Sometimes the arc, the point, of a River Reporter magazine is planned. Everything falls into place. It looks organized—and is organized! Everyone goes home at the end of the day (or moves on to something else, if one works from home), feeling accomplished.

This issue of Upper Delaware, on the other hand, was full of surprises.

Kim M. Simons, cake artist extraordinaire, is one of our food columnists, specializing in stories about growing up in Sullivan County and combining that with a baking-art project that anyone can do at home. But this time she digs deep into her memories, talking about the days when her family owned the Lew Beach Villa and sprinkling it with photos of bygone days.

Owen Walsh is known for his news reporting, but he’s also a very talented musician. He drew on that as well as his writing skills for a story on music in Wayne County. Who knew that songs actually cited Wayne by name? Not me.

Jeff Sidle wears many hats at the paper, but for this issue he’s collected his favorite photos of baby animals—taken locally—to share with you and make your day a little better. He also gives us some insight into his journey as a photographer—inspirational for those of us who want to give it a try ourselves.

Carol Smith frequently contributes press releases to the paper, but now she is here to tell us about Dr. Frederick Cook and what drew Smith—an artist, musician and nonprofit manager—to learn more about the Hortonville native.  

And finally, we have a story about the possible revival of the little brown bat. The species’ extinction was feared as white nose fungus spread, but perhaps the little guys are going to be all right. It’s a gleam of hope.

Enjoy this issue!

Annemarie Schuetz

Section editor