Column: Bill Bregar was a true original

Some of you may have known Bill Bregar, a longtime reporter for Plastics News. It was with great sadness and shock when I heard of his unexpected death April 5 at the young age of 58.

As a sister publication of Plastics News, his stories ran occasionally in Rubber & Plastics News, particularly those concerning machinery, one of his main beats over the years.

While I wasn't as close to Bill as his co-workers at PN, I have some memories that go way back. Bill was one of the original reporters for Plastics News, starting with them in 1989, a year after I joined RPN. It didn't take long for anyone to learn that Bill was a true original. He held strong opinions and wasn't afraid to share them.

When Major League Baseball and its players were on the verge of a strike that ended the 1994 season prematurely, Bill protested outside of Jacobs Field in Cleveland with a sign proclaiming it was a "Field of Greed."

Bill also was a strong reporter, and took his role in journalism very seriously, a fact that showed clearly in his body of work for PN.

For the last six-plus years of his career, he had to work from home, something he didn't care for. Bill thrived on the camaraderie of a newsroom. After PN moved to Crain's corporate office in Detroit, he made occasional trips to our Akron offices and, on those occasions, I knew to prepare for a long discussion on any number of topics.

The last thing I read of Bill's was a blog on working from home, penned when Crain began having staff work remotely as the COVID-19 outbreak grew. He wrote that when he first began working remotely, a colleague told him to shower each morning and dress like you're going to the office. What did Bill do? He bought five pairs of pajama pants, one for each day of the week.

As I write this at my dining room table, I do so in honor of Bill, wearing my best "dress sweats."

Meyer is editor of Rubber & Plastics News. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @bmeyerRPN.