News

 By Mary Thurwachter, managing editor

A yellowed newspaper clipping floated out of the Christmas card my sister Susie sent in December. 

“That’s me!” I yelped, getting a quizzical look from my husband across the breakfast table.

Beneath a photo of a smiling me was story about how, at age 23, I had become the youngest community newspaper editor in the state of Wisconsin.

The realization hit me like a ton of ink: I’ve been working for newspapers a long time. In fact, I’ve been a journalist for more years than I had lived when that picture was taken. I’ve even been working in Palm Beach County for more years than that. 

My career path was never set in stone. As a shy girl with four brothers and three sisters, I do remember preferring writing over talking. When asked as a third-grader to pen (er, pencil) a short essay on what I wanted to be when I grew up, I wrote “a shepherd.” 

I’m pretty sure I had never seen a real sheep at the time. Undoubtedly, a richly detailed drawing of Jesus and herd of sheep in a book I had received for my First Communion was then etched in my memory.

When asked to write my own obituary in a basic college journalism class (sorry, I don’t remember what I wrote), the professor gave me an “A” and I was on my way. Becoming a reporter was a good track for a shy girl. It gave me a reason to ask questions I likely would not have asked otherwise. Some might say it helped me bloom.

Surely it helped bolster my confidence. In 1979, I packed up my Ford Fiesta and drove to Boca Raton, my very first home in Florida. I didn’t have a job or know a soul here. 

I began working for the South County bureau of The Evening Times, which later merged with The Palm Beach Post. For a few years, I was the editor of the Delray Beach News Journal. 

Two years ago, I left The Post and began working as a freelance writer/editor and Web designer.

I don’t know how much I bloomed. What I do know is that I have a great fondness for people. I like hearing their stories. And I like sharing them with others.