Guiding the Catholic Missourian is Jay Nies' ministry

Jay Nies, editor of the Catholic Missourian, stands outside the chancery in Jefferson City.
Jay Nies, editor of the Catholic Missourian, stands outside the chancery in Jefferson City.

The smell of the old-time printing press and the feel of paste-up design boards were commonplace in Jay Nies' childhood.

And he loved it.

From a young age his parents, Vandy and the late Jerry Nies, included him in their weekly work of editing the parish newspaper, The Bellringer.

He vividly remembers his first story at age 13 about a long-time bus driver who enjoyed bringing the children to school.

In the meantime, Nies was at work writing his own version of a newspaper for his elementary schoolmates, making photocopies for a dime each at the local library in Manchester. However, the teachers frowned on the selling of his wares, he recalled.

"It was not subversive; it was a lot of fun," Nies said. "But, I couldn't type or spell worth a darn."

"I've got a computer to do it now."