The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Dear Editor
I am writing this letter in response to an article that was in the (Hancock County) Quill several weeks ago, describing the history of The Quill. Unfortunately some very important facts weren't mentioned.
The truth is that when my grandfather, Harry Bradshaw, became tired of being the editor of the Quill, he insisted that my father, Bill Bradshaw, take over that position.
That required Bill to quit going to college at WIU after only two years.
Of course, my dad was such a wonderful writer that he fit perfectly into that position. His brother, Byers, only had experience with the printing aspects of running a newspaper.
My dad knew the people who lived in La Harpe and from that point on, he wrote all obituaries himself and interviewed residents of La Harpe for other articles about La Harpe. He also wrote a very well-known column called "One Old Man's Son" and that column was headed by a picture of Alfred E. Newman, a.k.a Me Worry. People would send him pictures of that character from many places.
Also in his column was his "Weekly Similes" which were both clever and amusing and contained grains of wisdom.
After my sister and I were old enough, my mom, Lois Bradshaw, became the linotype operator.
In 1968, my parents decided to retire from their jobs at the Quill and dad got a job as a feature writer at the Quincy Herald Whig.
He got to interview people there and wrote a column called "Quincy And Her People." He also got to interview well-known people who came to Quincy and had many pictures of these celebrities posing with him. Those were treasured memories.
Dad fully retired from the Herald Whig in 1982 and is fondly remembered in that community too.
Dad received many awards for his journalistic talent over the years. He will always be fondly remembered in La Harpe and in Quincy.
Sadly, he died in 1985, just three years after his retirement. He was only 69 years old. We will never stop missing him.
Sally (Bradshaw) Rasmussen
La Harpe