Page 39 - March 2021 Voices

his hands with newsprint from time to time. A Thus, I hit college and new challenges. I
Canadian from the prairies, he too was a master managed to become part of the college newspaper
storyteller, relating tales of his father’s family in staff and took many photographs that were

the Northwest Mounted Police and Canadian published. My greatest success at that time were
Army in World War I. He allowed me as a boy to the photographs of historic buildings that I took
peruse his well over thousand volume, historical for the Placer County Historic Design Control
book collection that took up a major room in the Guide that became a standard used by many

house. The sad day for me was when he sold his California cities, counties, and their historic
entire collection, along with his wife’s cookbook design control publications. I didn’t enter the
collection to a famous book dealer. field of journalism as a full-time professional,
His “rival” was my other mentor in high but through the years I wrote for professional

school, the owner and publisher of the Colfax journals and other publications. I wrote a
Record who became the journalism teacher, script and edited a historic documentary for a
advisor for the yearbook, poetry journal and PBS station, submitted many articles for local
school newspaper editor. Bud Pissarek was an newspapers, newsletters, and numerous training

enthusiastic instructor for us juniors and seniors. manuals over a thirty-year span. I did not forget
He allowed us to observe his entire process of my roots and my number one love of storytelling.
the weekly newspaper for selling ads, writing I have been blessed to share my reflections,
stories, taking photographs, and running the perspectives and now gleanings in our District’s

press. His own style of writing, his cartoon Voices! online magazine for the past three years.
illustrations, and photographic skills became Thus, in Toastmasters, I have found my niche.
something I wanted to emulate and contemplate Storytelling in my speeches, my writings, and
for a future profession. When I graduated and my presentations.

headed off to college, he “retired” as the high This is what I like and cherish in the
school journalism teacher, but maintained his Toastmasters program. We often read in
paper for a few years before it was finally sold Toastmasters International publications about
to one of our school alumni. finding your voice, finding your niche, and then

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