Looking back on 2021’s stories
It’s the first week of a new year. I’m always amazed at how quickly time seems to pass me by these days. Obviously when you’re working to a tight deadline to get a newspaper out week after week time definitely flies.
Nevertheless, the twelve months of 2021 are over, and I am still amazed by this. It was full of amazing stories and interesting people. My editor Kevin and I did our best to inform and entertain the denizens of Colby, Abbotsford, Curtiss, Unity, Dorchester and beyond with pictures and tales of the local sports teams, the ins and outs of small-town politics and also the things that affect people on a broader scale, like the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
It hasn’t always been easy. Point of fact, some days and weeks it’s been really hard. It’s constant running around to get things, constant demands and deadlines to be met.
But when you hold a finished paper in your hand, there’s always a sense of pride and awe that falls over. I did this. I helped make this paper come to life.
It takes a team to get this paper done week after week. From our ad reps who get the weekly ads, to our composers who make my pictures jump off the pages, to our front office and proofreader, and to what I and Kevin do as reporters.
And in the quiet times, I sit back and try and take stock of the things I’ve seen and done and covered. This week’s paper is especially true to that act. If you turn to the middle part of this paper you’ll see 2021 in review, and the top news and sports stories that impacted the area.
There was a state champion football team. There was a girls cross-country team that returned to the state tournament. Track teams won titles, a baseball co-op clinched a conference crown. For sure 2021 was filled with memorable sporting moments and incredible athletes.
There were also other stories, some sad, some grim. There was a resolution to a homicide case that happened years ago. A long time educator closed the final chapter on her career. A city administrator vacated his position for greener pastures. Talk of consolidating the Colby and Abbotsford school districts filled the air.
There were also many more stories. Children were born, festivals were celebrated, the seasons passed and the world continued it’s turning. In other words, life happened.
People often ask me why newspapers exist today. It’s mostly kids who ask me this. I tend to think it’s because they are trying to annoy me. But the answer is simple. Newspapers are here to chronicle time and to keep a record of life. Last week’s article on the O’Leary family and their accomplishments over 50 years celebrated that.
So as we move into 2022, with the first week of the new year almost in the books, it’s with curious eyes I turn my gaze to Colby and Abbotsford. Who knows what stories will unfold this year?
M usings and G rumblings
