Editor, The Times:
I know it is Christmastime, but I am feeling so very thankful.
Thankful first of all to you, the editor, for the opportunity and invitation to write for the Valley Voices. I have learned so much about local history, interviewed such interesting people, and challenged myself to stretch into topics outside my usual interests.
Thankful, also, for the coaching and editorial advice over the years. I have honed my word-skills and learned a lot about the computer. I started out writing articles by hand with ink and paper and mailing them in. Then I started the "hunt-and-peek" method of typing and email came along. I still type with two fingers, but o-so speedily!
Thankful to the people I have interviewed. Your stories and descriptions are such rich experiences and the memories have now been preserved and shared to pass forward in time.
I am also feeling hopeful. Hopeful that another writer (and I know they're out there) will step forward and take a turn. Who knows, like Laura Ingalls Wilder and Mark Twain, you might start writing for the newspaper and end up writing your first book!
Hurrah for newspapers!
Eleanor Deckert
Avola, B.C.