NEW BETHELHEM, Pa. – I don’t recall when I first met Ron Willison.
It had to have been somewhere around 1998 when I became the Sports Editor at the Clarion News.
Ron, who passed away Monday at the age of 83, was covering sports for the Leader Vindicator in New Bethlem, mainly just Redbank Valley stuff back then.
We were never particularly close other than in the way that one reporter who sees another reporter are.
We covered a lot of the same games, were at a lot of the same events.
We were always friendly.
And Ron was the guy you went to for Redbank Valley information.
He was the historian of Redbank Valley athletics.
Rich Rhoades, one of my closest friends, who took over for Ron as the Sports Editor at the LV – Rich also serves as the Sports Editor at the Jeffersonian Democrat in Brookville – can attest to that better than anyone. Ron’s historical records were/are awesome resources.
I really lost touch with Ron after he retired following the 2013 school year, and that’s too bad.
Because you were always better knowing Ron and knowing what Ron knew.
And he knew stuff I didn’t even realize until I read his obituary Wednesday night.
Like, I had no idea he spent 10 years as a lithographer for the CIA. This had to be during the height of the Cold War, the height of US/Soviet tensions.
What he must have seen. What he must have known.
I only wish I had known so I could have asked him.
I hope Ron is now resting comfortably in Heaven. Heck, maybe he is even writing sports for the The Heavnly Press (no not an actual thing, at least I don’t think so) where he gets to cover Babe Ruth, Jim Thorpe, and Red Grange although something tells me he would rather be covering the Bulldogs.
Anyhow, just felt like I needed to write something about this wonderful man.
Rest easy my friend. Rest easy.
