Sometimes when journalists finish reporting and writing a story, they’re glad to be done with it. Other times, the story, and the people involved stay with us for days, weeks, months, even longer.
Journalists are human beings with authentic emotions — despite some politicians alleging otherwise — and some stories affect us more deeply than others for all sorts of reasons.
As we get ready to close the book on 2023, I asked Light colleagues Jordan Palmer and Bill Motchan to revisit five stories they wrote this year that made a big impact on them, and I would do the same. What follows are our “Fave Five” lists, with the hope that you might take a second look — or a first if you missed them when they originally ran.
Ellen Futterman’s five faves
Scott Biondo, community security director of Jewish Federation of St. Louis, is ubiquitous. Since taking the job in 2020, I can’t remember a major local Jewish community event – as well as plenty of smaller ones – where Scott wasn’t there doing what he and his team do to ensure everyone’s safety. After three months of trailing Scott and more than a dozen interviews with people familiar with him, I felt empowered to tell his story, which is of an incredibly empathetic and caring husband, father, grandfather and friend, and consummate law enforcement professional, who though not Jewish, feels both a duty and affinity to take good care of his adopted community.
As I explained when I wrote this story, I never met Adina, but I felt as if I did. The daughter of Rabbis Susan Talve and James Stone Goodman of Central Reform Congregation, Adina was born with a congenital heart condition, underwent a transplant at age 19 and died in 2018 at the age of 31, months after being diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma. Thankfully, we can remember and celebrate Adina’s vast talents as a writer and storyteller in her book of essays, “Your Hearts, Your Scars,” which was published posthumously and came out in January. It is a beautiful read about a beautiful young woman who left us all too early but gave us a poignant and insightful gift to help remember her.
I wasn’t kidding when I said I landed the Willy Wonka Golden Ticket of local fashion experiences by securing permission to go behind the scenes of the National Council of Women St. Louis’ Couturier sale. For a shopping savant like me, with a specialty in vintage, consignment and second-hand finds, this was a dream come true, though it took all the willpower I could muster just to look and not touch. Or try on.
• Two tales of love
As a sucker for a good love story, I hit paydirt this year with two that really touched me and coincidentally, are on either end of the romance radar. The first focused on the upcoming nuptials of Julia Katzman and Andy Cohen, who attended preschool together at Temple Israel and were later reintroduced in their late 20s. Read it at https://bit.ly/Light-Couple1
The second was about Dorothy and Billy Firestone, who married after a 4-month courtship and celebrated their 73rd anniversary in November. Read it at https://bit.ly/Light-Couple2
Jordan Palmer’s five faves
In June, I received an email from a mentor, former CBS White House correspondent Peter Maer. Peter had heard of a remarkable story about a family friend. He alerted me that Betty Baumgartner, who is not Jewish, had confronted an act of antisemitism head on. Her actions led Peter to nominate her as an Unsung Hero, which she was awarded. It was an honor to tell this story.
• Angie Mestman Offstein’s “held” podcast
This story “held” a personal interest for me as Angie was a best friend in high school and as close as we were, I was among those who did not realize the secret she was living. When I learned of the story, I was heartbroken for not being there for her back in the mid-1980s. This story reconnected us again. I think the story relayed her emotional rollercoaster over 40 years.
This was a story where I went down the preverbal “rabbit hole.” It began with a small mention under a photograph in the STL Soccer exhibit of a soccer match. It soon became a story of the divides among the Jewish community back then, but turned into a story of local Jewish pride, and history that was long forgotten.
• Ultimate Bagel Guide and Bagel Week
This guide and the accompanying stories were among the most fun I had this year. The bagel history of St. Louis is vast and remains mostly untold. I felt this also showed our city’s affections for this Jewish food, and we plan (as in the Jewish Light) to expand on this annually.
I lived this story. I was at the rally to cover it, but I was also very present. I felt the energy of the crowd and the emotional output the rally provided them. I felt this story captured for the reader, the literal feeling of what it was like and felt to be there. I was honored to be there and to have the chance to write this story.
Bill Motchan’s five faves
In late September, Galit Lev-Harir and her family traveled to Israel for a family gathering to celebrate the High Holidays. What they encountered was the horror of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. After safely returning to St. Louis, Lev-Harir spoke with me about what she witnessed in the immediate aftermath of the attack. She was candid and open, which made the account particularly compelling to capture.
After learning of a Jewish cemetery in the small Missouri town of Louisiana, I spent nearly two months researching the history of the Jewish community that thrived there in the late 1800s. It included a trip to the town—about 95 miles north of St. Louis—and interviews with descendants of the original Jewish residents of Louisiana who are buried at Gates of Peace Cemetery.
Like many St. Louisans, I remembered going to Central Hardware with my dad. It was the original big box hardware store and offered exceptional customer service. It was founded and run for many years by the Cohen family. I met with Jim Cohen (president of the company until 1992) whose eyes lit up when he opened a box of branded memorabilia with the orange logo and “Everything From Scoop To Nuts” motto. Sadly, Jim passed away in June after a long bout with cancer.
This was a fun story to work on, even with the Cardinals ending the season in last place (ouch!). It was a compilation of memories of Jewish St. Louisans in the early 1960s, the final years of major league baseball at Sportsman’s Park in North St. Louis. Nearly everyone mentioned the 25-cent hot dog you could get on the street across from the stadium entrance.
• Holocaust Museum’s one-year anniversary
The alarming rise in incidents of antisemitism in recent months illustrates the importance of the message delivered by the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum. That’s why the story about the one-year anniversary of the museum was a particular favorite from the past year. I also greatly enjoyed chatting with and photographing the charming Gloria Feldman.
