‘... And in the end’

One of my first bylines for the Newton Daily News featured Charles Elliot and his clock shop. I was 26 years old and eager to make a name for myself. I was an entry-level reporter and the NDN was my first full-time journalism job after graduating from college three years earlier.

I would often get in my beat-up ‘99 Ford Taurus and patrol Newton looking for a good story. One afternoon, I was in a residential area on the southwest side where I saw a nondescript wooden sign hanging the front door of a house that read “Elliot’s Clock Shop.”

I parked my car, got out and knocked. A man in his late 60s answered wearing a white turtle neck and matching white stocking cap. I told him I was a reporter for the Newton Daily News and happened to see the sign. He said the clock shop was his in-home business and he’d be glad to show me around.

Charles Elliott had been fixing clocks since 1988. There were more than 40 timepieces on his living room wall, and he was currently repairing a German cuckoo clock in his basement. One other detail I loved: he was wearing a clockmaker’s magnifier on his head. It made for great imagery for the story.

After the feature went to press, Charles was very complimentary, and I began getting a barrage of emails from people asking about how to get in contact with the clock repairman. They were the first reader responses I received as an NDN writer.

Eight years later, I’ve written hundreds of stories for this newspaper on everything from politics, crime and murder to agriculture, schools, government and, most importantly, people. I’ve worked as a freelancer, intern and stringer elsewhere in my early career, but the NDN is the only paper I’ve worked full-time.

That’s why my departure at the end of this week feels so bittersweet.

After nearly seven years with this company, I’ve accepted a position in Jacksonville, Fla. as the city reporter for the Jacksonville Daily Record. My wife Betsy and I will be living somewhere other than Iowa for the first time in our lives. It’s exciting but doesn’t come without a bit of reflection.

I cannot express enough my gratitude to the people of Newton and Jasper County for letting me tell your stories. I had no idea after my job interview in December 2010 that nine years later I’d be your editor.

I left for a brief time — even getting a surprise announcement about my departure to work for Hy-Vee by Pete Hussmann in the Newton Independent — but I didn’t stay away long. I returned as news editor for the Jasper County Tribune and Prairie City News. It was those four years covering small towns when I truly learned the value of community journalism and where I grew most as a reporter.

In my time here, I oversaw the acquisition of a third weekly newspaper — the Monroe Legacy — and witnessed the NDN’s final in-house press run. I was part of the first crop of reporters at the NDN to use social media to spread our stories to a wider audience than ever before.

The most difficult thing do is say farewell to the people I leave behind. It may be small, but the Newton Daily News has one of the most talented staffs in any Iowa newsroom. Led by incoming Editor Pam Pratt, this newspaper will continue to provide essential journalism for Newton and the rest of Jasper County.

Please continue to support these professionals and every person at the Newton Daily News, from the ad reps and office staff to the newspaper carriers who bring the news to your doorstep and Facebook feed every day.

Those who I’ve gotten to know me over the years understand the only two things I love as much as my family and the news are Star Wars and The Beatles. In keeping from sounding like a nerd to you all one last time, I’ll refrain from hurting your ears with a clip from that galaxy far, far away but will leave you with a quote from the Fab Four.

So, it might be forced, but I couldn’t find a way to weave this “Abbey Road” bookend into the column. Just enjoy.

“...And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

Contact Mike Mendenhall at
mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com