Great memories

Such great memories being shared here. I was one of the many young journalists Wilke extended a warm welcome to at the Journal. I was just a kid from Iowa, hoping to turn a summer internship into a job, and he was larger than life — a big-time investigative journalist at the WSJ. I remember feeling so privileged just to be invited out for drinks and oysters with the "posse" — let alone to be treated with such respect and professionalism.

To Wilke I feel I owe one of the best experiences of my life, and that was being exposed to Washington journalism performed at absolutely the highest level. Though I didn't realize it at the time, he also taught me the value of having balance in your career. I remember him talking lovingly about his children — remarking once about how great it was to have kids of a certain age, when they thought you were still cool. I've since left Washington, but I intend to go out with some of my journalist colleagues this week and have a couple beers. For them, I hope it will be a rare chance for us to talk about what makes this job so great without all the scary overtones about the state of the industry. For me, it will be a chance to remember a truly great person.

Laura Heinauer