Potter Leader-Enterprise, July 19

Former Potter Leader-Enterprise publisher Jill Fish dies at 83

By Teri McDowell
Potter Leader-Enterprise

Former Potter Enterprise publisher Jill Fish, 83, of Coudersport died Monday, July 17 at St. Vincent’s Health Center in Erie.

She was the widow of William D. “Bill” Fish Jr., who died May 29, 1977. The couple purchased the Enterprise Publishing Association in 1957 from Bill Fish Jr.’s father, William D. “Golly” Fish, who had operated it since 1920.

Mrs. Fish subsequently worked as a reporter and editor of The Potter Enterprise for many years. Following her husband’s death in 1977, she assumed the duties of publisher, serving as corporation president until the business was sold in 1983 to Stauffer Media Inc.

During her years at the Potter Enterprise, Mrs. Fish recognized the talent in many young aspiring writers, mentoring them, providing professional guidance and support – even recruiting students from local high schools who later established careers with the
newspaper’s editorial department. She also cultivated relationships with a corps of rural correspondents who faithfully chronicled newsworthy developments in small communities such as Borie and North Bingham.

“Jill gave me my first job right out of college. I didn’t realize at the time how unusual it was for a woman to be the publisher of a newspaper,” said former Potter Enterprise reporter and editor Kelly Dickerson.

“Not only was there a woman in the publisher’s chair, but add in Muriel Lindhome as social editor/resident wit and Barb Fish Heimel as layout and design expert, and the triumvirate was a force to be reckoned with,” Dickerson said. “Those three women taught me lessons
that I still carry with me.”

Fish helped to guide the paper through the tumultuous late 1960s and early 1970s, a period of growth within the county which coincided with a time when generational differences made news on both national and local levels.

“She set the standard for local newspapering in her day,” said Paul Heimel, her nephew, who worked under the Fishes as a reporter and later became editor of the Enterprise. “She refused to be intimidated.”

When local school board members hid from the public to decide on educational policies and budgetary issues, Jill Fish let them have it. Her headline that week was “Your Children, Your Money, But NOT Your Business!”

When three local high school boys were expelled because their hair was long, she recognized it as front page news.

Barb Heimel, her sister-in-law and co-worker for many years, recalled Jill’s passion for accuracy.

“We received a news release about a family member being killed during a burglary at home in New Jersey,” Heimel remembered. “Jill decided to check the facts and see if there was a local tie-in. She called the sheriff of that community and found that the story was a complete fabrication.”

“Other newspapers printed it,” Heimel added. “I think that illustrates Jill’s passion for actually knowing the facts.”

Donna Mahon, who worked at the Enteprise and its successor, the Leader-Enterprise, for three decades, recalled Jill Fish as a dedicated boss who wasn’t averse to answering the phone herself – a “jack of all trades”.
“She was always in the office and she and Bill would often come back in the evening to work,” Mahon remembered.

In the 1970s when land development became an issue within the county, the newspaper under Jill Fish served as a watchdog against conflicts of interest. She and attorney D. Bruce Cahilly fought ongoing battles after he became an unpaid advisor to the cash-strapped Potter County Planning Commission at the request of then-Chairman Gene Erway. Cahilly was attending a meeting as an interested party when Erway asked for his input.
Cahilly remembers, “I walked up to the table and gave them my advice; Jill looked at me and said ‘I’m not with you.’ I told her ‘You never are.’ “I think that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Today, Cahilly recalls Fish with esteem.

“I always had a lot of respect for her, and I think she did for me,” he said. “We just had differences of opinion, and we were both very outspoken about that.”

He recalled working with Fish on the board of Potter County Recreation Inc. Bill Fish was instrumental in initiating the tourism agency, which was the predecessor to today’s PCVA.

“Jill was very active and helpful. I believe she was sincerely committed to the future of Potter County,” Cahilly remarked.

David Hauber, who served as newspaper photographer for eight years, recalled the Fishes’ summer trips out West, where they had a reciprocal relationship with a newspaper.

“That paper ran a lot of wildlife and scenic photos and Bill tried to pattern the Enterprise after that,” Hauber noted. “They always enjoyed their trips out West and came back with stories.”

Their love of camping extended to developing and operating Deer Lick Camping Area on Jenkins Hill near Coudersport. They sold that business in 1968. Kelly Dickerson remarked on the difficulty Fish faced in deciding to sell the Enterprise to Stauffer Media in 1983.

“Sales of family-owned weekly and daily newspapers occurred throughout the country beginning in the 1980s. Jill made the decision to ensure the continued operation of the Enterprise,” Dickerson pointed out.

“The fact that today it is an award-winning and respected publication amongst its peers, not only in Pennsylvania but nationally, is a testament to Jill’s foresight.”

Besides her dedication to the newspaper and county, Jill Fish had lesser-known talents and interests.

In her youth, she studied violin for nine years. In the late 1970s, she joined the Mansfield College-Community Symphony as violinist, serving later in that capacity for symphony orchestras in Hornell, N.Y., Lakeland, Fla. and Wellsville, N.Y.

She was a graduate of Ridgway High School and Grove City College, and before her newspaper career was employed as a teacher and secretary to the supervising principal at Coudersport High School.

A former member of the First Presbyterian Church of Coudersport, she held many offices in the church. She served on the Potter County Child Welfare Advisory Board and Church Women United, was active on the Ministry to Migrants Committee of the Coudersport Ministerial Association and was program chairman of the Coudersport Parent-Teachers Association. She was
also active in the Coudersport Business & Professional Women’s Club and the Potter County Unit of the American Cancer Society. She served on the Community Advisory Board of WPSX-TV for many years.

She is survived by two sons, William D. Fish III and John Frederick Fish; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and three brothers.

A memorial service will be held at a date to be announced.

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