As a college student, I briefly considered becoming a geologist or following in Jane Goodall’s steps studying chimpanzees.
But I always knew I wanted to be a journalist.
I didn’t know what kind of articles I wanted to write. I just knew that I loved words and yearned to make a living telling stories.
I drove to Lynn with my doors locked, knowing the city had a bad reputation when it came to crime, to meet with then-news editor Steve Krause. As I approached the old Item Building on Exchange Street, it seemed to tower.
It was old and falling apart and the people inside it were a little wacky. I knew right away that it was a place I wanted to work. Not even Krause telling me that “it was OK” that I didn’t play sports in high school and that he was “sure I was still a good person” could deter me.
People who don’t play sports typically end up like those kids in the Breakfast Club, he told me.
Over the next five years, I drove to work unaware of what each day would bring. While it could sometimes be stressful, it was also one of the best parts of my job. I got to meet new people and learn about foreign subjects every day.
Through this journey, I met the children of Frank Quirk Jr. He was the hero captain of the vessel Can Do, who died during a mission to voluntarily rescue others during the Blizzard of ’78. History came alive as I listened to them recall one of the most painful days of their lives. A story I had heard countless times as a child from my father was suddenly very real.
I learned about the importance of knowing the pulse of a community. Once, I ran around Nahant looking for neighbors who remembered pitching in to launch a 90-ton, 80-foot boat in 1963. The Valiant was constructed over eight years between two homes and it took the whole town to get it in the water.
Lynn Fire Chief Stephen Archer once allowed me to hold his arm and venture into an abandoned, smoke-filled home being used for firefighter training exercises.
I soaked in every moment I spent listening to Vietnam War veterans tell their stories. I found my niche when I discovered the thrill of investigative journalism.
But in a blink, Thursday will be my last day at The Item.
Thank you for trusting me to tell your stories. Thank you for inviting me into your homes with every newspaper delivery. I have truly cherished building this part of my story.
