Bruce Hogle at 81 and recently retired now takes life easier

[jon]

Television pioneer looks back on groundbreaking career
Bruce Hogle at 81 and recently retired now takes life easier
By Nick Lees, edmontonjournal.com


If Tim Horton and George Armstrong hadn't been such great athletes, it's doubtful Edmonton would be the home today of a man who has received just about every community and industry award ever created.

Bruce Hogle, in a 25-year radio and television career, brought about new Alberta government legislation, changed discriminatory legislation and campaigned hard and effectively for the underdog.

At 81, he's just retired from playing a major role in one of his most successful initiatives, the CFRN Good Neighbour Fund, and took time out to reflect on a life that still has him rise at 6 a.m. every day to help others.

Modest as always, rather than dwell on himself, he said he'd prefer to talk about Gail, his wife of 56 years, and lawyer sons Bill and Randy, and former broadcaster Steve, now with the Katz Group.

"I attended high school in Sudbury (Ont.) with Tim Horton and George Armstrong and played football and hockey with them," said Hogle, who in 1998 was inducted into the Order of Canada and in 1994 was named one of the "100 Edmontonians of the Century" during the city's 100th birthday celebrations.

"I had only regular hockey skills compared with those two guys. They were salt-of-the earth, humble people who could have played professional football or hockey. Knowing them, I knew I couldn't make it as a professional player and being a sports writer would be a better career choice for me."

Horton and Armstrong both had long careers with the Original Six Toronto Maple Leafs.

Hogle followed his father Bill into the newspaper business and worked at the Medicine Hat News and The Canadian Press in Winnipeg.

In 1957, Hogle was the editor of the Trail Daily Times and working around the clock, seven days a week, on stories about the fanatically active Sons of the Doukhobors. The Doukhobors didn't want to be assimilated into mainstream Canada and there were numerous explosions -- some people died making bombs -- power lines were destroyed and rail tracks dynamited.

"My third son, Steve, had just been born," says Hogle. "Garbage was really building up and one day I drove to the dump, but the gates were locked.

"On the way home, I thought about how busy I was going to be and how more garbage was going to pile up. About five kilometres out of town, I made the biggest mistake of my life and dropped plastic bags in the ditch."

It might have been wild animals that tore the bags apart, but RCMP later found correspondence addressed to Hogle. His dutiful, mortified wife represented him in court, was chastised for her husband not being there and fined $25.

"Our newspaper recorded all court cases," says Hogle. "I had to run a story and I'm still embarrassed. I squirm when people mention it."

In 1965, Hogle took over from his dad as CFRN television and radio news manager, editorialist and public-affairs host. In 1967, a powerful documentary, What About the Victim, won a national award and led to the creation in 1967 of the Alberta Crimes Compensation Board.

"The documentary portrayed horrific crimes in Alberta where victims were often so badly beaten they were unable to work again," says Hogle. "In some cases, deaths eventually resulted."

It would take a page to print Hogle's milestones, but one must be his meeting with then Alberta premier Peter Lougheed in 1973 when he negotiated the live coverage of legislative proceedings.

Two years later, at the height of an economic boom, and with a drastic shortage of rental properties, unscrupulous landlords increased city rents as much as four times a year without penalty.

"Despite threats, we named the landlords and showed them and their scuzzy properties and called on the government to implement rent controls," says Hogle. "Within weeks, new legislation confined rent increases to once a year."

Hogle championed a Sherwood Park couple who wanted to adopt an aboriginal boy and his sister, and had legislation changed to allow people over 45 years of age to adopt.

In 1981, Hogle introduced Wednesday's Child, a television program that helped "unadoptable" foster children with physical, mental and emotional handicaps find permanent homes.

The Good Neighbour Fund, launched in 1993 to help people or families in need of support, is one of Hogle's favourite causes. He has received hundreds of "thank you" letters from those helped with everything from receiving badly needed glasses or hearing aids to allowing seniors to stay in their homes or facilitate rare medical operations.

"In one instance, we helped a woman from Vancouver escape from her dreadfully abusive husband, and successfully reunited her with her family in the Maritimes," says Hogle.

An army of Eveready Bunnies couldn't have kept up with the philanthropist as he worked for organizations such as the Salvation Army, the Lifesaving Society and service clubs.

He also served as president of the Canadian Association of Shriners.

nlees@edmontonjournal.com

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal


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[jon]

Standing O for Bruce

A heart-felt tribute to one of the city’s really good guys on Wednesday.

Bruce Hogle was honoured at the CTV Good Neighbour Fund’s annual fund-raising Poor Boy’s Luncheon at the Fantasyland Hotel Thursday.

Bruce founded the Good Neighbour Fund, was its chair for many years, and only now is officially stepping off its board. At 81, the career-long CFRN/CTV Edmonton news director’s opinion is still sought out and valued by working journalists and CTV management,

The 15-minute video was a labour of love by CTV employees, a wonderful trip down memory lane to a time when local TV was truly local TV. Hogle’s on-air editorials were the stuff of legends.

Bruce still has the energy and enthusiasm of a man 30 years younger.

What a Bruce!

Who’ll give him sleeping pills?

from Hicks on Six, November 26, 2010, by Graham Hicks in the Edmonton Sun