Au Revoir….Woodstock Early Bird Flying the Coop!

Here is it September 1st and we notice that even the “Closing” sign has come down from Arjuna. There is no sign now. Just an empty storefront. Even the hanging Arjuna sign has come down. On a beautiful, steamy, misty September 1st morning we bid adieu to Toni as we walked by (although she wasn’t there)  and her lovely shop which really, really did shut down yesterday (despite one previous “false closing”) after more than 20 years in business on Central Street in Woodstock. She will still be “around” although not as much “on the street.”

It seems to be a time for new directions as the Labor Day weekend winds its way down. We also bid adieu to our wonderful young neighbor Reid Langona, who is off to Emmanuel College in Boston for a little fun and some study into sports management. He has already contributed to the Woodstock community in many ways, as a member of the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, as a hanging basket planter, as a member of Change the World Kids and as an athlete at Woodstock Union High School. We also noticed another talented young person from the street was packing up the van to head back to college as well.

Despite the steamy tropical climate in place at the moment, there is the wistfulness of Fall in the air, a yellowing of the leaves, the cicadas buzzing and the last flocks of kids of ending their vacations…which brings us to Woodstock Early Bird herself:

It is also time for Woodstock Early Bird to bid a fond adieu, to fly the coop away from this project and onto new endeavors. We have enjoyed writing, reporting, opining and observing on all matters Woodstock (and even some issues non-Woodstock). But, now, after two years, looking at the reality of our finances, we cannot continue to provide this service, even on a part-time basis. It is time to shut ‘er down. And so,  your Woodstock Early Bird “marquee” is going dark.

We have had the support of all of you – over 1,000 subscribers (!) —   and the hard-nosed  financial backing of some fabulous 100 local individuals and businesses. These are all people who actually said, “I will write a check. I will support this news and opinion offering as an outlet for independent reporting and the exchange of ideas.”

These folks, your neighbors, who wrote checks in the amount of $20 to $250, understood that they didn’t need to agree with all or any of Woodstock Early Bird’s opinions in order to say “yes” to the idea of Woodstock Early Bird, thus showing their clear – one might say even patriotic — support of “freedom of speech.” We personally thank them. They get it. They got it. On the more controversial issue points raised by Woodstock Early Bird, we admire them for their continued backing. Quite admirable, when the winds might have been blowing against them, we would say!

As to accomplishments, we are proud of having brought news coverage of municipal meetings back to the front-burner and of having worked with police to improve information-sharing via timely press releases to the public.

We are particularly grateful to many Woodstock Early Bird “tipsters” who shared with us their information and their points-of-view. There’s nothing like a good little chit-chat to start the ball rolling for some serious change.

We had thought of continuing Woodstock Early Bird into the future, perhaps under a different but like-minded journalist, under a different owner and with a different form of financial backing.

For now, though, it is best to say a clean and formal adieu, a simple: Thanks everyone for playing in the sandbox!

If you want to thank anyone for Woodstock Early Bird, please thank the advertisers listed below:

(We won’t list individual donors , but if you know one, thank them! Their support made an enormous difference!)

VEREMEDY PET HOSPITALS

MON VERT CAFE

WOODSTOCK DENTISTRY

PENTANGLE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS

WOODSTOCK FARM KENNEL

FRAMEWORKS STUDIO

HARTLAND DINER

WOODSTOCK RESEARCH CENTER

FROG SONG DESIGNS

THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER RESTAURANT 

FOOTPRINTS

We also appreciated local discounts given to Woodstock Early Bird by Sudie’s and 47 Central Street! 

Many of you love statistics, so here you go, the final numbers for Woodstock Early Bird!

815,000 Views: It’s all YOU, baby, all YOU! 

• You might be interested to know that we will also being saying adieu to our “top” commentors on Woodstock Early Bird. We know!  It will be so sad to leave behind the likes of Bill Boardman, Hunter Melville, Lance Webster, Peggy Kannestine, Molly McDermott, Bob Pear, Careen Little, Diana Brown, Corwin Sharp, Stephen Thomas (THAT GUY!) and so many other fine writer/citizens!  We will miss you! (You, too Vinnie!)