A bit of deja vu

Janell Bradley
editor@fayettecountynewspapers.com

            As I walked through the back door of the Fayette County Union office Monday, April 20, there was a wave of déjà vu – but only briefly. Even though it had been 22 years since I last entered the office as an employee of the newspaper folks in Unionland depend upon, a few facets (and people) remain the same, while so much of the technology has changed. Gone are the light tables and old Compugraphic machines that were so familiar to our then staff of 9 or 10 people  who produced the Union each week in the 1980s and early 1990s.

            For anyone too young to remember, I was news editor at the Union from about 1984 to spring 1993 until I took a break for the summer and then ventured into the world of newspaper publishing owning several neighboring weeklies. Now, all those newspapers are under one umbrella of ownership.

            Having published the Elgin Echo, Fayette Leader and the Ossian Bee until four and a half years ago, I’ve spent the last while as a free-lance writer. It suited my semi-retired lifestyle quite well because I was fortunate enough to pursue telling the stories of so many wonderful people who live in Northeast Iowa, without the pressure of deadlines – while finding more time for family activities and travel.

            It was fun while it lasted!

            With Mike VanSickle’s career change whisking him away to Upper Iowa, I agreed to serve as interim editor back at the newspapers where I cut my teeth, to allow the current management time to put a new editor in place.

            That’s it in a nutshell. I’m back for a little while, and I intend to enjoy writing and editing the news while trying to remember all the nuances of the text and graphics editing software programs used in the newspaper business. I beg your patience and understanding over the next couple of weeks as I settle in with the seasoned pros that now staff the Union & Fayette Publishing.

I’m looking forward to the ride!