One of the more interesting parts of my job here at Reminder Publishing is the proofreading I do. Every Friday, Monday and Tuesday, I help check the spelling, grammar, name accuracy and other facts in some of the 12 weekly community newspapers that our two offices put out every week.
I’m a reporter at heart – which means I’m nosy – and I truly enjoy the opportunity to have a finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the cities and towns we serve.
I also love the opportunity to uncover bits of information in some of the reporter’s articles that lead to stories for Prime.
That’s what happened with this month’s feature on Veterans Dragon Boat USA. A sentence mentioning veterans dragon boating in a Sept. 23 article on the Paper City Regatta at Holyoke Rows sent me looking into veterans and dragon boats.
What I found was a remarkable program started by two women – neither of whom had ever been in the military – to bring the healing power of being on the river to area veterans, regardless of when they mustered out.
The two women – Anna Symington and Donna Salo – were both breast cancer survivors. They met on a breast cancer dragon boat team in Springfield and continued that friendship when part of the team split off to form a new dragon boat in Northampton.
Both women had found physical, spiritual and emotional healing on the river, and a bonding with their fellow dragon boaters that offered a special kind of support. And then they started talking about veterans coming home, and how the river might be helpful for them, too.
It wasn’t long before their conversations became a dream to put a veterans-only dragon boat on the Connecticut.
“This dream of ours had been brewing for a long time, ever since we were both on a breast cancer [dragon boat] team,” Donna Salo told Prime during an interview with the two women, “We thought [dragon boating] would be a great recreational therapy ... then in 2013 we thought, why not an all-military team.”
You can read the serendipitous story of how two very committed women turned that dream into Veterans Dragon Boat USA beginning on page 8.
It’s a true testament to how the actions of one person – or in this case two people – can have a profound effect on the lives of others.
Cooking Thanksgiving? Got guests with dietary needs?
Cathie Cappa told Prime that with one in eight people in the U.S. now having some sort of food sensitivity, dietary restriction or preference, there’s a really good chance you will have one or two of these people at your Thanksgiving table. What’s a home chef to do? Get creative and tweak a recipe or two. To help you do that, Cappa has shared a few recipe secrets that can insure you’ll have something on the table to please (most) everyone. (We won’t promise to please those young picky eaters however!)
Remembering those who served
I wish I could have listed more Veterans Day events in this issue. I blame it on the immediacy of social media – but organizations and groups simply do not put out their information as far ahead as they did in the past, and that makes it harder to include that information in a monthly such as Prime. I know there will be remembrances and ceremonies in many of our cities and towns. Please check Prime’s sister weekly community newspapers for information close to the observance. And from all of us at Prime, our deepest thanks to those who served to protect our precious freedoms.
As always, thanks for reading,
Debbie Gardner
dgardner@thereminder.com
