It's not exactly a secret that the city of Chester has its share of challenges.
Today is has one more.
It will have to go on without Bill Nix.
The longtime city resident, booster and advocate passed away recently from complications of a longtime battle with diabetes.
I first met Bill - whom everyone seemed to refer to as 'Juicy' - when he joined our Community Advisory Board, the panel we used to have where we would bring citizens and readers of the newspaper in for a monthly meeting with our editorial board.
We'd ask them about the paper, what they liked, what they hated, and what they would like to see change.
Speaking of secrets, it's also not exactly a secret that there are a lot of people who remain convinced that at least one part of Chester's image problem stems from the way it is often portrayed in the pages of this county's daily newspaper. Yes, the very same one I edit.
No one knew that better than Bill Nix.
But Bill never chided me for it.
Unlike a lot of readers, Bill seemed to understand my job. He understood news.
He came into those meetings with an open mind.
He wanted to know about the news process, how it worked, and what he could to to help Chester be portrayed in different ways.
And nowhere was that more acute than in the presentation of the city's kids.
Bill was an ardent activist for the city's future - it's young people.
Maybe that's why, despite the fact that he did not have children of his own, he became the president of the Chester High Parent Teachers Organization.
One of the things we required of members of our Community Advisory Board was that they write guest columns. Bill always focused on Chester, putting the power of the printed word - his words - where his mouth was. He would always extol something good going on in the city, usually involving young people.
It's why he would spend his own money to take out ads in the paper highlighting the achievements of a Chester High student of the month.
I recently had the opportunity to spend a night in Chester.
I was invited by Butch Slaughter, who heads up the Chester Made initiative looking to light a spark under the renaissance taking root in the city, for a panel discussion on "Media in Chester." The focus was on the role of the media who tell the stories of Chester, how we go about our jobs, how we decide what gets covered and what does not. We gathered in the MJ Freed Theater on the Avenue of the State in the middle of the city's downtown.
I have to admit I was a tad apprehensive about the invitation. I became a lot less so when I saw who else was going to be on that stage with me.
One friendly face was Stefan Roots, who at one time worked in our advertising department. Stefan went on to start his own newspaper in Chester, and still writes a blog, the Stefan Roots Blog, that appears on our website.
Also on hand was Eric 'Brother Shomari' Grimes of radio station WURD in Philly.
And one other very familiar face.
That would be Bill Nix.
I'd know that smiling face anywhere.
Before the presentation, I had a chance to chat with Bill a bit. I learned that he had been battling health issues, including long days of daily dialysis.
But you would not know it this night, other than the helping hand we offered to get him up on the stage.
As usual, Bill had something to say. Something important about the city he loved, and the newspaper he read every day.
Look, I know there are a lot of people who believe that the Daily Times - which traces its roots to the very same city -
never misses an opportunity to take a shot at its one-time home.
I sometimes joke that if I had a quarter for every time I've had a conversation that includes the following phrase - "I've been reading your paper since it was the Chester Times" - I would have retired years ago.
Many Chester residents find nothing funny about the way the city is portrayed in the pages of the county's daily
newspaper.
Of particular concern is the way - and the events - that land Chester on the front page.
I will be the first to tell you there is some truth is what our critics say.
At the same time, as I told the panel that night in Chester, I always urge people to judge the newspaper and website in total.
Bill Nix always understood that.
He talked that night about his connections with the newspaper, the business of news, including what sells, and what citizens can do to affect that equation.
"People call me all the time saying they know about a story," Nix said, adding those very same people always wondered "why the Delaware County Times is not talking about this."
Bill had a suggestion for readers, one I can heartily endorse.
"One of the things is that no matter where you are, no matter what the economic structure is, no matter who's in control, you have to attempt to tell your story. Pick up the phone and attempt to tell your story."
Bill wasn't a complainer; he was a doer.
And that was the advice he had for his fellow Chester residents.
Call the editor.
He also noted that things have changed a bit since the days he served on our advisory board.
You can say that again.
Back then, the Internet was just beginning. There was no social media.
Today, every person with a phone or tablet is a publisher. Nix urged citizens to tell their own stories - with a caveat. Bill also understood the difference between social media and journalism.
I assure you not everyone does.
Finally, Bill had a chance to speak about the city he so loved.
"This is very personal to me," he said "Chester is a small town with some great people and I say that as honest as I can."
Bill never shied away from the city's problems. Instead he was always looking for a way to confront them - and solve them.
"It has a lot of trouble, a lot of problems, but Chester is a small town with great people."
He admitted that this was something of a process, one he cultivated over 30 years of interactions with the newspaper and his city.
He pointed out how he spent 25 years trying to address what he clearly saw as the biggest issue in the city - education.
He spent a lifetime as a private citizen dedicated to improving the struggling Chester Upland School District, trying to impact kids and parents and urging them to put education first.
When he served as president of the PTO at Chester High, people would come up to him, realizing he did not have kids, and ask, "Why are you doing that?"
He had a good answer.
"Because somebody has to do something," he said. "So the idea of the school district, the teachers association, the parents, the companies, the whole community have to set a standard in education because it will benefit everybody across every level in every situation in this community if everybody focuses."
Then he said something I wish I had the courage to say.
"My favorite thing to say is when I was PTO president if as many people that showed up at a basketball game would show up to a PTO meeting that would change that school instantly."
Bill and I would always talk about something else that is a recurring issue in Chester - violence.
He knew it was something I could not avoid. And he knew something else, something most people in the newspaper industry could tell you. That's what people read.
"Violence sells, whether I want to look at it or not," Nix said. "If somebody gets shot, when there was a shooting and two brothers shot two other guys, I feel that, I feel for the family. So it connects me with the story, it might be a negative story, but it connects me. I happen to know the family of one of the guys that was killed.
"From a humanistic point of view, there is always war. Always destruction. It's not a particular race, it's not a particular thing, it's a human nature thing, initially it was about urban violence and how it's reported on, than I thought about the world, violence is part of the world, part of every nation and every group."
Yeah, it was that kind of night.
A great night.
I hope readers take Bill's words to heart.
Before you judge the newspaper, take this test, which I actually did the afternoon before heading down to the city.
Go to our website, DelcoTimes.com, type in the word Chester in the search engine. See what comes up.
You will see lots of community news. You will see the story we did on the new food initiative rolled out by Chester Eastside Ministry. You will lots of listings from our Friday religion pages. You will see several stories on the new Stormwater fee that is causing so much controversy in the city.
And yes, you will also see crime stories.
We had a great discussion about the media, Chester, and how the two intersect.
But even better was the chance to talk with an old friend.
I just wish it was not the last time I'll ever talk to Bill Nix.
You were right, Bill.
Chester is small town with some great people.
It just lost one of the best.
Rest well, friend.
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