James R. (Bob) Hagerty
@jamesrhagerty.bsky.social
Obituary writer for the Wall Street Journal and other publications. Raised in North Dakota. Lived in London, Paris, Brussels and Hong Kong. Now in Pittsburgh. Author of "Yours Truly," a guide to writing life stories.
My story on a traveling reptile showman who tried to scare kids just enough—and warned them against poor pet choices
www.wsj.com/articles/dan...
www.wsj.com/articles/dan...
Danny Conner, Traveling Reptile Showman and the ‘Steve Irwin’ of Texas, Dies at 68
His snakes, lizards and giant turtles were hits at county fairs and boat shows.
www.wsj.com
August 21, 2025 at 7:52 PM
My story on a traveling reptile showman who tried to scare kids just enough—and warned them against poor pet choices
www.wsj.com/articles/dan...
www.wsj.com/articles/dan...
The pineapple king who ate banana skins and aimed to live to 125. www.wsj.com/real-estate/...
David Murdock, Corporate Investor Who Made Nutrition an Obsession, Dies at 102
Murdock, a high-school dropout, made a fortune in real estate and agriculture, owning Dole Food.
www.wsj.com
June 26, 2025 at 8:39 PM
The pineapple king who ate banana skins and aimed to live to 125. www.wsj.com/real-estate/...
Nixon made her a White House economic adviser. She refused to be an ornament. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Marina Whitman, Economist Who Advised Nixon and General Motors, Dies at 90
The daughter of a renowned mathematician, she broke glass ceilings and defied stereotypes.
www.wsj.com
June 21, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Nixon made her a White House economic adviser. She refused to be an ornament. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Poutine yes. Putin no!
June 2, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Poutine yes. Putin no!
The genial, consensus-seeking economist who got Ben Bernanke interested in macroeconomics and monetary policy--and shaped a whole generation of leading policy makers. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/01/b...
Stanley Fischer, Who Helped Defuse Financial Crises, Dies at 81
www.nytimes.com
June 1, 2025 at 3:35 PM
The genial, consensus-seeking economist who got Ben Bernanke interested in macroeconomics and monetary policy--and shaped a whole generation of leading policy makers. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/01/b...
When he arrived in New York in 1948 as a 19-year-old immigrant, his most notable work experience was as a Jewish resistance fighter, blowing up train tracks to stall Nazi troop movements. www.wsj.com/tech/paul-st...
Paul A. Strassmann, World War II Resistance Fighter Turned Computer Guru, Dies at 96
He decried the “technology arms race” of the 1980s and ‘90s, arguing that companies first needed to figure out what they really needed.
www.wsj.com
May 14, 2025 at 9:46 PM
When he arrived in New York in 1948 as a 19-year-old immigrant, his most notable work experience was as a Jewish resistance fighter, blowing up train tracks to stall Nazi troop movements. www.wsj.com/tech/paul-st...
Robert A.G. Monks, Crusader Against ‘Imperial’ C.E.O.s, Dies at 91 www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/b...
Robert A.G. Monks, Crusader Against ‘Imperial’ C.E.O.s, Dies at 91
www.nytimes.com
May 9, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Robert A.G. Monks, Crusader Against ‘Imperial’ C.E.O.s, Dies at 91 www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/b...
He was to Christmas-tree ornaments what Kinky Friedman was to country music. www.wsj.com/business/ent...
Marshall Rauch, Jewish Maker of Christmas-Tree Ornaments, Dies at 102
Transplanted from New York to North Carolina, his company would eventually make more than a million ornaments a day.
www.wsj.com
April 18, 2025 at 10:49 PM
He was to Christmas-tree ornaments what Kinky Friedman was to country music. www.wsj.com/business/ent...
A move that would put Trump in business with the firm that pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating anti-money-laundering requirements. www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
Exclusive | Trump Family Has Held Deal Talks With Binance Following Crypto Exchange’s Guilty Plea
The discussions for a stake in Binance’s U.S. arm come as founder Changpeng Zhao has pushed for the administration to pardon him for his own 2023 guilty plea.
www.wsj.com
March 13, 2025 at 9:32 PM
A move that would put Trump in business with the firm that pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating anti-money-laundering requirements. www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
Here's one CEO of a big Nasdaq-listed company who kept his pay low and stayed in cheap motels. The board wanted to pay him more. He said he didn't need it. www.wsj.com/business/bob...
Bob Kierlin, Frugal CEO Who Wore Secondhand Suits, Dies at 85
Co-founder of Fastenal kept his salary low and stayed in cheap motels on business trips, but donated generously to schools and arts groups.
www.wsj.com
March 13, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Here's one CEO of a big Nasdaq-listed company who kept his pay low and stayed in cheap motels. The board wanted to pay him more. He said he didn't need it. www.wsj.com/business/bob...
When you're feeling discouraged, just remember that John Hiatt rhymed "amoeba" with "Queen of Sheba."
March 7, 2025 at 2:54 PM
When you're feeling discouraged, just remember that John Hiatt rhymed "amoeba" with "Queen of Sheba."
