Ed Nebel

Ed Nebel, the Butler Eagle's longtime archivist and scanner operator in the composing department, will retire Friday.

Nebel, a Butler native, was acquainted with or knew the names of the people pictured in half the photographs he has archived during his 18 years in the job, said Deanna Gerstner, composing department supervisor.

“We'll never find anyone else who can do that,” Gerstner said. “It's amazing.”

Nebel always excelled at selecting the “Time Capsule” photos for the Sunday and Wednesday editions of the Butler Eagle, in which old Eagle photos depict activities and events in years past throughout Butler County.

As a young teen, Nebel cut grass for the Eagle's owners, the Wise family, and delivered the Butler Eagle for several years beginning in 1969.

“Route Number 9,” Nebel immediately recalled. “I had 79 customers.”

He was hired in 1990 at the former Eagle Graphics for the pre-press process, which used four color sheets and a huge machine to create prints for customers. The process took three days compared to the instant images he now creates using a digital scanner.

Nebel joined the composing staff at the Butler Eagle in 2000, and has enjoyed the busy pace of each day.

Nebel also serves as a volunteer sports photographer for the Eagle at Steelers and Pirates games, which he will continue after his retirement.

Upon his retirement, Nebel will enjoy spending more time with his wife, Debbie, two grown daughters, Allison and Lindsay, and two granddaughters.

He will miss his coworkers in every department of the Butler Eagle, Nebel said.

“I've enjoyed every minute of it,” he said.

The entire Butler Eagle staff gathered on Wednesday at the office on West Diamond Street for a celebratory retirement dinner sponsored by Eagle management.