Earlier this month, we had our fourth Meet the Editors night. This one was in Johnston. About 20 people came out to ask questions and generally get acquainted with the people who gather the news and deliver it each day. The other three gatherings were in Champion, Lordstown and Vienna, and the next one will be in Southington on May 16 at the Southington Town Hall.
These informal gatherings are called ''meet the editors,'' but it really is all about the editors meeting the citizens and readers. It has generally been a pleasurable experience as we're doing one each month in different regions of the county. One thing I have noticed from the meetings is that people really love their newspaper.
Last week we had hometown native Michael Capellas speak at the Packard Music Hall about his childhood growing up on Central Parkway S.E. in Warren. The chief executive led Compaq Computer and Worldcom through bankruptcies, among his many other accomplishments. He was speaking as part of the newspaper's "It All Started Here" lecture series. His road to success began here.
Then on Friday night, the newspaper presented its Gospel Music Concert at Packard Music Hall as part of the newspaper's celebration of 200 years of publishing.
The headliner was Jeff and Sheri Easter, the Easters, an award-winning gospel music duo. They are known for their participation in the Gaither Homecoming Video Series since 1993, which has sold more than 15 million copies. The opening acts for the Easters were the Stevens Family of Howland and The Keelings from Hadley, Pa. Both groups are respected and well-known locally.
All off this will be topped off by a celebration June 8 and 9 to observe the actual 200th anniversary of newspapers in the county. The first newspaper, the Trump of Fame, or the beginning of what is now the Tribune Chronicle, was published June 9, 1812. A huge two-day event is planned to be held downtown on Courthouse Square. We still are working out the details, but it promises to be an exciting event.
Also June 9, we will publish a special section commemorating the 200th anniversary of newspapers here. Reporters already are working on stories about past newspaper headlines from 35 communities in the county. We also plan to write stories about the key headlines regarding the evolution of education in the area, key businesses or occupations, as well as key headlines in sports. There are other topics, too.
Another thing we plan to publish is key pages from past newspapers. We're calling them ''Famous Pages'' from the past 200 years and, believe me, there were some great headlines during that period of time.
All these observations, performances and activities are coming together just as we planned. June 9 is just around the corner and there is much more to come. Stay tuned.
Robinson is the editor of the Tribune Chronicle. You can reach him at frobinson@tribtoday.com.