In Wednesday's edition of The News-Item, we addressed in an editorial how unfairly pictures accompanying a recent Reuters article on "broke Shamokin" depicted our city.
Not that the article didn't have any merit. Sure, Shamokin is in a bit of a pinch and the photos coupled with the story helped to tell the dark tale of a town so broke, gas service was almost suspended at City Hall, but please.
My heavens. What city is without its issues?
I'm sure it was easy enough for an out-of-town photographer to scrape the underbelly and capture what I'll refer to as some of the more "colorful" sights around here, but, although it may be hard to focus through the cloud of negativity, trust me, we know there is beauty to be found in this little "coal country" city.
You just have to look for it.
In the body of any town, anywhere, there will be problem areas. I fail to believe anywhere in the world is perfect.
Such is the same with life. You can focus on the negative - all the things you don't have, all the things you had but lost - or you can celebrate your riches, no matter what you have, no matter what went wrong with your day. No matter who cut you off on the road. No matter what batch of bad news came your way. No matter how bad your day at work was, there is something beautiful to be recognized in all of our lives every day and in everything that surrounds us, if we just take the time to focus.
I lose sight. I'll admit it. I moan about this area from time to time, and my life, in general. I may smile a lot, but I'm no ray of sunshine every minute of every day. I have captured unflattering photos of local scenery and shared it on social media, but as a rule, although I do love to laugh at a lot of things, I try to look for the good in everything.
It doesn't always happen - my world doesn't consist of kittens and puppy dogs dancing on rainbows singing the greatest hits of Daryl Hall & John Oates - but I make it a point to stop and breathe and direct my attention to the light rather than the darkness.
Sure, Shamokin may be broke, but being down and out isn't always the worst thing in the world. It can act as a call to action and generosity. We saw it during the Flood of 2011 and countless other situations and, most recently, it was great to see the Lower Anthracite Region Recreation Committee and the West End Fire Company donate a collective $6,000 to the city pool.
When times are tough, the true character and integrity of human beings are often exposed. This can result in anger, negativity, resentment and self-pity, but, it can also, as it has time and again around here, show the true nature of a real, good-hearted "coal cracker."
There are those who will complain about "how we got here" and do nothing to fix it, and there are those who recognize when they can help and they do. Thank God we still have people like that around here.
This area, although it may have its issues, has always had a reputation for hard work and a sense of community pride. Some may argue that is a thing of the past and Shamokin's "heydays" are long gone, but they aren't.
That spirit is here - in donations to help a struggling city, in community cleanups organized by groups that are orchestrated by the young and old.
Take Rosalind Kane, 11. She, in addition to numerous cleanup efforts in the past, recently chose to organize a cleanup instead of celebrating her own birthday. The event brought out more than 60 participants.
It's here in the people who helped to plant a bed of flowers along Route 61 just outside of Shamokin in recent years.
That sense of community is still here and so is our pride for our city. If it wasn't, I don't think so many of us would have gotten as ticked off as we did about the Reuters article.
Sure we have abandoned buildings and some not-so-savory types roaming the streets. Big deal.
We also have beautiful sights and beautiful people around every corner.
I talk to strangers all the time and we've got a lot of quality human beings who occupy this city. Sure, there are a few undesirables, but don't generalize.
This is a good city and ours are good people.
Things aren't like they used to be, but the past is the past. Shamokin is going to be what this generation and future generations make it. So, ignore the bad press and embarrassing images of dilapidated buildings and dark, looming clouds and get onboard with programs and people who want to make a difference in maintaining every shred of pride our community maintains.
Who we are as a community is much more important than the world's image of us. So, give the Reuters people a break.
They must have missed the laughing children at the playground. They probably didn't have time to stop and speak with anyone doing a cleanup - maybe there weren't any scheduled for that day.
They didn't happen to be here the weekend of the Anthracite Heritage Festival of the Arts to see Market Street lined with vendors or to celebrate a Downtown Christmas. Surely they didn't get to see our newly placed banners for local veterans proudly displayed downtown either. They must have missed the newly added murals that decorate our buildings, too.
One thing is certain, in depicting our city, they truly missed the mark.
(Wasakoski, an assistant editor at The News-Item,
can be reached at
jenna_w@newsitem.com)