Newspapers, like any other business, are competitive entities. But while we may try to beat each other to the latest scoop, we are also a fraternity of sorts.

This week, that fraternity lost one of its senior members—Billy DeHardit. Many knew Billy as the good-natured gentleman in a tweed cap and bowtie, always ready with a quick smile and a kind word.

There are fewer around who still remember his days before Glo-Quips, when he served as managing editor of this newspaper. Billy joined the staff of the Gazette-Journal in 1950 after serving for a while as a court reporter at the Naval Mine Depot (now Naval Weapons Station Yorktown). Five years later, he became editor, taking over from long-time editor Paul Titlow.

Four years later, DeHardit resigned to start the printing business that was to become Glo-Quips. In his years at Glo-Quips, he demonstrated a passion for preserving the community’s rich history.

Billy DeHardit would often stop by the back door of the Gazet...