As you can imagine, yesterday was one of those days that was a very long, tough day for people who do what I do for a living.

The death of Harry Kalas, the voice of the Phillies, sent shock waves across the region.

But it also reminded of the importance of what we do here each day. By that, I mean creating a newspaper. Not a Web site, not a sound bite, not a piece of video, but a newspaper, something you hold in your hands. Ink on paper.

A lot of people are beginning to wonder just how much longer the print edition of the newspaper will be around. Ask someone that question today.

It is my hope that all across Delaware County, people will pick up a copy of today’s newspaper, if for no other reason than as a keepsake. It will be placed in a corner of the closet, or in a drawer, next to other newspapers that captured the events that shaped our lives.

The JFK Assassination, the day a man walked on the moon, the shooting of Ronald Reagan, the visit of Pope John Paul II to Philadelphia – and the day he was shot – last October when the Phillies won a World Series championship, and the election of Barack Obama as the nation’s first African-American president.

Some would argue the death of Kalas does not quite measure up to that standard. I would disagree, and the front page of today’s newspaper, dominated by a single image of Kalas, would be testament to that belief.

Staff writer Tim Logue profiled Kalas just a few weeks ago. We ran that story on Sunday, April 5, opening day of the Phillies season.

I will admit that I assigned Tim this story because I was beginning to have some uneasy feelings about Kalas. His health seemed to be failing.
He had missed some of the Phils Grapefruit League season after undergoing an unspecified medical procedure.

I wanted Tim to ask Harry about his health, and about how long the 73-year-old Kalas saw himself still doing the games. Tim said Harry was non-committal, that he still enjoyed his work and had no plans to give it up.

I can admit there is another reason I wanted that story. I fully intended that to be our lead story, dominating that front page as well.
I had already written the headline: The Voice of Summer.

As it turned out, Villanova got in the way of that plan. The Wildcats were playing in the Final Four against North Carolina that Saturday night. They lost, but we still led the paper with the ‘Cats wild ride to that point.

We still managed to use that ‘Voice of Summer’ headline at the top of our left-hand rail on Page One.

It might have been the last print interview Kalas gave.

Eventually, the stories will disappear from all those Web sites, including our own. TV and radio will move on to other stories, as will newspapers, including this one.

But somewhere, in some old trunk with other cherished family heirlooms will be a newspaper with Kalas’ picture on the front and the simple
words: Harry is Gone.

As I often remind my staff and groups that I speak to, print is forever.

So are our memories of Harry Kalas.