What I did on my Summer Vacation

Last May, as summer was getting closer, I started thinking about finding a summer job. Lots of teachers do. Last year, I helped a contractor strip and re-paint coolers in the Farmland for a few weeks. It was hard work. Unfortunately, the contractor had jobs lined up this year that would put his operation in Illinois most of the summer. Not that Farmland is in a position to use him right now anyway.

I remembered advice that my Aunt Rene' gave me years ago; "do something that will help you in your field." Rene' was a college academic and career counselor, after all.

So, since I'm the yearbook advisor for Boyer Valley High School, it made sense to look for work taking pictures, writing stories, and designing layouts.

When she was in high school, my wife Bethany had worked for Mike and Barb Lyon at the Charter Oak-Ute NEWSpaper and the Mapleton PRESS. So, I knocked on Mike's door (actually it was an email). I felt that I had to convince him that I was far more competent than I was as a college kid when Bethany and I worked for him on the Charter Oak Centennial Edition the summer before we got married. To my surprise, he gave me a chance.

What a great job! I had three goals when I started; to get to know more people in and more about the community, to hone my skills so that I'd become a better Journalism teacher in the Fall, and to give back as to the people who have given so much to me and my family.

What I got was to live out a boyhood fantasy. Other guys dream about winning the Daytona 500 or playing quarterback in the Rose Bowl. As editor of my school newspaper at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix, Arizona I planned on pasting-up copy at a major metropolitan daily. My best-case scenario had me either as the political cartoonist or a political columnist for the Chicago Sun Times.

This summer I not only had to ask the Crawford County Democratic party chairman on line one to "please hold," so that I could answer a call from the Republican party chairman on line two- I actually got to sit in the boss' chair and layout the front page. More importantly, I got to meet and know more about some wonderful people- you.

So, I must say thank you to Mike and Barb for giving me this opportunity and to you, gentle readers, for your gracious encouragement and support. If teaching, coaching, Church youth group, and helping raise two little girls will allow it- I hope to freelance some stories, commentary, and maybe even some comics for you throughout the year. We need your input too. Please give us your feedback and ideas. Email us your opinions, story ideas and reactions to what we run. This is your paper; participate with us in serving our communities.