Editor's note: The following essays reflect on the life of Asheville native and longtime Xpress columnist Jerry Sternberg, who died Dec. 25.
BY MARLENE STERNBERG
Jerry Sternberg and I met 30 years ago when I was working at the the old house on Charlotte Street that was the Jewish Community Center and Jerry was spearheading community fundraising for a new building. Even though I was totally intimidated by this powerhouse of a man, we started a conversation ... and it lasted for the next 30 years.
We would have been married six years in March. Jerry had never even suggested marriage, but at the tender age of 88, he said that maybe it was time, and I was only to happy to enthusiastically agree. It's funny, but I think all of us become more traditional with age.
Jerry also began writing "The Gospel According to Jerry" the year we met. At the time, Xpress was regarded as a left-learning paper, and Jerry wanted to represent the business community and also write columns to provoke dialogue, or on occasion, just to provoke.
Over the many years of the "Gospel," Xpress evolved, as did Jerry's writing, and let's face it, he got older. Being a bona fide native Ashevillean with a historical perspective on this town second to none, he began to tell all of us newbies about Asheville before Asheville was cool, and his readership loved it. These last several years he has written series' on his years raising his family in Seely's castle, the river's colorful history and, most recently, a very personal account of growing up Jewish in Asheville. He told me that his last work was his best.
That being said, my favorite "Gospel" of all time was a piece called "Hand-me-down Memories," written in 2010. He wrote about Asheville's annual Christmas parade before the Asheville public schools were desegregated. His unsparing take on the casual cruelty of racism during these years gets to me every time.
Jerry is a leader among philanthropists in our community. He sees this as his greatest accomplishment and his most valuable contribution to the hometown he loved. He worked, quite literally, until a few days before his death, and his clear directive was to continue to support the causes to which he was committed. For Jerry, his financial success was not about what he had, but what he could do to give back. That, and that alone, is his legacy.
Marlene Sternberg was Jerry Sternberg's longtime girlfriend, eventual wife and always, always his biggest fan.
BY JEFF FOBES
When we prepared to launch Mountain Xpress in 1994, we needed to distance the new product from its progressive advocacy progenitor, Green Line. I remember reaching out to conservative entrepreneurs and activists.
Jerry Sternberg was one of those who listened and offered to contribute his opinions from time to time. A couple other contributors who stand out were Mike Summey and Lewis Green. But it was Jerry who contributed consistently, with his first "Gospel" appearing in the first issue of Xpress.
And Jerry was the only staunchly conservative businessman I encountered in those days who recognized that the few quirky businesses setting up shop in downtown had a chance against Tunnel Road with its enormous mall, where many of the old-guard downtown businesses had fled, leaving downtown a commercial ghost town. I argued and Jerry agreed that there might be a future for the downtown dreamers like Earth Guild, Malaprop's, Laughing Seed, The Chocolate Fetish, Downtown Books & News and The Market Place Restaurant.
Jerry, we'll miss your spunk, the gleam in your trickster eyes, your big heart and your businessman's acumen. Thanks for all you gave to Asheville.
During more than four decades in the editorial trenches, I've worked with literally hundreds of writers. But precious few have afforded me as satisfying and enduring a partnership as the one I shared with Jerry Sternberg.
It started sometime in the early '90s. And in tackling the challenge of writing for publication, Jerry had several distinct advantages: A natural-born storyteller, his talents honed by significant public-speaking experience, he'd already led a full and extraordinarily diverse life. His depth of local knowledge and unwavering commitment to public service further nurtured a memorable run.
Like all relationships, writer/editor collaborations are built on trust. I suppose Jerry and I must have initially had a period of feeling each other out, though after so many years of almost seamless teamwork, I have little memory of it. One regret I still harbor is my long-ago failure to catch his mistakenly placing Pearl Harbor in 1940 instead of 1941. Jerry subsequently both acknowledged his error and called out his editor for not correcting it. I still chuckle ruefully remembering what turned out to be, for me at least, a valuable learning experience.
What I treasure, however, are the countless memories of columns we worked on in which Jerry unflinchingly examined both the culture's shortcomings and his own blind spots. That willingness to dig deep produced a body of work that illuminates his native city's triumphs and failures.
When I learned of Jerry's death, I felt a mix of sadness and deep admiration for a life well and truly lived. I'll miss working with him, as well as our occasional meetups. This city has lost one of its own, and I encourage every resident, and all who take an interest in Asheville from afar, to explore Jerry's literary legacy, which will enhance your understanding of a remarkable human being and the place he called home.
Peter Gregutt has served as editor of Green Line and managing editor of Xpress. When he's not busy traveling, hiking or checking out the latest breweries, he works as a freelance writer and editor.
Readers, do you have a favorite memory of Jerry Sternberg or one of his columns? What does it tell you about Asheville's history or of the writer who penned it? Send your thoughts to letters@mountainx.com with the subject line "Gospel Memories." Guidelines can be found at avl.mx/5ds.