Posted on Mar 30, 2006

His journalistic career spanned seven decades as editor,publisher, and columnist for the Chatham Courier. He joined the family-owned newspaper in 1946 after returning from World War II as a decorated war hero.
He became an award-winning writer through his weekly column, “The Man in the Black Hat,” covering nostalgia, gossip, historical glimpses, and tidbits of everyday life in a country community. According to classmate Larry Schwartz, Callan was in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-living columnist.
At Union, where he was an athlete and scholar, he learned French and German, putting both to use in the U.S. Army, in which he enlisted just before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
He served with the Third Army, commanded by General George S. Patton. He landed at Normandy during the D-Day, and commanded a counterintelligence team to track down enemy spies in French villages. On his staff was Corporal Henry Kissinger, who ran the office.
Promoted to major, Callan came home with 16 military awards including the Bronze Star, six battle stars, and the French Croix de Guerre, the French government's highest military honor for a non-citizen. LaCroix-sur-Meuse, the town he helped liberate, recently named a street after him.
Callan stayed closely connected to Union, and was chair of this year's 65th ReUnion committee. At earlier ReUnions, he won the cup for best ReUnion theme, having hired a group of antique cars, to which he compared his classmates. At another ReUnion, he rounded up a wagon with a team of Clydesdales and barrels, to liken his classmates to vintage wine. This year's theme is PhE of '41, representing a Doctorate in Experience and Excellence. Callan supported Union sports, having presented a shell to the college's crew team. “His always felt his shell won their races for them,” says Schwartz.
His classmates are remembering him by installing a den in Sorum House to honor the Class of '41; the den will house his photo as well as a copy of his book, The Man in the Black Hat: Collected Columns from the Chatham Courier, and some of the amusing costumes he created.
Long-time friend Larry Gelbart, creator of the M*A*S*H television series, wrote in a tribute, “With his small-town big-heartedness, Albert was 10 parts Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey, with nary a trace of Lionel Barrymore's Mr. Potter” and “I can think of no other American who so embodied the best values of the country which he took such pride in serving.”