By Susan Shinn
sshinn@salisburypost.com
Linda Braswell has always wanted to be in the know.
That’s why a career in newspapers was so appealing to her.
Braswell graduated from journalism school at the University of North Carolina ó she had to go in as a junior transfer from UNCG ó and worked at papers in Raleigh and Monroe before coming the Post in 1976.
She made her career decision early in life.
“This is gonna sound so sappy,” she says. “I was the homeroom reporter in seventh grade and I decided that’s what I wanted to do.
“I like being where things are happening. I like knowing what’s happening, but I don’t want to be the center of attention. I like to stay in the background myself. This was one really good way to do that.”
Covering city hall
When Braswell first arrived at the Post, her beat was city hall.
She worked at the paper for five years, leaving in 1981 when her second child was born. Son Chip is now 27 and daughter Anna is 29.
Braswell and her husband, Bill, met on a blind date, arranged through his brother-in-law, who was also a reporter.
“I was the third person he asked,” Braswell remembers. “I only said yes because I’d just had a fight with a fella I was almost engaged to.”
The two dated casually for five years. He’d take her out when he came to town.
When Bill Braswell went back to school at N.C. State University, “things escalated.”
The Braswells were married in Raleigh on her best friend’s porch.
“We wrote our own vows,” Braswell says. “It was a simple ceremony. We were hippies.”
In his job, Bill Braswell was responsible for a 12-county district.
“He told me we could move anywhere I could find a job I would be happy with,” Braswell says. “When I interviewed with (former Post editor) George Raynor, I knew I could learn from him.”
Although Braswell came back to work when her daughter was born, she had no support system. There was no family close by and all her friends worked. Her husband traveled on business with Farm Bureau several nights a week and Braswell had late meetings.
“It was hard,” Braswell says. “It was time to stay home.”
Back to work
But she kept in touch with folks at the Post over the years, and returned in 1988 when a part-time position of newsroom clerk was created for her.
She was able to set her own hours and got the work done.
She’d covered education and agriculture at other papers, and the clerk position entailed more than just answering the phone.
“Reporters didn’t do things just on their beat back then,” Braswell says. “You multitasked. You had to.”Over the years, Braswell’s duties grew to include ó take a deep breath and get ready for this ó answering the phone, handling walk-in customers, distributing faxes, writing daily poster items, writing local briefs that don’t fit a beat, picking up and typing district court docket daily and superior court docket monthly, picking up and typing divorce decrees monthly, compiling business and education briefs, handling the annual graduation section, handling Christmas Happiness, keeping up the support groups listings and typing building permits.
Whew!!!
Braswell is the consummate professional.
“I’m fast and efficient, and fairly accurate, too,” Braswell says. “I don’t usually make too many mistakes.”
The Post’s editor concurs.
“Linda is one of those thorough, absolutely meticulous people who hold the rest of us together,” Elizabeth Cook says. “She is more reliable than the sun.
“When I came to work here in ’78, she was covering City Council, and doing an excellent job. I inherited the beat for a while, and City Manager Francis Luther and company were none too pleased to have a rookie in the place of knowledgeable, thorough Linda.
“She stayed out of the paid workforce for several years to spend more time with her family, and when she came back she chose part-time work for the same reason. But she has always shouldered a lot of work ó with more added every year ó and put 100 percent effort into it.
“We lose a lot of institutional knowledge with her retirement ó not to mention someone I can share George Raynor stories with.”
Christmas Happiness
Braswell started working with the Christmas Happiness Fund in 1976.
“It was handed off to the newest, lowest one of the totem pole back then ó I’m serious,” Braswell says. “It was part of my job when I came back to work.”
She’s handled Christmas Happiness for the past 20 years.
“It takes a lot of extra time around Christmas,” Braswell admits, “but it’s my way of volunteering when I work too much to volunteer. You just get personally involved.”
She remembers the school bus driver who put a collection box on her bus for six or eight years, then signed her contribution “from the angels of bus 101.”Braswell never met her.
“I always thought what a special person she was,” she says.
There are names she expects to see every single year, even though some contributions are given anonymously.
“It doesn’t matter who you do it for or how you do it, it’s that you do it,” Braswell says. “Every penny counts. Those pennies do add up, as any of the schoolchildren around here can testify.”
Braswell has no immediate plans. Her last day at the Post was Nov. 7.
“I’m gonna enjoy Christmas this year instead of working til 6 or 7 p.m. every day on Christmas Happiness,” she says. “I am going to enjoy the season as I have always wanted to. I’m going to go to concerts and bake and visit. Then in January, I’ll take stock and decide what I’m gonna do when I grow up.”