Ever since its debut in December 2020, our “Characters of the County” column has proven to be one of the paper’s most popular features.
It’s the thing we hear about most frequently when we are out and about. Rarely a week goes by when we don’t field a handful of suggestions of somebody we should talk to.
It’s debatable whether anyone knew this was going to be a long-running feature when we started, but there’s no stopping now. Lincoln County has more than 32,000 year-round residents and while it would be impossible to be able to share every story, we’re hoping to tell as many as possible.
Character suggestions come in every which way. We compile them all on a list and pick them out by chance, choice, or interest. We share the responsibility as a staff and try to spread our subjects out by town and topic as much as we can. The only qualification is the subject has to live in Lincoln County.
As it is with every business, time is money. Having limited amounts of both, we generally prioritize subjects who directly impact the broader community; the triumphs and tragedies that dominate conversations week to week; the taxes and policies and fundraisers and the like. In a sense, the stories are self-defined: here’s the subject and here’s everything we know about it as of press time.
“Characters of the County” sits outside of that that rubric. There is no “news,” no pressing concern we absolutely have to find out about. Really, it’s a platform for conversation. It’s an opportunity to sit down and talk with someone about whatever they want to talk about. Invariably, what comes out are scenes from a life.
It’s been said everybody has a story to tell, and that is very true. We have talked to scientists, business people, teachers, artists, public officials, and shy, private citizens. Some of our subjects have witnessed or participated in world-shaking events. Others have lived their entire lives quietly within the county. They all have stories to tell and they are all important and it’s an honor for us to pass them on to you.
Please keep those suggestions coming, either by emailing them to info@lcnme.com, calling us at 563-3171, or by stopping a member of our staff. If we haven’t gotten to yours yet, don’t worry. We will.
