GRIFFIN November 24

November 2024 • CWEA GRIFFIN • 9 Writing can be a satisfying, if not always lucrative, vocation. It can be a satisfying, even comforting, avo- cation. A lot of short-form writing occurs on a daily basis. It’s called social media. Because whether people aspire to be writers, they get comfort in sharing their thoughts and sometimes even being eloquent in the process. Ellie Chapman, who recently left our circle of humanity after 90+ years, knew that writing could be a vocation, an avocation, a satisfying process, a comfort, or a combina- tion of those things. As a writing instructor for many years at the University of Mis- souri–St. Louis, Ellie taught count- less students the art and craft of communicating through the writ- ten word. She prepared students of all disciplines to carefully and precisely write the required papers for their other classes. She helped encourage students who might en- joy writing become better at it and enjoy it more. I met Ellie through former UM–St. Louis English department chair Bill Hamlin. I was an auto mechanic struggling to survive as a computer science major. I hoped to change to a more-lucrative occupa- tion. I was failing miserably. I took some English literature courses to distract myself from feeling like an idiot in my math classes. Dr. Hamlin took me aside after class one day. He had given me an A+ on a paper I had written on a Hawthorne short story. He compli- mented me on my writing. Elllie Chapman Ellie Chapman leaves love of writing with former students Ella R. Chapman, along with her late first husband, Rev. Bill Chapman, was a fixture in the Central West End for many years. She died Oct. 5 at age 96. As a co-founder and copy editor of the West End Word newspaper (and English professor at University of Missouri–St. Louis) she had a great impact on many young writers. Kevin Polito, a former West End Word copy editor, is one of those writers and offers this remembrance. By Kevin Polito “You should talk with Ellie Chap- man. She directs the Writing Cer- tificate program,” he said. I was fortunate enough to take his advice. Little did I know how it would transform my life. Through her teaching of writing and through the Writing Certificate program, Ellie enthusiastically en- couraged students to pursue writing. Her encouragement lit a fire un- der me. I first took her feature writ- ing course, in which I discovered that I had an aptitude for writing and actually enjoyed the process. I then took her news writing course. Her enthusiasm for her students’ ef- forts was contagious. I began taking almost every writing course offered at UM–St. Louis. Ellie also was copy editor for the neighborhood newspaper the West End Word . She had been a cofound- er of the paper, which began in 1972 as a cheerleader for the early sweat-equity revival movement in the City’s Central West End in the 1970s. The paper was instrumental in sowing the seeds for a large-scale revitalization of the CWE. Ellie offered me a job as her as- sistant at the Word. My job title was Editorial Assistant. In the beginning, the other staffers jok- ingly referred to me as the Scut- work Editor, given that I was also the office gofer — running errands, delivering subscription copies to the post office, assembling office furniture, fixing the copier. I was glad for the opportunity to learn new skills from Ellie. Ellie began farming out the copy editing tasks to me, includ- ing writing headlines and photo captions, writing calendar entries, writing non-byline filler articles, and doing layout. Continued on Page 13