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Career reflections: There are so many memories, experiences and so much gratitude
How do you organize thoughts and reflections of a career that spans nearly 46 years–more than half your life? How do you neatly put into compartments the range of experiences and emotions?
I recall the fear of seeing a Secret Service agent approaching with a gesture of his right index finger meaning, “Come with me!”
This was in Burlington, Iowa, and then President Jimmy Carter was making his famous trip up the Mississippi River on the Delta Queen. I was covering the event for the Southeast Iowa Farm News/Mediapolis New Era.
I was wondering, “What have I done now?” Fear consumed me. Paranoia might be the appropriate word.
It turns out, the agent was doing a favor. “Get up closer to take a few photos,” he said.
I was relieved and now I was up there, close to the president of the United States. It was quite an experience.
I recall the grace and strength of Grace, Ed and Betty Holland on their Scales Mound area farm. Grace’s son, Ed’s brother, Col. Leland Holland, was a hostage in Iran. The Hollands were so welcoming to so many reporters as there were glimmers of hope that their loved one might be released.
Yellow ribbons adorned Scales Mound and other area communities. Excitement and hope built up and then exploded with news of Col. Holland’s release as well as the other 51 hostages. His return to Scales Mound was as triumphant as the return of the Scales Mound basketball teams to the village the past two years after the state tournament.
I recall the day a woman called saying she had a “carrot that looked like a man from the waist down” and wondered if I’d like to take a photo.
Without thinking I said, “I’ll be right there ma’am. What’s your address?”
The carrot did look like a man from the waist down.
The grandmother wanted a photo taken of the carrot and the adolescent grandchild.
I suggested we turn the carrot around.
You can’t make some of this stuff up.
I recall people begging to keep something out of the paper which came with the usual response, “Can’t do it.”
This prompted some to pull their ads. Others heaped words of venom and still others simply said, “Okay, I understand. I just thought I’d try.”
I recall the kind words people have shared when this newspaper has touched their lives.
On my desk at this moment is a thank you note from Scales Mound basketball player Jake Duerr. He said our efforts to cover the team this season “is appreciated and will help us relive these memories forever.”
I believe this is the first letter of thanks I’ve received from a high school athlete.
Then a thank you note from Jamie Watson, coach of the third-place Galena High School girls team, arrived, which shares, “Thank you so much for all of your coverage this season. We know that it’s a ton of work and we greatly appreciate it!”
The note is signed by members of the team.
That’s really neat.
I recall receiving notes and letters to the editor that were. . .well. . .not so kind. Sometime in the 1990s a reader didn’t appreciate something in the paper and penned a letter to the editor which in part said, “Now I know why you can’t get a job at a good daily newspaper. You’re just a fourth-rate editor.”
My business partner, Bob Melvold, sent a personal note which said in part, “Fourth-rate editor? When did you receive a promotion? I always thought you were a fifth-rate editor.”
It was said in jest. . .I think.
I recall writing what might be my favorite story, a feature story about Temma Lowly. Temma’s mom, Sherrie, was pastor of the Galena United Methodist Church.
It is said that everyone has a story. Finding that story is part of the process. So I wondered what Temma’s story was. Temma has never been able to learn, speak, run and play and as a teenager, she could not care for herself. What was her story? How do you tell someone’s story when you can’t share in a thoughtful interview?
Temma’s story shows how she empowered her parents, teachers, administrators and those touching her life with the ability to go above and beyond what they thought they could do. It showed that we all have influence, even when we aren’t aware.
I recall coming to Galena for the first time in early November 1979. It was a beautiful day. I met Sam Byers at the newspaper office then located at 109 N. Main St. His partner, Bob Melvold joined us and we went over to The Lamplighter, now home of Honest John’s Trading Post, for lunch.
Sam and Bob then took me on a tour of Jo Daviess County which ended at Chestnut Mountain at sunset. It was so beautiful. It was my good fortune to receive a job offer, which offered an opportunity to buy into the business if everything worked out. It did.
Sam and Fran Byers worked so hard during the 1960s and 1970s to build the paper. With guidance from Bob and Frances Melvold we tried to do the same.
There are so many more memories and experiences to neatly store in the memory banks. Now it is time to begin organizing them.
This week, Sarah and I end our tenure as owners and co-publishers of The Galena Gazette. It is time for someone else to be custodian of this community institution founded in 1834.
We were happy participating in a business that helped communities reflect upon themselves and which touched the lives of so many people. We were still enthusiastic and passionate about our work.
Our lives changed on July 16, 2020. On the day after the derecho wreaked havoc on Iowa, we drove down to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa. The route from Anamosa, Iowa, to Iowa City looked like a war zone.
Sarah hadn’t been feeling well and tested herself several times for COVID-19. All tests had been negative. On this day, she learned why she hadn’t been feeling well. She had a large tumor in her liver. She had cholangiocarcinoma, otherwise known as bile duct cancer.
This cancer is aggressive. There is no cure. Sarah did some research. The prognosis didn’t look good. She feared she might not have long to live.
Our world changed.
Sarah then endured five months of really nasty chemotherapy. I feared the chemotherapy might kill her, not the cancer.
The chemotherapy ended, replaced by a chemo pill that impacts the genetic mutation that causes her cancer. By the next July (2021) the dosage had been regulated. Her health stabilized.
Our priorities changed. We started focusing on bucket list items. Sarah just didn’t have the energy to work full time as the tug of imprinting herself on the lives of her grandchildren became stronger.
With the time we have left together, we talked more about traveling, sharing in new experiences and taking more time to share in the lives of our adult children and their significant others.
This summer, we made the decision to sell our company so we could focus on these bucket list items.
Through the years, we’ve enjoyed a wonderful relations with the Telegraph Herald in Dubuque, Iowa, as well as its printing division, Woodward Printing Service, in Platteville, Wis.
The Platteville printing plant has printed The Gazette for nearly 20 years. We brag about how well the paper is printed as well as the service we receive. The printing plant and the people working there have been important partners.
Inquiring if the parent company, Woodward Communications, Inc., might be interested in acquiring our company seemed like the appropriate step to take.
On Wednesday of this week, the sale of Galena Gazette Publications, Inc., to Woodward Communications, Inc., takes place.
As this change takes place, both Sarah and I feel so much gratitude for our staff including Janet Shaw, Kevin Engler, LeAnne Sharkey, Murphy Obershaw, Olivia Friederick, Karen Hughes, Julie Eggleston, Jim Houtakker, Matt Jackson and Cindy Tegtmeyer. They work hard. They are dedicated. They care about what they do. We appreciate them so much and I’m sure they will impress the new owners, as well.
We also appreciate how Mark Van Osdol, Sara Millhouse, Mike and Milly Jones, Brandon Behlke, Jay and Hillary Dickerson, Jan Smith, Lacey Speer and Tracy Furlong have come to our aid in moments of need, especially over the past eight months.
We also feel so much gratitude for all those who have worked for and with us at the newspaper through all of these years. There are so many wonderful experiences to store in the box of memories.
We are at peace with this decision to sell.
We hope that you welcome this newspaper’s new owners with open arms. Supporting the work of your local newspaper by placing advertising and buying subscriptions is so important, because a good strong, local newspaper is vital to a community’s success.
We’re confident that Woodward Communications can provide the needed guidance so The Galena Gazette and its staff can continue its role of informing and supporting Jo Daviess County for years to come.
Thank you for all of your support and help through all of these years.
by P. Carter Newton,
publisher,