The story of Hawai'i from the 1950s to the early '70s passed through the hands of Sanford "Sandy" Zalburg, who as Honolulu Advertiser city editor guided a generation of reporters who chronicled Hawai'i's transformation from a plantation society into statehood and the jet age.

Zalburg died yesterday in Petaluma, Calif. He was 90.

Former Advertiser columnist Eddie Sherman said Zalburg taught him a lot about his craft. "He told me to get the name right," Sherman said. "He was very dedicated and tough. He never minced words with other editors or reporters."

Reporters called Zalburg irascible, tenacious and inspirational. Once, when a story came in from a cub reporter and Zalburg thought it was not up to par, he tossed it out an open window on to South Street from the newspaper's second floor office, said Jim Richardson, an Advertiser copy editor. A reporter walking back from an assignment saw the sheets on the ground and returned them to Zalburg, thinking he was doing a favor.

"Zalburg was a city editor in the classic sense — a hellfire-and-brimstone newsroom leader," Richardson said. "He would shout at reporters, rage at incompetence and demand perfection on deadline."

Zalburg graduated from the University of Missouri and fought in World War II, landing in Normandy on D-Day as an Army sergeant. He worked for newspapers in Alaska, Alabama and California before joining the Advertiser in 1950. During the Korean War he left the paper to work as a correspondent for the Reuters news agency.

He was Advertiser city editor from 1959 to 1972. After that he was the paper's senior writer and also researched and wrote "A Spark is Struck!," a book chronicling the history of labor leader Jack Hall and the formation of a strong ILWU in Hawai'i. Zalburg retired from The Advertiser in 1980.

His daughter Noni Garner said her father loved Hawai'i.

"He had fun writing for the newspaper," Garner said from her home in San Rafael, Calif. "He always said that no matter what, you should have fun, otherwise don't do it. He loved journalism and took a lot of pride in his work."

Former Advertiser editor Gerry Keir was one of the many cub reporters trained by Zalburg. Keir said that when Zalburg was unhappy with a story, a loud booming voice would reach across the newsroom and clutch the offending reporter by the throat.

"He was a real coach and mentor to me and many other young reporters," Keir said. "He had a big booming voice and a larger-than-life personality. He was a superb wordsmith who had a command of the language that drew pictures with words."

Jan TenBruggencate, until last year the Advertiser's longtime Kaua'i reporter, said that on slow news days, Zalburg would assign several reporters to the same story, "having us write and rewrite ledes. Ultimately, his were always the best."

"I can recall standing behind him at the city desk in early 1970, looking over his shoulder as he rewrote a story, the keys on the old Royal manual slamming like a snare drum," TenBruggencate said. "Magically, as I watched, my young reporter's dull prose became poetry under his fingers.

" 'You see?' he would say. And I did."

"Everybody needs a mentor, and Sandy was one of mine," said Tom Kaser, a retired Advertiser reporter. "He was a competent, demanding, exacting editor who honed my journalistic skills at a time when I sometimes may have had more energy than judgment."

Peter Rosegg, a former Advertiser reporter, shared an office with Zalburg after he was city editor. Rosegg said one of Zalburg's greatest legacies was teaching reporters to dig deep for the facts and to make sure the facts are right.

"He was a good clean, clear writer who wanted to get the full story," Rosegg said. "He instilled that in a lot of people. He was one of those iconic people."

Funeral arrangements are pending. Zalburg will be buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl. Williams Mortuary is handling arrangements.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.