She will be 101 next month and is still working as a tax preparer. Meet the amazing Else Rike.
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ta...
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ta...
They’re 100 Years Old—And Still Could Do Your Taxes
Some tax professionals keep crunching numbers into their 90s and beyond
www.wsj.com
February 19, 2025 at 1:21 PM
She will be 101 next month and is still working as a tax preparer. Meet the amazing Else Rike.
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ta...
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ta...
Long before Elon Musk, he ignored the established rules of CEO etiquette
www.wsj.com/business/pau...
www.wsj.com/business/pau...
Paul Oreffice, Outspoken Former CEO of Dow Chemical, Dies at 97
Among other things, he called environmentalists “professional merchants of doom.”
www.wsj.com
January 29, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Long before Elon Musk, he ignored the established rules of CEO etiquette
www.wsj.com/business/pau...
www.wsj.com/business/pau...
She swore by pots of secret potions,
salves, pomades and silky lotions,
ointments, creams and abstruse notions,
steeped in salt from seven oceans–
seas that severed her from me
salves, pomades and silky lotions,
ointments, creams and abstruse notions,
steeped in salt from seven oceans–
seas that severed her from me
January 26, 2025 at 3:21 AM
She swore by pots of secret potions,
salves, pomades and silky lotions,
ointments, creams and abstruse notions,
steeped in salt from seven oceans–
seas that severed her from me
salves, pomades and silky lotions,
ointments, creams and abstruse notions,
steeped in salt from seven oceans–
seas that severed her from me
The management guru who didn't want to tell you how to run your business but hoped to make you think more deeply.
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/wo...
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/wo...
Charles Handy, Management Expert Who Predicted Many Modern Trends, Dies at 92
A bestselling author, who hated to be called a management guru, foresaw the rise of remote work and the decline of corporate lifers.
www.wsj.com
January 14, 2025 at 9:26 PM
The management guru who didn't want to tell you how to run your business but hoped to make you think more deeply.
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/wo...
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/wo...
She sold bell bottoms to flower children and loaned leather jackets to the Grateful Dead. It didn't end well.
www.wsj.com/style/fashio...
www.wsj.com/style/fashio...
Peggy Caserta, Arbiter of Hippie Fashion in the 1960s, Dies at 84
She lent clothes to the Grateful Dead, was Janis Joplin’s lover and threw away her fortune on drugs.
www.wsj.com
January 9, 2025 at 3:18 PM
She sold bell bottoms to flower children and loaned leather jackets to the Grateful Dead. It didn't end well.
www.wsj.com/style/fashio...
www.wsj.com/style/fashio...
The thing to do
if you're feeling blue
is close your eyes
and think of Baraboo
if you're feeling blue
is close your eyes
and think of Baraboo
December 27, 2024 at 8:57 PM
The thing to do
if you're feeling blue
is close your eyes
and think of Baraboo
if you're feeling blue
is close your eyes
and think of Baraboo
The days are getting longer
December 22, 2024 at 11:43 AM
The days are getting longer
Could bluesky find a better way to get rid of fake accounts featuring pictures of young women?
December 20, 2024 at 7:45 PM
Could bluesky find a better way to get rid of fake accounts featuring pictures of young women?
Being a garbage man was never the best job, but at least they had company and could joke about some of the crazy things people threw out. Now they are put in fancier trucks that mean one person does all the work alone. Slip them a $20 if you get a chance.
December 20, 2024 at 12:25 PM
Being a garbage man was never the best job, but at least they had company and could joke about some of the crazy things people threw out. Now they are put in fancier trucks that mean one person does all the work alone. Slip them a $20 if you get a chance.
I disagree with these two sayings but like them anyway:
"Anything too stupid to be said is sung" --attributed to Voltaire.
"La musique est un bruit qui coûte cher" --attributed to King Leopold II of Belgium
"Anything too stupid to be said is sung" --attributed to Voltaire.
"La musique est un bruit qui coûte cher" --attributed to King Leopold II of Belgium
December 20, 2024 at 1:25 AM
I disagree with these two sayings but like them anyway:
"Anything too stupid to be said is sung" --attributed to Voltaire.
"La musique est un bruit qui coûte cher" --attributed to King Leopold II of Belgium
"Anything too stupid to be said is sung" --attributed to Voltaire.
"La musique est un bruit qui coûte cher" --attributed to King Leopold II of Belgium
Sign held up by a panhandler in Pittsburgh today: At least give me the middle finger
December 19, 2024 at 8:41 PM
Sign held up by a panhandler in Pittsburgh today: At least give me the middle finger
Top 20 Albums of 2024 www.rockandbluesmuse.com/2024/12/16/t...
Top 20 Albums of 2024
Just when we thought last year's blues rock and roots albums couldn’t be topped, 2024 arrives with more than its fair share of outstanding releases. We were bowled over by each of these albums, includ...
www.rockandbluesmuse.com
December 16, 2024 at 6:58 PM
Top 20 Albums of 2024 www.rockandbluesmuse.com/2024/12/16/t...
