Letter: Remembering a much respected old-school newsman

By Letter to the Editor on June 26, 2021.

Dear editor,

You can say Pete Mossey, retired Medicine Hat News editor, died a much respected and admired old-school newsman.

Just don’t say he “passed away.”

That expression was considered trite and “under the ban” in our Pete’s plain-language News style guide.

As much as he liked to cultivate the image of crusty newsman he was admired by friends in this city and fellow journalists across Canada, many of whom were first hired by Pete. He was proud of all the journalists who advanced from here to distinguished careers.

For decades you could enter just about any newsroom at a Canadian daily paper and find someone who knew Pete. Many reporters, photographers, senior editors and even publishers, remember starting in Medicine Hat with Pete as their boss.

“He writes to stir things up,” old friend Orv Kope, the general manager of CHAT radio & TV, observed of Pete’s retirement on March 5, 1993. “He has always been a controversial figure, but he loves Medicine Hat as much as I do, as much as anyone.”

Pete also loved and admired his family. He would always be updating us on the lives of his sons, Danny and David, and daughters, Wendy and Patty. He would speak glowingly of their personal growth or advances they were making in careers.

Pete was also proud to be a member of the Southam Editors Group, the Associated Press Managing Editors Association, and the Alberta Press Council. He also served the community as founder of the Medicine Hat News Santa Claus Fund, was a key builder of amateur hockey here, a board member of the News-Kinsmen sportsmen’s dinners, and past-president of Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club.

Pete was always on the hunt for a good news story or another item for his column which ran on Mondays. He expected the same for all members of the newsroom – to find the story, get the facts right, spell names correctly and get it out to readers on time.

He was responsible for the “Citizen’s Forum on National Unity” coming to Manyberries and Medicine Hat in 1990-91.

Its head was Keith Spicer, a former Ottawa Citizen editor, who had previously visited the southern Alberta communities for an editor’s meeting hosted by Mossey. Spicer wanted to return here to add voices of Albertans to the views on national unity and called Pete to make arrangements. In typical fashion, Mossey agreed to help, set things up with contacts here, then stepped away from the limelight.

Pete very much cared about journalistic standards. I’ve seen him put his job on the line more than once to defend the quality of editorial work. I’ve twice seen him type out resignations for publishers who didn’t see things his way. He cared that much and, if they didn’t agree, the publishers came to accept his position.

But Pete also enjoyed adding a bit of fun to the newspaper pages, too.

One of his favourite stories was about doctoring a photo to show a Mitchell Bomber (from CFB Suffield) flying under Finlay Bridge and running a story to accompany it on April Fools Day. But, it seemed the military in Ottawa didn’t quite understand and sent a letter demanding further information about this plane and pilot that had “broken every rule in the book.” Pete just sent back a note telling them to check the date on the story.

Pete very much cared for the community and for the people who lived here. They also cared for him. One Christmas Vera Bracken wrote a sizeable cheque and sent it to him as a Santa Fund donation. Pete called her and told her it was too much. He ripped it up and suggested she write one for half the amount.

Vera, equally stubborn, called me, said Wright, and told me to come pick up the new cheque because she couldn’t travel with her walkway filled with snow. I shovelled my way in, and was handed a cheque for the original amount. “Swearing me to secrecy, she chuckled having put one over on my boss.”

Gord Wright

Editor (ret’d)

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