Though time flies, it does seem like eons ago that Miriam and I and our three then-young daughters walked into 1313 Main St., on April 1, 2005, to take over the operations of The New Era.
Seventeen years, to be exact. Now Miriam and I have grandkids.
A couple of years ago, the word “eons” might not have come to mind in making that statement, but COVID has taken a toll on all of us.
That really hit home to me recently as I was chatting with Dawn Mitchell, director of our Senior Center, about the 55 Plus section we’ve run in the paper since way before I arrived.
It’s changed over the years, in mostly small ways, but when COVID hit and the Senior Center locked its doors, there was suddenly a lot of space for us journalists to fill in 55 Plus, which had regularly included an extensive list of opportunities and activities offered by the Senior Center, along with info on the lunch menus, etc.
Suddenly, that was all gone.
We compensated with longer stories, more photos (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing – especially for one of our staffers who isn’t a big reader) and generally finding ways to fill all that empty space, since we couldn’t plop just any ol’ story into 55 Plus.
No longer.
Back in last week’s edition was a full slate of activities for the seniors, for whom the restraints (I should say masks) came off on March 19, along with the rest of us.
It’s amazing how things can change in a few weeks.
The Rock and Mineral Show was back in Sweet Home after a two-year hiatus. A look at our Around Town community calendar listings reveals that local events are starting to reappear. We’ve been pretty lax with our formerly strict policies about how many times we’d run a free announcement, frankly. When nothing’s happening, you have to do what you have to do.
But as spring arrives in the world around us, it’s a very similar awakening in our community. And, speaking not as your newspaper editor but simply as a resident, I’m loving it.
As we ploughed our way through the coronavirus experience, we’ve all suffered in various ways – which are not really necessary to go into here, since each of us could quite easily produce our own personal list.
Fact is, as what health officials described as a “pandemic” began, in early 2020 (seemingly a century ago), I wondered how our current generation would weather a tough time. I know there will be about as many answers to that question as there are people, but I don’t think our outcomes have been quite what happened after the Spanish Flu or the Great Depression or World War II.
That’s something to think about. I often wonder how tough we Americans really are, how we compare to our ancestors. Statistics and, frankly, gut feelings suggest there’s definitely less faith – in God, at least – than even 20 or 30 years ago. A 2021 Pew Research poll found that about three in 10 American adults identify as religiously unaffiliated, compared to 16 percent in 2007. That’s about double.
Without faith, except in ourselves, well, I thnk we’ve discovered we haven’t been exactly steadfast as a society amidst the conflicting emotions and stresses of the COVID experience. There’s definitely been some fraying of the edges.
We’ve all seen fallout from the the pandemic – way too many to specify here – beyond ultra-expensive used cars, nightmares about empty toilet paper rolls, an aversion (for me, at least) to fast-food drive-ups.
People have reported increased confusion, anger and other stress caused by quarantine, conflicting and sometimes confusing information, strict requirements, fears of infection, boredom etc. For some, there has been a lack of money, lack of food, a general lack of security.
So here’s one we probably didn’t see coming: a shortage of newsprint – the stuff you’re reading the type on right now (if you’re reading the printed version).
I had a conversation with our printer the other day. He told me he’s spending pretty much entire days on the phone just trying to round up enough stock to get his printing, including this newspaper, done.
There used to be multiple mills that produced newsprint paper. Currently, he said, there’s one.
Of course. Remember all that online shopping that started really happening while we were told to stay home? Think of all the cardboard that’s been deposited on your porch as a result, and think of where that’s come from. That’s right. Mills that used to produce other kinds of paper.
The American Forest & Paper Association earlier this year reported preliminary data from U.S. paper and paperboard mills in 2021 revealing record containerboard production. The data indicate total containerboard production last year increased 5.6 percent compared with 2020 – the ninth increase in the last 10 years.
Running a newspaper is never boring. Every day is full of unexpected turns – breaking news stories, phone calls about things I definitely was not thinking about five minutes before, ever-present deadlines, the quirkiness of life – and now more peaks and valleys in the roller coaster ride.
Yep, never a dull moment.