Sports editor Dave Kitchell won’t be at his desk today. He retired Wednesday after 40 years at the Kokomo Tribune. We meant to publish an appropriate sendoff a few days earlier. Something humorous and heartfelt. Something his wife, Linda, might paste into a scrapbook for the grandkids.
It made us sad, though, so we put it off.
Scrapbooks across the area are stuffed with articles written or edited by Dave. Stories from youth baseball tournaments, high school games and college signings yellow in their pages.
If you, your children or grandchildren played sports here these past 40 years, Dave likely saw at least one such contest. He chronicled the successes, the missed opportunities and the effort.
Dave covered Olympic and Pan-American games, national and state championships. He also wrote about the passing of well-loved neighbors and friends, confronted the hate of racism and once shared the heartbreak of the death of a good dog. Along the way, he won numerous awards from his colleagues in our industry.
Dave made memories – worthy entries for countless scrapbooks.
It’s a special gift we and the community celebrate this week and will cherish for years to come.
