By David Heiller

This is the week that we are asked, ìWhat are you thankful for.î

A lot of universal answers always seem to emerge: Iím thankful for my family, my friends, my health, my life.

But I was reminded of one other thing last week that I am thankful for: my job.

The reminder came with the death of Elmer Andersen, the man who founded ECM Publishers, Inc, the company that owns this newspaper.

I did not know Elmer Andersen. I talked to him on the phone one time, when I was doing a political story at a newspaper I used to own, The Askov American. Itís funny, I still remember how gracious and non-partisan he was.

At the time, I never thought I would be working for his company, or for any corporate newspaper for that matter. Independent newspaper owners tend to look askance at newspaper chains. Itís a prejudice, in a sense, and one that I have happily shed.

But life threw my wife and me an interesting curve 20 months ago. We sold our newspaper. It was the equivalent of being laid off, and it was scary.

We decided to see if we could afford to move back to southeastern Minnesota, something we had dreamed of doing since we first got married in 1980. That meant finding a place to live, and finding a job.

We found our home site first. Iíll never forget stepping out of the car that snowy Monday morning, looking at the old Thomford farmstead, and thinking, ìThis is it.î It was a feeling of absolute certainty that doesnít happen real often in life. And the feeling was not wrong.

Finding a job wasnít quite as easy. I sent out numerous applications, to schools, universities, non-profit organizations, businesses. I not only did not get a job, I didnít even get an interview!

During this process, I introduced myself to Jane Palen, my boss at The Argus, in the hope that something might be available there. it was a long shot, because weekly newspapers donít change editors often, and when they do, itís not for a middle-aged man. But there was an opening at the paper, and I took the job in October of last year. I got lucky. I got a good job, and one I love. The two donít always go hand in hand.

Itís easy to take a good job for granted. But you donít have to look far to see people who arenít that lucky, people struggling, working hard, not getting ahead. Working without benefits. Getting laid off. As Greg Brown wrote, ìWeíre at the pink slipís mercy in a paper universe.î

So Iíll take a few moments this week to thank ECM Publications and Elmer Andersen for giving me a decent job.

It is my wish that all hard-working people can get good jobs with good benefits. Itís a crime that there are 45 million Americans with no health insurance. But thatís a subject for another time.

Happy Thanksgiving, and thanks for reading The Argus.

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Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475

E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com