Less than three weeks ago, a wake was planned for The Landmark.
Longtime photographer Joyce Roberts, retired, had learned of the planned closure of the paper and decided to hold a small farewell party on Sept. 10 for former staff and supporters.
Roberts called up Valerie James, better known as Val of Val’s Restaurant on Reservoir Street, and reserved the bar area for the gathering.
Well, that wake turned into the tale of a phoenix rising, as I like to call it, when CherryRoad Media CEO Jeremy Gulban came by. When I received news of the wake, right around the time I learned CherryRoad had succeeded in purchasing the paper, I invited him to come join the party.
The shift in everyone’s spirits was palpable. The room shifted from doom and gloom to hope and optimism for The Landmark’s future.
Those who stopped by shared some of Val’s always wonderful appetizers and chatted with their Landmark colleagues, and had a chance to quiz the new owner, meet me, and reminisce about some of the great stories from our pages. And they got to hang out with some of the nicest people and catch up on what they’d been doing.
I got lots of advice, including information about what efforts had worked and what had not, as well as ideas for future efforts. Rest assured, I took notes.
I had to leave a little before the end of the party, to go to a pig roast, but honestly, I would have happily stayed.
