Bolander has reached its 10th birthday, and it seems hard to believe that it’s been a exactly a decade since we first appeared on the Winelands scene, on Wednesday April 18, 2007.
Perhaps it makes me a bit of a hoarder, but from where I sit and work, an encompassing gaze around me yields a view of stacks of newspapers, dating back to that first one, right up until last week’s edition.
Often I browse through old copies, taking a trip down memory lane, and see the stories we shared, the journeys embarked upon (or completed), the joys and sorrows, achievements and occasions, that formed the body of those papers. Nostalgia, it’s not what it used to be.
As I’ve said before, we’re like a living organism, the result each week of a combination of so many variables, with some stories planned well ahead of time; others appearing in my mailbox with just minutes to accommodate.
It’s akin to a blank canvas 50 times a year, and watching it render, and unfold organically, sometimes on a wing and a prayer; but always coming together with heart and soul, and a sense of true community spirit in action.
It’s a rare privilege, to be able to work as a curator on a small, regional newspaper, because it is an opportunity to connect on an entirely different level with all the realities of community living and interacting.
You learn to put a face, an identity, to practically everything. All the notices we place each week – many come from people I bump into at the store, or walking at the river.
Getting pictures of children at school events, or involved in outreach or NGOs, or taking part in lifesaving competitions, or at local markets; knowing that I’m going to be asked for extra copies of the paper afterwards, so that granny and grandpa can also have one.
Receiving a call from someone who feels we may be able to assist in sorting out some or other problem or concern, whether it be an intervention to save a tree, or to raise funds for a society determined to make a difference in others’ lives.
These all add a certain texture to what we do, and represent a great responsibility, which is why working on a community newspaper is more of a vocation, and immeasurably adds to my sense of purpose and well-being, and connection to the greater whole.
Thank you to all encountered, on this most memorable path.
Carolyn Frost: Editor
