Brenda Baer: Remembering Ed Engler

Sunday, June 5, was the most appropriate day to hold the memorial for Ed Engler, as The Daily Sun under Ed Engler was founded on that date, in the year 2000.

We came together to remember and celebrate the life of Ed Engler. While we still mourned our loss, we needed to show our love and appreciation for his life and service. I looked forward to hearing others tell their stories of the Ed we might not know.

I was fortunate to have served on the City Council with Mayor Engler, who I encouraged to run for mayor along with former Mayor Mike Seymour. Great choice.

Many had doubts of a newspaper editor and publisher being fair and able to put aside personal opinions. He soon proved the worries were needless. His paper, The Daily Sun has always printed the good and the bad as well as the other side of the story. He and publisher Adam Hirshan together took The Daily Sun from an early circulation of 2,000 to the present circulation of 18,000. Whether you agreed or disagreed with his thoughts on projects, your points of view were always welcomed and in fact wanted. Ed investigated every subject before he commented on them. And he demanded the same from those with a different prospectus. At council meetings he repeatedly provoked silent members to contribute their views. He held no grudges and appreciated a good argument if you had your facts. He always explained his positions simply and concisely. He was a true historian and always had the facts and background of everything he put forth. He gave many speeches at memorials or celebrations and they were filled with details, history, and humor.

There was always time for personal conversations during trips, coffee, or lunch. We forged a very warm friendship. He was sentimental about his family, home town affiliation, and Texas. It was not uncommon for him to cry in public at the loss of someone or something important to him.

His dedication as mayor of Laconia while fighting the deadly cancer was unbelievable. He kept a full schedule at the paper as well as the needs of the city. He prevailed in his quest for better zoning and housing, and in his biggest victory, the Colonial restoration which we are enjoying today, all while suffering many problems associated with his illness.

He was a good mayor, a good friend, and a good man.

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Brenda Baer is a former city councilor for Laconia.