Remembering William "Bill" Rail

By JANET RAIL
Publisher
William Joseph “Bill” Rail, born June 10, 1930, 77, former publisher of the Independent Appeal and Mt. Pleasant Record, died Tuesday, August 14, 2007 in his home in Mt. Pleasant.
He celebrated over 50 years in the newspaper business. It was fate that brought Bill into the business. As a boy, he developed an infection in one of his legs after an accident on the family farm. This was prior to the development of antibiotics which left him with an ambulatory disadvantage, but to him no handicap. He was determined to succeed just like everyone else and take advantage of his talents. After graduating from Hay Long High School Class of 1950, he attended the Southern School of Printing in Nashville to become a linotype operator.
He learned the trade from the ground up and participated in every aspect of the business to develop the skills required to produce a newspaper. His first job after school, for a short time, was for Anderson News in Lawrenceburg, Ky., before returning home to Mt. Pleasant to work for the Mt. Pleasant Record.
After working at the Record since 1952, he became the owner and publisher in 1966. It was in the sixties he witnessed the change from linotype to offset where a picture of a page was taken through a process of burning a plate. In 1967, color was introduced.
After a decade of printing the Mt. Pleasant Record, Rail left Mt. Pleasant to purchase McNairy County Publishing Company, publishers of the Independent Appeal and Adamsville News. It was Jim T. Hamilton, a native of Selmer and good friend that shared the opportunity of the potential sell of a newspaper in Selmer. Before long, in August of 1976, the family was moving to West Tennessee.
Bill’s goal was to develop a first class newspaper in McNairy County. He was dedicated to promote and advance his community, educate and inform its citizens and protect their rights to know. It was an important calling to him, one that he dedicated his life to and loved his work. “Bill will probably never know what a positive influence he has been on my life. He was my colleague, my mentor and most of all my friend,” said Scott Whaley, Publisher of the Chester County Independent.
The thing he loved the most was telling the many fascinating stories of the people and events he covered. Publishing a weekly, you are often the writer, photographer, the advertising director and circulation manager. Bill did it all with pride. He made the job look easy but was never satisfied, he always felt there was an opportunity to improve the paper. To continue to be successful, he felt you must keep up with advances in your industry. He introduced computers as soon as they were available. Pagination of the paper seemed difficult at first but today offers cutting edge technology he so believed in.
He once said that talking with the people in the community and trying to provide what they want is what makes a newspaper successful. The Independent Appeal had a circulation of 4,000 when he purchased the paper and grew to 7,400 in circulation which he attributed to his commitment to give the people a great product and one they valued.
He loved his native Maury County and McNairy County where he resided for over 30 years. He was passionate about journalism and hoped to make a difference. I believe he did. The greatest blessing in my life were most recent years publishing the paper together. Just days before his death he discussed the importance of the work of journalism, to honor the power of the press and strive to always have a balanced story and tell the truth.
Mark Boehler, Executive Editor of The Daily Corinthian said, “He’s a good man. I’m honored to have been a part of his life for the 12 years I was at the newspaper. He was much more than a publisher, he was a friend. When you think of Bill Rail, you think of respect and a man who wanted to do the right thing. He’s one of those rare breeds where he really worked hard. He was so humble. We can all learn a lesson, all who knew him, to carry on these kinds of legacies.”
Bill was equally dedicated to family. Both papers were a family business and everyone contributed. He loved his Irish heritage, cherished the Rail name and gave his family and friends quality time whenever he could. He made time for everyone and loved conversing with them all. He always felt that everyone had a great story to tell and he enjoyed listening. He was a dedicated journalist and one who made his mark on both Maury and McNairy County that will forever remain.
“I will never forget the times I shared with Bill Rail,” said Tom Evans, General Manager of the Independent Appeal. “He was a great friend and a man that I came to love and respect after working around him and observing the way he lived his life. He truly loved his family, and he treated everyone with respect and fairness. He was a genuine person. The Independent Appeal became a better newspaper under his leadership, and hopefully I have become a better person just by knowing him. I love him, and I’ll cherish the memories.”
Tom was not the only person who grew to respect Bill for his leadership and love him for his caring way of life.
“He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever known,” said Jim Thompson, who spent many hours together with Bill and is currently Editor and General Manager of the Savannah Courier. “He will definitely be missed.”
He was an active member of the Tennessee Press Association since the 60’s and currently served on the TPA Foundation Board. Among some of his honors personally, as well as on behalf of the Independent Appeal was the former recipient of various TPA University of Tennessee State Press Awards for outstanding journalism, photography and advertising; an Honor Plaque as Outstanding Citizen; a Community Betterment Åward from the Chamber of Commerce; a Service Above Self Award and former Citizen of the Year Award from the Selmer Rotary Club; a Business Leader Award from Sam Walton Business Leaders; an Outstanding Male Citizen by the Selmer Jaycees; a Tennessee Education Association Certificate of Appreciation and Acknowledgement of Øutstanding Service to the Cause of Cancer; a Community Service Award from South Central Bell; recognition from the McNairy County Board of Education for his dedication and commitment to Academics in Education and founding the Academic Awards Banquet for all county schools, among others.
Services for Rail were conducted at 5 p.m. Saturday, August 18th in the chapel of Williams Funeral Home in Mt. Pleasant with Jeff Durham, Randy Kersey and Porter King officiating. Burial followed in Polk Memorial Gardens. The family visited with friends on Friday, August 17th, at Shackelford Funeral Home in Selmer and prior to the services on Saturday at Williams Funeral Home.
Enclosed in this week’s Independent Appeal is a tribute to William Joseph “Bill” Rail with stories celebrating the life of a man we all loved and will forever remain a major part of the rich history of the Mt. Pleasant Record and the Independent Appeal. May he rest in peace.