The once and future Journal reporter
Fritz Busch retires as a full-time writer
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NEW ULM - Friday, The Journal celebrated one of its longest-serving reporters, Fritz Busch, as he officially retired from his full-time role.
Busch began working as a full-time reporter at The Journal in Feb. 2000, however, his career with the paper actually began 50 years ago.
Busch began working part-time at what was then called "The New Ulm Daily Journal" in 1976. He started by writing sports articles for the paper, but he branched out and covered some other feature stories, some of which have recently been reprinted in The Journal's History page in the Saturday Lifestyle section.
Busch only worked for The Journal for a few years in the late 1970s. His career in newspapers actually started much earlier.
He said that, technically, his first experience working on a newspaper was in 6th grade for a school project, but later he would work for his school's newspaper, providing sports coverage. The first article he remembers writing was a wrestling story.
In 1971, Busch began attending Fairfax High School and worked for that school's paper, covering nearly every sport. He graduated from Fairfax in 1974 and began attending Willmar Junior College. During his time in Willmar, he worked part-time for the local newspaper.
Busch said earlier on he wanted to work as a newspaper writer.
Early on, he was drawn to newspapers because of his love of sports. He enjoyed reporting on the games. Much of his early career focused on sports coverage. However, Busch always had a respect for newspapers.
"As a kid I was usually the first to grab the paper in the morning and read it," he said.
Busch said newspaper and media paid a big roles in many events he witnessed growing up. He remembered in the late 1960s there was a lot of coverage of the Vietnam War, but also the anti-war movement.
Around the time he graduated from high school, the Watergate scandal was coming to a head with President Richard Nixon's resignation.
Busch said the role the newspaper had in that event was inspiring.
After graduating from Willmar Junior College in 1976, he came back to Fairfax. He planned to attend further college classes in Mankato, but decided to look for part-time work at the New Ulm Journal.
Busch said his first stint at The Journal began after he walked into the office and asked if they needed help covering sports.
They did.
Busch said he covered a little bit of everything, but he often covered sports stories in Mankato. He remembers several prominent athletes visiting Mankato in that era. He remembers interviewing Olympic Gold Medalists Bruce Jenner and Dan Gable for the paper.
Another perk of working for The Journal in the 1970s, Busch was able to attend Vikings home games to take photos.
"That was a big thrill for a 20-year-old," he said. "In those days it’s a harder to get a field pass."
Busch said he has seen a lot of things change in the newspaper business over his career. The rise of computers the biggest change.
He said The Journal did have a computer in the 1970s, but it was large, bulky machine that took up a whole desk. Most writers still used a manual typewriter.
Photos were still taken on film in that area and developed in a darkroom. Busch remembered it was a long process to get a photo in the paper and the film could be difficult to work with in the winter.
He said that the cold weather would make film brittle and prone to breaking.
After a couple of years as a Journal reporter, Busch moved out to Mountain View, California, where he worked for a sports publication called "Runner's World." He would cover road races and served as an editor's assistant.
Busch had long been a fan of cross-country running and was well suited for working at running themed publication. However, by the early 1980s there was a downturn in the economy and he decided he needed to switch careers.
Busch joined the U.S. Navy. He was the third person in his family to serve in the Navy after his father and uncle.
From 1981-1991, Busch was stationed with the Navy in Pensacola, Florida. Though he was a full-time Navy man, Busch would occasionally write for the local newspaper. He periodically wrote for "The Pensacola News Journal." He wrote feature stories and some school board articles.
By 1991, Busch had joined the Navy Reserves and did serve in the first Gulf War. He was stationed in Northern Saudi Arabia.
After coming home from deployment, Busch remained in the Navy Reserves through 2006, but during the 1990s, he returned to the newspapers but was now writing full-time.
By the fall of 1993, he was back in Minnesota, working for the Sleepy Eye Herald. He worked for The Herald for six years. In Feb. 2000, he came back to The Journal as a full-time reporter. He would spend the next 26 years writing a little bit of everything from city council and school board to human interest and crime reporting.
Busch said he appreciated working for The Journal because it remained a daily newspaper. Even as some other papers closed, The Journal continued to publish five days a week.
Earlier this summer, Busch made the decision to retire as a full-time Journal reporter to spend more time with his family.
His wife, Marietta, continues to work as an on-call nurse at Sleepy Eye Care Center. The two would like to travel more. He is also looking forward to spending more time with his two grandkids, Jetson and Braxton.
That said, Busch will not be giving up on writing completely. He does plan to serve as a part-time correspondent for the paper. He will likely continue to cover selected events like Sleepy Eye City Council.
"I want to keep a hand in it," he said. "I still enjoy it. I get fulfillment out of the work."
Busch said to him, newspapers are an important part of a thriving democracy.
"Newspapers are part of America," he said.