‘The consummate newsman’: Daily Local News reporter Michael P. Rellahan remembered

by nancy march

WEST CHESTER — Michael P. Rellahan whose fiery opinions and attention to detail marked 43 years of telling the stories of Chester County, died Saturday at home in West Chester. He was 68.

As news of his passing moved through the county Monday, former colleagues and friends lamented the loss of a consummate news reporter, friend everyone should be lucky enough to have, devoted “Mr. Mike” who loved and appreciated children, and “a pest” with a sense of humor and social justice fairness.

“It’s a gut punch. I feel for Chester County residents because he was our voice for over 40 years,” said Chester County Judge Patrick Carmody. “It’s the end of an era. People got mad at Mike. I knew that because they’d yell at me ‘Tell that friend of yours Rellahan….’. But I was proud to call him a friend.”

“Mike was a legend in Chester County journalism,” said county Commissioners Chairman Josh Maxwell. “He was appropriately intimidating and thoughtful; he was old-school in the best possible way. He didn’t believe in charm; he wanted the facts.”

Daily Local News staff writer Michael P. Rellahan

“For me, Mike was a friend everyone should be lucky enough to have. Someone who would do anything for you at any time, no questions asked,” said Jamie McVickar, a friend since college. “You always knew where you stood with Mike. If he didn’t like something you said or did, he had no filter to keep those opinions to himself.”

Opinionated and a bit overwhelming

Rellahan’s expression of his “opinions” was legendary, both in the newsroom of the Daily Local News where he worked for 43 years and in the halls and courtrooms of Chester County, where he was a fixture for just as long.

“He was a bit overwhelming,” recalled former Daily Local Managing Editor Bill March, whose office was adjacent to Rellahan’s desk, “but other reporters, especially the younger ones, knew that Mike was the one who could point them in the right direction to get to the heart of stories.”

“I can still hear Mike’s shrill voice from the middle of the newsroom questioning a statement made by an editor, interviewee or fellow reporter: ‘Are you telling me…..?’ Mike was opinionated and not afraid to make his stance known,” said Bruce Mowday, city editor and managing editor during the 1980s and 1990s. “He would not take statements at face value. He questioned the validity of declarations by those in power, by the general public, friends and especially his editors.”

“He always complained about his editors,” said Carmody. “But then he complained when they left because he didn’t want a new one.”

Seeking ‘every man’ stories

In the courthouse, Carmody said Rellahan would pop in and out of courtrooms to see what trials were in progress. He worked in a paper-cluttered office on the fifth floor of the courthouse, and at lunchtime, he sat in the courthouse lobby talking to people, listening, always looking for “that good story.”

To Rellahan, the “good story” was not the most sensational or dramatic; it was more often the details of a person’s life, especially the “every man stories, not just the big-wigs,” Carmody said. His profiles of people, both living and passed, were what he took most seriously. “He agonized over getting those stories perfect. He strove for the details in the ordinary life that made it extraordinary. He became an investigative reporter to learn about a person’s life and tell it as part of life in Chester County.

“One example was a profile [he wrote] of John Mitchell, who Mitch’s Gym was named after. Mike explained that Mitch was not some bodybuilder but instead a man who, despite having Down Syndrome, brought joy to all around him. Afterwards, I told Mike ‘This is why local newspapers exist,’” said Carmody.

“All he wanted in life was to be a newspaperman for a small town. One couldn’t walk down a street in West Chester without four or five people saying a cheery hello to him as if they were longtime friends. I think he had no idea of the positive impact he had on so many lives with the human interest stories he wrote,” said McVickar.

“Mike was a true professional who very much enjoyed reporting the news of crimes and trials occurring in Chester County,” said David M. Sassa, chief of county detectives. “He was a fixture here in the Justice Center and he will be missed.”

“I’ll always remember Mike opening and closing a courtroom door,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Michelle Frei. “Other people would do so quietly to not disturb the proceedings. Not Mike. I’d be doing a closing and would hear him barrel his way into a courtroom. What was really demoralizing is when I heard him leaving the courtroom halfway through my closing. And he did that with everybody. I told young prosecutors not to take it personally.”

The soft side

“Mike had a deep appreciation of and respect for children,” said West Chester Magisterial District Judge Marian Vito. “Though I’d already known Mike pretty well for many years, I wasn’t really aware of this until my husband Jim got called to active duty immediately after 9/11 and left for almost 3 years.

