FREDERICK - A Great Place to Live

FrederickNewsPost.com
New York Times veteran editor moves to Frederick for peaceful retirement
Originally published January 29, 2010 By Danielle McFall

Jack Topchik, a former editor at The New York Times, lives is a condominium overlooking Carroll Creek. He began working for The Times in the fall of 1967 after graduating from the University of Tennessee. Topchik's career was mostly at the Times News Service, which selects, edits and transmits news content to more than 600 newspapers and government agencies worldwide. "During my career," he said, "I served as European editor, Latin American editor, special sections editor and day editor." For seven years, Topchik was also the photo editor of The New York Times.
Topchik took a leave of absence in 2000 to join the Peace Corps in Haiti, but returned a week after the Sept. 11 attacks. He retired from The Times in 2007.
He then took an online survey titled "Where Should You Retire?"
"It had about 50 questions, some weighted more than others, and it kept coming up 'Frederick,'" Topchik said, "Our first response was 'where the hell is Frederick?'"
After making a few pit stops in Frederick on the way home from visiting their son in Washington, he and his wife, Carol, settled on Carroll Creek in July. So far, Topchik enjoys his new city.
"Aesthetically, we love the proximity to the farms and the mountains, not to mention the ability to be in two major cities within an hour," he said.
He has already shared his journalistic wisdom and experience in two Hood College communications classes and said he hopes to work with students more in the future.
Danielle McFall is a student in a journalism class at Hood College.