MARTINS FERRY – And then there was one.

I started working at The Times Leader in the Martins Ferry office in September 1978, becoming one of more than 100 employed by the paper at that time. We also had offices in St. Clairsville and Bellaire.

I am the only one from that original cast who remains. The last fellow co-worker to depart was Betty Pokas. She retired this past New Year’s Eve.

It marked the end of an era.

As The Times Leader prepares to celebrate its 125th birthday on Tuesday, it was good to take a look back at my career, and the people I’ve shared it with. The special commemorative section in Tuesday’s newspaper will feature much of what has helped to shape The Times Leader over the past century and a quarter, including the people who made it the leading news source for Eastern Ohio.

When I started here as a sportswriter, I was as wet behind the ears as a new reporter could be. My boss? A virtual journalistic legend – Cal Pokas. He was tough, talented and a masterful teacher.

I came to The Times Leader shortly after graduating from Bethany College, regarded as an excellent journalism school. I learned more from Cal about our business in one week than I did in four years at Bethany.

After nearly four decades in this profession, Cal – in my mind – remains the measuring stick for journalistic greatness.

The changes in this industry from 1978 to today are far too numerous to mention. Here are some of the most significant ones.

A landmark change was the switch to seven-day publication. When I came on board, we published Monday through Saturday. The presses would start weekdays at 11:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. on Saturdays.

That schedule was altered early in my career. The Saturday paper was halted and replaced by a Sunday morning edition. Years later, we brought back a Saturday edition, in morning form.

The Times Leader is now totally based out of Martins Ferry. Gone are the Bellaire and St. Clairsville outposts as well as an office at the Ohio Valley Mall. How news stories now get onto the pages compared to 1978 is like night and day.

Back in the older days, wire stories (UPI then, now Associated Press) came via ticker tape. They had to be scanned in for editors to access.

Typewriters were in vogue. Typed copy also had to be scanned in to be ready for use. It was a cumbersome process.

Computers eventually replaced typewriters. Wire stories now come straight into our computer systems, streamlining page layout.

One of the duties I disliked most in my early sports day was that of answering the phones. That meant sitting in the office at night, taking game results endlessly. It was drudgery.

Sunny Saturday afternoons in the spring were the worst. It was doubleheader after doubleheader. The phones never stopped.

Today, that once tedious chore is now a walk in the park. Coaches now report results via email, fax or sometimes even tweets. Not as much drudgery.

The cosmetics of our workplace also have been transformed for the better. What in 1978 was a one-floor operation has mushroomed into a two-story beehive of activity. Back in my Times Leader infancy, the second floor of the building was occupied by a printing business. All of the newspaper’s departments were located on the ground floor, resulting in some cramped quarters.

Space is no longer at a premium. The ground floor houses editorial and advertising needs while the upstairs is home to our new advertising hub.

But the biggest change in 37 years is a no-brainer.

It is the co-workers who have come and gone. In retrospect, I wish I had kept a list of all my comrades. I have witnessed hundreds and hundreds of fellow employees either leave for other employment opportunities or simply retire.

I was fortunate to start my elongated newspaper journey amidst many heavyweights in our profession – Cal and Betty Pokas, Bill McNell, Jimmy Mountain, Boyd Nelson and Andy Lloyd, to mention just a few. Bill Davies of the Barnesville Enterprise and a Times Leader contributor also was a great influence on me.

Publisher Rob Dix hired me at the urging of Donna Landers, who ran our accounting department.

I joined a crew that included Stan Pawloski, Robin Yocum, Jean Thomas, Pat Barth, Elsie Lutz, Susan Holub, Al Roberts, Dick Leigthner, Walter Jablonsky and many other who I no longer remember.

The faces have changed, but the staff remains just as dedicated. I now work with a talented and hard-working sports staff composed of Seth Staskey, Kim North and Rick Thorp. We carry on – with much dedication – the great tradition forged by Cal Pokas.

The Times Leader’s editorial department is now under the leadership of Managing Editor Jennifer Compston-Strough. Her staff of reporters covers Eastern Ohio like a blanket.

I have been cast in many roles during my time here. But growing up my goal was to be a sportswriter. I am fortunate to be one of the few who get to live out their dream job.

I plan on continuing to live that dream for many, many years to come.