In my journalism career, I had the opportunity to write about so many subjects—quite literally from A (archaeologists, academics, activists, annual budgets, and an astronaut, just for starters) to Z (maybe a zoo? a zebra? Well, at least some folks had first and last names starting with the 26th letter of the alphabet).
However, I cannot recall ever writing about a New Year’s Baby—that hyper-local staple of journalism that, come every January, chronicles a community or region’s inaugural boy or girl.
This all comes to mind on the heels of my 1,000-mile trek last week from Colorado back to Chicagoland. Along the way, at multiple convenience store/gas stations, I encountered local newspapers that were faithfully on the New Year’s baby beat.
A Recurring Theme, Everywhere I Stopped
I chuckled at the recurring theme and could not resist purchasing one of those editions, the Harlan Advertiser-News in Harlan, Iowa. The front page proclaimed the news of the birth of Maya Louise Scheffler, the fourth child of Megan Gettys and Adam Scheffler. A pretty cool subplot: one local resident won a year’s subscription to the paper ($69 value) by being the closest to predict the precise time of the first area baby’s arrival. Stunningly, JoAnn Bruck of Earling was a mere one minute off the mark.
It may be hard to summon the memory, but can you think back to the closing days of the seemingly never-ending 2020? Were you, like so many of us, anxious to put the trying, terrible, tragic, traumatic year in our rear-view mirror? It was a horrible time in countless ways; too many of us have our stories of woe, me and my family included.
Hope & Joy Amidst a Mad, Broken Time
Sadly, 2021 has felt like a colossal doubling-down of 2020. At the heart of its terrible tumult: the heinous insurrection last week at the U.S. Capitol.
From afar, like so many millions of Americans, I witnessed that ugliness with a heavy heart. A few days later, making our way back after a week of blunted restoration near the Rockies, my soul was warmed to see these beaming couples along with their healthy children in those newspaper accounts from across the heartland.
Not sure if you had occasion to come across any similar account. If not, here you go—may it offer you, amidst the madness and brokenness, at least a small measure of hope and joy.
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