Throwback Thursday Windmill Herald Edition

During high school, I worked at the Windmill Herald, which was the go to local paper for all your community news in lovely Batavia, Il. I followed in the footsteps of my good friends Sean and Matt, both of whom had moved on to greener pastures career wise and weed wise. I kid, I kid...we were good, clean, decent kids, just trying to make a few bucks so we could afford some small luxuries in life. 

The Windmill Herald was owned and operated by the infamous Arlene Nick. She was a good woman, who cared more about that community than most of the residents combined. She certainly cared way more than I did, but that's not really saying much. When I was hired to be part of the newspaper production, she told me that I was the worst paper carrier she had ever had. I was flattered. It wasn't my fault that stupid route had like 130 houses on it and that there was an elementary school right next door to where I lived, which had a big garbage dumpster. Anyway, she gave me a second chance and she probably did the same for many other people. Her Kudos and Quips column was a must read for all  those who wanted to stay in the know. Rest in Peace, Arlene! You were taken way too soon, but you gave it your all while you were still here, so kudos to you! 

Arlene also provided me the opportunity to write my own article in the paper every now and again. As you can read below, I was just as brilliant back then as I am now. That woman had a keen sense for finding amazing talent. 

I also had the pleasure of working for Mark Foley, who radiated calmness and steadfastness, especially in the heat of the deadline. Mark never had a poor word to say about anyone, especially me, his favorite employee. Well, favorite besides  Eric Jones, who kept us laughing just about all the time. Or at least he tried to keep us laughing. Eric is a master at drawing caricatures and quite a few of those ended up in the newspaper over the years. 

It was a good couple years of working at the Herald. Many good times were had. Here are a few artifacts from those years.