When I arrived in Lincoln County some 10-and-a-half months ago, I was, as every 20-something is when they arrive anywhere, still figuring things out.
I knew that the month before me would consist of living on an air mattress in an otherwise empty room, sustaining myself on mac and cheese and protein bars, and using the South Bristol School’s Wi-Fi to write my articles and answer emails.
Suffice to say, staring at the sum of my belongings tucked into a dusty corner, I began to question my decision to move to an unfamiliar county to work for an unfamiliar paper straight out of college.
Shortly after I arrived on the peninsula, my editor messaged me late in the afternoon to recommend that I take a stroll down to what I now know to be The Gut.
Curious, I drove down to the harbor, parked next to the bridge and took a picture with my phone, as 20-somethings are wont to do. It was one of the more brilliant sunsets I’ve ever seen. I was lonely, but it made me feel a good deal more comfortable in that loneliness.
As those who read last week’s editorial might already be aware, 10 months and 13 days after that sunset, I will be moving on from The Lincoln County News.
While I have resided here, worked here, and paid rent here (truly a marvel), I cannot say that I lived here. I’ve had one foot in Lincoln County and another foot elsewhere for the entirety of my tenure at the paper, and three weeks ago I decided that I ought to return to the “away” from whence I came.
In four days, I will begin working as an admissions counselor at the University of Maine. I took the job because it’s an opportunity to grow and challenge myself, which is the very same reason I took a job at LCN.
I sought out reporting because I knew how to write, but I did not know how to engage with people, and boy, oh boy, did the kind citizens of Lincoln County give me a crash course in people.
Looking back on my time here, I would firstly like to take this opportunity to thank the characters. If you’d like to know who they are, I encourage you to peruse the back catalog on the LCN website.
It takes some bravery to let a reporter attempt to capture who you are in 1,000 words or less, let alone a writer who is so green he borders on neon. Words can’t express my gratitude for their generosity and their understanding, especially when they had to call to gently inform me of a correction that needs to be made.
Secondly, I would like to thank the folks at the paper itself. They have shown me a kind of hospitality that I had not previously experienced at any other job. Our editorial department has not had an easy go of it lately, and I am not making it any easier. But with faces new and old on the way to help out, I am extremely optimistic about the future of the LCN.
Lastly, I would like to thank all of the public servants that I have encountered, and oftentimes bothered, in the last 10-and-a-half months.
One of the most valuable things that I’ve gained from this experience is a deep well of respect for the folks that volunteer their time to keep their towns running. From volunteer firefighters to selectmen to the “Geezers” in Whitefield, I have developed a prevailing sense in this county that contributing to one’s community and dedicating time to one’s neighbor is not a sacrifice, but a privilege.
I would not dare to suggest that the work I’ve done holds a candle to that of the elected officials, staff members, and volunteers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in the past year, many of whom have been in their positions longer than I’ve been alive.
However, I do believe that this position, regardless of the writer that occupies it, is vital. Every request for a correction that I’ve received in the past year – and there have been more than I care to admit – tells me that this county’s populace cares about the quality of its weekly paper.
I have come to believe that good government is oftentimes not terribly newsworthy; similarly, I believe that good journalism goes similarly unnoticed.
In other words, I hope that it is the stories, and not the byline, that the lovely folks in Lincoln County remember.
