Published: August 23, 2008 09:22 pm            

Back in the fold

Wills, Davis return to familiar roles at the Corsicana Daily Sun

The returns of Todd Wills and Karen Davis to the Corsicana Daily Sun certainly give credence to the old adage “You can go home again.”

Wills, who left the Daily Sun in 1996, returns as sports editor, the position he held when he departed. Davis, who called the newspaper home from 1985 until 2005 returned recently to the advertising department.

“Having Todd and Karen back is like getting the late Bill Walsh and Joe Montana back to lead the 49ers again, but in their prime,” said Publisher Raymond Linex II, who was a football stringer in 1993 when Wills first arrived. “First and foremost, they are both great people, and the upside for us is they are very good at what they do.

“Karen is a stabilizing force in our advertising department, and Todd’s still the guy I give credit to for getting our sports department back to a level that had been missing since the days of Dick Gibbs, Mike Montfort and David G. Campbell. They are truly difference makers, and we’re lucky to have them back representing us in the community.”

Davis, who made her reappearance at the Daily Sun this summer, began work at the newspaper in 1985, on her birthday. The former Karen Arp graduated from Corsicana High School in 1981, and is married to Tony Davis. She is mother to Tony Wayne, Christopher and Emily, and grandmother to Madison and Makenna. Daughter-in-law Jessica Davis works at the Daily Sun in circulation.

“When I started work here, I was married and had one child,” Davis said. “Things have changed a lot! I started in classifieds, and transferred to retail, where I spent probably 18 years.”

During her nearly 20 year tenure with the Daily Sun the first time, Davis’s memories include the co-workers who were like family, her battle with breast cancer, which was publicly known after she did a series of articles on coping with breast cancer, and the friends she made, who were also customers.

“It’s amazing how much has changed,” she said. “When the (printing) press was here, there were so many people here — probably over 70 — and it was amazing to watch the inserters. There was a big processor in back where they typeset stuff, and the thing would blow hot air, so you could stand by it and warm up while waiting on your ads.”

Davis also mentioned that when she started work at the Daily Sun, there wasn’t even a fax machine.

As she neared 20 years of service to the newspaper, Davis came to the conclusion that she was burned out, and needed a change. In her time away, she did not shy away from new challenges, such as working in retail sales, and for an oil company.

“But God has a sense of humor, and I’m back!” she said. “It fits. It’s comfortable. I think I forgot how fast-paced it is, how crazy it gets. But what I love about my job is being able to help my advertisers. I develop friendships, and I love the creative process. But it’s mainly the people.”

One of her most vivid memories is the day of “the fire,” many years ago, which started in the ceiling in the back part of the building, over the stacks of paper. Then-publisher Gary Connor told everyone to get their things and exit the building.

“But we left poor Jim Howell in the darkroom!” Davis said. “He came wandering out of the darkroom, and nobody was there! ... I wish we had kept a scrapbook with pictures of everyone who ever worked at the Corsicana Daily Sun.”

“Karen is such a lady in every sense of the word ... refined, polite, classic beauty. But she’s got a sense of humor, too,” Linex said. “She got me with a suitcase surprise once, and all I can say is I was a deep shade of red.”

Wills’ time with the Daily Sun lasted from 1993 to 1996, when he left to work as sports editor for the Arlington Morning News, a product of the Dallas Morning News. He was hired at the Daily Sun as a sports reporter after graduating from the University of Texas with a degree in history, and just happened to see an ad for a sports reporter in Corsicana.

About three months after arriving, the sports editor left, and Wills was thrust into a role with more authority and responsibility. At that time, Rick Kretzschmar was hired as sports writer, and two young stringers named Dale Gosser and Raymond Linex II were on board.

“We liked to think the four of us had one of the best sports sections for a small newspaper in the nation,” Wills said. “We started a weekly news magazine, called the Golden Circle Sports Weekly.”

“In those early days, Todd was living in Dallas and rented a room from me,” Linex said. “We had a Tecmo Bowl football league, and Todd was terrible. He played with the Chiefs and would run Christian Okoye into the ground because he wouldn’t pass.

“Back then, we had a morning deadline, and he had to be in about 7 a.m. I woke up once about 3 a.m., walked out of my bedroom, and Todd was lying in the living room floor, his fingers moving a hundred miles an hour on that Nintendo controller. I don’t think Okoye ever recovered.”

The Fab Four — Wills, Kretzschmar, Gosser and Linex — enjoyed running contests in the field adjacent to the Corsicana Daily Sun, and field-goal kicking contests, where Wills put it in the others faces with a 50-yard field goal. No one ever lost an eye.

“One of my most vivid memories was when Whoa (Dill) threw that perfect game,” Wills said. “I had gone to cover a district golf tournament in Denton, and rode with Randy and Joy Dill to Whoa’s game. I won my first AP award for the story about his perfect game.”

Wills is married to Jennifer, who works for the Dallas Morning News in their advertising department, and is father to Abby, 12, Paige, 9, and Brady, 5 months.

Linex recalls a Tiger football game he covered right after Wills penned a column about a lack of school spirit with the Tigers. Linex looked up in the stands, where he saw lots of signs which read “Where’s Todd?”

Though Wills grew up in Dallas, and attended high school in Austin, he always had a fondness for Corsicana, and the people. After 12 years with the Dallas Morning News, he left to do freelance work, and his first day back at the Daily Sun was Aug. 22, 2008.

“I like this paper and like the people here. This is the only paper I would have come to work for,” Wills said. “I like the town, like the people.

“My philosophy when I was here before, and it will be the same now, is to cover what is going on locally. I want to have as many staff bylines as possible ... and want to write about as many kids as possible.”

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Deanna Brown may be contacted via e-mail at deanna@corsicanadailysun.com

        

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