Charles Apple

Here’s wishing the happiest of VizEds birthdays to Charles Gooch of The Kansas City Star. Gooch turns 29 today (Sunday).

This photo of Gooch was stolen so long ago that
I no longer remember from whom I lifted it.
—

Gooch has been the primary front page guy at The Star not quite four years. Previously, he spent a year-and-a-half as the A1 designer at The Beaver County Times and a couple of years as a designer and copy editor at The Centre Daily Times in State College, Pa.

Chris Ream of The Beaver County Times says this about Gooch:

Even though I only worked with Charles shortly – as I was learning to take over his position in a matter of weeks – I came to appreciate his professionalism, humor and shiny head. He is legend here among curly-fry-consuming desk jockeys, including ones he has never met; he electrified a budget meeting with those famous slow news day words that many of us have only wished to say out loud: “What the @#$% am I supposed to do with this?”

I only worked with him for a few weeks, and I miss him. After working with me for a few years, I’m sure my co-workers miss him even more. Happy birthday, Gooch!

Clif Page, photo director of The Beaver County Times, sends along this illustrated messsage:

When Charles Gooch came to work at The Beaver County Times, we learned a few things very quickly:

1. Never, ever call him Charlie, Chuck, or Chas. It is Charles. We usually just called him “Gooch” or “The Gooch,” as in, “Who is designing A1 tonight?” “The Gooch.”

2. He is a large man, which works very well when he takes your side in a budget meeting.

Charles loses a shoe at the going away party
in July 2004. Photo by Brian McDermott.
—

3. He is a bald man, but most people here didn’t know because he always wore a ball cap.

4. Although he graduated from Pennsylvania State University, but his biggest sports-love-man-crush was for University of Kentucky basketball.

5. He goes to NASCAR events to photograph mullet hairstyles. It must have been that anthropology class up at State.

6. The editor left an empty box on his computer monitor with the line, “Stay out of this!” scribbled on the side. Charles likes to crayon outside the lines.

7. According to those who played golf with The Gooch, “hacker” was too apt a description of his game.

8. He knows that one minute after deadline is always O-beer thirty.

9. He was always willing to lend a hand on an illustration. Dude! Is your tongue still green?

Charles Gooch with a green tongue
for a St. Patrick’s Day illustration.
Page design by Cathy Benscoter.
—

10. If you think The Gooch is smart and funny, you should meet his wife, the lovely Tracy Flowers.

Charles Gooch and his lovely wife Tracy Flowers
at their going away party in July 2004. Photo
by Brian McDermott.
—

Have a happy birthday, Charles. And I promise to stop nagging you about my book as soon as you return it.

And young Mr. Jonathan Kleinow of The Star sends his regards:

I tried to think of something sarcastic and funny, but I’m too exhausted, so I’ll just say happy birthday to a guy I consider a good friend and a great mentor. Thanks for putting up with all my inane questions, my requests for critiques and my naïveté about cheesy movies.

A few examples of work by The Gooch:

Find more examples in his NewsPageDesigner portfolio.

Gooch shares a birthday with painter Norman Rockwell, NFL great Fran Tarkenton, writers Horace Greeley, Gertrude Stein and James A. Michener, and actors Maura Tierney, Nathan Lane and Morgan Fairchild.

Plus, today is Cordova Iceworm Day. Which is a festival in a small town in Alaska. Seriously.

At the risk of hijacking my own post, I just have to share with you this little gem that I found doing my research on Gooch.

Also born on this day was Casey Weldon who was a fabulous quarterback at Florida State nearly 20 years ago. Runner-up for the Heisman trophy and so on.

Once, the story goes, Weldon was invited to attend the Grammy Awards where he was told he’d be sitting next to Ringo Starr.

Weldon’s reply: “Who’s she?”

Think about that today as you wish a happy birthday to, say, a 29-year-old Penn State grad!

Best wishes, Gooch! Have a great one!

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 at 10:50 am and is filed under Happy birthday, News design, VizEds Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.