It was an ordinary day. Reading story after story about my favorite TV anchorwoman, Kim Lemon who just announced her retirement after spending 42 years at Lancaster, Pennsylvania's WGAL Channel 8 television station.
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| Kim Lemon |
Kim was born in 1958 at what at the time was St. Joe's Hospital in Lancaster. Her mom and dad are Shirley and R. Dean Lemon who lived in the Manheim Township School District where she went to school while her dad taught at the MT High School. As a student at the Manheim Township Middle School in 1970 she was picked to read the morning announcements over the school's closed circuit TV station which was one of the first middle school stations in the country at the time. This was the defining moment that led to Kim's decision to go into television broadcasting. She eventually graduated from Manheim Township High School the year after I began teaching Industrial Arts at the high school with her dad Dean. After graduating from MTHS she attended the Kenya Science Teachers' College in Nairobi before returning to the USA where she entered Clarion State College in Pennsylvania. In 1977 she became Miss Clarion State College in the Miss Pennsylvania contest. She was First Runner-up/Swimsuit Winner in the contest. She later graduated from Clarion University. In 1979 she was hired by WGAL to replace television pioneer Marijane Landis as the Sunday Night Weather Girl. Marijane worked 48 years for WGAL and became a mentor to Kim.  |
| Kim Lemon at the WGAL studio in Lancaster, PA |
Kim says, "I hold her responsible, in large measure, for me being here. She and I had a conversation in March of 1979, after I graduated from college. She said the WGAL would be looking for a replacement for her, when she leaves, to do Sunday night weather and she is going to keep me in mind. Wasn't long before they asked her to audition. She says that a huge part of her success is being raised in Lancaster, going to school at Manheim Township and going to the same church her entire life. She said that her roots run deep here and that this is the only place she ever wanted to work. She takes her job very seriously and is very thorough in what she does. She tries to be graceful and that resonates with people. They respect you for that. After nine months into her career as a reporter, she was asked to audition as the co-host for PM Magazine, a nationally syndicated show. Kim was hired, and as a young woman, traveled the world as WGAL's first PM Magazine co-host. In 1985 she moved full-time into the news room as the 6:00 PM news anchor. Since that time she has been anchoring News 8 at 6:00 PM. She has been awarded more than a dozen Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Achievement as a Host, as well as numerous Associated Press Awards. She has been picked by the readers of the Lancaster County Magazine as the Best Local News Anchor for the past 26 consecutive years and has also served as an adjunct professor at Elizabethtowwn College in the Department of Communications. She works on year-long fundraising efforts for the Children's Miracle Network and sponsors the Spirit of the Hummingbird Program award for the Hershey Medical Center. Kim serves on the Board of Directors on the National MS Society and Aaron's Acres. She also founded the Susquehanna Valley Lewy Body Dementia Support Group. As far as her family goes, her mother Shirley died a few years ago and her dad now lives in Herndon, PA on the Christmas Tree farm that he began over 50 years ago. She also has two brothers. Kim has two daughters, Meg who is 25 and Morgan who is 22. Her husband John MacIver was diagnosed with early-onset dementia many years ago and in 2009 suffered a stroke and was diagnosed at the time to also have Parkinson's disease.  |
| Photograph of Kim and her family |
It was at that time that he was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. Kim said that "Everything is different. John can't work. He doesn't drive. I'm the one in charge now; the partnership we shared is gone. At the time of her husband's diagnosis, Kim took a leave of absence over the summer because she was at the point of "a meltdown" from it all. Kim said, "It has been a privilege to come into your homes every night and in some ways becoming part of your family. I have viewers tell me, "I grew up watching you and now my children and grandchildren watch you. It is a humbling experience. I will miss my talented and kind coworkers here at News 8 and I will miss you." In a post on her Facebook page, Kim noted her announcement comes 42 years to the day she started at WGAL as "the Sunday Night Weather Girl." I am close to 20 years older than Kim, but have been lucky enough to have had the chance to know her family and watch her throughout her career at WGAL-TV. I taught with her dad since the mid-1960s and heard many stories about Kim throughout the time I taught her dad. I now have hearing problems, but Kim was one person whom I have no trouble hearing and understanding on my TV screen. I know that I am going to miss her, but she certainly has put in her time at WGAL. She deserves all the free time she can have after having to deal with her job and her husband's medical problems. It is now time to enjoy life a bit more, Kim! A bit of advice...don't let yourself get back into the same old grind. Take time to smell the flowers and treat yourself to a good dose of relaxation. You certainly deserve it!! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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