Changes are happening at the paper. As a result, I will no longer be working full-time at the Sentinel. It’s nobody’s fault; it’s the nature of this business.
Since my arrival last October, people asked me now and then if I thought I might stick around, but I knew better than to commit to anything. Residents have seen a lot of reporters come and go through this newspaper, and my plan was to take this unique adventure one day at a time.
Newfound friends expressed their sadness when I told them last month I would likely be leaving. And I was genuinely touched by the outpouring of support from various quarters. Last week, Alice Rooney, one of my fellow members of the book group that meets monthly at the Irene Ingle Public Library, stopped by the office just to see me behind my desk one last time.
I’ve learned a lot, wrote all kinds of stories, interviewed a lot of people who always had warm welcomes and I’ve taken a lot of photographs depicting life in Wrangell. People stopped me on the street or came into the office to compliment me on my work, which is a treasured new experience for me. It’s been a privilege to be a part of this community and provide a window to its daily life.
Normally, this would be where I mention how I’m moving on, found a new job at another paper in another town. And that’s what almost happened.
But a curious thing occurred.
In addition to getting the occasional car ride from friends and colleagues, I’ve walked to a lot of places in town (the more exercise, the better). Working on a story about the annual Fourth of July pie sale a few weeks earlier, Alice had kindly given me a lift to a residence in the hills so I could get photos of her and other members of the local chapter of Beta Sigma Phi. It was the farthest I had traveled uphill since I first arrived in October, and as I headed home I found the view was spectacular.
That’s when I realized I wasn’t quite ready to leave.
As conman Harold Hill said in the 1962 movie musical “The Music Man” after years of constantly moving from place to place, “for the first time in my life, I got my foot caught in the door.”
Some have recommended other possible jobs in town I could explore, which I’ve decided to check out, in addition to providing occasional freelance articles to the Sentinel. Maybe it’ll work out, maybe it won’t, but at least I’ll have tried.
I want to thank Sentinel publisher Larry Persily for taking a chance on me and introducing me to this wonderful town, as well as office manager Amber Armstrong-Hillberry for all her help in getting me settled here and providing me with the ins and outs of this unique island. Thanks also to my fellow reporters Caroleine James and Becca Clark for demonstrating how they ably get the job done.
As I finish writing this column, it’s Friday afternoon and tomorrow I’ll be attending another meeting of my book group at the library to discuss our latest read, “The Last Bookshop in London,” by Madeline Martin. I’m looking forward to the discussion and hanging out with friends.
Reader Comments(0)