Signing off in Cleveland
The first 26 minutes of WJW Channel 8's 6 p.m. Wednesday newscast were pretty much business as usual. Then sports anchor John Telich wrapped up his segment by telling the retiring Wilma Smith, "It has just been an absolute pleasure working with you."
A smiling Lou Maglio, Smith's 6 p.m. co-anchor for the last eight years, promised more emotional tributes were on the way.
"Oh, my," Smith managed to say, a catch in her usually carefully modulated voice.
The tributes were in honor of Smith's final newscast after almost 36 years on the air in Cleveland. They ranged from a taped message by Gov. John Kasich to the last installment in Fox 8 reporter Bill Sheil's series on Smith's life and career.
"I hope I left a positive mark on people," Smith told Sheil. "I hope I'm not forgotten. Who wants to be forgotten?"
It was a night for remembering and celebrating a Cleveland broadcast career that began in 1977 at WEWS Channel 5. Smith moved to Channel 8 in 1994. She announced on March 18 that she was retiring to spend more time with her husband, Tom Gerber.
Weatherman Dick Goddard opened Wednesday evening's newscast with reports of thunderstorm watches in Northeast Ohio. He could have predicted a 100 percent chance for flowing tears and showers of affection.
But the last word and the last closeup belonged to Smith, who closed out the newscast waving goodbye to viewers. She delivered her final message on a Fox 8 set packed with co-workers and friends.
"This is very difficult for me," Smith said. "I've never been very good with goodbyes. I decided to do this with no teleprompter . . . I didn't want to read something to you. I wanted to talk to you."
After praising her colleagues at Channel 8, she thanked God, her husband, her family and "all of you at home."
"Thank you for your acceptance," Smith said. "Thank you for making my life what it has been . . . God bless you and thank you for everything. I always used to say, 'make it a good day.' I did that for years on the air. I want to say 'make it a good day' to you and everyone here, but I also want to say, 'make it a good life.' "
But another thought occurred to her before the final credits rolled on her final newscast.
"I'm going to miss everybody," she said. "I'm going to miss sitting in this chair. This is my last time in this chair."