They’re gone. When I heard Jessica call out to Nicole in the early morning hours, "I’ll call you when we get there" and I heard the car start up, the end finally had arrived. Margie and John Goodburn and their kids Jessica, Emily, and Nathaniel were moving to Missoula, and are we ever going to miss them.

They embraced their neighbors, the neighborhood, the schools, and the community. Many of you know them from their kids being in your kids’ classrooms. Others may know Margie from her work on the Lapham Children’s Garden or from her volunteer work at the schools or John from his doctoral work at the UW.

But for those of us who live on the 900 block of East Dayton Street we know them as simply wonderful neighbors who were always there with a smile, a kind word when kids were hurt, and a willingness to help when help was needed.

The outpouring of emotions at the neighborhood block party before they left was the surest sign of the lasting friendships that were formed during their stay in Madison.

With this issue I am stepping down as editor of the newsletter. Beginning with the November/December issue longtime neighborhood activist David Mandehr will take the reigns.

It’s been a good two years. When I was editor of this newsletter about ten years ago, I was literally cutting and pasting articles, and when I look at those newsletters now, I cringe a little (no, a lot!). But the advent of PageMaker and PhotoShop made putting the newsletter together fun.

This newsletter is an all-volunteer production and I want to give the obligatory thank-you to many people who made my life easier during the past two years. David Mandehr was always willing to write feature articles and Gay Davidson-Zielske contributed a needed touch of levity to the newsletter. Alder Barbara Vedder, who never missed an issue, provided commentary about the political machinations of city government. I could always count on TLNA past president Richard Linster and current president Tim Olsen to write a president’s report. Many people have remarked that Shelley Sprinkman’s Housing Statistics were the most eagerly awaited part of the newsletter.

I want to give a big thank-you to the area representatives who delivered the newsletter: Alan Crossley, Sarah Bremer, Margie Goodburn, David Mandehr, Ed Jepsen, and David Harrison. Every two months comes along mighty fast when you have 500 newsletters to deliver.

A small local printer,Thysse Printing Service on Winnebago Street, always provided prompt, efficient, economical service.

And finally, I want to give an especially big thank you to our advertisers. This newsletter is self-supporting thanks to our many advertisers. Their support of this newsletter is indicative of their concern for neighborhoods and I urge you to patronize them.

-Bob Shaw

Return to September/October Table of Contents: http://danenet.wicip.org/tlna/web-data/news/news09/091999.html