Memory lane: Mrs Bell with past employees that took a tour of the News in 2006. Pictured are Vera Watkins, Joy Withers, Aileen Dempster, Jean Dahlberg, Anne McCluskey, Daphne Jones, Joyce Bell and Elva Gunnell.
The News is marking 145 years of existence this month.
Earlier this August, we put the call out to you to send in any feedback you had from your experiences with your local newspaper.
We want to hear about a story we produced that really resonated with you, or one that drove you to action.
We want to hear about your family featuring heavily in the pages of The News across generations, or whether you have worked with us in the past and have a funny story to share.
And of course, we are all human and we all make mistakes, so we also want to hear about the times when you picked up the paper and thought, “what’s going on here?”
It’s all part of the rich tapestry of history, and we want to share and celebrate it with you this month.
145 years: Some of the News’ wrappers from the 1980s.
Eighty-four-year-old Joyce Bell called the News last week, letting us know she’d found a picture dating roughly back to the 1980s.
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In this image, as shown, Mrs Bell is situated among some of the News paper “wrappers” of the time.
“I was working as a district nurse and after something else on the side, and a girlfriend said, ‘come out to the Shepp News’,” she said.
She recalls going to work in the morning to complete the centre insert of the newspapers, then being called back hours later in the afternoon to assemble the outsides.
“There were some very funny stories from back then,” she said.
She said in “a time without the taxman”, the job helped pay for her daughter’s education at Teacher’s College.
She worked in the job for about eight years at both the High St premises and the building we’re in now, situated in Kialla.
What she remembers most are the fun times had.
“I’ve definitely made some lifelong friends from that job,” she said.
“Four of us still get together and have lunch.”
Mrs Bell has stayed in the region ever since and is residing at Harmony Village; she is not only a mother and grandmother, but also a great-grandmother to six.
Behind the scenes: Photos from one of The News’ High St locations.
If you have enjoyed The News’ 145-year celebration features thus far — or have a submission on a topic you think we have missed — send our editor an email at tyler.maher@mmg.com.au or give him a call on 5820 3228.
