Anything but a lazy day in Carolina, R.I.

By Karen Catone
Director/Chips Quinn Scholars Program

Posted: Aug. 11, 2003

Miraj Berry on family memories
Tanya Caldwell on signs of history
Shelley Wong on an antique treasure trove

The day in photos

There is a hidden benefit to being a Chips Quinn Scholar at The Providence (R.I.) Journal -- at least one trip to John and Loie Quinn’s Carolina mill during the Summer.

This year was no exception for The Journal’s four interns, Miraj Berry, Tanya Caldwell, Shahien Nasiripour and Shelley Wong.

John and Loie wrapped up this Summer’s internship program by hosting daylong festivities Aug. 4 at their mill estate in southern Rhode Island. It was a family affair.

John Quinn and writing coach Colleen Fitzpatrick collaborated on the day’s events. The Quinns’ youngest son, Kiffer, and neighbor Pat Lough were in charge of the menu. Their granddaughter, Amelia Quinn Cellar, assisted with the food service and cleanup.

Fitzpatrick led a morning training session at the field house, a building on the mill property that serves as the Quinn family gathering spot. Using a training technique from colleague Dick Thien, she passed around a Mr. Potato Head toy and invited students to take turns reading stories that appeared in various newspapers. Scholars added appropriate body parts (eyes, ears, nose, mouth) when the senses were aroused by descriptive writing.

One of the Scholars had the bright idea to play the Mr. Potato Head game using stories the interns had written at The Journal. So Fitzpatrick had Scholars randomly select a story from their clips and put it to the test.

All agreed it was a great exercise in awareness -- emphasizing the importance and challenge of including descriptive narrative whenever possible.

Fitzpatrick outlined the afternoon assignment: Quinn was about to give them a tour of the 19^th century mill that once produced cotton and wool fabric. The students would be required to write a brief story, using what they learned about description in the Mr. Potato Head exercise.

After the tour, we adjourned to a delicious lunch of fresh roasted turkey, dressing and corn on the cob. (Trust me -- there’s nothing like a Thanksgiving Day meal in the off season!)

But in typical John Quinn fashion (there is no such thing as a free meal), it was a working lunch. Craig Berke, night metro editor at The Journal, and his wife, Jennifer, part-time copy editor, engaged the Scholars in a lively conversation about the relationships between reporters and editors.

Then it was back to the field house to begin the writing assignment.

At about 2:30 p.m., we were joined by Bob Giles, curator of The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, and his wife, Nancy.

Giles outlined his career in newspapers, fielded questions from the Scholars and talked about the importance of newsroom diversity.

At Quinn’s nudging, Nancy Giles talked about the role of a journalist’s spouse. Bob Giles wrapped up the session by talking about the pros and cons of working at a small newspaper.

Then it was back downstairs to put a final wrap on the stories.

At dinner, we were joined by Loie Quinn and daughter Lo-anne Quinn Cellar, along with Linda Levin, chair of the journalism department at the University of Rhode Island, and her husband, Len, a former long-time copy editor at The Journal and now a part-time copy editor at The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass.

We also were joined by Chips alums working in the area: Mark Alcalde, Summer 2001 Scholar and reporter at South County Independent in Wakefield, R.I.; Jack Hagel, Spring 2000 Scholar and reporter at The Associated Press; Anne Kumar, Summer 2001 Scholar and intern at The Newport (R.I.) Daily News; and Quannah Leonard, Summer 2000 Scholar and reporter at the Waterbury (Conn.) Republican-American. For Mark, Anne and Quannah, it was a kind of homecoming. They had spent their Summer as Chips Quinn Scholars at The Journal and at the Carolina mill.

The Quinns’ reputation for hospitality is legendary among their Freedom Forum colleagues.

In a world that all too often moves too quickly, it is nice to know that some things never change.

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