The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

At Thanksgiving Time Be Sure To Thank Goodness

by Dessa Rodeffer
Quill Editor/Publisher

24 November 1999

There is a lot of goodness that comes from people in our area throughout the year and if we haven't done it before, Thanksgiving time is an excellent time to express our thanks to them.

Here at The Quill, there are a lot of contributors that help in making our newspapers better.

The operation of weekly newspapers in a small town certainly scared me when my father died in 1973 and I had to become the one to help mother in running three of them.

Besides the actual production of the newspapers there is the bookkeeping for advertisers, accounting for expenses we occurred and the paying of bills, the payroll checks and all the withholding procedures, maintenance on machines, and supplies, upkeep of the old buildings, not to mention the work involved in actually running the three newspapers.

There was The Henderson County Graphic-Reporter, The Henderson County Journal, and The La Harpe Quill.

The newspapers were incorporated at that time into Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc. and The Journal and The Graphic were combined into one paper called The Henderson County Quill and covering the entire county as its only paper. The La Harpe Quill was changed to The Hancock County Quill.

I was delighted to see how many of the good people in the community would walk through the office doors with news for our papers.

My mother and I and our small staff were busy with the mechanics and advertising but we can't thank enough, the people in our communities that really helped us to keep our small paper going.

The story-tellers, historians, the secretaries, coaches, school teachers, photographers and many others who take time to bring in their finds are an essential part of what makes small weeklies able to survive.

Our many correspondents over the years have gone beyond the call of duty, too, and are so appreciated by us as well as the communities members in which they serve.

There will always be a few souls who complain and wonder why we aren't at all the places at all times, but the majority of people realize that our weeklies can not compare to the big daily newspapers, and that even they, can only cover a very select part of the news with their large staffs.

A neat thing about a weekly is that you can contribute articles which you wish to have in The Quill and nine times out of ten, they will get in. It's doubtful that big dailies would ever consider running many of the homie articles written by an amateur, or news of your club meetings. It is these stories which usually tell it just like it is.

I give thanks for all those who have given a positive contribution to our newspaper and especially want to single out a few who have given consistently beyond the call of duty.

Thank you Deb Cole at Cole's Photography for the many photos given us throughout the years. They have included ball teams, homecoming courts, proms, etc.

Thanks to La Harpe Superintendent Steve Breckon of La Harpe for school photos he has taken and sent to us just because he enjoys doing it.

We, along with parents and readers, really appreciate the consistency of the coaches articles from Pat Olson, of Union, Will Bavery of Stronghurst, and Tim Lafferty of La Harpe. I know it means a lot to those out of towners as well.

A special thanks for those who stop in or phone or mail tips, phone numbers, and articles of interest to area readers.

We remind those in our county who are having events in which they charge for, that a one time announcement can be submitted to The Quill free, but after that, an advertisement must be purchased before the article can go again.

Our guidelines assume if you are having a fundraiser, you should expect enough profit to pay your expenses, as we must also pay ours.

Although we would like to print everyone's articles free, we would also like to be able to pay our bills so we will be around tomorrow to offer a means that can help bind our small communities together.

With my thank you, I would like to offer an apology to folks who think I should have been at their events but was not. Many people put a lot of effort into their work, and then feel everyone else is sitting on their hands. This is not true. It's sad but in today's world, most of us have run out of time and it is not because we think your events aren't worthy, or that we are not interested. It is simply that there is only so much time for writing and much time must be put into production.

The best solution always, is to communicate your feelings about an event well in advance and we will try to work together. If it is impossible, we will be up front and tell you.

Our advice at The Quill, is communicate. Don't think we should be covering your major attraction by some divine esp notion.

Super woman is what I wish I were, but I am just like you. I only have 24 hours in a day to do my work and the most important thing is that I get to the printer by deadline or there won't be any news,, and that I don't neglect my family's needs.

I am especially grateful to my family who must deal with the times I am gone, and to all of you who help add flavor to our newspapers by submitting your articles.

Our paper is like a family. It can be small and weak if only a few do all the work, or it can make a grand impression by everyone pitching in and adding their share of news and articles to make our hometown newspapers newsy and fun to read, like a letter from home.

Thanks to all those who help make our paper better!