-Isms: Views on life in rural America

Another trip around the sun.

SAM and I have that in common. In 2019, the inaugural issue of the Advocate-Messenger made its debut on my birthday.

Now, we're starting our sixth year of publication, a feat that isn't lost on Scott and me. It's been a positive and encouraging journey. Oh sure, there have been days when we wonder what the heck we're doing ... luckily, those days are few and far between. We feel like we're on solid ground and are excited to keep building the quality publication you expect.

I can't speak for Scott, but I have always been enthralled with reading the newspaper. Clay County was home to two excellent community newspapers and our household subscribed to both. My parents also subscribed to three daily newspapers and their hometown newspapers. As a family, we talked about articles printed in those papers, the ramifications of actions others took, reasons to celebrate successes, moments to take a step back and assess a situation and, possibly, adjust our thinking .

We learned about new businesses opening in the area, we studied the sports pages to glean information about our favorite Husker football players, we discovered our neighbors collected salt and pepper shakers or played the accordion or met an Australian pen pal.

Now, we appreciate when readers and new subscribers let us know how they incorporate the paper into their daily route. Some people turn directly to this Page to read editorials. Others flip to the crossword or sudoku puzzles, grab a cuppa joe or tea and dive in to the clues. Others tell us they start on Page 1 and read to the back Page (and maybe chuckle a little when I forget to jump a story). Trust me, that doesn't cause me to laugh.

What sticks with us is how readers look forward to the print newspaper because it offers an adventure. You never know what types of articles you'll read or the surprise moments captured in photos. Through advertising placed by local businesses, you learn about products for sale, services offered and events planned.

Yes, we are grateful for our online-only subscribers too. The E-edition offers a PDF version of each Page, so you can read an article on Page one and skip ahead to Page 6 to read the rest of the story. Or, you can click the article link and read each article separately.

There's a place in the SAM fam for both types of readers. Thank you for letting us share news from the Summerland communities with you each week. Your support as subscribers does not go unnoticed.

In upcoming months, we'll be having an open conversation with readers about the news industry, its outdated business model, postal increases and what it means for newspapers, especially this one. Oh, we're not going anywhere, we believe its important to be transparent with readers. That will be a conversation for a different day.

Today, we celebrate five extraordinary years and look forward to the start of year six. Thanks for sharing the journey.