There wasn’t a letter from the Queen. No one (physically distanced) delivered a big fancy cake. There weren’t even any (virtual) slaps on the back and comments like “Wow, you look great for your age!”
But, trust me, we are celebrating. This is Leaside Life’s 100th issue, and we couldn’t be prouder.
I wasn’t there nearly nine years ago when Ruth and Harry Goldhar discussed the possibility of launching a Leaside-centric newspaper, following on the success of their Town Crier chain of community papers. But publisher and long-time Leaside Life columnist Lorna Krawchuk (and Leaside Residents Association co-president Carol Burtin Fripp) was.
“We all talked in the spring of 2011 about whether there was enough content to publish a monthly paper that would just be for Leaside,” Lorna writes in this issue. “That fall … we sat in the Goldhar living room and hashed out what was to become Leaside Life. … What we were looking for were the stories that we hoped would appeal to Leasiders who had been in the neighbourhood for many years, and those who had recently moved in.”
That mandate remains fresh today as we search for stories of special local interest to Leaside residents.
The fact that Leaside Life has reached the 100-issue mark speaks to the resilience, relevance and endurance of community papers, whose role, I think, is growing. Yes, we live in an increasingly digital, global world, but what sets Leaside Life apart – both the paper and our vibrant digital platform – is our hyper-local focus. People are yearning for that connection.
And we are never at a loss for stories to fill our issues. Thank you for your support!
