Despite snowfall throughout the day, more than 80 people journeyed to 116 Mills Road in Newcastle for Lincoln County Publishing Co.’s open house the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 17.
Lincoln County Publishing Co., which publishes The Lincoln County News, is a family-owned, full-service print shop that has been in business for more than 100 years. The open house, which was also a Damariscotta Region Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event, was open to all members of the public and free to attend.
After remarks from chamber Executive Director Stephanie Gallagher, Lincoln County Publishing Co. President Christopher A. Roberts thanked attendees for braving the weather and spoke about the importance of the family-owned paper.
“The Lincoln County News will deliver the happenings, goings-on, town meeting coverage, local sports, events, features, and other information that is the fabric of Lincoln County life as news on paper, online, or the next information delivery system of the future,” he said.
Chris Roberts also spoke of the importance of both shopping and advertising locally.
“I ask everyone to remember, with all the changes and challenges in the area, that every dollar you spend is a vote for that type of business,” he said. “Please shop local so we can all live locally.”
Chris Roberts’ sons, John Roberts and Allan Roberts, represent the fifth generation of family involvement in the company. John Roberts, a member of the Damariscotta Region Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, gave a presentation about the history of the publishing company and introduced the employees of the company in attendance.
Immediately following John Roberts’ presentation, the publishers demonstrated how the newspaper press operates by printing a special eight-page section exclusively for attendees of the open house. The section included a timeline of the newspaper’s history, information about new and ongoing projects, and biographies of the publishing company’s employees.
Attendees enjoyed light refreshments from chamber member Red Plate Catering.
Due to inclement weather and overwhelming requests from the public, Lincoln County Publishing Co. will host another open house in the summer, the date of which has not yet been set.
“We were very happy with the turnout for the event, but we know there are people who didn’t want to risk coming out while it was still storming,” Chris Roberts said. “So we decided to have another event so everyone who wants to can come see what we do here.”
More information about the future open house will be published in The Lincoln County News.