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June 13, 2012

Ex-Enterprise owner a 'solid' newsman

By Bill O'Brien bobrien@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Matt Roush recalls being "sort of soured on journalism" early in his career when his superiors curried a bit too much favor with community leaders.

But that was never a problem working for Richard C. "Dick" Kerr.

Kerr, a veteran downstate newspaper man who bought the Leelanau Enterprise weekly newspaper in 1975 — and spent most every day there for the next 22 years — died Saturday at his Leland home. He was 80.

Roush vividly remembers his job interview with Kerr about 30 years ago, and the frustration he expressed to Kerr about his previous job.

"I'll never forget what he said: 'Around here, I just want to get the facts right and let the chips fall where they may,'" said Roush, the technology editor at WWJ Newsradio 950 in Detroit, and whose long journalism career included a stint at the Record-Eagle. "Dick was just as solid a newsman as they come."

Kerr spent more than 45 years in the newspaper business, starting in the 1950s as a reporter/photographer for the Hillsdale Daily News before going to the Ann Arbor News and the Ypsilanti Daily Press, where he worked as the paper's editor from 1969-71.

Four years later Kerr bought the weekly paper in Leelanau County where his family had vacationed for years. The Enterprise evolved from a docile, rural weekly into a treasure trove of hard news on county, village and township government, courts and school districts. From property transactions to divorces to traffic tickets, if it happened in Leelanau County, it was in the Enterprise.

"The motto around there was if you didn't want it in the newspaper, don't let it happen," Roush said.

Kerr riled many a local official — and sometimes his readers — with fiery editorials and exhaustive news coverage. Others appreciated his straightforward approach.

"He was always straight down the middle, and I always appreciated that," said Charles Johnson, of Suttons Bay, who served three terms as Leelanau County sheriff from 1985-97. "He didn't play favorites, and neither did I."

Retired Leelanau County Clerk Dorothy Wunderlich, of Lake Leelanau, echoed those sentiments.

"A lot of people were kind of negative on Richard, but he was a good man," she said. "I knew if I was doing something that wasn't right for Leelanau County, he'd take my head off my shoulders."

Others got to know Kerr outside the newspaper business. One was long-time Suttons Bay barber Jon Smith, who appreciated Kerr's sharp wit and sense of humor. Friends often laughed with Kerr about his unusual habits, from his signature bolo ties to his ultra-precise daily routine and exhaustive work schedule.

"Every Christmas, every New Year's, he was (at work)," Smith said. "He had his routine — you could set your watch by him."

A gathering for Kerr will be held Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. at Martinson's Funeral Home in Suttons Bay.

Bill O'Brien worked for Kerr at the Leelanau Enterprise from 1985-97.

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