Wilbert Wiggs..... If you looked up an old school newspaper editor in a dictionary, Wilbert Wigg’s picture should be with the definition. Very little happened inMadillandMarshall County that he didn't know about, cover and write about.
I remember him typing away surrounded by a haze of cigarette smoke as he worked on each week's issue. Jim Pate, the owner, dragged him away from his trusty old typewriter when we went to IBM personal computers for typesetting. As I recall, the worst part for Wilbert was that he couldn't smoke around the computer after his first one went belly up and the innards were yellow with nicotine deposits that had escaped from his lungs.
You rarely saw Wilbert runningaroundtownwithout a reporter 's notebook, a camera and the ever-present cigarette. It didn't matter to him... high noon or midnight, if there was a car wreck, house fire, city council meeting.... whatever....he was usually there. Football, basketball, baseball, wrestling....he covered em all.
I think though, county elections might have been his favorites. He'd spend hours getting ready for election night parties that used to have the square packed as returns came in. He drew out tally sheets on poster board andwe'dallbeassignedarace to keep track of as the votes werehandcountedbackthen.
Sky Corbin of KMAD 1550 was usually the emcee announcing the results all evening. We'd have a local band playing in front of the office and it was such a big event every two or four years; whenever there was a contested race.
I still hear him making his check in calls around town, 'well, how y'all are? Got anything for me?'
Great people, great times....back in the day....