---
title: Capital-area Chronicler Turns the Page
date: 2024-02-02T05:30:00-05:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/capital-area-chronicler-turns-the-page"
section: Articles
---
# Capital-area Chronicler Turns the Page

*February 2, 2024* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih)


> Departing Washington Post Columnist Shares 20 Years of Family Tales, Reader Favorites

*MT alumni kelly 1920x1080 — Wearing his signature fedora, former columnist John Kelly '84 reflects on his long career at The Washington Post. "I find people endlessly interesting and marvelous," he said. "If you give me a deadline and notebook I can find a story and write about it. It’s not quite like being able to start a fire on a desert island—but it’s the journalistic equivalent."*

After nearly 20 years, John Kelly ’84 isn't following up on tip’s from loyal readers anymore.

The Washington Post columnist will have to continue his crusade against the incorrect use of apostrophes (such as the error we inserted above in his honor) and other tongue-in-cheek rants in a different medium. After publishing nearly 5,000 pieces of “John Kelly’s Washington,” he took a buyout to end an era as a local voice in the nation’s third-largest newspaper.

“I’m fortunate I can leave this job without knowing what I’ll do next—or if I’ll do anything other than watch Netflix,” he [wrote in a December column](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/12/10/early-retirement-for-columnist/) announcing his departure.


*dog*


*squirrel on tree*



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*bride gets makeup done*



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**From Streetcar Tokens to a Helping Hand**  
In a tradition inherited from his predecessors, Bill Gold and Bob Levey, dating back to 1947, Kelly highlighted charities each holiday season. While he could have easily linked to a donation page for the Post’s “Helping Hand” initiative, Gold would request streetcar tokens or stamps as contributions.

“It’s an odd sort of thing for a journalist to ask for money,” Kelly acknowledges, but he did so by sharing compelling stories of locals who experienced homelessness, food insecurity or poverty. Over the last two decades, he helped raise more than $12.4 million.



**Sidebar note:**

This story is featured in the Winter 2024 issue of *Terp* magazine. Find all the stories online at [terp.umd.edu](https://terp.umd.edu/).





**Topics:** [People](https://today.umd.edu/tags/people)


**Tags:** [Alumni](https://today.umd.edu/topic/alumni), [English](https://today.umd.edu/topic/english)


**Units:** [College of Arts and Humanities](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-arts-and-humanities)