Beginning in July 2003, The South County Times, a weekly community newspaper published by the Times-Newspapers Inc., media company, allowed me, quite literally, one Friday column of type. For 17 years, I did my best to fill the space — 870 consecutive weeks and didn’t miss one deadline. The paper ceased publication in March 2020, when advertising dried up as quickly as coronavirus became part of our vocabulary.
In October 2020, I returned to the Times-Newspapers family when new ownership resurrected a sister publication, The Webster-Kirkwood Times. I now contribute a monthly column, continuing to tell stories in and around St. Louis County. In 2021 and 2022, I picked up a couple of awards along the way from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, second place and first place, respectively, in the “General Interest-Print” category.
Where do I get my material? I’m a mom first, thanks to Tom, my husband of 32 years and a retired history teacher who doubles as an editor and sounding board. Over the years, I’ve learned that the best topics were often right in front of me. Our boys, Matt, 30, and Jack, 27, grew up in the space — although I never wrote about them without asking permission first. As they got older, they pretended not to care.
No matter what I wrote from week to week — and now month to month– the heart of what I write almost always goes back to my family, my friends and my kids. “Mom, am I really that interesting to you?” a teen-aged Matt asked once. Yes. Yes, you most assuredly are.
I appear in The Webster-Kirkwood Times every month on the third Friday. Here’s how to access my latest columns.