My friend, Maggie Josten (Margaret Josten Mitchell), was a reporter at the Enquirer on the City Hall beat when I knew her in the early 70’s, and then covered lots of neighborhood stories when I began my career in community development in the later 70s.
She was totally professional in her work, not letting friendship get in the way. She, Carol Sanger, then of the Cincinnati Post, me and lots of City Hall legislative aides (the very first crop!), spent a lot of time working and thinking and playing together, figuring out the world – though Maggie was the oldest of us (and I didn’t know how old until I read the Enquirer obit, either – she was in her early 50s in those days).
She was a perfectionist in her stories, making sure every word was exactly the right and specific word needed to tell the truth. And she had a very sweet and sly sense of humor. All that I knew.
But there was so much more I didn’t know, that I read in her obituary in the Enquirer on August 31, 2013. I vaguely knew she had been married, but didn’t know anything about him – turned out he had died before I ever met her. And I didn’t realize what a role model she was – among the very first women journalists in town, winning awards and being named to the 1970 book Foremost Women in Communication. I knew she was a feminist in her own quiet way and never backed down. I didn’t know she was a world traveler and how much she loved Egypt.
Bon Voyage, Margaret. I’m sure you’re enjoying this journey, too. xoxox