The “Gold” mystery was as addictive as the drug it is centered around.
The second I spotted the signs one Monday morning, I was intrigued.
Burning with journalistic fire, Managing Editor Jenny Hottle and I went to the main office to try and find their source, and were directed to guidance counselor Carrie Siemsen. The second Siemsen, holding back a grin, told me “I don’t know” in response to my questioning, I was hooked.
Inside school, the news stories tend to be relatively straightforward, but the idea of playing Sherlock Holmes, albeit on a smaller and less serious scale, was fascinating.
Thanks to a tip, I found out that English teacher Eric Sutton was involved. His reaction to my confrontation was like Siemsen’s. I received information from students that admitted their involvement, but couldn’t use names.
The information was from unreliable sources or sources that had to remain anonymous. Unfortunately, there does happen to be a code of ethics in journalism, regardless of popular belief.
News Editor Collin Hoofnagle and Features Editor Taylor Schafer recommended finding where the signs were made, so we geared up to call every sign maker in Harford County.
Although this was extremely premature, I was afraid what would happen if I cracked the story. Many of my articles revolve around contact with the administration, all of whom I respect greatly. What would they say if I were to succeed in my endeavor and release secretive information?
However, my job as a reporter is to represent the student body. I am not the school’s cheerleader, nor do I hope to tear it down, but I want to answer questions that students raise and present the most accurate information possible. The school was talking about “Gold.” My religion class even had debated its meaning Monday morning. That was enough assurance for me that students wanted to know.
And, come hell or high water, I would inform them.
So I called All Signs, which was the first sign maker in the phonebook. Owner Paul Jendrek, Class of ‘75, told me a woman named “Becky” ordered the signs. I wound up calling him twice, getting so excited at the prospect of my first lead that I forgot to ask a few crucial questions. You know, like his name.
I can attest that I and a few others jumped up and down when he put me on hold to look up how many posters he had made.
This was the start of what would become a week of research, of getting hot on a lead, and getting so close I could taste the meaning of “Gold,” but then being set back.
I called the number he gave me to talk to “Becky,” who had ordered the signs. She works for the Harford County Community Service Department, and was in a meeting.
She didn’t get back to me, but thanks to her messaging machine, I knew her last name and it was a simple matter of googling the office. Conveniently, it was located five minutes from campus.
This is the point that “reporting” can be interchanged with “stalking.”
Her office shares a building with a stationary store that advertises itself much better than the public government department.
Becky Macek couldn’t provide very much information because she had deleted the original email request, and to this day, I’m not sure if she was honestly confused or had been warned about my intentions.
Through more tips, I learned that Harford County Public Schools and Edgewood High School were involved, but my interactions with them led to more dead ends.
I contacted Edgewood and Harford County Public Schools the next day to no avail.
The principal at Edgewood even carefully chose her words: “In response to signs that say ‘Gold,’ I have no idea.”
By Thursday, I was nearly sick of the story, but another tip kept me going when I found out that the signs had a different message at Edgewood.
I was renewed with fervor, and called Jendrek back in the morning. The plans for the Edgewood signs were at his Perryville warehouse.
Upon calling Edgewood, the main office hardly let me finish my question before saying “No.”
I made the decision to go to Edgewood that afternoon. Hypothetically, it would be much harder for them to lie if I was there.
However, Hottle and I went to Siemsen later that morning and we were offered a press embargo. The idea behind such a move is that by not publishing any more information, “The Patriot” would get the exclusive story later on.
The newspaper was backed into a corner. Any sources I might try to contact had been told to lie, according to Siemsen. However, not adding more information after coming so far would appear to readers to be a failure in investigative journalism.
I hated the choice.
As Siemsen said, “We were one step ahead the whole time.”
It perfectly describes the dilemma of the investigative reporter. The reporter has to second guess every source and evaluate their contributions to the story, and make sure that the source is consistent. They must follow leads and constantly search for new connections.
For most stories, sources are happy to give information because they want to clarify what they are doing or hope to do. The investigative reporter is searching for information shrouded in secrecy.
When I had my final interview, I learned that while visiting Macek, the man I should have been looking for, Joe Ryan, was only feet from me. The HCPS Department that knew about the initiative was the Health Department, not the general information I had contacted. Macek was given the sign order because the program ran through her office.
Words cannot express how frustrating this story was. I felt like I had let down my own ambitions by not being able to finish what I started, that I wasn’t a good reporter.
However, the article was paradoxically the best I’ve ever had the opportunity to pursue. It completely stretched my limits as a reporter, interviewer, and logical thinker. I met obstacles in the story that put perspective on stories I had once found “so difficult to research.” It gave me confidence in my ability to give my all in pursuing a story.
Maybe it wasn’t finding out who killed JFK, but it was a start. Mysteries don’t often happen at JC so I’ll take what I can get.
Kate Froehlich can be reached for comment at [email protected].