Telling of Tiz Miller's story is long overdue
Thursday, October 7, 2004 7:56 AM PDT
By Rick S. Alvord
Printable version
E-mail this articleGood writers write.
They sink their jowls into a topic and bite down until every last detail in a brilliant word painting is revealed.
In this case, the man wielding the brush was at the controls of The Daily News' editorial staff when Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, killing 57. Under his direction, the newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize ---- the Super Bowl of journalism ---- for its in-depth volcano coverage, and set the standard for quality small-town journalism.
These days, Bob Gaston still spends much of his time in front of a computer screen as the volunteer editor of the Cowlitz Historical Quarterly.
Good writers write. Always.
Gaston's latest endeavor has nothing to do with a belching volcano and everything to do with perhaps the greatest all-around athlete in Kelso High School history ---- an eruption waiting to happen, in his own right, especially on the football field.
His name is Russell "Tiz" Miller and he was a stud. He played halfback and wore a leather football helmet ---- sans facemask ---- in the 1930s for the Hilanders. At just 135 pounds, he was considered one of the toughest athletes to ever come out of Cowlitz County.
Today's high school football players, namely those involved in Friday's 88th Kelso-R.A. Long rival clash, should thank the likes of Tiz Miller for thrusting this magnificent community event into the spotlight.
Tiz is just one of the countless former Hilanders and Lumberjacks who paved the way for you. They are your blue-collar brethren.
And it doesn't matter which side he played for, either, because Tiz is an example to all athletes that a big heart and endless determination can steamroll a path to success and happiness.
Here's a brief snapshot from Gaston's 56-page project on Tiz, a scrawny battler who earned 12 varsity letters in three years at Kelso:
"In high school and college, sportswriters often prefaced his name with 'little' when they wrote about him dominating football, basketball and baseball games in the 1930s and '40s. He was a star and a winner.
"He earned 12 letters in three years at Kelso High School, played three sports at Whitman College and then, after losing 40 pounds in a German prison camp during World War II, played football and baseball at Washington State. He was chosen to all-star teams in both high school and college.
"His last football game, the 1947 Washington State-University of Washington game, was a proud moment for his high school coach, Emmett Schroeder, because of an extraordinary circumstance: The starting quarterbacks, Tiz for the Cougars and Gerry Austin for the Huskies, had been teammates in Kelso.
"In the 1939 Thanksgiving Day football game with Longview ---- a contest for the league championship ---- Tiz designed a play in the huddle that scored the winning touchdown. His Kelso basketball team won three of four games in the 1940 state tournament.
"And his story is more than a sports story, mind you. It's a war story and a love story. Tiz was a prisoner of war in Germany, and for six months his young bride (Ruby) didn't know if he was dead or alive. Today, 62 years later, they still enjoy each other's company and she has helped pull him through several life-threatening illnesses."
The story is a must-read for anyone who has had the slightest involvement with athletics at any level. Actually, it's a must-read for anyone with a pulse.
Gaston taped interviews with 11 different sources, including Tiz's former teammates, and transcribed each one onto his computer.
Exactly how many man hours were required to complete the project? Not even he knows for sure.
"I wonder that, too. Almost enough to earn me a divorce," joked Gaston, who retired after 26 years as managing editor of The Daily News in 1999. "Fortunately, Georgeann (his wife) went on a five-day trip with a sister-in-law early in September, allowing me to write day and night. I let the grass grow, the dishes stack up and left the bed unmade."
Gaston interviewed Tiz, now 82, six times. He scoured back issues of the Kelsonian-Tribune and The Daily News at the Cowlitz County Historical Museum, and read issues of the Vancouver Columbian, The Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer on microfilm, driving to Vancouver and Seattle each time.
"I don't keep a time card. However, I wish I had. I'm sure I spent more than 120 hours on the project. But that's a wild guess," Gaston said. "I really enjoyed learning about this guy and writing about him. His war story and his health problems were part of what made him compelling to me."
Today, when Gaston absorbs media reports on the latest rumblings of Mount St. Helens, he frets about what he should have done differently as an editor to make the coverage better. And that's after winning a Pulitzer Prize.
It's part of the "chaser" inside Gaston. No matter the subject, he chases details in hopes of painting a more vivid picture.
That was the lure in telling Tiz's story.
"His stature was part of the attraction. A little guy, for sure. ... And he played college sports after being a prisoner of war," Gaston said. "That someone of his size could start at QB for the mighty Cougars intrigued me. A barber once asked him if he was the waterboy for the team.
"I just sensed that Tiz was a good story, if I could dig deep enough," he added. "Furthermore, he was a nice man, cordial and modest about his athletic accomplishments."
Good writers write. It's what they do.
Need another example? Here are the final three paragraphs of Gaston's story on Russell "Tiz" Miller, past and present:
"Today, Tiz takes 10 pills in the morning and 10 at night. He sleeps late and takes an afternoon nap. Caregivers arrive three days a week for half a day to spell Ruby. He can walk only a few steps, and that's frustrating for a guy whose nimble legs once dazzled fans and bedeviled foes.
"After the doctor who treated a blood clot reviewed Tiz's medical records, she told him, 'You don't quit, do you?' She was amazed, Ruby says.
"Tiz Miller's victories over the Grim Reaper are as mysterious and heartening as his youthful exploits on athletic fields. Both defy explanation. That makes him all the more intriguing."
Rick S. Alvord is sports editor of The Daily News. He can be reached at ralvord@tdn.com or 577-2527.
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