The end of the year is a time when many of us take stock of the past 12 months, while casting an eye to the future.
Without a doubt 2017 was a year of upheaval and change locally, but around the world, well to quote Bob Dylan, The Times They Are a-Changin.
There’s a few numbers on Page 1 of the Westlock News every week — the price, date, volume and edition and the one we want to highlight is our volume.
Yes folks the News turns 98 years old in 2018. Now, let that sink in for a minute and imagine the world back then.
When our first edition hit the streets airplanes were still a novelty, TV and radio didn’t exist and most people got around on horse back. At the time Alberta’s population was only 588,000 (less than Saskatchewan’s) and the average annual salary was just over $1,000.
Over the years we’ve chronicled everything from the Second World War, to men landing on the moon — back in the day due to the lack of TV and radio the News provided a degree of national and international coverage.
We were the only source.
But most importantly for close to the last century we’ve chronicled this community and its people.
We’ve published obituaries and birth announcements, along with birthday wishes and wedding anniversaries.
We reported on the community’s successes and failures and the tragedies and heartwarming stories. Throughout all the fashions — from bell-bottom pants, to polyester suits and hot pants — we’ve been the constant.
People’s thirst for news never goes out of style.
But certainly the newspaper industry isn’t what it once was, although we’ll make the case that we’re still in pretty good shape for being close to 100 years old.
Video stores, TV repair shops, blacksmiths and photo labs are just a few of the businesses that have come and gone over the last century.
But rest assured we’re not going anywhere. As long as people still want to know what’s happening in this community, we’ll be here to tell those stories.
As always we appreciate your continued support and look forward to another great year.
