A Greenhorn's View of a Big City Boss

 An Essay About Ray Hartmann, creator of The Riverfront Times and St. Louis Magazine

• I started at the Riverfront Times as a fresh out of college greenhorn. At twenty-four, I did have four years of working at a daily newspaper in my small hometown under my belt, but getting this job as an ad designer was almost a fluke. 

  
  

  My schooling didn't really prepare me for the new dawning computer age newspapers were growing into. One QuarkXPress design-a-magazine class and my ability to old-school paste-up the classifieds sealed the deal. I couldn't tell you if my new big boss, Ray Hartmann was in that initial meeting or not. It was my first big trip to the city and I was about to have a crash course in reality.

  
  

  Honestly, I didn't see Ray as much as many others did. But what I did get to glimpse of him showed me that he really cared about his employees. Many of our deadline days went long into the night. And when there were concerns about the safety of employees going to their cars, Ray set up an initiative for us to walk to our cars in groups. My personal commute was about an hour one way.

  
  

  Ray also cared about the quality of his product. As a man who had a strong opinion on many city issues, the RFT became his way to speak out. And those of us in his employ, he brought us in yearly for a performance review because he wanted his product to be excellent. I knew my everyday bosses (the art director and production manager) a lot better than Ray, and going into those reviews were terrifying. I received more raises in the six years I worked for Ray than the seven I worked for New Times Media which bought the paper in around 1997. And the deals he made for that transition helped me pay off all my college debt. I will be forever thankful for the grace he showed us all during that time.

  
  

  One late deadline night and we were either waiting for Ray to write his editorial or write his headline. Tom Carlson, our Art Director usually dealt with most of Ray's stuff but that night found my big boss standing behind me. And I am glad I wasn't playing a game of Operation because that buzzer would have been buzzing in my ear all night. He left me rattled. And not because he was mean. Ray was very passionate about his point of view and I didn't want to screw up his vision. I only hoped to care so much about a city that I would go to such lengths to get my voice heard.

  
  

  On a personal note in 1992 when I started, Ray was still in his dating years. I remember not being able to tell the difference between one girlfriend or the next. I probably heard more stories about Ray than I learned in his actual presence. But for me as the newbie kid just getting her feet wet in the city, having him for a big boss was a real blessing. His voice will definitely be missed in St. Louis. And his heart and caring will be missed by all who knew him.

  
  

  Toni Walker

  I have had a 35+ career in newspaper graphic design.

  
  

  The Riverfront Times 1992-2005, titles: Layout Artist, Production Designer, Ad Designer, used Dispatch to upload content to website

  Centralia Morning Sentinel 1987-1991, 2005-2022, Ad Designer, Paste-Up Artist, Ad Rep Assistant

  The Shopper's Weekly 2022-2023, Ad Designer

  The Breese Journal, 2003, Ad Designer, A bit of Web Work

  Centralia Recreation Complex 2023-current, Front Desk Worker

  
  

  My current job is a part-time one. After a health scare that put me in the hospital for a week and an infection that nearly claimed my life, I have restarted working at the Centralia Recreation Complex in my hometown as a front desk worker. I have been helping them open up new design aims in their program flyers. And I man the phones and do a bit of design work for the Centralia Carillon which was created by the family who used to own the Sentinel.

  
  

  I am also a worship leader at my church, First Baptist of Centralia.

  
  

  Email me at toniwalker@hotmail.com if you have any comments. 😘