Similkameen News Leader Owner/Publisher George Elliott, left, with Princeton Museum Manager Robin Irwin and copies of every single issue published of the News Leader between 1998 and 2016.
This afternoon I wrote my last Editorial as the Owner/Publisher of the Similkameen News Leader. I didn't have a subject in mind because, as usually is the case, something happens or I see or hear something that inspires the column a day before I sit down to write it. Because this would be the last one published as we shut down production of our weekly community newspaper I knew it was going to have some kind of a good bye message in it.
What I didn't expect was the realization of something very important through a conversation conducted in a video I had planned earlier in the day. The start of the actual feeling of closure for me began this week as I started to experience weekly tasks and chores that I normally do but would this week be for the last time. Maybe for you that would mean nothing but for me, this was a big deal.
I have wanted to bring people along for the ride as we enter the shut down phase as customers had requested we keep them informed of our activities. I also saw doing a series of videos tracing these steps as being good for me and my wife, Brenda to ease our tension and assist with the whole roller coaster of emotions we are off and on these days.
One of the big steps for me was to donate the complete archives of our newspaper to the local museum. I have always believed in what our museum society has been doing in preserving the history of our region. I even volunteered as a weekend host at the facility many, many years ago. The museum has always been a special place to me so I thought of no other place to essentially become the final resting place for my baby - the newspaper.
The museum was thrilled to receive our collection and I knew I had to do this before our last issue was published to get me thinking about the actual steps leading to our final closure. So, I set up a short video interview with the Princeton Museum Manager, Robin Irwin. Robin and I have worked together on various projects within the community and have put a lot of time into promoting activities connected to the museum.
During the interview I had the realization that inspired my final Editorial. By delivering the News Leader archives to the Museum I have actually completed a chapter of the history of Princeton. The News Leader and the contributions made by those of us involved in the paper will live on forever in local history long after the paper - and us - are gone.
That told me in an instant that I was doing the right thing and as such, provided researchers and historians of the future snapshots of my version of what Princeton was like while I was living it. That was always my focus during my time as owner and publisher - to be aware of what I was leaving behind and to be as accurate as possible.
That made my very last Editorial one of the easiest ones I have written over the past 16 1/2 years. I thank Princeton Museum for all the support they have given me and my business over the years. It is because of that I am ever so proud to see that all the work we had put into our small weekly paper will be preserved and cherished.
You can view the video interview here: youtu.be/lMdaSKhY7dI
What I didn't expect was the realization of something very important through a conversation conducted in a video I had planned earlier in the day. The start of the actual feeling of closure for me began this week as I started to experience weekly tasks and chores that I normally do but would this week be for the last time. Maybe for you that would mean nothing but for me, this was a big deal.
I have wanted to bring people along for the ride as we enter the shut down phase as customers had requested we keep them informed of our activities. I also saw doing a series of videos tracing these steps as being good for me and my wife, Brenda to ease our tension and assist with the whole roller coaster of emotions we are off and on these days.
One of the big steps for me was to donate the complete archives of our newspaper to the local museum. I have always believed in what our museum society has been doing in preserving the history of our region. I even volunteered as a weekend host at the facility many, many years ago. The museum has always been a special place to me so I thought of no other place to essentially become the final resting place for my baby - the newspaper.
The museum was thrilled to receive our collection and I knew I had to do this before our last issue was published to get me thinking about the actual steps leading to our final closure. So, I set up a short video interview with the Princeton Museum Manager, Robin Irwin. Robin and I have worked together on various projects within the community and have put a lot of time into promoting activities connected to the museum.
During the interview I had the realization that inspired my final Editorial. By delivering the News Leader archives to the Museum I have actually completed a chapter of the history of Princeton. The News Leader and the contributions made by those of us involved in the paper will live on forever in local history long after the paper - and us - are gone.
That told me in an instant that I was doing the right thing and as such, provided researchers and historians of the future snapshots of my version of what Princeton was like while I was living it. That was always my focus during my time as owner and publisher - to be aware of what I was leaving behind and to be as accurate as possible.
That made my very last Editorial one of the easiest ones I have written over the past 16 1/2 years. I thank Princeton Museum for all the support they have given me and my business over the years. It is because of that I am ever so proud to see that all the work we had put into our small weekly paper will be preserved and cherished.
You can view the video interview here: youtu.be/lMdaSKhY7dI
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