They say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Or maybe that’s just the title of a 1980s hair-band song. I don’t know. Either way, it’s true.
When I became news editor at the Salisbury Post, I largely gave up reporting and writing. Before then, I had covered several beats and gotten to tell a lot of great stories.
Well, I should say I got to help tell a lot of great stories. They were always the stories of the people who had them, the folks who lived them. I just had the ability to put them in some kind of order and pass them along to others in our community, and sometimes beyond.
And I have always considered that an honor.
Anyway, after accepting the job of news editor, my attention turned more toward working with our staff of reporters, to use the experience I’ve accumulated and what little wisdom I might have gleaned from it, to help them tackle the daunting task of covering their beats (they all have more than one) every day.
I’ve seen some of them win their first press awards, and that made me prouder than my own. I’ve watched young, green reporters come into their own, do wonderful work and be snatched up by bigger newspapers. I’ve hated to see them go, but I’ve always been happy for them. And I can say that no matter who has been on it, we’ve always had a fine staff of reporters here at the Post.
My job also typically includes planning the next day’s newspaper, prioritizing coverage (yes, I’m the guy you yell at on the phone if we can’t cover your event), coordinating long-term projects and working with our page designers and photo chief Jon Lakey — who has the patience of Job in trying to teach us all — to make it all come together. Hopefully, more often than not, it does that in a way readers enjoy.
But lately, we’ve all been doing more writing here at the Post. It’s part of an effort to produce a newspaper with even more of the local news you need to know, and more of the local stories you should hear.
Some days, adding that to the schedule makes for pretty long hours. But here’s the trade-off: I’ve had conversations with some terrific Rowan residents I might not have ever met otherwise.
Recently, I hung out with Buddy Farnan, who preserves antique bicycles and offers his large collection for display and knowledge and wit for entertainment.
I sat in the home of Ricky Basinger, who has researched his family’s history for decades and learned last year his late father was due medals he never received in World War II. To honor his father’s memory, he got those medals.
I talked with Penny Hoover, who made local sports history by becoming the first woman to bowl a perfect game in the 55-year existence of Woodleaf Lanes.
And just this week, I listened to World War II veteran Bill Lowrance recount his experiences at Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944, and I interviewed Dwight Nicholson, whose father Tyre Nicholson died May 4, just weeks before he was to accept an honor from the French government for his part in the invasion and the liberation of France.
I met them, and I helped tell their stories.
And I still consider that an honor.
If you have a story idea, feel free to email me at sjenkins@salisburypost.com or call me at 704-797-4248.