Believed to be the last living Associated Press telegrapher, Keel spent his working day manually sending news down the AP wire by Morse Code. Telegraphers along the wire would decode the stories for printing in local newspapers.
About 1,500 telegraphers worked for the service over an 80-year span. They were replaced by teletypes in 1928, but Keel stayed on with the AP, serving as the communications chief for several bureaus. Keel died July 2 at age 97.
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