We here at the Town and Country Newspaper are grateful to our readers.  They are the backbone of the community, interested in what's going on around them.

            National Newspaper Week, October 3rd through 9th, presents an opportunity to reflect on our 122-year-plus history of providing "local news for local readers."

            In a world that seems to be imposing a global "wokeness" via social media and other forms of "maybe it's true, maybe it's not" interaction, it is important to provide local news the way that it has been for decades: having a reporter at the local meeting to document what is going on and share it with you and free of opinion (that's what the editorial section is for) and allowing you to learn and formulate your own questions, opinions, and make informed decisions.

            We report what happened and what was said.  Go to the editorial section to read the opinion of our readers and the editor. 

            Survey after survey reports that newspapers (in print and online) are still the top source of local news and information.

            Main Stream Media is under attack and rightfully so.  But, your local news connection is not the Main Stream Media.  Never forget that.

            Local journalists are deeply connected to the areas they report on.  They have an understanding of the community, and it's where they live and do business.

            Local newspapers record the first draft of history and are an archive of events.  No undocumented online corrections.  Even print corrections are documented and archived for history.         

            Local newspapers are essential to their communities.  As Joseph G. Wingert writes in this week's editorial section.  "There are nearly 300 newspapers in Pennsylvania … All of them are well read and essential to the fabric of their communities. They cover local government, schools, sports, arts and culture, business, houses of worship, volunteers, and nonprofit organizations."

            As we promise in the Town and Country Mission Statement: Our mission is to present the news of the Upper Perkiomen Valley and nearby regions in a good, interesting style, unprejudiced and free from appeals to personal vanity or prejudice. We will strive to know what to print, and what should be left for the tongues of the gossips. We will adhere to the law as set forth by our forefathers in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. We will be a champion for public issues - if we determine that it's for the public good. We will give all the political news but it will not be an organ for Democrats, Republicans, or any other political party. We will endeavor to provide our advertisers the opportunity to present their goods and services to a wide and varied audience of readers. We will put forth an earnest effort to produce a newspaper that can be the pride of the community. We will do our best to ensure that this newspaper survives. 

            During this National Newspaper Week, we take this opportunity to thank our readers.