Identity and community

Kaitlyn Marks
Class of 2021

(6/2018) Since I was a little girl, writing has composed a part of who I am. I could find inspiration everywhere, and could nurture that tiny spark into a vibrant flame capable of inspiring others, teaching, celebrating, or enacting change. From writing for websites, creating my own blog, and writing paper after paper for school, I’ve learned to appreciate the power of words in all of their forms. Furthermore, reading influenced who I would become. When we read stories, we take on their best qualities; when we read history, we preserve our culture and learn from mistakes.

When I came to the Mount and, on a hopeful whim, applied for this position with the Emmitsburg News-Journal, I never knew just how impactful even a small town newspaper could be. By providing valuable information, history tidbits, recipes, gardening tips, political platforms, and infinitely more, many people could understand the surface-level value of such an organization. But is it perhaps more important? The most important is the way a newspaper, especially in a small town, can weave amongst individuals a common thread, shimmering and unwavering, of community. Human beings need community. Simply put, we are nothing without other people; we need each other, and we need a strong sense of who we are as a community. Newspapers like this one keep the traditions, values, and ideals of a small, richly historic town alive. Words are their own form of glass, trapping stories and memories onto a page long enough for us to read them, share them, and experience them all over again.

As a writer, this newspaper means so much to me. In my first year of college, this newspaper was a glimpse into the world of professional writing, even if I was only contributing to this small section of a large, diverse product. I was able to meet other girls who were interested in writing (and phenomenal at it). I learned not only from the feedback I received on my articles, the unique articles we were tasked with writing, and from the newspaper itself, which I always try to read in its entirety; rather, I learned abundant amounts from these other writers, whose perspectives always intrigued me and styles always surprised me with their elegance. Their kindness to the new, quiet freshman writer always made me feel like a welcome part of the team. I’ll admit, I was intimidated. Everyone around me being so talented made me feel like I couldn’t keep up, but as the feedback on my first, second, and third articles landed in my inbox, I shifted from feeling inadequate to feeling much more confident.

However, this newspaper means and is capable of so much more than providing me with a place to grow. As a reader, the newspaper -- practically bursting with information, facts and opinions -- comes to life through the power of the voices within it. Without a newspaper, even now in the age of social media, flash news, and instantly accessible stories, a community would lose an overwhelmingly large part of its identity. With the loss of the Emmitsburg Chronicle in 1918, Emmitsburg lost a portion of its history. There are no records of war casualties from Emmitsburg. There are no insights into what life was like back then. There are no stories, memories, or more importantly, voices to be heard from within the pages. I can share my voice with readers, and I can experience the unique voices of others. Without ever having met me, a reader of my work can peer into my soul and come away knowing, at least in part, who I am. Without ever having met the authors of recipes, opinion pieces, environmental columns, or historical recollections, I can learn who they are in addition to what they are saying. Newspapers hold within them, especially within a town like Emmitsburg, the capability to bring people together. They encapsulate the unique nuances of a town, particularly the ones only recognizable by those who live there. Inside jokes with the newspaper staff may only make sense to citizens of the town; the picture of the old, abandoned buildings may remind residents of the town about a time long past where things were happy or sad.

The difference between a newspaper and the more digital world of today’s news is in the details. The work, time, energy, and collective effort of so many people that collide form the newspaper itself. On the internet, news races by so quickly and in such abundance that it is impossible to form a genuine or meaningful relationship between readers and writers. The thing is, without connection, words are just words. The people of a town know one another. They care about what is going to be said. There is a deeper, personal connection between newspaper and town. The words and stories capture the vibrancy of life within even a small town, and further, allow people to connect with one another in a way unparalleled by other forms of written and broadcast news.

To me, this paper is so much more than a cultivation of stories, news, and history. It is a community in itself. The community is built during our Four Years at the Mount meetings, on those comfortable chairs in the Mount’s library, sharing ideas and reflecting on our past month’s work. The community stems from the stories contributed by people across Emmitsburg, Thurmont, and Frederick County as a whole. The community belongs to the words spilling across page after page, that become more than just words; the community blooms out of stories and shared experiences of common knowledge and of hope and history. Without a newspaper, a town loses its identity. It loses that binding element that starts with the cliché landing of a newspaper on a white, chipped porch swing and ends with the satisfied flutter of paper onto a kitchen table after reading its contents. Without a newspaper, a town loses the best and most authentic way to preserve its history: both historical events and the day-to-day history that makes us who we are. Overall, for me as a writer and a reader, the value of a newspaper is in having an opportunity to share, develop, and express who I am, while gaining the knowledge, experiences and stories of others.

Read other articles by Kaitlyn Marks