“Mike showed up for our boys, 1 and 6 at the time. He quickly became a natural part of our household, a consistent presence focusing on the boys, without fanfare. Mike’s been with us every Christmas morning since. Santa always leaves a stocking for him, which he would open when the boys opened theirs so that together the three of them would share their joy. Mike took such delight in small things which revealed a truth about who a person was inside.”

“We used to invite him to our kids’ birthday dinners and along with handmade cards for each of us, he would always not only bring a thoughtful gift for the one celebrating their birthday but would also bring gifts for the other kids so they wouldn’t feel left out,” added McVickar.

The hard news

Rellahan covered the top stories in Chester County courts over the years, writing about notorious murder cases like that of Richard Griest, whose picture after killing his pregnant wife won a Pulitzer prize for The [Pottstown] Mercury, and Morgan Mengel, whose trial for poisoning her husband was the subject of a Dateline episode.

Most recently, his coverage of Danelo Cavalcante, the crab-walking murderer who escaped from Chester County Prison, brought national and international attention to the Daily Local News. Rellahan told Mowday that early in the manhunt, he and editor Cheryl Kehoe Rodgers decided to ignore the many wild rumors that were circulating in the public and on social media and rely on official sources and statements. As a result, the newspaper’s coverage was accurate and timely, as noted by police and others.

Rellahan was often outspoken about the loss of resources in newsrooms and shrinking staffs witnessed during his tenure. In recalling the Cavalcante coverage, he told Mowday it was difficult to cover everything else while covering the escape. His concern was always to get the story complete and get it right, his frequent typos notwithstanding.

Fair and complete

“As an elected official, what I’ve always appreciated was how fair he was,” said county Commissioner Eric M. Roe. “He threw me some hardballs over the years, but he was never unfair with his presentation of my answers to his questions. … A professor once told me that there are two types of reporters: hungry, young reporters who are eager for anything, and seasoned veterans who you should never try to outsmart. In my first race for public office, it didn’t take long for me to learn that Mike Rellahan was the latter.”

“Chester County lost a talented journalist in Mike Rellahan — a voice that informed, questioned, and inspired. I will miss seeing him popping in and out of our commissioner meetings always serious and ready to write. We are grateful for all he gave to our community,” said Commissioners Vice Chair Marian D. Moskowitz.

“I had an interview scheduled with him today to talk about the state budget impasse,” said Maxwell. “I collected pages of facts to meet the challenge of a Rellahan interview. My anxiety has turned to mourning.”

“Mike was the consummate reporter and a gifted writer — meticulous, insightful, and deeply devoted to his craft. His old-school shorthand and his thoughtful, direct questions reflected both his skill and his integrity. He was fair and balanced in his reporting, always able to get to the heart of a story quickly,” said county Communications Director Rebecca Brain.

“Though Cincinnati was his beloved hometown, Mike’s heart was firmly rooted in Chester County, where he spent decades chronicling the stories of our community. I will miss his calls, his questions, our conversations, and his good-natured attempts to convince me that Cincinnati’s Skyline Chili was second to none.”

Cincinnati to West Chester

From Cincinnati, Rellahan graduated from Earlham College in Indiana and got his start as a cub reporter with the Sturgis News in Sturgis, KY. He joined the staff of the Daily Local News in 1982. During his tenure, he won numerous state and regional awards for his writing.

Outside of his professional life, he enjoyed hiking, camping, photography, and spending time with friends at the beach. He was a prolific reader, music enthusiast, and enjoyed spirited conversation on wide-ranging topics. He loved baseball and was a lifelong Cincinnati Reds fan.

Drawn to the Quaker philosophies of social justice, he was a longtime member of Downingtown Friends Meeting.

He is survived by his sisters Ellen Wathen and Barbara Rellahan, stepbrother John Rellahan, brothers-in-law Michael Wathen and Thomas Howcroft, nieces Elizabeth Howcroft, Emily Wathen, and Alice Wathen, nephew Daniel Howcroft, and a grandniece.

A memorial service will be held at a date to be determined at the Downingtown Friends Meeting. Donations can be made in his memory to nonprofit journalism agencies, The Associated Press or National Public Radio.

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