Twelve years ago, a snarky ad taker at the Brockton Enterprise answered the phone to take my legal notice for the annual Plympton Community Preservation Committee meeting. She told me the cost was $300 per publication. I had to publish it twice, making it $600 for something that should have cost less than $100. I said, “That’s robbery!” She answered, “So what are you going to do about it?” I said “I’ll start my own newspaper.” She sneered, “Good luck to you!” I said, “Thank you very much!”, and within three weeks Volume 1, number 1 of the Plympton-Halifax Express came off the press. It’s been a wild ride ever since.
It’s time to bid farewell and spend more time with my grandchildren who have often graced the front page of this newspaper, pay more attention to gardening and dusting, baking bread and cookies. It’s time to rest…
Along the way there are soooo many people I want to thank for making this journey possible, pleasant, comical, and fun. First is my Whitman-Hanson Express editor in chief and in everything else, Tracy Seelye, who doesn’t mind if I steal from her unabashedly. She’s a much better writer than I, as I will be the first to admit. Okay, so will she. She has taught me so much and I couldn’t have done any of it without her.
Second is the woman who stopped by our table at a Holiday Fair at the Dennett Elementary School where we offerred an Express coffee mug with every new subscription. After looking us over, she came back and asked if we were hiring. I had no idea what I was going to do with her, and now I don’t know what I would do without her. Marla Webby has kept the office sane and in excellent working order ever since. She also has the dryest wit I’ve ever encountered.
To Steve Gilbert whose sports photos have claimed the back pages for the past several years, many thanks for your action shots and letting me know that I can’t cut off the feet in your photos! See, you can teach an old dog new tricks .Thank you for your patience..And thank you to Linda Redding and Sandi Neumeister. Your photos have added much flavor to this stew of local news..
Good friends who had recently retired asked me if they could be a part of this odyssey – Marilyn Browne, who volunteers as proofreader for the Whitman-Hanson Express and Fran Lindgren, our Calendar Girl, who chooses the funny little date remembrances as well as coralling all the events so readers can see at a glance what’s going on. It’s good to have friends like this – life takes on a rich texture when they are a part of it.
This week’s paper, Jan. 31, ends an era. There are other things, offerings on the horizon that might shape up to be a new beginning for this little paper, I hope so. But this is the last one for me. For all my loyal readers who write fan letters with their renewal notices, you are the best!
I know this decision has come about quickly and for those of you who want a refund on the remainder of your subscription, please email me, deb@whphexpress.com and I’ll send it out if there’s more than $5 left. For those of you who have just sent in your renewal order, we’ll send back your check. and thank you, thank you, thank you for a wonderful experience. Again, you’ve been the absolute BEST!.
~ Deb Anderson