Macon Sanford
Published 9:56 pm Saturday, May 2, 2009
A simple search for Macon Sanford on www.suffolknewsherald.com produces numerous results of his contributions to the newspaper. Sanford was well known for his often times scathing letters to the editor. If there was an important issue in Suffolk, you could count on Sanford chiming in. Sanford was old school, too. No computer, no e-mail, only hand-written, much thought-out submissions. Anything different just wasn’t Sanford’s style.
His letters were never boring. He had a unique perspective of government and equality. Sanford and I seldom agreed or shared the same ideas. No doubt about it, though, Sanford had a flare for sarcasm and his intellect showed through his ability to convey his messages, many times referring back to our forefathers and how they would run our country today if they were alive.
Sanford would never take anything for granted and I respected him for his faith in the almighty power of print. Although we both knew we stood on different sides on most issues, there was a silent respect we both had for each other. Sanford epitomized one type of reader that is needed in order to be a good community newspaper. His views were lopsided and bordered on racism at times, but Sanford would nary hold an opinion back.
I had talked to Mr. Sanford quite a few times on the phone over the years, usually explaining why I had decided not to publish a letter. But I had never met him in person until an encounter one day at the courthouse. I was sitting there on the bench when a senior man walked over to me slowly with the help of a cane. “Are you Jesse Lindsey?” he asked. And so we began our first face-to-face conversation. And if you haven’t shared a lengthy conversation with someone who is at odds with your viewpoints, then you are missing out.
I thought I learned a few lessons from Mr. Sanford that morning. I realized that a newspaper is and will always be vitally important to a segment of the community who would rather know what their council members are doing instead of Hollywood actors. I was reminded, too, that a man’s right to believe a certain way on any given subject is a right that makes us Americans.
Sadly, there won’t be any more letters signed by Macon Sanford. Sanford passed away on April 30 at the young age of 85. Many people were angered by some of the letters Sanford submitted, and would even send a rebuttal for publication. But Sanford had an uncanny ability of making you interested in what he had to say, whether you liked it or not. For that, he’ll always have my respect and, I suspect, the respect of many of our readers.
Although I disagreed with most of his opinions, we both understood that we shared the common ideology of the free press.