Dear Editor:
Words cannot quite do justice to the level of utter joy, happiness, and nostalgia I felt on a recent evening. I’m lucky enough to live with my wife, along with her two children, in the Raven Woods subdivision near Deep Cove. A growing, yet ultimately quiet and friendly community.
When walking the dog this past evening I had the chance to happen across the appearance of what can only be described as a gift from the past. A newspaper bin stocked with fresh North Shore News issues!
As a child growing up near Exit 7 in West Vancouver our paper carrier (David was his name) would bring new copies of the NSN which I would eagerly await. Leafing through the paper, soaking up the articles, often getting my fingers marked by fresh printers ink, is a fond childhood memory. So too were the flyers within – especially around Christmas!
As a young man I lived on Lonsdale and often lamented the lack of NSN bins or regular delivery to my apartment block, but came to accept that in this increasingly digital world (I work in IT too!) perhaps the memories of my childhood were not to continue into my next chapter of life.
As a now bonus dad to two young men, with a wife and a place to call my own, I must admit I’d largely forgotten about the printed NSN – only being reminded on rare occasions when an issue was discovered at a local coffee joint. I had in many respects come to terms that the NSN was going to be online only (as I’d read some years ago).
So, on this evening when I found this magical newspaper bin so close to my new domicile I stood, mouth agape, while my brain tried to comprehend the beautiful nature of this cyclical happenstance. My childhood came rushing back, the memories, the excitement to see what was current locally … in printed physical form. And as I stood there, increasingly feeling like I was about to cry, it hit me. I must take a copy, show my wife (who also grew up on the North Shore) and spread the news!
The sense of pleasure I will take walking to the street corner and obtaining the newest NSN and sharing that with my family cannot be put into words. So for now, thanks so very much!
Jon Gabriel
North Vancouver
Editor’s note: Thanks for the sweet letter Jon! The North Shore News has never been an online-only publication, proudly printing physical papers since our creation in 1969. We have recently expanded a neighbourhood newspaper box program with an overwhelmingly successful pickup rate, getting the newspaper into more hands across the North Shore.
