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Writing a column is a scary proposition, especially to a private person. To put forth to the public one’s perspective every week is a daunting task, as much for the writing as for the response. But for more than two years I did it, trusting, and rightly so, that my words wouldn’t make me a pariah in the community I’ve come to feel at home in.
There have been some bumps. Some columns I thought were innocuous received many responses, either positive or negative. Others that were meant as conversation starters about important issues came and went without a word. It never really got easier, in my experience, especially those weeks when it felt like no one had picked up the paper.
It’s strange that my last one would be so difficult.
Last week I got my own piece of news—I will no longer be editor of the paper and, as a personal choice, I will no longer be contributing, either. It was bittersweet news. My job at the paper has been a large part of my identity here, but it’s also taken time away from projects I want to pursue: My own writing, volunteering, creating opportunities for others in the County.
The Times was my bridge to the community since I first discovered Prince Edward County six years ago. Through the paper, I had the opportunity to meet inspiring people, visit hundreds of events and become an expert in issues affecting the County.
People kept stopping me to let me know they thought it was the best paper in the County. I always thought it was funny that a municipality of 25,000 had three papers, a news website and now even a radio station, but these are shining examples of what makes this place so great. We value information, want to know what’s happening.
When I left the County in 2012, I thought I was on to bigger and better things. But this place tugged on my heartstrings. I had never felt so at home anywhere else. So I returned to this community, returned to the paper.
New issues had cropped up. Picton Bay, school closures, food insecurity, I learned everything I could about the issues that concerned residents here so that I could talk about them every week in the paper and every day on the street.
But now it’s time to move on. This is my last column, last week I sent off my final articles, and my connection to this community will have to continue on in a different way.
I trust, from the team that remains, from my colleague, publisher Corey Englesdorfer, and from the community at large, that conversations will continue to happen, and that the important stories will still get told.
I’ll still be around. If you miss my column, stop me on the street, in the coffee shops, at the event we attend together, and start a conversation. I’m always up for one of those. That was the thing I appreciated the most at The Times, after all.
Until next time.
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