A few weeks ago I quietly slipped into the role of editor for Coast Mountain News.
I have been a reporter with the Williams Lake Tribune since November 2011 and through that time have penned articles now and then for Coast Mountain News.
When Caitlin Thompson stepped down as editor, we at the Tribune picked up the pace to keep the paper going so those who read the paper regularly have seen articles by myself or my colleagues Ruth Lloyd and Angie Mindus
It can be a bit daunting to write about a community so many miles away, but I continue to gather more contacts and appreciate every time someone reaches out with a story idea or shares photographs and information when pestered.
I am too far away for you to pop into an office and meet me in person so I thought I would share a bit of information about myself.
I was born in Alert Bay in the regional district of Mount Waddington.
My mom got her first teaching job there after graduating from UBC.
As I was born a year later, we moved from Alert Bay to Ocean Falls where my dad taught for two years. He also taught English to immigrants in the evenings there.
In the summer my parents were lighthouse keepers for a stint and I had a baby brother born at the lighthouse.
He was born premature and would have required oxygen immediately, so because they had to wait for a boat to transport them to Bella Bella, he died the next day and was buried at Ocean Falls.
In the late 90s a local person in Ocean Falls did me a favour and located Michael’s grave marker.
My mom planted a juniper tree there and always wondered if it grew big. The man was able to tell me there was a large stump nearby.
We left Ocean Falls and moved to Terrace in 1962 and from there to Nelson in 1964, where my mom had been raised, and there we stayed.
My coastal experience was very limited until 1995 when my husband and I moved with our children to Prince Rupert.
It was remote, rained two thirds of the time, but we loved it.
The air, the ocean, the rainforest and the people made a lasting impression.
We left in 2011 because our places of employment had shut down.
In 2012, I visited Bella Coola for the first time ever.
A friend from Rupert and I attended the music festival in July.
At the time I did not know 10 years later I’d become the editor of the local paper, and I am sure my parents were not thinking I’d be writing articles about the Central Coast when they left in the 60s.
This week I sent out questions to the trustee and regional district candidates and through the responses met new people and learned more about your region.
It is great to have modern technology as a viable alternative to connect with communities. I will still be working full time at the Tribune.
If you have an event coming up, a photograph you’d like to share, or an idea for an article or issue you’d like to see tackled please don’t hesitate to call me at 250-392-2331 or email monica.lamb-yorski@wltribune.com.
monica.lamb-yorski@wltribune.com
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