I often like to think back to my early days here at the Register, circa the late ’80s. Life was much simpler then and it seems work was easier. And back then, right about now in the calendar year, we were pumping out at least 30 pages of news and ads. In the early ’90s, in the heat of the summer (July into August), 40 to 48 pages were the norm.

The internet has taken a chunk out of newspapers' revenue. We have been trying to figure out how to regain some of that lost revenue by trying different things. We are maintaining and we truly thank those print advertisers who have stayed with us through the years. We also thank those advertisers who have supported our websites. Every little bit helps.

When I think back to our paste-up days (that's when the paper was laid out by hand), I am amazed at how so many pages got done in a week's time. Of course, we weren't maintaining a website back then so we had more time, but we still had to write stories, have them printed out, have them proofread, cut and hung so David McKown and the rest of the staff could set them on layout sheets. Then there were the photos. We had to have contact sheets made, find the best photos, size them, have them processed for printing purposes, and design pages around them. I am glad I joined a staff of veterans like David, Joyce Bell, Bill Harris and Mary Brewer, who knew the ropes of getting a newspaper out as quickly as possible.

Over the next few weeks, I plan on describing what it takes to run our small weekly papers these days and compare the difference to my early years here.

Meanwhile, enjoy the Windjammer Days festivities next week – June 24 to June 30. The 56th annual Windjammer Days guides are here at the office and in other locations around town and the schedule is online if you need to know where to be and when to enjoy the event.