Veteran journalist joins state project

OLYMPIA – John C. Hughes, veteran editor and publisher of the Daily World newspaper in Aberdeen, is leaving journalism to manage the state’s oral history project, Secretary of State Sam Reed announced Friday.

The widely respected Hughes, 64, has been associated with the Daily World for about half of its 100 years.

He began delivering newspapers as a boy after doing odd jobs for his neighbors, Pete and Primrose Foelkner, whose family owned the paper.

“Mrs. Foelkner always said, ‘Johnny, you ought to be a newspaperman,’ ” Hughes said.

“So I went down there and pestered them for a job. You had to be 10, but I had enough moxie that I got to be a paperboy at the age of 9.”

Hughes moved on to various side jobs at the paper while he was in high school, later spending about four years away from it while he served in the Air Force and attended the University of Puget Sound.

He returned home to become a sports writer and photographer in 1966, and was named editor in 1977. He added the title of publisher in 2003.

“I have never wanted to be anything else,” Hughes said Friday.

In his new job, which begins in September, Hughes will be manager and chief historian of the state’s Legacy Project, which collects oral histories and compiles biographies of notable Washingtonians.

He will be paid about $67,000.

Hughes is a past president of both Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington and the Associated Press Managing Editors of Washington, a 25-year member of the state’s Bench-Bar-Press Committee and a member of the state’s Sunshine Committee, which reviews open government laws.

He also is a trustee of the state Historical Society, and co-authored “On the Harbor, From Black Friday to Nirvana,” a book about Grays Harbor in the 20th century.

“We have all marveled at John’s remarkable ability to bring history to life,” Reed said. “His unique approach to storytelling is a boon for this agency and for all with an interest in Washington’s fascinating story.”

Sherman Frederick, president and CEO of the Daily World’s parent company, Stephens Media, called Hughes “the consummate newsman.”

“We feel very fortunate that he spent his career in newspapers here in Aberdeen with us. It is not often that someone starts and finishes their career with the same company, let alone the same newspaper,” Frederick said.

No replacement has been named.

The Legacy Project is connected with the state library. It eventually will become part of the planned state Heritage Center, which is billed as a one-stop collection of important state history.

The center is scheduled for construction on the state Capitol campus in 2012.