To The Reader’s Forum:

“Hey, P-J.

It’s been awhile. Too long, really. I won’t be in Jamestown anytime soon, so I wanted to wish you a happy birthday from the bottom of my heart. You won’t mind, I hope, if I give you a little praise?

And why not? Why, by golly, Lucille Ball, Roger Toy Peterson, the 10,000 Maniacs, Justice Jackson and Nick Sirianni read YOU before they were famous. And (just between the two of us) you were the only one invited to see the King of Sweden – TWICE!

Of course, you were the paper (as the Evening Journal and the Morning Post) who covered the mustering of volunteers in the Civil War but most profoundly the stories of men and women who served and sacrificed in World War II here and abroad. Because of you, I got a chance to keep sharing those stories right up through the 2000s alongside new ones brought home from Iraq and Afghanistan and 9/11.

But, don’t let me bring you down. You’ve been there for every happy event too! Remember fireworks at Hills in Brooklyn Square? When the Sea Lion was sailing proudly? Every state championship, from Randolph to Panama, Mayville to Frewsburg – yes and the Red Raiders too – you were there. Pages and sections and volumes have you written covering the feats of strength of our athletes, the skills of our musicians and artists and the quiet endurance of people whose stories stay with us. Among my favorites?: A Wal-Mart greeter who recites Shakespeare and a dad who saved his four-year-old with a liver transplant.

You were there for how many of us over the years with birth announcements, happy ads, and “vows pledged.” As we’ve gotten old, each generation says more or less the same thing: “I check the obituaries to see if I’m still here!” I bet you chuckle every time you hear that.

Do you remember that editorial criticizing Mario Cuomo and his media policies? And how he came to Jamestown to be a reporter for a day? I hope someone gets that picture out of Manley Anderson taking dictation from the governor and puts it on the mantle.

What’s lesser known is that you also provided: Countless families can point to you as a mainstay of employment – often for decades. And how many of us got our first start on paper routes, as part-timers in the mailroom, or even as lackeys in the newsroom. We were all oddballs in an oddball family – and I’m grateful to have been part of it.

Gosh, it’s just hard to believe you first published when Jefferson and Adams were current events and look at you – how graceful you are?! Take care of yourself, OK?

If all goes well, I’ll see you in time for 250.

Steve Sweeney

Hartford, Wisc.

Former Post-Journal reporter and son of longtime Post-Journal employee Sidney Sweeney