Downriver Review – Every End Leads to a Start
After a nine-month stint with the Downriver Review, I am regrettably bringing my article writing to a close.
Writing a weekly article for a local paper is a revealing experience. Deadlines repeating again and again each week bring a certain regularity to one’s thoughts. Just after finishing the article for one week, thoughts of what to write the next week emerge.
Then there are the readers. As feedback and comments come in, an author develops a sense of responsibility and commitment, and sometimes even a rapport with those who read your column.
Such was the case for me in Wyandotte especially. My 20 articles on Wyandotte provided a sweeping introduction to the history of the city, as well expressing some of the challenges and opportunities that the city faces.
In the process of writing the article, it was possible to see a change in attitudes, from people in city government, to downtown merchants, to Wyandotte residents.
When there was an opportunity to address the City Council and the Downtown Development Authority on issues of importance to Wyandotte, I felt a certain authority when speaking on issues – from what to do with the historic Wyandotte Theater, to the new proposed condominium project downtown.
At the start of this year the federal government requested my professional services as a consultant in the Gulf Coast Region – assisting in the relief efforts. So for the past 15 weeks I have enjoyed sharing details of my travel and my experience in the Gulf and in New Orleans especially.
Now as I prepare to embark on a new chapter in my business and my life, I am grateful to the Downriver Review, its editor and publisher Greg Rockiak and to all of my readers for making my experience as a columnist such a rewarding one.
Wyandotte and this paper will always occupy a special place in my heart.
And let me especially thank by name some people I’d like to thank for their generosity of spirit and their support, both in the past 9 months and for some for the last several years: Mayor James DeSana, Patt Slack, Pete Lubaway, Joe Maher, Tom Roberts, and Joe Voszatka. These represent some of Wyandotte’s best and the future of this town.