Marj Heyduck

Marjorie Irene Evers "Marj" Heyduck (1913–1969) was a reporter, columnist and editor for the ''Dayton Herald'', ''Dayton Press'', ''Dayton Journal'', ''Dayton Journal-Herald'', and ''Dayton Daily News'' from 1936 to 1969. She also hosted a radio show from 1939 to 1941.

Early life and education

Heyduck was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1913 to Robert C. Evers and Helen M. Rhoads, one of three children. She graduated from Stivers High School in 1931, and from Ohio State University with a degree in journalism.

Columnist

Heyduck's columns, published under the title "Third and Main," between 1943 and 1969, were "the most popular" of the paper's morning columns and were collected into three books. The ''Dayton Daily News'' said, " e moved up the ranks at the ''Journal Herald'' quickly, but it was her popular column and interesting hats that brought her fame." Roz Young, who succeeded her, called her "a celebrity. 'Look,' people said in reverent tones ... That's Marj Heyduck.'"

She wrote a feature column on wrestling for the ''Dayton Herald''s sports department in the 1940s, and was friends with Gorgeous George, whom she took to her hairdresser to have his famous blond locks restyled. Her columns occasionally covered the elegant "Tea with Marj" events held throughout the area to which she invited "lady wrestlers."

Her career started in 1936 in the women's page department at the ''Dayton Herald''. She moved to the weekly ''Dayton Press'', returned to the ''Dayton Herald'' in 1943 as a general assignment reporter, and started her popular column there in 1944. She was named editor of the women's department at the ''Herald'' in 1948. When the ''Dayton Journal'' and the ''Dayton Herald'' merged in 1949, she was named women's editor of the ''Journal Herald''. In 1966, she became assistant to the editor of the newspaper, then Glenn Thompson, and editorship of the women's page was taken over by Virginia Hunt.

Impact

Heyduck was "famous" for being "The Woman in the Hat." Her daily column dingbat featured a photograph of her in a different hat every day; every month she "hauled in 25 new hats to be photographed in" for the next month's columns, leaving the daily's photographers "fearing for their sanity," for a total of 2,776 hats and photographs over the course of her career. The ''Dayton Daily News'' called her "legendary".

She was "one of the early advocates" for redevelopment of the Dayton Arcade, writing in a 1967 column, "How can we get shoppers to the heart of Dayton every day? Restore the arcade to its rightful elegance." In 1980, the newly refurbished arcade named their new vendor pushcarts after her.

Heyduck also had a daily radio show on WING from 1939 to 1941, and was a motivational speaker.

Heyduck's obituary was read into the Congressional Record by Representative Charles Whalen.

Personal life

She married Emerson C. Heyduck, an insurance agent, in 1934 and was widowed in 1953. They had no children.

Awards and honors

Heyduck won over 75 journalism awards over her career, earning her a national reputation.
* National Headliners Award (1946)
* United Press International Best Column in Ohio (1963)
* Penney-Missouri Award for Excellence, Women's Pages (1964)

She regularly led discussions at seminars for women's page editors, appearing at Columbia University's American Press Institute 23 times between 1952 and 1968, and at state press associations in California, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania.

Bibliography

* ''The Best of Marj'' (1962)
* ''The Anniversary Marj'' (1964)
* ''The Third Marj'' (1966)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heyduck, Marj
Journalists from Ohio
20th-century American women journalists
American columnists
American women columnists
20th-century American journalists
20th-century American women writers
Writers from Dayton, Ohio
Ohio State University School of Communication alumni
1913 births
1969 deaths
Burials at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum
American women's page journalists