Zubal was a legendary bookseller who, for a time, was in the running for the Guinness World Book of Records recognition as owner of more books than anyone else -- more than a million. His stacks of books in a warehouse (and former Twinkie bakery) on West. 25th Street were perused by such notables as Stephen King, William Safire, Dick Cavett and Harvey Pekar, who included the place in his American Splendor comics. He immersed himself in bookselling from an early age, built an enormous collection and was early to embrace the internet as an efficient selling tool. He closed most of his stacks to the public as he moved sales online, but for reasons I can’t remember, I met him there about 20 years ago and was permitted to peruse. I was looking for something specific and rare, and I think he had seven copies. Reporters love bookstores, so the newspaper archives contain plenty of Zubal references. The best of them is a 1996 piece by then-Homes Editor Karen Sandstrom, who captured both the inviting personality of Zubal and the spectacle of his book holdings from a tour he gave her. Zubal died in May, and his family wrote a lovely tribute in his death notice. (I’ve also republished Karen’s story on cleveland.com, so a new generation can enjoy it.) I can only imagine the pieces Alana would have written on Madison and Zubal. Their passing should be noted by Greater Cleveland, and once was the time when our newsroom would have noted them. No one does that today. Normally, this would be the place in the column where I offer you our solution going forward. Sadly, I don’t have one. We have too many other priorities for our limited resources, and there’s nothing we can justify giving up to write obituaries. Some of you will write to suggest freelance, but we don’t have extra capacity there, either. We had hoped at one point that a foundation might endow or fund some positions in our newsrooms to cover areas we don’t get to now, and obituaries would be worthy of such investment. We have not been successful in that area. I feel bad about where we stand. Communally noting the deaths of notables and others ties a community together. I wish we remained the vehicle for that. Paid death notices partially fill the void, but they’re not enough. Madison, Zubal and so many others deserve our contemplation upon their passing. Their life stories should all be told, and we’ll keep looking for a solution. I’m at [email protected]. Thanks for reading. |