The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.



My Latest Issue Of The Quill

My latest issue of The Quill just arrived in the mail.

Patiently waiting and looking for it daily when I am not traveling is regular ritual. And frequently when I am headed out of town for a few days I make sure I take my Quill Along.

Since I live a few hundred miles and at least 8 hours from Stronghurst and know only a handful of people in Henderson County area; one probably wonders why such distant and unfamiliar information is so important to me.

An unplanned and totally impromptu meeting with Publisher Dessa L. Rodeffer and lady name Ruth ( I think her last is Olsen:I apologize if that spelling incorrect.) and a lively conversation about Billy Graham and viole, a wonderful new friendship was born.

The National Newspaper Association informs us that 67% of all residents in small towns and cities in the United States regularly read local newspapers. In a recent research poll conducted by the Center for Advanced Social Research we find that 67% of the people interviewed read a

community newspaper once a week..94% of the readers agreed that the newspapers were informative, 80% said they and their families looked forward to reading the newspapers,

78% relied on the newspaper for local news and information, and 72% said the newspaper entertained them.

Now by my calling I am referred to as a minister or pastor. And I understand that

polls show that somewhere between 40% and 50% of Americans attend church on a good Sunday. That research on newspapers noted that among the readers is a significant number of 18 year olds:those are Millennials and 70% of hem have left the church and further a significant number of blue collar men and women are leaving behind them.

With a huge growth in social media we are now told that local newspapers are investing in digital products which further advance the importance of the local newspaper. Do I see a new opportunity for presenting the old message of God's Love?

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the front page Meet Your Neighbor and always like the pictures of those who took the Quill along (my wife and I have been in that front page spot before:first time ever in our lives.)

And the upper right hand corner wisdom of our 2nd President was spot on. Pages 2 and three adds more local news, special birthdays, a wedding, and the Recipe Corner features my favorite cookie.. the Snickerdoodle.

And speaking of Billy Graham, page 4 features a sermon by Ravi Zacharias (an associate with BGEA) while page 5 points out highlights of the holiday season, page 6 special local senior information and page 7 that neat picture of fellows getting their bowling rings along with that ever critical sample ballot.

Count them. I did and there are at least 40 people smiling in the pictures featuring West Central News on pages 8 and 9. Pages 10, 11, 12, 13 gives us information of deaths,

church schedules, auctions, important classified ads and

lectures. Then pages 14 and 15 highlight important voter information, school calendar events, sales, and auctions.

Additional West Central sports info. A Civil War Round Table, and an article completion from

page 1 dealing with a lecture on the importance of the local community completing this issue

of The Quill..(Incidentally the importance of small towns and communities is what this article is all about)

By the time you read my article this will all be old news to you who weekly pick up

The Quill..however, as I scan my current copy it is all new news to me. And once again I am reminded that one of our greatest freedoms is the Freedom of Press which is closely allied to the Freedom of Speech. Add to these sacred freedoms are the Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Petition, Right to Bear Arms, Right to Equal Justice, Right to own personal property, and right to enjoy many other freedoms.

As I go back through the 16 pages it looks to me like every one of Freedoms are demonstrated through this local newspaper. Our founding fathers would celebrate our small town newspapers which still links us to each other and keep that bond sacred.

Now that I have digested all the enclosed information of my Quill for future recall and illustration, I am going to carefully take its pages and wrap freshly dug sweet potatoes with them for winter storage.

It will serve even further purpose..can't do that with radio, internet, twitter, tweet, face book, I-Pad, I-pod, text messaging, other social media, and TV information.

I am already waiting for my next issue of THE QUILL.

Donald Young,

Batavia, Ohio