Our gratitude makes saying goodbye hard

It was nearly 46 years ago my wife Kim and I walked into the Tri-City Times office in Almont for the first time. It had been recently purchased by her parents Marty and Delores Heim. I thought at the time it would be a pit stop in my journey through life. We were 24 years old.

I wasn’t trained to be a newspaperman. Kim on the other hand grew up in the business and you might say was a natural born salesperson.

Community newspapering is a fast pace, deadline driven, exhausting business. We discovered time moves fast. Incredibly fast. The years just slipped away.

Now with the sale of our Tri-City Times last week, all those people we have worked with, all those late nights pasting up pages, hours in the darkroom and the distinct smell of newsprint come back to mind.

Kim has the expressive personality, with the ability to talk with anyone about anything. It’s a trait ideal for selling advertising. She has worked hard over the years and remains a go-to person when it comes to promotion in the area.

I eventually learned the business of newspapering. Selling ads, writing columns, snapping photos and laying out pages. I made some angry with my columns and others happy, sometimes in the same issue. And yes, making more than my share of mistakes. The newspaper pages are very unforgiving when it comes to mistakes.

I learned there is a story in every person you meet. I learned to be a better listener and learned the importance of a good community newspaper.

I learned to love the business. And I learned to admire Marty and Delores for their devotion to it.

Admiration is something we are in desperately short supply these days. We tend to diminish, rather than enlarge, to minify, rather than magnify, whatever is good. And there is a lot of good in small towns like Almont, Capac, Dryden and Imlay City.

There have been many conversations over the past months with the top brass from Michigan Independent Media Group (MIMG) and it has convinced me they also see the good in our communities.

With the acquisition of the Tri-City Times, MIMG continues their investment in local journalism in Michigan. We were the fifth purchased by the group with more on the horizon. MIMG understands the value of community newspapering and has a strong desire, a mission to keep rural newspapers alive. The new owners have pledged to keep all previous employees and leased space in the same building. MIMG will be strong community partners.

Newspapering became my life, my wife’s life and our family’s life. It has been a good life, and we are all grateful for that.

We are appreciative of the many longtime readers and subscribers. We thank our loyal advertisers, our contacts from the local governments and schools and all who tipped us off on any stories of local interest.

We will continue to publish the Woods-N-Water News, promote the Outdoor Weekend and keep the presses rolling at Page One Printing. (The Tri-City Times offices will be in the same location, same building but on the west end. The Woods-N-Water News and Page One Printing will conduct business on the east end of the same building.)

Delores, Lori and Tom Campbell, Keil Jorgensen, Susie Brill, Rita Freidinger, Kim and I thank you all once again for your longtime support, loyalty and friendship.

How lucky are we and our entire family to have worked in the communities of Almont, Capac, Druyden and Imlay City for so many years. Which reminds me of a quote by A.A. Miles when he said, ”We are grateful to have done something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”