Dayton Living Legend Dale Huffman honored
Despite recovering from a recent stroke, Dale Huffman arrived in good spirits to the fifth annual Living Legends of the Dayton Daily News Archive lecture in Dunbar Library on July 18. He shared stories and experiences he encountered throughout his extremely successful career as a Dayton journalist.
The Living Legend recognition event was established to honor individuals within the Dayton Daily News who had an impact on the Dayton community. Dawne Dewey, head of special collections and archives at Wright State, explained the main goal of the Living Legend event.
“We really wanted to focus on the amazing local and regional history we have here,” Dewey said.
Dale Huffman is a journalist who sees the world differently. Writing columns every day for over eight years about anything from pimento cheese to Judy Garland, Huffman prides himself on coming up with unusual ideas for his columns.
“I like to do things differently. I like to get to know my sources,” explained Huffman.
This became evident when he described an encounter he had with President Ronald Reagan.
“I asked him, ‘Don’t you have to go meet the Prince of Bangladesh or something like that?’ And he said, ‘Forget it, I’m talking to Dale from Ohio.’”
One attendee’s special memory of Dale occurred on Nov. 22, 1963, the day of President Kennedy’s death, when Dale was working at a news station in Cincinnati.
“Dale was the only one working at the station that day when the news broke, so he took matters into his own hands,” said the man.
“I just grabbed the story off of the wire and sat down at the anchor desk. I was so nervous, and I began reading that President Kennedy had just been shot and possibly killed,” described Dale. “It was my first time on live television.”
These are just a few examples of the plethora of stories that Dale Huffman carries with him everywhere he goes. Huffman also announced his plans to write a book.
“…if I can get my act together,” Huffman said.
Huffman closed with sincere well-wishes to the adoring audience in attendance. “My hope is that you all live long, healthy, happy lives filled with lots of love.”
The Dayton Daily News archive is open to the public for research. Visit the fourth floor of Dunbar Library for more details.
