by Albert Paschall | June 02, 2003

(Harrisburg, PA – 29 May 2003) The Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research has released an anthology of the essays of its senior commentator, Albert Paschall.

The 102 page work includes 50 of Paschall’s commentaries concentrating on his most recent newspaper and radio series entitled “Somedays.” It also includes some of his earlier work as well as a foreword by Lowman S. Henry, chairman of The Lincoln Institute.

“Paschall’s work is recognized all over the state,” Mr. Henry said, “he is known for comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.”

Paschall began writing commentaries and essays in 1990 after wrapping up an 18 year newspaper career. His first efforts appeared in The Times Herald in Norristown, Pennsylvania and the Suburban and Wayne Times published in Delaware County. “The editor of The Times Herald at the time, Jim Stommen, took a letter to the editor and gave it a by-line and he encouraged me to keep on going and I just kept going from there” Paschall said, “it’s been just about every other week since then.”

Now in its 103rd edition “Somedays” is the fourth thematic series Paschall has published. Past efforts have included: “We The People”, “Of The People”, and “The Circle Game.” In 1993 after the formation of The Lincoln Institute, Paschall was invited by former Philadelphia Business Journal editor Jack Roberts to include “We The People” as a sidebar column. According to Paschall, Roberts only had 3 rules: “on time, on time and on time.” In early 1994 The Lincoln Institute expanded syndication of “We The People” to newspapers in southeastern Pennsylvania and began including Paschall’s commentaries on The Lincoln Radio Journal. “I think then we had 4 stations doing 4AM on Sunday morning, now somedays I can’t believe how that show has grown” Paschall said. The Lincoln Radio Journal, the state’s most widely broadcast public affairs program is now featured on 84 stations through out Pennsylvania. “its fun, last week in the super market a guy came up to me and asked me if I was the guy on the radio on Sunday morning. When I told him ‘yes’ he proceeded to tell me everything that was wrong with the commentary.” “Somedays” is now syndicated to 106 leading newspapers in Pennsylvania.

Paschall’s work has also appeared in a variety of specialty publications and he has been published as an associate scholar of the Allegheny Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“Most of my work was inspired by Rod MacLeish, senior commentator for Group W radio in the last ’60 and early ’70s,” Paschall said, ‘when I was kid I had a job working nights in a donut shop in the borough of Bridgeport, Montgomery County, where I grew up, and it only got 2 stations. One was KYW in Philadelphia and MacLeish would come on from all over the world. I’m probably the only person who ever covered one of Rod’s pieces – The Guilty Bystander – with ‘Stewards of Tranquility’ back in ’96 about my high school reunion. But any resemblance to Rod’s work I hope is construed as a pale attempt at flattery.”

The anthology was organized and edited by Jodi L. Brandon of JB Edit of Maple Shade, New Jersey. According to Paschall, Brandon gets a lot of the credit for the book. “Jodi taught me there were things like grammar, punctuation and syntax, stuff I never bothered with before. And she did that without substantially changing the original pieces. She organized the book and gave it an outsider’s perspective that it never would have had if I hadn’t brought her on.”

The cover photo was taken by the late Frank X. Craig in the historic King Of Prussia Inn. According to Paschall it was spontaneous: “Frank and I were sorting of standing there shooting the breeze and he said ‘stay still!’ and picked up the camera and began to shoot. He liked something about the light and it worked. After Frank’s death, Jack Unger of Great Shot in Hatboro took the photo and added the graphics.”

“I haven’t found Laura, yet” is available at Borders at the Court at King Of Prussia, at the Lincoln Institute’s website at lincolninstitute.org, jbedit.com and by mail for $13.95 from the King Of Prussia Historical Society at 101 Bill Smith Boulevard, King Of Prussia, Pa., 19406.

“Who is Laura? is a question I get asked a lot these days” Paschall said “and you’ll just have to read the book to find out.”

Paschall has been a guest speaker at more than 200 service clubs, civic organizations, classrooms and historic groups in the last 7 years and plans to do more in the summer of 2003. “I’ll be out talking about the book,” he said, “and about Pennsylvania – its truly one of the most interesting times in the state’s history.”

In addition to his duties at The Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Paschall is president of the King Of Prussia and Montgomery County Chambers of Commerce. He serves on a number of boards and is an associate director of kingofprussia.com a web development company.

The Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research is a non-profit educational foundation based in Harrisburg that concentrates on issues affecting Pennsylvania. In addition to Paschall’s “Somedays” The Lincoln Institute produces The Lincoln Radio Journal, The Lincoln Journal, a quarterly newsletter, “Keystone Commentaries” by the Institute’s Chairman Lowman S. Henry as well as public opinion polls including the annual Keystone Business Climate Survey and the annual Pennsylvania Non-Profit Organization Survey. The Lincoln Radio Journal also includes: Jim Panyard, president of the Pennsylvania Manufacturer’s Association, Susan Staub of Pennsylvanians for Right to Work, Joe Geiger, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Non-Profit Organizations {PANO} and Al Neri publisher of The Insider e-letter.

Albert Paschall
Senior Commentator
The Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research
453 Springlake Road
Harrisburg, Pa.,. 17112
610.265.0757
{f} 610.265.0473
[email protected]