Friday, August 24, 2012

Publisher's assistant creates job opportunity

Unsie Zuege, shown here digging in the recycle bin, was hired
in 1982 to assist the publisher. She was never asked
to empty his wastebasket or bring coffee. Or move furniture.
Back in the days when he was a small business "job creator," Stan hired Unsie Zuege as a "publisher's assistant," putting her to work at various locations, including the upstart Eden Prairie News.
Very uplifting
Thirty years later, she returned the favor, creating a job for him.
Mark Olson, the present Chaska Herald editor celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Chaska newspaper, invited Stan to the office today for an interview covering the olden days between 1973 and 1978 -- when Stan had Mark's job. The interview took less than an hour, before Stan's memory and Mark's recorder batteries played out.
Ironically, Herald building was once used as a mortuary.
On the way to the exit, Unsie, still faithfully at her post, greeted her former employer warmly, commenting on how strong and healthy he looked.
It was a trap.
As a result of recent downsizing, the editorial offices of the Chanhassen Villager are now upstairs in the 19th Century Chaska Herald building. Wishing to improve on the cozy arrangement, this morning Unsie, ever resourceful, loaded an old black bookshelf into her mini-van -- with no plan whatsoever for hauling it upstairs to the spot beside her desk.
And so it was that today two fearless, fighting editors added yet another page to their body of work at the historic Chaska Herald.
Job well done, you ink-stained wretches. (Photos by Unsie Zuege)