One of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned is that life is full of ups and downs and twists and turns. You truly never know what tomorrow will bring.
It’s with a heavy heart that I’m saying goodbye to a community that has shown me so much love, respect, and kindness. Technically, my last day with The Lincoln County News was June 3, but I had things I wanted to see through not only for myself, but for all of you.
In the summer of 2023, a few months after graduating from college with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, I was looking for a job and found myself applying to be a reporter at a newspaper in Newcastle.
I was embarrassingly clueless. “I have no idea where Newcastle even is,” I recall saying to my mother.
Luckily, The Lincoln County News took a chance on me. When I started this job in October 2023, I had no idea what a select board was, why a town’s budget was so important, or how I was going to fit myself into such a tight-knit community. I was terrified, desperate to prove myself, and itching to find a place where I felt like I belonged. At just 22 years old, I was the youngest reporter on staff at the time.
I knew it would just take time to figure it all out.
The last 18 months were filled with hundreds of articles, hours of research, and scratching my head trying to figure out how things fit together and shape the community we all know and love. A community I once didn’t know existed.
Through it all, I looked to town officials and community members for answers and explanations and confided in my colleagues, who are now some of my dearest friends. They all helped me become a better reporter and a better person.
I quickly became invested in what others cared about, hoping every conversation and decision would bring the communities within Lincoln County closer to the things they wanted to achieve.
I sat and listened as townspeople argued over education budgets, talked through life-changing events, and mourned the losses of some of their own. I was honored to be a witness to such monumental moments in Lincoln County history, big and small, good and bad.
I grew up in Rockport, Maine, which is about a 30 minute drive from Lincoln County Publishing Co. in Newcastle.
To get out of town, my family traveled south on Route 1, passing over what I now know is the Twin Villages and through Wiscasset.
I wondered about the places and the people we were passing every time we drove by. Little did I know that, one day, I would be diving into what these communities are made of.
I have never experienced a place like Lincoln County, Maine, and I’m not sure I ever will again. It’s truly one of a kind, and I’m honored that I was able to be part of it, even if it was for a short time.
I don’t like goodbyes, I’ve never been very good at them. So, I would rather say, “See you later,” because there’s no way that a person can stay away from Lincoln County for too long once they’ve gotten a taste of it.
If you’d like to keep up with what I’m doing, I’m going to be a community reporter for The Bedford Citizen, a nonprofit news organization in Bedford, Mass.
My family lives in the area and this place will always be home, so I will be popping in from time to time to say hello.
There aren’t words that can express how much love, appreciation, and gratitude I feel for this community and the people in it. To everyone who ever sat down with me, answered my phone calls over and over again, or stopped me on the street to check in on how things were going, thank you. I will never forget you, the vulnerability you shared with me, and the joy we created together.
With all my love,
Piper Pavelich
Reporter for Dresden, Nobleboro, Whitefield, Wiscasset,
and a little bit of everything in between
