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When you read this, I will have retired from my job at The Dodgeville Chronicle after more than 26 years.
The white page stares back at me as I try to summarize a quarter century of newspaper articles and all they entailed. The year I started here, our children were in kindergarten and second grade at Rewey Elementary School. They grew up living around their mother's schedule in the newspaper business.
Our family had moved back to Wisconsin from Alaska the year before and we were all still struggling with culture shock. I was adjusting to wearing make-up and clothes other than plaid, flannel shirts. That took awhile.
As I planned to re-enter the job market after raising babies, it was shocking to find that businesses no longer had typewriters. They had new-fangled, intimidating computers. Thankfully, in 1986 there were still other people struggling with that learning curve and the lack of computer skills did not make me totally unemployable.
One day a man with the deepest voice I'd ever heard -- Pat Reilly - called and asked me to come for an interview. The rest is history.
I started by covering school board meetings - Iowa-Grant, Dodgeville, Highland -- the Dodgeville City Council, and other reporting. A co-worker, Jeanie Lewis, was pestered mercilessly to teach me things on the computer again and again. She had the patience of Job and I owe it to her for ever being able to master the blasted machine.
We didn't have laptop computers in those days, so on Saturday mornings while waiting in the car at our son's sports practices, I would pencil out articles by hand and later transfer them to the computer at work. Technology improved and I progressed to writing features.
When our dear colleague, Irene Johns, passed away I took over her full-page feature article. For over 26 years I could count on a regular paycheck to supplement our family's income, and for that I'm grateful.
During the years, I've probably written over 5,000 articles. They dealt with an unimaginable range of topics. Almost every article taught me something -- even if it was only about sewer mains and laterals at City Council, or the latest educational strategy at a school board meeting.
Many articles involved research and taught me a lot. In every case, it was knowledge I would not have had otherwise. It's amazing how much you can learn by going to local meetings and interviewing people.
That brings me to the favorite part of my job - the opportunity to meet so many outstanding people who are doing astonishing, wonderful things here -- and all around the world! In so many ways, individuals from Iowa County are making a difference. I very much enjoyed learning about all those things and having the opportunity to inform others about them.
I deeply appreciate the way people welcomed me into their homes and openly shared their lives with me over the years. It was a great privilege to be trusted to tell their very personal stories. Many times I was moved by their willingness to do this, and always tried to be conscious of the responsibility involved in relaying their stories to the public.
And thanks to all those kind people who so thoughtfully sent cards of appreciation, and even gifts. It's very encouraging to know someone is reading what we put out there, especially if they like it.
Of course I will miss my bosses - those Reilly Boys -- and the other co-workers at the Chronicle who have shared so many experiences and put up with my idiosyncrasies over all the years. I'll always love the old historic newspaper building, messiness and all. It is a place where, when the doorbell jangles, customers can count on a friendly greeting and maybe a joke - whether they want it or not. (Smile)
It is said that you will know when it's time to retire, and that time has come for me. There will be a lot that is missed. But I suspect there is a life out there without a deadline, and I'm going to find it.
So now I will be reading the Chronicle along with all of you to keep informed of the news and what local people are doing. I'll cheer whenever a new, successful business fills a storefront, when trees are planted, and when historic buildings are restored and preserved.
Hopefully the news will tell of a healthy, caring, prosperous future in Dodgeville, the small city that has become near and dear to my heart.
See you around......