Over the Christmas holidays, my sons were in town. Aaron lives in New York City, attending Union Theological Seminary. Tim is in Kansas City, where he teaches high school English.
Both continue to read the Register, in part as a homage to family, for sure, but also because they like to keep in touch with their hometown. I suspect the Register habit is also part of the reason both toss around the idea of returning to these parts one day.
Both said they are inspired about Iola and its changes, including the new rail trail to Humboldt, the new hospital, the new area around the soccer fields, the new restaurants, and the new coffee shop.
They also relish the quiet and open spaces of Iola and how it affords simple pleasures, like seeing the stars at night.
“Iola is a really good small town,” Aaron said. “I wonder if there’s a role here for me some day.”
My dad, especially, was a good role model of how to have a very good and rewarding life by living in a small town. No doubt he had the talents to be a success in a bigger arena. When he graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in political science he had his sights set on the Foreign Service. Heck, maybe he’d be an ambassador one day.
He wouldn’t say, “Life got in the way,” by returning to Iola. Rather, his priorities changed, especially when a wife and children came into the picture. To his dying day he was grateful for the opportunities afforded him at the Register and what he could do for his community.
He never once felt his talents were wasted in this small corner of the world.
Instead, he would contend he had more opportunities to make a difference to the world here, rather than on a more populous scene.
NEWSPAPERS have traveled to the edge of the abyss and back because of the Internet. It scared us to death, thinking people would prefer Google news to that of their community.
So we quickly developed a web product to make sure we had an online presence. Today, you can get the full edition of the Register at the click of a mouse for $10 a month.
The recession of 2008 also hit our readership hard, from which we’re slowly recovering. For some, every penny counts and we understand how news of your community doesn’t put food on the table.
And yet, it is the news — about us, our children, our elected officials, our schools, our places of work and worship — that keeps us thriving as a community.
Because we are well-informed, we are a progressive community. We support initiatives such as to build a new hospital, to extend a rail trail, to start an anti-poverty program, to purchase playground equipment for special needs children, and to keep the shelves in our food pantry stocked.
Our mission at the Register is to strengthen our community by telling the news of local events accurately and completely as well as calling attention to special accomplishments of its citizens, young and old, rich and poor.
