William Brown, a native Batavian, is and always will be a newshound. He has spent a long lifetime writing stories from the sensational to the mundane, the odd and the expected, and everything in between.
He’s a regular at the Batavia City Council meetings, notepad and pen at the ready.
“They pray before every meeting,’ Brown said.
His latest series of articles for the Buffalo News is about Leandra’s Law, the new DWI law, which makes it a felony if a child is in the car of an inebriated driver.
Besides newspaper writing, Brown spent many years in radio broadcasting, something he was drawn to since taking a high school course about it.
But initially, he set his sights on becoming a principal or school superintendent. He even earned a master’s degree Educational Administration.
Then he joined the Army, touring Japan during World War II, and served in its radio service program. He was in charge of communications between the camp and the troop he belonged to.
After returning from the war, Brown took a job at WBTA. From there on out, he was in the news business.
“This is usually a good starting point for people and after a few years they move onto a larger market or get out of the business, although some people stay,” Brown said.
When Brown first started at the station, he was an announcer and he covered the police and city hall beats. He did the 12:30 p.m. newscast.
“The funniest moments I remember were the announcers and their bloopers. Such as: ‘The woman is under the physician’s car’ when the announcer meant to say ‘The woman is under the physician’s care.’”
The biggest stories of his career were both exciting and terrifying -- The flood of Tonawanda Creek in 1942 and the 1971 Attica Prison riot.
At the time of the flood, WBTA was only a year old. It had a rocky start because people in Batavia believed they could get all of their news from either Buffalo or Rochester and didn’t need a local station.
That changed when the Tonawanda Creek flooded the entire south side of West Main including the railroad tracks. There was no communication from outside of the town. Everyone was cut off.
People had to rely on WBTA. When communications were finally restored, Batavians found that they enjoyed their local station and began to value its importance in the local community.
Nearly 30 years later, WBTA was on the frontlines of the Attica Prison uprising.
“We had a reporter there all the time giving us updates on what was happening.”
WBTA provided coverage for more than 50 radio stations – stories of inhumane conditions and shoddy treatment, the overcrowding, racism and beatings which boiled over into a four-day riot that left 39 people dead.
New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s orders to use tear gas and open fire on the inmates were heavily criticized. The prisoners got some concessions and things improved.
Years after the Attica uprising, Brown bought one-third ownership in WBTA. But he eventually sold his share and retired from radio – but not the news business.
Brown is particularly proud of his editorials.
“The editorials used to be about baking pies and stories of Mom. I believed editorials are made to be thought provoking, involved and controversial.”
So he set about changing the way the local editorials were done. He wanted to spur people into action. In each of the 16 years he worked on editorials, he won an award from the Associated Press.
Of the 12 books he has written, he cites two favorites: “The Linden Murders” and “Genesee’s Rich and Famous.”
The former is about four unsolved murders in Wyoming County. These cases were labeled “perfect” because no clues were left behind.
His other favorite book includes some colorful personalities, such as railroad baron Dean Richmond, director for the Utica and Buffalo Railroad Company.
Then there’s the story of Edward Newton Rowell who murdered his wife’s lover in their home.
“Rowell shot the man in the back as he was fleeing down the stairs.”
He went to the police and confessed to the crime. The jury later found him not guilty of the crime, on the grounds he killed an intruder in his home.
A 100 years ago, murder was apparently more forgivable than adultery.
The book also features Orator Francis Woodward, who bought the Jell-O formula from his neighbor Pearle Wait for only $450. He named his company Genesee Pure Foods Company and so effectively marketed Jell-O that it became a household name.
Photo: File Photo from a December 2009 Batavia Rotary Club meeting where Brown received gifts from the club.
