[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 40 (Friday, March 3, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                          HONORING BUD O'BRIEN

                                 ______


                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 3, 1995
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, Bud O'Brien was the kind of newspaperman--not 
journalist, mind you, newspaperman--who has become all but extinct. He 
got into the business not long after the end of World War II, when a 
way with words, combined with a feeling for people and real life, was 
considered as good as, if not better than, a college degree.
  After attending Adams State University in Alamosa, CO, Bud learned 
the newspaper business, both the good and the bad, first-hand from such 
smalltown editors as Harley Holden of the Loveland, CO, Daily Herald, 
Chap Wentworth of the Dunsmuir News, and Paul Bodenhamer of the 
Redding-Record Searchlight.
  By the time he arrived at the Register-Pajaronian in 1962, to be its 
wire editor and educational reporter, he was an accomplished and highly 
regarded professional. For three decades, as an editor and reporter, 
his substantial contributions helped the people of Watsonville enjoy 
the benefits of a first-class smalltown newspaper.
  His best work, which may be less directly visible to the public, came 
in the last 10 years, when he served as city editor and managing 
editor. His eye for talent brought a succession of fine people to the 
Pajaronian newsroom; his knowledge of the business and generous counsel 
helped scores of young reporters blossom to their full potential; and 
his rigorously reasoned and elegantly written editorials made a bracing 
and formidable contribution to the public debate.
  He was a man who loved his craft; who brought out the best in those 
he worked for; and who stood unflinchingly for what he believed to be 
right. His retirement is well-earned, but both the people of 
Watsonville and the newspaper business are worse off for it.


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