many times
and he was it was very tolerate towards me
and he would say
wundram let me tell you this indo let anyone talking about it
unless you get nostalgia
into your column
at least
once a week
you're not doing a job
but he won a pulitzer prize that'll be
there's no endanger that gender not argue donated a so one would always have
to ask this question i apologize but his retirement in your future
there's no reason i would assume
why should i retire
and having a wonderful life
every now and then morning
when i'm all lather up and shaving
i'll think
why am i doing this
well i'm not going back to bed
did not turn on my favorite record
benny playing
i can't get started
and i get started doesn't fall by the time i get out of shower
have a and have a
a little clip here and there
the hardest part of a column
gather a bunch if decent short
bites
that are any good
but once you got it
know that it doesn't want to hurt harder to do because you know you're you're on
i'm on the telephone a bet
one-third of the day calling people by what do you know whats going on down there
I'd rather write a nice essay type
gets a little easier
well
i have a love affair with the word
let me tell you this
i won an award one time and it's kinda detracting didn't mean a great
deal awards
there is also a statue of you
how weird is that
um... how many living people have a statue of them
part of third street is called wundram well and you've got a street named after you
happens a lot of time park there is a little park now
how do i get a statue
let me write that down call one of your sources
one other area talking about and that is of course your birthday
my birthday right around christmas what december twenty first and the twenty
first home once there is that for you guys they're born around christmas
i haven't had a birthday present in my life it's just not fair
december twenty first
the shortest day of the year
that's why i had never grew
that is why i never grew that is why i'm a shrimp february twenty
ninth but uh... around christmas time can be a good
it's not that good
but i always laugh at my wife is and never forget her birthday should its february second
groundhog day
and an even married to helen for fifty nine years fifty nigh years oh god i'm so lucky
thank helen for us
she is the one who kept you here all this time he's good woman
she is a wonderful woman
bill wundram thank you so much we hope you are having a very nice
thanksgiving holiday i want to thank bill for sharing some of his with us lora adams
also has more on what's on tap for the new plan on going out
and about
its time to give thanks has we go out and about hi i'm lora adams
the twenty-sixth annual festival of trees continues through november twenty
seven
so don't miss out on all of the holiday family fun
celebrate the holiday season at a free brass chamber ensemble concert at
wallenberg chall
plus christmas at augustana
and running fans can enjoy the five k extreme run walk followed by a chili
cook off
local vendors and crafters will be at the end of lots of cash and carry holiday
items step back in time when you visit christmas at the butterworth center and
deere wiman houses
decked out in victorian holiday primary and featuring family activities
class visit from santa and mrs claus bent river brewing will be hosting a
benefit dinner and concerts raise money for toys for tots along with the united
states marine corps have a great time and helpful great cause
onstage a tune of christmas begins at the district leader in rock island whether
wacky residents of into texas celebrate the season popularity a hugely popular
nuncrackers at circa twenty-one delivers helirious christmas pageant and
a secret santa but the audience it's the perfect way to ensure that your holiday
season is indeed merry and bright
and enjoy a spirit of christmas the kinds of musical celebration of life
browsing adaptation of charles dickens is beloved family class
a christmas carol
is sure to check out all of the holiday happenings by visiting W q
pt dot org
thanks lora havea happy holiday next week the eastern iowa community colleges
are opening their doors
hoping everyone comes in to talk about their future
it's a future that could start with some classes but
and with the job you need
or the better pay that you want
joining me know katie watson from the eastern iowa community colleges how are
you doing katie i'm good how are you get ilove the name this
program discover your future does that really is what it's all about it is tell
me where the idea came about having this open houses december first next thurs
net thursday
and we we should around a lot of ideas about how do we
make ourselves more approachable to adult students and adults students are our
hardest target market and i think it's fair people are afraid to come into the
colleges they're afraid everyone's eighteen years old and they're not it is
fear but it's also seem to be a company sassy to at least take that step there's
so many people that are either well there in transition with
they like it or not underemployed
people feel underemployed
i asked young people all the time how many of your parents are happy in their
jobs
and not very many people raise their hands so if your kids are feeling it if
