Almon L Hazard

Almon Lyle “Hap” Hazard was born July 7, 1930 in Olean, N.Y. to Lyle and Esther Hazard. He was raised and attended school in Bolivar, N.Y., where a classmate gave him the nickname “Hap” in third grade and it stuck for a lifetime, to the point where only his mother called him Al.

> After high school he attended Bethany College in West Virginia, and following graduation he served in the United States Army during the Korean War starting in September, 1952. Hap frequently joked that he was about to be sent to the front line until a commanding officer learned he could type, and then they made him company clerk instead, so his war-time duty was behind a desk. He received an honorable discharge as a Corporal in September, 1954.

> Hap was hired in the news department at James Broadcasting Company on December 27, 1954. He frequently told the story of having been hired by the late radio station owner Si Goldman who told him, “Too bad, Hap. You just missed the Christmas bonus!”

> Hap presided over the WJTN/SE-93 newsroom for forty years, covering every major news event in southern Chautauqua County. He was news director for a busy department that always included one or two other reporters, usually someone he took under his wing and nurtured as they grew into stronger writers and journalists. Every reporter who worked with Hap learned lessons about good writing, interviewing, and following up on a story. His news department was a training ground for many who learned how to tell listeners the crucial facts about governmental meetings, crimes, accidents, and a myriad of other local happenings.

> Hap understood the key to excellent reporting: write down what happened and tell the audience exactly that. Embellishment was generally not necessary, unless you were writing a feature story that was designed to make the listener feel, or react, or think in a new way.

> In addition to writing radio news, Hap was also a newspaper stringer reporter for The Buffalo News. His writing was exemplary. He could turn a phrase like fine wood on a lathe. He may have honed that natural ability over the years, but his writing was very much like his spoken voice: understated until the punch line.

> Hap had very little time on the air until program director George Pfleeger retired in the 1980’s and was no longer there to read the newscasts Hap wrote. That’s when Hap stepped up to the microphone. Having long been a news reporter and writer, he suddenly became an on air newscaster, and did it with great aplomb.

> In the 1980’s, Hap traveled to Sweden with the Jamestown High School soccer team so he could send reports back and provide radio coverage of the trip. Also among the highlights of his career was covering a visit to Jamestown by King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden in April, 1976.

> Hap met his wife, Jan at WJTN when she went to work there as a secretary. They were married August 17, 1963 at the home of their dear friend and announcer Melva Webber. The couple was well known at many Jamestown area restaurants, as an occasional night out for dinner turned into dinner out every night in the 1990’s. Their daily discussion turned to where to go for dinner, not whether they would go or not; and Jan didn’t have to call to make reservations, but rather had to call if they wouldn’t be there.

> The two loved jazz and traveled to many concerts over the years in Toronto, Syracuse, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh. They saw many performances at Chautauqua Institution, and often traveled with family or friends to hear great music.

> Hap retired from the WJTN/SE-93 newsroom on July 31, 1994, leaving a legacy of extraordinary work that included decades’ worth of interviews with elected officials including Governors, US Senators and Congressional Representatives, US Presidents, and notable celebrities of the time. He took a brief respite from writing, and then picked it up again to write and record short weekly features for radio that continued for several years.

> Hap passed away in New Jersey on November 26, 2017. He was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, and a twin brother who died at birth. Hap is survived by his stepdaughters Linda Donovan of Ship Bottom, N.J, with whom he made his home, and Leslie (Jay) Carlson of Jamestown, as well as step grandchildren Andrew (Sarah) Carlson and Laura Carlson, and step great grandchildren Piper and Hailey.

> Services will be private and visitation will not be observed. Memorial gifts may be made to the James Prendergast Library or the Fenton History Center in Jamestown. A Celebration of Life will be in the future.

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The Thos L. Shinn Funeral Home was entrusted with the arrangements.

To leave online condolences for the family, please visit www.shinnfuneralhome.com