Gosh, it occurs to me that I'm starting my 28th year in the world of publishing. My goodness. Am I really that old? Well, considering Jennifer will turn 30 in May, I guess I am pretty old. I never, ever thought I would work in the publishing field. My teen years were spent working in credit unions. My grandmother was a credit union manager, as well as my mother. So, I was destined to work in the credit union field. I can remember spending time with my grandmother when I was young - at the hospital credit union in Lewiston - helping her lick envelopes, put on stamps and send out hand-written dividend statements.
I worked at the first credit union in our town that offered share drafts - a credit union's version of a checking account. In fact, I remember the very first day they went online. I also worked vacation time at several other credit unions throughout my high school years. When employees would take vacations, I would be the fill-in work. So, it was only obvious I would end up running a credit union someday.
And I did. Well, I was the Assistant Manager, but it was just me and the actual manager as employees, so I pretty much ran it day to day. In fact, I was one of the youngest credit union assistant managers in the State of Idaho at the time. And I was actually called and offered the position, due to my years of helping out around the other credit unions in the area. And, both my mom and grandmother were presidents of the North Idaho Credit Union League at times, so I was always involved in those events.
But, alas, I grew tired of doing the same old thing every day. It was a challenge during dividends time, first of the month reports, and the like. But, it was basically the same old thing. Just different numbers. So, as I always have, I grew restless. I walked into the local newspaper one day and interviewed for a job as a typist. And, gosh, I really hated typing. But, a new adventure was ahead of me and I was ready for the challenge.
So, my days at the Clearwater Tribune started. Who knew I would be in the publishing field this many years later. Cloann was my first newspaper boss. She was - and still is - a hoot! She grew up in a newspaper family, but actually came by the Tribune through a divorce. So, in a way, she was learning the day to day operations the same as I was. And I'm not in any way considering my knowledge anywhere near her knowledge. But, we were learning some of the same things together.
Back then things were very different. We did pictures on a PMT camera. I hated it. But, I grew to understand the workings of it. That happens after you shoot two different high school's graduation pictures! My goodness, what a process it was. Shoot the picture in the darkroom, run the film through a processor, let it dry. Cut the picture out - and put border tape around it on the page. Oh my. How things have changed!
The first machine I typed on was a huge contraption. You looked straight ahead at this screen and it held the line of type you were typing. Once it returned to the next line you couldn't see it anymore. Made a person really not watch the screen, but concentrate on your typing. For you see, if you made a mistake it was a whole other long process to correct it. It involved cutting out the line of type and pasting it over the error - in a straight line, without getting it crooked. The first time I did this, which just happened to be my first day on the job - I thought to myself, "this isn't for me."
But, I stuck with it. And what a blessing that was! For you see, I also learned how to work on a Mac computer at that newspaper. And the places that has taken me! I was hired away from the Clearwater Tribune to design grocery store ads at a bigger newpaper in Lewiston. And after a time there, I was hired at the Statesman Journal in Salem, Oregon to design car ads. So, I just kept moving up!
My favorite of the three papers? The Clearwater Tribune. Small town, weekly newspaper. Local news, mostly good back then. I still read it when I get the chance. Thankfully it's online these days. And I still keep in contact with Cloann and her family.
Of course, I guess I should say my favorite of all time is All Things Country Magazine. I love what I do. I love marketing. Promoting small businesses in our area, and all the wonderful things there are to do in our area also. Maybe I'll just make this my career................
Hope you all have a great day!
Blessings, Pam
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