Bye bye Fred Stickel

On Friday, perhaps the best boss I'll ever have retired. Fred Stickel is 87; he's worked at the Oregonian for 42 years. Under his leadership, we Oregonian employees have had it damn good -- much better than most other journalists in this country. I truly believe he has fought for us, has protected us and has given us the best he could.

Among other stands, here's one thing he did (from the press release about his retirement):


In 1992 he took the unprecedented step of publishing a front page editorial urging Oregonians to vote to defeat Measure 9, which would have inserted restrictions on the rights of homosexuals in the Oregon constitution. “My longstanding religious and moral views as a conservative Roman Catholic are one thing. My lifelong commitment, both in peace and war, to defend and exult in the inalienable rights granted our citizens under the U.S. Constitution is another. This is what I stand for, and this is what Oregon stands for,” his editorial stated. The measure was defeated with 57 percent of the vote.

The paper threw a sort of surprise parade for him on Friday. Most people were crying.