Category: Storytelling
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One-Time Fastest Man in the World, Bob Burman, Still Racing Legend
This feature originally appeared in the Flint Journal. Photo and copy by Jared Field. CLIO, Michigan — If you didn’t know where you were going, you could race right past it. The grave of the world’s “Speed King,” Bob Burman, is nestled in the shade near the fence line of old Imlay Cemetery, at the…
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Archbishop Blesses New Shrine in Salt Mine 120 Stories Beneath Detroit
This story was published nationally via the Catholic News Service. Photo and copy by Jared Field. DETROIT – Clad in a black miner’s jacket and sky blue hard hat, Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron descended 1,200 feet and 400 million years into the salt of the earth. The archbishop blessed a newly crafted statue and…
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Chevrolet Corvair Loyalists Among Thousands Enjoying 37th Annual Sloan Auto Fair in Flint
This story appeared on the front page of the Sunday Flint Journal. I wrote this for my father, who loved the Corvair and hated Ralph Nader. FLINT, Michigan — After all these years, one name still has some American motorheads blowing gaskets: Ralph Nader. More than 44 years after the political activist and consumer watchdog…
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How I Learned to Hardcore Dance
The following appeared in the Community Newspaper/Flint Journal. Copy and photo by Jared Field. BIRCH RUN, Michigan — It’s a rare treat for me to stick out like a sore thumb. As an average-looking guy, I have a way of resolving into a crowd and maintaining a low profile – a characteristic I rather enjoy.…
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Tiggs is Mott’s ‘Inspirational’ Superstar
The following appeared in the Flint Journal. Copy by Jared Field and photo by Stuart Brauer. Basketball is life only to a naive few who haven’t experienced the trials and tribulations of living day-to-day.Mott Community College’s Kevin Tiggs, now rated one of the top junior college prospects in the country, is no stranger to life’s…
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Bad and getting worse: East side neighborhood a microcosm of poverty problem in Flint and Genesee County
The following appeared in the Flint Journal. FLINT, Michigan– Flint’s east side is bad and getting worse. Once burgeoning with businesses and block parties, it’s now at the heart of the progressing poverty problem for social service agencies in Genesee County. “We’re just touching the tip of the iceberg,” said Pastor Tom Knight, a homeless…
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‘The Next Race’: LHS Senior Jeremy Williams is Ready for Future at Harvard University
They both saw it when Jeremy Williams was in middle school. Ken Baginski was coaching middle school cross country and, a couple times a year, his team was invited to practice with Coach Bill Spruytte’s high schoolers. He had it. It was drive; it was determination; it was an unparalleled focus on being the best. It would would eventually earn Jeremy a scholarship to…
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Writing the First Chapter of a Story Worth Reading
This guest editorial was featured in Sunday’s Lapeer County Press. One solution is never enough to bridge the gap between good and great. To simply come together won’t get us where we need to go. We must work together to forge a new, brighter future for our community. As we enter the final stretch of…
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COVID Crisis Creates Challenge, Opportunity for Public Education
This column was written for publication in the Lapeer County Press Over the past several months, I’ve heard a lot of people attempt to characterize what has become our new normal since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic: It’s a ‘brave new world’ they say. Some, I would guess, don’t know the phrase comes from…
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Covering the Coach: On and Off the Record with Steve Schmidt, Mr. 700
This was a feature that appeared in the program at the basketball game commemorating the 700th win for Mott Community College head basketball coach Steve Schmidt. Copy and photos by Jared Field. Just nine years before my first day on the job as a reporter at the Flint Journal, I was a paperboy working the…
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