Frank V. Tursi

I love Frank Tursi. Frank no longer makes Salem his home and we are the worst for it. My experience with reporters has been a roller coaster ride. Up and down, around a tight bend, up and down, up and down. Know what I mean? Ever had your name in the public eye? Who knows what they will say or print? For most of my life I have attempted to remain out of the lime light, for that very reason. In most cases, the best comment is no comment and the best reporter is NO reporter (started to say dead but had a second thought about that, home land security and all). Not with Frank, he made me look better in print than I actually was. Frank wrote so many articles about one of my adventures that the New York Times picked up on it. How neat is that? Frank called one day said that we needed to meet; he had a present for me. When he showed up cameras were present as he handed me something heavy wrapped in a rag. Pulling back the soiled cloth I was taken back by the dull luster and a dent. Tears came to my eyes as I realized what it was. It had been lost or stolen and was now found. Frank said that the person who took it gave it to him stating “This should be returned to where it belongs.” That was over 20 years ago. Another gift was delivered because of Frank’s articles. Unfortunately, it was practically destroyed by idiots with a handgun and had to be restored at a cost of $2,500.00. These both remain in there place of honor to this day. You can see them walking through Salem! I walk by them almost every day. What were these gifts? I love suspense, you figure it out. Frank wrote about both, as I recall.

From the rear cover flap of Frank's book Winston-Salem - A History I consider a definitive work, printed in 1994:

As a reporter and editor for the Winston-Salem Journal for 15 years, Frank Tursi has been in close contact with the people and events that make local history. Among his numerous articles on Winston-Salem was a series that saved the Leinbach House in Old Salem from destruction and won an award from the North Carolina Society of Historians. A graduate of East Carolina University, Tursi has also written for such Publications as USA Today and Civil War Times Illustrated.

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