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(This piece by Patricia Wynn Brown, emcee of the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, appeared in Columbus Alive on April 13, 2000, following the launch of the first workshop.)

When Bill Bombeck took the stage to welcome those gathered for the Erma Bombeck Conference on Popular American Humor, the crowd hushed and offered its respectful attention. Bombeck looked out at the audience and said, "Sometimes I feel like Prince Philip. Welcome to the workshop."

Everyone laughed, knowing that the suggestion Art Buchwald offered in his keynote address the night before was coming true. Buchwald said, "One thing Erma would demand is that we not make this a sad occasion. We must celebrate it with laughter."

Erma Bombeck died from complications following a kidney transplant in April 1996 at the age of 69. Her husband, Bill, the Bombeck kids and Erma's mom, notables, Erma wannabes, readers and family friends gathered at the University of Dayton to celebrate the life and work of the Dayton native and UD graduate (class of 1949).

The conference, March 29-April 1, consisted of a workshop, eulogies, an academic symposium, the donation of Erma's papers (including 4,300 columns that were syndicated in 700 newspapers) and the announcement of the winners of a creative writing contest. Erma's spirit and sense of fun were felt throughout the proceedings.

Columnist P.S. Wall, a workshop presenter, said when she first started writing, "I had climbed mountains and jumped out of planes, but having someone read something I'd written scared me to death." She spoke of her success in writing a column for free for her local paper, then winning the approval of her readers and going on to syndication and books. Wall made it sound easy.

Ohio University's humor professor Mel Helitzer used Erma's own taped tellings of her stories to show why her humor worked. In his deconstruction of the elements of her style, Helitzer proved that his statement, "she is the saint of humor writers" is true. Erma was a radical, he explained, who could express taboo hostility toward men, husbands and children and get away with it because of her masterful use of language and humor.

Columbus (Ohio) humor was well represented by a number of speakers/writers. Among them were Michael Rosen and Bonnie Abbott, who presented the Thurber House humor anthology, Mirth of a Nation, to the assembled.

Bill Bombeck again spoke at a luncheon where he donated an original manuscript of The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank to the university. Cartoonist and family friend Bil Keane (Family Circus) said, "Thank God Erma Bombeck couldn't draw" as he exalted her talent and gave an hilarious speech poking fun at Art Buchwald, and the woman who saw him and asked him to draw Dilbert.

A tape of Phil Donahue's eulogy at Erma's funeral was played, in which he said they were neighbors with look-alike tract houses (the fireplace $700 extra). He said you could always count on a good time over at the Bombecks' (house). Donahue said movingly, "She was the best. She was the only. We will never see her likes again."

The big boys from the Universal Press Syndicate agree with him. In a workshop break conversation, Universal owner John McMeel said that after Erma died, many of her 700 papers did not want to syndicate another woman humorist. A large number of editors told him they had funny women on staff and would just use them and the Dave Barry syndicated column for their humor quota.

At the academic symposium the second day, papers about Erma's humor were read, along with discussions of humor as a healing and teaching device. Scholar Penelope Fritzer outlined the woman humor column lineage beginning with the witty but not overtly funny columnist Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings in 1926. Fritzer said that before that, "homemaking was nothing to be joked about."

Karen Erickson of St. John's University spoke in academic and personal tones about Erma's uplifting influence on her. Erickson has coined the term "Bombeck Lamaze," which she describes as "relaxation through deep laughter, even amid dramatic contractions."

Bill Bombeck remained totally accessible, cheerful, gracious, and ready and willing to talk about Erma when approached. In several conversations we had over the three days, he offered some little gems about Erma. (Former Press Secretary to Lady Bird Johnson) Liz Carpenter, also present, showed Erma how to enter the room from the rear doors and shake everyone's hand like a politician, Bill said. He told me Erma loved James Thurber. She did her own housework. She wrote from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and didn't write on weekends.

Erma's agent Aaron Priest told a story about Pierre Sallinger (former White House press secretary for Kennedy and Johnson). Priest, who was just starting out in the business, said Sallinger followed Erma in the line-up at a presentation, but he didn't know who she was. The crowd's reaction to Erma's talk was positive and overwhelming. Sallinger told Priest, "Listen, kid. I never want to follow that woman again."

When I discussed with Bill Bombeck that many women humorists are introduced to an audience as their city's own Erma Bombeck, he looked up and smiled with a twinkle in his eyes and said, "No one has to be Erma. You just be yourself."

- Patricia Wynn Brown

Pat Wynn Brown is a performer, speaker, producer and author of two books,Hair-A-Baloo: The Revealing Comedyand Tragedy on Top of Your HeadandMomma Culpa: One Mother Comes Clean and Makes Her Maternal Confession. She is a featured humorist in a PBS documentary,A Legacy of Laughter, about the life and work of Erma Bombeck. She has been involved in some capacity at every Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop over the last 20 years. The 2020 workshop will mark her fifth appearance as emcee.