Cooper Hudnutt
ELYRIA — The quiet, impassioned leader of The Chronicle-Telegram, longtime Publisher A. Cooper Hudnutt, died unexpectedly Tuesday.
He was 57.
Hudnutt, known throughout Lorain County as simply “Coop,” was found dead in his Elyria home, according to family. He had been publisher since 1991, when he replaced his father, Arthur D. Hudnutt.
He also served as president of the board of Lorain County Printing and Publishing, which operates The Chronicle and various print, radio and online web properties.
The Hudnutt family has had a long commitment to family-owned local journalism in Lorain and surrounding counties.
It started in 1927 when A.C. Hudnutt a then partner of The Chronicle became the sole owners of the newspaper, starting the proprietorship of the Hudnutt family that continues today.
In 1950, A.C. Hudnutt and his wife died within two weeks of each other and the baton of leadership was passed to Coop’s father Arthur D. Hudnutt. While just 22 at the time, the elder Hudnutt saw the value in keeping the Elyria paper a family business. He kept those around him who could do the job of being a newshound and do the job well, including his father’s right-hand man Otto Schoepfle.
Once it became time to pass along that sense of tradition, Hudnutt was tapped to take over as his father’s successor.
Editor Andy Young and grandson to founding owner A. C. Hudnutt was out of town when he received the news of his cousin’s death. His mother, Molly Hudnutt Young is the sister of Arthur D. Hudnutt.
Young has worked at the newspaper on and off since 1974 and returned full-time in 1991, when he took over as executive editor. He was appointed editor in 1997.
Through his tenure, Young has worked under the leadership of both Arthur D. Hudnutt and his son. He has witnessed firsthand how the younger Hudnutt has guided and transformed the Chronicle-Telegram.
“As you know this has been a very difficult period for newspapers, and Coop has led us through this difficult time for the newspaper industry,” he said. “The industry as a whole was stressed even before the recession, which was in effect a double whammy we experienced. Yet Coop has managed to put us on a firmer footing here in 2010, which is quite an achievement.”
In doing this, Young said Hudnutt never strayed far from his vision, one that reflected his grandfather’s ideals — that a community newspaper should publish the news uncolored, unbiased and as accurately as humanly possible.
“Coop saw we had the possibility to be a fuller kind of community with different portals for news,” Young said. “We could deliver the news via radio, via the internet and via the print both daily and weekly. He wanted to create a multi-faceted company that could serve readers and advertisers on whatever platform they desired.”
Hudnutt was not much of a talker, Young said. Yet, he commanded respect because locally he was revered as an icon in the community.
“He was a quiet leader who when he spoke people listened,” Young said. “He was able to bring a lot of diverse talent to the table and get the most out of people. That is a testament to him.”
Hudnutt’s ability to merge friend and foe together for the common good was the reason why Elyria School Superintendent Paul Rigda said he “absolutely admired the man.”
Rigda said he first met Hudnutt through his wife, Judi, a local educator. At first, he was simply the husband of a colleague. Over the years, Hudnutt took over the helm at The Chronicle and Rigda did the same for the Elyria Schools
“He was a great supporter and partner of our school district,” Rigda said. “He helped us with our campaigns — both our levies and our bond issue. He was instrumental in our passing he bond issue by giving us the space in his newspaper to get the word out.
“He always believed as strong public school district meant a strong community. He really saw the connection. He lived that at home because his wife is a teacher and he saw firsthand the impact we can have on children.
“At first, he was simply one of my colleague’s husband and after a while it developed into a professional, business relationship.
“He was very genuine and he wanted to help on causes that meant something to the community.
He was very impressed with the plans for the new high school.
Shock rippled through the Elyria community as news of Hudnutt’s death spread. In his passing, the many tentacles his generosity touched were exposed as countless Elyrians spoke of Hudnutt’s support.
Former Council member Kevin Brubaker and president of Elyria Little League East first met Hudnutt years ago when he coached his son, Billy, in baseball. Over the years, the two developed a relationship as a both a player’s father and community member dedicated to Little League East.
“He was a huge supporter whether that meant buying dozens of tickets to steak fries or in the heyday of the Cleveland Indians in the 1990s donate his season tickets to our raffle. Each year he did that we made thousands,” Brubaker said. “He and his wife were instrumental in helping with the move when Little League East made the move from two small diamonds behind Parker-Hannifin to the complex of today on Wittenburg Drive that houses eight fields.”
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