Viewpoint: Page Four and Henrietta's Vinegar Fluffies
We got a brief email this week. A regular contributor to the paper mentioned items on page four (the community page) that were no longer accurate. In the heading of the email they mentioned that ‘apparently the people from the affected organizations hadn’t taken the time to notify us of changes’. A request we had made at the top of the list, in red.
You remember page four. That’s where, in pre-COVID times, we had a schedule of events for the next 2-3 weeks. As COVID became a reality and everyone was told to stay home, life as we know it was pretty much cancelled.
So, we tried to make some sense of a strange and weird situation. We included things on page four that normally didn’t get there. We listed restaurant hours and government meetings, or lack of meetings. We wanted to keep the community as updated as possible on a world gone berserk.
Again, at the top of the list we asked (in red), ‘please send updated calendar information to [email protected]’.
And, at the bottom of the page, we had an editor’s note: ‘Please call the newspaper office (719) 676-3401 if any of these times or services change’.
I’m pretty sure since mid-March no one has called with an update. Maybe one or two, and then our email friend who helped us out. That strikes me as rather odd.
If I were running a business in the valley that was NOT the newspaper, I would be all over that invitation. I would make sure that every time I changed hours, brands of toilet paper, or hired a new person, I sent that information to the paper. You want to know the main reason why I would do that? Because it was free. Yep, a free way to spread the word about what my business was doing because of the generosity of the owners of the newspaper during a particularly strange time.
Now, of course, the nice people who own the newspaper might not print everything, but anything that they decided to print would help my business. That sounds like a pretty good deal.
And if I owned a business that was not the newspaper, I can’t think of anyplace I’d rather be than the paper. Perhaps the most visible spot in the valley is the ACE Hardware billboard, but it has less room on it than a single classified in the newspaper. And, while everyone drives by the ACE Hardware sign, during the COVID19 early stages way less people were driving.
Some would say their message will get out better on social media, stuck between Aunt Henrietta’s Vinegar Fluffies and the story about the two-headed moose who ate someone’s mailbox. Perhaps more people see it, but only that one in a million actually believe it. It is social media after all.
A lady who called today had the right idea. She told me her child had gotten a scholarship to a university and would we consider putting it in the paper. Of course, we would. It’s the reason we enjoy going to work every time we go to work. The success of the young and old. The lessons that everyone has learned on their journey through life. The ups and downs, and what we all do with those ups and downs.
And yes, your hours and stipulations for your customers during a global pandemic as well.
It really doesn’t take that long to let us know, and then we can let the majority of the people in the valley know. You can call (719) 676-3401 anytime day or night, or email us at [email protected]. I guess you could put it on social media for us to pick up there, but I seldom read it unless, of course, it’s attached to one of my grandchildren’s pictures. I know they are real.Viewpoint: