Isms: Views on life in rural America

One of the best yearbooks my students produced is based on the theme, "Everyone has a story." Like a typical yearbook, it is stuffed with photos and cutlines and articles, from bleed line to bleed line, placed on double-truck spreads. The difference from others we previously produced: We looked for commonalities among students that weren't school related.

In that edition, students wrote about their peers who participated in non-traditional sports outside of the school day, like trap shooting and soccer; interviewed friends who juggled part- and full-time jobs alongside a full course load; shared personal stories about three students who each experienced the death of a parent. My aspiring journalists highlighted teachers' pets, of the four-legged variety, via photo collage, and talked with educators about their aspirations beyond the classroom.

When I flip through that yearbook, I see a community newspaper of sorts in bound-book form, a compilation of community within a single year.

I see the same thing weekly in the Advocate-Messenger. Our mission always has been, and always will be, about "Telling Our Stories." It's appropriate it is the theme for this year's National Newspaper Week, which began Sunday. Whether it's a feature about someone's Christmas decorations, an investigative piece about a budget or a look at a local sports team, newspapers connect communities and define its culture.

According to America's Newspapers 2023 Local Newspaper Study, 74% of Americans believe it is important to have a local newspaper. We agree and thank readers for the support via subscriptions, advertising and local vendor sales. We are grateful you choose SAM as your local news source.

We believe strong newspapers are active in the community it serves. While we may not make every single event, we try our best to report on all happenings. We attend school events, serve on local boards, help with community celebrations, donate to fundraisers. Sometimes, it feels we get little sleep. The reward, though, keeps us motivated. Why? Because we believe in community - the Summerland community.

Look at strong communities and, at the center, you'll find a strong, fact-based newspaper that highlights successes and failures, presents both sides of an issue and promotes community offerings. When we look at the towns forming the greater Summerland community, we see friends and neighbors who believe in the importance of an informed and educated public. We see friends and neighbors who, although we may not have the same mindset, can put aside hot-button issues and work side by side. We see friends and neighbors who want the best for the place we call home.

We will continue to tell our collective stories weekly in the Advocate-Messenger. We invite you to come along on the journey so your story becomes one of "our" stories.

Want to share an idea for a future issue? We're a phone call (402-485-2101) or email ([email protected]) away.