Credit for our publications’ long life lies with many
This might be a better column if I could tell you that I always longed to be in the outdoor business. It wouldn’t be true, though. Maybe if I could tell you the first time I walked into a newspaper office, I knew at that very moment ink ran through my veins as it did for the printer in the back room. Of course it didn’t. Or I felt compelled to fight for the rights, truths and freedoms of a publication’s readership. But that wouldn’t be the case either.
The truth is, my wife’s parents, Marty and Delores Heim, bought a small, weekly newspaper in Almont, Michigan. As a recently laid-off teacher from mid-Michigan, I was invited to help.
Nearly five decades ago, I thought it was just a pit stop in life. Little did I know what lay ahead.
The small newspaper office didn’t impress me really. Old newspapers stacked high on the editor’s desk, pieces of cut-up paper on the production room floor, the incessant ringing of telephones and the clattering noise of typewriters in the background were some of my very first impressions. Although I was impressed with the seemingly controlled environment of chaos. How do they know what goes where?
It seems like yesterday now, but it was long ago. And that little newspaper office became a training ground, which yanked me into a long career in publishing.
This past month, the Woods-N-Water News celebrated the 40th anniversary of its founding. There are many reasons for our four-decade-long run. I take great pride in giving birth to the idea for the Woods-N-Water News, although the credit for its success lies with many others. Of course, the confidence of my wife, Kim, who helped make an idea a reality. Other key ingredients were fine dedicated employees, loyal advertisers and readers, a lot of hard work and a generous portion of good timing and luck.
In the course of publishing the work of many talented Michigan freelance writers and photographers, which gave the Woods-N-Water News breath. Our coverage has occasionally had a profound and positive influence on the course of our state and its grand outdoor pursuits. Some of those significant moments were: coverage of the proposed ban on bear hunting, TB and CWD concerns with our whitetail population, winter feeding regulations, the invasion of alien species in our Great Lakes, gun and treestand safety articles, our coverage of the Rompola Buck, trespassing issues, the cougar controversy, the dove hunt passage, Great Lakes water levels, the growing coyote population, the decline of the pheasant population, the fears and reality of COVID, battles between sportsmen and our DNR and, perhaps most significant of all, a continual coverage in celebrating our hunting and fishing heritage.
From its first days, the Woods-N-Water News was determined to avoid politics and instead spend most of our ink and paper money on outdoor experiences. Although we tried to sidestep controversy as if it were a dead skunk in the middle of the road, it was others’ political agendas that found us from time to time. We faced each issue head-on and gave our readers credible answers to their questions.
We understood our responsibility to inform our readers, but honestly, coming out once a month, it’s hard to report breaking news like the dailies. We were, after all, a hook-n-bullet publication, with a simple philosophy and simple objectives.
In an unexpected stroke of good fortune, my brother-in-law, Tom Campbell and his wife, Lori, decided to take up our offer and join the new and growing family business. Our partnership with Lori and Tom has been grand.
Tom and I have worked together, hunted and fished side by side for over 37 years. Tom’s affable personality and dedication proved invaluable to our young publication and company. Tom was never a stranger to hard work, he put his head down and forged his way into the business with determination and left a wake of happy readers and advertisers. Later, my son Keil came on board, bringing a new and younger perspective of who we are and how we can survive in the future.
The success of the Woods-N-Water News also helped us promote and grow our ‘Outdoor Weekend’, now 39 years old. We have packed the Eastern Michigan State Fairgrounds in Imlay City to celebrate our outdoor heritage. It’s a story you will hear a little more in the coming months.
Where do we go from here?
That one, my friends, is a tough question. Technology has thrown a curveball at us, and social media has taken the world by storm. Yet, for the print media, there are and have been predictable bumps in the road. As there is much to be optimistic about, we must also recognize the many changes in our world.
First and foremost, I fear a declining interest in hunting and fishing sports. I fear those who don’t recognize the wonderful privilege to pursue this grand tradition will create more problems. I fear some sportsmen are losing focus on how to enjoy the great outdoors. I fear, like a slow rotting apple, these conceived notions and attitudes are decaying the sports.
At the same time, when I allow these fears to creep into my thoughts, someone comes along and thankfully shatters them. The story of a young angler landing his first fish, first buck or a heart-warming story of a son sharing and enjoying a campfire with his father. Every time I think we drift too far from traditional sporting values, I find someone who truly treasures them.
So I remain cautiously optimistic about the future of our outdoor traditions.
Our journey will go on from here. For now, on behalf of all of us here at the Woods-N-Water News, we extend our sincere thanks to all our readers who have been with us for forty-year’s and look forward to the future and the struggles for other family members to carry on this important business and heritage of outdoor coverage.n
