10 years of the Manchester Mirror!
Top (left to right): In October 2020, the Manchester Mirror was selected as the Most Valuable Partnership for Manchester by the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation. On March 30, 2016, the first print edition of the Mirror consisted of 500 copies of a 4-page paper. Bottom: The weekly print edition now consists of 700 copies of an 8-page paper. In March of 2020 we got a newspaper box that provides 24-hour access to the print edition on Main Street downtown. In May of 2016 a Snoopy reading the Manchester Mirror was debuted!
by Sara Swanson and Marsha Chartrand
Ten years ago the Manchester Mirror was born. This is a look back at where we were ten years ago and a look ahead at where we would like to be in the future!
No one would be surprised by the claim that a decade ago the world was a different place, but you may be surprised how different Manchester looked. After test publishing a couple of articles on Tuesday, October 29, 2013, and Wednesday, October 30, 2013, we published our first weekly edition on Monday, November 4, 2013.
Our very first test article was a recipe for an award-winning caramel-pecan-apple pie, selected because Halloween with its caramel apples (then given away from the Mill porch, not the gazebo as they are now) was just around the corner.
Our second test article was about the rebirth of a community education program in the Manchester Schools. Community Education director Kelly Ball, based in the Nellie Ackerson building, talked about the need for foreign language and other enrichment programs for younger grades, and the success of several classes, including a Lego class, “Bricks 4 Kidz.” Ball has since moved on, the community education program has been dissolved, and building-use consolidation has meant the sale of the Nellie Ackerson building.
Our first edition included an article about an upcoming casino bus trip fundraiser to help pay for After Prom, an alcohol-free event started in 2006 to give prom-goers a safe alternative to drinking and driving after prom. Covid put a pause on After Prom and general disinterest has prevented it from returning, at least for now.
Also in the first edition was an article about the Annual Crab Races held at the Manchester Sportsman Club, a fundraiser for the Manchester Community Schools Foundation. For $10, a participant could buy a crab and compete. The winners received cash prizes and at the end of the race, the crab could be taken home as a pet. Although no one knew it at the time, this was almost the end for the crab races. One more was held in 2014 at Freedom Township Hall; then, in 2015, the Foundation had to stop holding the races because of increased oversight and enforcement of state gaming laws.
The third article in our first edition was about an auto repair shop, Alber Auto Repair, that opened in the lower level of 131 Adrian St. Owner Jennifer Alber ran a real estate business out of the offices above it. Alber Auto Repair has since closed and the building is currently listed for sale.
Some things stay the same, though! The fourth article in the first edition was a Halloween photo article. And just like every year it rains, the trick-or-treaters pulled on their boots, grabbed their umbrellas, and braved the elements for candy and caramel apples!
the Mirror itself had a few differences at the time. It was online only (with the weekly print edition beginning in spring of 2016), there were two additional members of the core group of volunteers, and in the beginning we tried to be a for-profit business (only becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit last year). The Manchester Enterprise was still the community’s legal weekly newspaper with no hint that it would fold in the near future, so we did not view ourselves as anything more than a supplementary news source.
If you read our fifth article, an introduction of the Mirror to the community, you will see that some things haven’t changed at all. From the very start we were committed to focusing exclusively on the Manchester area and we were committed to not charging so that we could get the most information into the hands of the most readers; two things we are still committed to today!
Here’s a fun fact about the Mirror that you may not know. The original group of volunteers voted on a name for this new newspaper. And while the Manchester Mirror won, the Manchester Mercury was a close second. This could be a 10-year look back at the beginning of the Mercury!
Last year when we announced that we were becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we also put out a call for volunteers. Out of that call we secured an awesome, reliable copy editor, help with deliveries, and a couple of new columns. We are extremely grateful for the help we’ve received; however, we need more help! We need volunteers who are interested in writing one or two news articles a week for the Mirror. Currently two of us can handle the workload, but we will need help in the foreseeable future. You do not need journalism experience — just curiosity, community spirit, and a desire to write about things going on in the Manchester area.
We know there are lots of volunteer opportunities in Manchester. We know there are lots of worthwhile local organizations to which you could become indispensable. the Manchester Mirror is an organization that many community members, especially older residents and those without reliable access to the internet, depend on every week to connect them with the broader community. A few hours a week of volunteering could seriously determine whether we are able to keep this resource going in the future.
Are you interested in writing a news article or two a week for the Mirror? Email themanchestermirror@gmail.com.
If looking back through our earliest articles from 10 years ago shows us anything, it is that the Manchester community is constantly changing. No institution, organization, or tradition is guaranteed to continue from one year to the next. If the Manchester Mirror does have to stop publishing at some point, we will be able to look back with pride on a decade plus of covering the Manchester area. And just like we came together as the Enterprise was starting to move out of the community, another group of community members may recognize the need and come together to fill the gap.
But let’s plan instead for us to be around another decade and be able to look back over 20 years of publishing the Mirror!
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