Building Future Means Saving Past

Winds are blowing a major fire toward your home. You have 10 minutes to pack a bag. What would you save?

Survivors of home fires say years later they still miss the irreplaceable. Photo albums, the hand-turkey picture drawn in kindergarten, the note from grandma, the lock of hair, the toy from childhood they hoped to pass on to your own child.

The bigger stuff? Nah. You can replace computers, sofas, refrigerators. It’s the stuff to which we’re emotionally attached that is impossible to replicate.

The year 2000 finally made it here. Welcome! Here at The Spokesman-Review we’re into “saving” in 2000. Specifically, we want to know what you think deserves being saved in your lives. Today, on the front page, we launch a new series of Monday Specials called “What’s Worth Saving.” For the next three months, on each Monday, you’ll read stories about what people hope to save. These keepsakes range from the concrete - old barns - to the abstract - personal freedom.

These Monday Specials, by the way, are something we decided were worth saving in 2000. A few years ago, reporters and editors took a close look at the Monday newspaper which is always a bit thin. It’s a national phenomenon in the newspaper world. The Monday paper even has a nickname: Pitiful Pearl.

Journalists here wondered if there was a way to brighten up the Monday paper and also use it to highlight some interesting people and places in the Inland Northwest. For years, readers have told us that they wished the newspaper would print more positive stories about people doing good things in the world.

Thus, Creative ‘98 was born, and throughout 1998, The Spokesman-Review profiled creative women, men and young people. The majority of these stories appeared on the Monday front page.

In 1999, the Monday Specials replaced Creative ‘98. In a rotating series, we featured photographs and short essays on nature, and older people living interesting lives. We also updated news stories from the past and shared innovations from the region’s smaller towns.

The Monday Specials will continue, but we’ll change themes quarterly, instead of weekly. The first quarter’s theme is “What’s Worth Saving.” Stay tuned for the rest of the year 2000 themes. We think you’ll like them.

In the meantime, we’re open to more ideas on what should be saved. So if you have some to share, let us know.