Thanks to those of you who went out of your way this past week to wish us a happy anniversary as Janet Post and I enter our ninth year in the newspaper world. In re-reading my opinion column, I realized I made it sound as though Janet and I do this job every week on our own, which, of course is nowhere near the truth! Many of you may not know that we are lucky to have a good support staff both here in Peabody and at Hoch Publishing in Marion who make a major contribution to your local newspaper.

We cover the local items, clubs, families, and school news. We type up some of the correspondents’ columns, letters to the editor, births, the calendar of events, and other odds and ends. We jot down ads on napkins at Sharon’s Korner Kitchen or on a deposit slip from our checkbook when we are at the grocery store.

However, other people also contribute. From time to time Paige Barnes adds a fresh and youthful opinion and Larry Timm offers us a spiritual column. Marilyn Jones researches local newspaper archives to bring us weekly reminders of events and people from the “days of yore.”

In addition, there are about a dozen people in Marion and Hillsboro who make significant contributions. They cover the county news and stories of countywide impact; they often bring us photographs of students representing Peabody in community, school, or athletic events; they write human-interest articles and expand our knowledge of the people and places around us. They also design and sell your ads, keep track of your address and your gift subscriptions, read copy and make corrections on all the stories mentioned above, and figure out if we are meeting our bottom line or if we are out of line, drawing the line, or even crossing the line.

Tough sell, huh? I know I don’t want any of those jobs. But I want you to know that when I tell you we have made it through another year, credit is also due to the many folks behind the scene who are the major reason you have hometown paper to read week after week. They have my appreciation and I hope they have yours.

— Susan Marshall