Those were the days

I am using a trip in a couple of weeks to visit our son and his family in Georgia as a reason to reacquaint myself with some old stomping grounds.

Actually, it was  a place that seemed to do a lot of stomping on me.

My wife and I had tied the knot back in 1967, a year after I graduated from college in Hattiesburg, MS.

A Republican in a Democratic domain was owner of the weekly Examiner located in Aberdeen, on US 45 between Columbus and Tupelo.

The summer of 1967 he had a job opening,

I became the assistant editor of the paper that had been in operation since April 28, 1866. I just happened to have been born on April 28, but it was in a different century.

There was the editor and myself, who both did news and advertising. I liked photography, so I did most of it.

There was a bookkeeper and a receptionist, who did local items, plus the backshop.

Weekly newspapers can’t afford a lot of staff, so what was there did the work of two and sometimes three people.

Early morning, late night and sometimes weekend work was required.

After a year of that schedule, the editor sold the paper to two locals, a lawyer and funeral home director. My understanding was they didn’t want a local doctor buying out the paper.

Where I was at times seemingly doing the work of two or three previously, for the next year it seems like I was doing the work of three or four or more.

The days seemed even longer and sometimes the nights seemed that way too. And after a year, I decided another calling would suit me.

Looking back, I am glad I changed my routine. What I was doing was about to kill me, or so I thought.

We’ve passed through the area about two times over the past 47 years, but hope this time to maybe do more than past through. 

Perhaps we’ll spend a night and some time looking up old acquaintances, if they are still alive.

Next post: February 21, 2017