your kids feel that you're not happy in your job it's really hard for the child
and to be motivated
to get a job themselves so it'll so
adults
need to break the cycle it's amazing the jewels that we
have been clinton davenport bettendorf muscatine community college system
here has got some amazing courses that might just get the niche if you're
interested in
people don't know how many we have over hundred career
sometimes people think about our credit programs but they don't realize how many
we have been none credit as well
it doesn't have to be as sixteen week commitment first-ever uh... months of
training it can be short term so maybe baby steps would would be easier for
people and we want to talk to them about all of those options one while the baby
steps would just be to come of this open house and that's not what better way to
you know you cannot make a commitment with can kind of almost stick your toe
in the water
absolutely let's talk about financial aid sometimes people think i can'y afford
college there's just no hope for me
that we have agencies all around the area that are very supportive of people
being retrained so we will talk about those options as well so people should
come in with an open mind it's been a new year's resolution time
maybe it's time for them to do something for themselves and we are talking about
some of the non-traditional holder soon so to speak but it's also a great move
for somebody who is just coming out of high school
thank you for making it through high school that's a huge deal with that
extra degree really can come in handy and does for your future career you're
earning power just increase this fantastic stylistic if you're going to come out of
high school all you have is a high school degree
uh... you can't make a living wage with that anymore and employers are telling
us that
and it's not just that piece of paper it's the fact that you have made that
commitment to show up everyday in you've made the commitment to the
learning employers want to see that cell
that piece of paper has a lot of value it's it's not just something with
writing on it it's really shows that you've invested in yourself in employers
want that it's also a nice way that if you think you moving one perhaps in one go
get the four-year degree a lot of these classes
will transfer
all these universities colleges interested making that first step
well that's a big change for a lots of adults also
it used to be that we made a very clear distinction if you wanted
to transfer you did in a word associate of arts degree if you didn't think you
did an associate of applied science degree we trained you in employment
there's so many of the universities are now
looking at those associate of applied science degrees and accepting those for
credit is well university of iowa accepts st. ambose will accept them
so we can talk about those options and we just can't make those
blank statements and take a wide brush and painted and say this is a yes in
this is in no there are so many shades of gray now that it's an individual
conversation
uh... with each student and our advisors are taking that approach that we
actually of transfer advisors we have transition advisers and we have success
advisors and regions of the really work individually with each student
and i think if people know that
at that they're not many meet thrown in alone
i think it it takes some of that fear a way that
that what they're doing has value and that the other institutions hit the
employer's _ and that someone's going to help them united lost probably
all absolutely not the open house once again thursday december first from four
till seven and three colleges and once again some of those credits can usually
be transferred to four-year colleges and universities like western illinois
university
you could talk to the folks in the community colleges or WIU to help
guide you to a better future but they don't make enough to stop there perhaps
on thursday
yes
lora the producer i want to say thank you so much because this is our
anniversary bestest our one-year anniversary started on thanksgiving last
year wants a thank-you fomr wqpt and also all of the people at
fusion we have a great crew at fusion and so we just wanted to say thank you
to on adam and todd and roberto and of course are jerry myers
brian and cody and mike when he is around mike when he is around
uh... jeff lyle for everything he has for the station so this is just a
little cake i'm sorry it's not a statue darling... but anyway cut it p
up later you can finish up the rest of show and so anyway so hardly know
this woman once again
she did forget one group of people that we want to thank and that's all of you
thank you for spending part of your thursday's and your sunday night with us
here on the cities
production funding for the cities is provided by a grant
from the doris and victory day foundation
it's more than what i expected it's a great experience at the time goes fast
we met each other in december i would encourage anyone who has an interest in
the youth of our quad cities to take a look at achieve quad cities
programs that they're offering
its better than
having a regular family sometimes is we have a lot of fun doing lots of fun
stuff help quad cities achieve volunteer today