I’m leaving the Lac La Biche Post and Great West Media after more than three decades. “Yay," some might say. “Oh no,” others may cry, and a few may wonder, “Who’s Rob McKinley?”
For those who want to know, I started at the Lac La Biche POST in April of 1992. I’ve had a few titles over the years including reporter, editor, window-cleaner, publisher, manager, toilet fixer, salesperson, designer, online editor and delivery driver. December 31, 2024 is my last day here, as I start a new year with a new title at a new job.
How do I pack the experiences of 32 years at the POST into a 650-word column? How do I recognize the people, the stories, the laughs, the tears, the frustrations and the lessons that have all shaped who I am today into one article?
I don’t. There’s no way to.
Instead, I will carry it in my heart and mind forever.
If that sounds too cushy, too full-circle, like the ending to Love Actually, how about I reload and go out on an odd tangent, just for old time’s sake:
Have you ever done paper mâché?
You know, flaps of wet newspaper mixed with globs of glue that can be used to sculpt an often lumpy and misshapen final product? Picture a lob-sided round-ish ball that is presented by a sticky-handed youngster beaming with a toothy grin as he brings the creation home after several school art classes … “Look mom, it’s a globe,” or “It’s a replica of dad’s head” or “I tried my best, but it’s just a mess, and I hate art class” … all plausible explanations for the same piece. Meanwhile, in another home’s kitchen, a youngster presents their final product that is a perfect scale replica of the solar system, complete with Saturn’s rings, Orion’s Belt and the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility, painted, shaded and sculpted perfectly with the same pieces of paper and globs of gluey paste.
My job here at the POST has been like all of that; like the kid trying to put the pieces together – sometimes pieces that don’t fit quite as they should, others sliding perfectly into place, and some that only cosmetically cover the mess that lies just under the bulging surface.
I have enjoyed putting the pieces together. It’s a role I shall cherish. It’s been a job that has had challenges, triumphs, strange nights on rock band tour buses, and lots of opportunities to create outcomes from little more than an idea, something sticky, and a passion for the community I have come to call home. Are the residents the glue, you might be asking. Is the area’s vast cultural mosaic the paste? Is the paper the paper? Am I trying to be creative and draw parallels between life and art? Am I now stuck – 478 words into this farewell column – and trying to get out of it in 172 words or less? I’ll never tell.
But I’ll tell you this, in these past 32 years, through about 18,000 published articles, more than 250,000 camera shutter-clicks, a roster of 50-plus staff members and a community that never fails to amaze me, I have truly enjoyed mixing the glue and slapping the paper into place.
Sometimes I’m an artist and other times I’m the kid who hates art class. But no matter what the outcome, it has been a privilege to write stories, meet people and explore a community that is truly unique.
Thank you to the readers and the community for letting me do it, for trusting me to tell your stories and showcasing this great region. This job has been a true privilege.
Please continue to read the pages created in your local newsrooms. There’s some super-talented and passionate artists in these offices who continue to make paper and its contents a work of art.
Thank You.
