Farewell, Ed
Edmonton, AB, Canada / 630 CHED
Bob Layton
August 29, 2014 02:00 am
This is a sad day for me.
One of the greatest newsmen I have ever had the opportunity to work with is retiring.
Ed Mason seems to have been born for this business.
As a beginner, back in Flin Flon, one of his first opportunities came on what looked like a slow news day.
The regular reader left early and told Ed to look after things.
The date was November 22, 1963.
Ed was on the desk when word came in of the assassination of President Kennedy.
When Ed came to work with us at 630 CHED, he raised the bar.
More than anyone, between newscasts, Ed would be on the phone, seeking a new story or an update on a current one.
He never stopped.
We joked that when he retired, he would have to have the phone surgically removed from his ear.
Ed developed relationships with the Edmonton Police Service and the RCMP that helped us tell what happened at Mayerthorpe.
No one else can write like Ed, or turn a phrase the way he does.
My favorite line of all time was when the man who sang, “The good old hockey game,” died.
In Ed’s words, “Stompin’ Tom Connors has kicked the plywood bucket.”
Farewell Ed, and have a wonderful retirement
It was very emotional when Ed signed off the air with his 10:30 news this morning. Quite a crowd had gathered down the hall from the newsroom, and came in to wish him the best in the future. It tugged on my heart to see our younger colleagues hug him good-bye, and to hope that the torch can be passed on. His example, skills, and talent are rare. He will be greatly missed.