Find the peace that passes all understanding

The stories were published on Page A5 in the Reading Eagle three days apart. It’s too bad they didn’t run together. That might have helped more people to associate the importance of religion and the impact it can have on their happiness.

Of course, people would have to read the newspaper to get that message. That’s a whole other story about the decline of our society. But these two stories tell an important and disturbing message about where society is heading.

The story that was published in the Good Friday edition was headlined “Poll: Church membership plummets over 20 years.” The headline in the Easter Monday edition was “Study: Happiness found in religion.”

Put them together and you could conclude that people are less happy these days and could change that by making religion a priority in their lives. The separate reports by the Gallup Poll and the Pew Research Center don’t draw that conclusion, but I do.

According to an Associated Press story on the Gallup Poll:

“The percentage of U.S. adults who belong to a church or other religious institution has plunged by 20 percentage points over the past two decades, hitting a low of 50% last year, according to a new Gallup poll. Among major demographic groups, the biggest drops were recorded among Democrats and Hispanics.

“Gallup said church membership was 70% in 1999 — and close to or higher than that figure for most of the 20th century. Since 1999, the figure has fallen steadily, while the percentage of U.S. adults with no religious affiliation has jumped from 8% to 19%.

“Among Americans identifying with a particular religion, there was a sharp drop in church membership among Catholics — dropping from 76% to 63% over the past two decades as the church was buffeted by clergy sex-abuse scandals. Membership among Protestants dropped from 73% to 67% percent over the same period.

“Among Hispanic Americans, church membership dropped from 68% to 45% since 2000, a much bigger decline than for non-Hispanic white and black Americans.

“There was a big discrepancy over that 20-year period in regard to political affiliation: Church membership among Democrats fell from 71% to 48%, compared to a more modest drop from 77% to 69% among Republicans.”

The Pew study, released about three months ago, focused on more than two dozen countries, including the United States. It found that “people who regularly attend a house of worship are more likely to be happy and civically engaged than those who do not,” but it did not find a significant different between religiously “actives” and “non-actives” when it came to exercise and maintaining a healthy weight.

Here are the five basic findings from that study:

■ “Actively religious people are more likely than their less-religious peers to describe themselves as ‘very happy’ in about half of the countries surveyed. Sometimes the gaps are striking: In the U.S., for instance, 36% of the actively religious describe themselves as ‘very happy,’ compared with 25% of the inactively religious and 25% of the unaffiliated. Notable happiness gaps among these groups also exist in Japan, Australia and Germany.

■ “There is not a clear connection between religiosity and the likelihood that people will describe themselves as being in ‘very good’ overall health. Even after controlling for factors that might affect the results, such as age, income and gender, there are only three countries out of the 26 where the actively religious are likely to report better health than everyone else – the U.S., Taiwan and Mexico. Religiously active people also don’t seem to be any healthier by two other, more specific measures: obesity and frequency of exercise.

■ “At the same time, the actively religious are generally less likely than the unaffiliated to smoke and drink. Religions often frown on certain unhealthy behaviors, and that tendency seems reflected in data on smoking and drinking. In all but two of 19 countries for which data are available, the actively religious are less likely than the unaffiliated to smoke, and, in all but one country, less likely than the inactively religious to do so. The actively religious also tend to drink less, although the findings are not as stark: In 11 of the 19 countries, people who attend services at least monthly are less likely than the rest of the population to drink several times a week.

■ “People who attend religious services at least monthly often are more likely than ‘nones’ to join other types of (nonreligious) organizations, such as charities and clubs. This is true in eight of the 26 countries surveyed. And in 12 countries, the religiously active are more likely than inactively religious people to join nonreligious groups. In the U.S., for example, 58% of actively religious people are also involved in at least one nonreligious voluntary organization, compared with just 51% of the inactively religious and 39% of the unaffiliated.

■ “The actively religious generally are more likely than others to vote. In Spain, 83% of the actively religious report that they always vote in national elections, compared with 62% of inactives and 53% of the unaffiliated. In the U.S., 69% of the actively religious say they always vote, compared with 59% of inactives and 48% of the unaffiliated. In fact, there are no countries in which the actively religious are significantly less likely to vote than others. Countries where there are no significant differences in voting patterns by religion include Brazil, the Netherlands and New Zealand, as well as several other countries where voting is mandatory.”

The information doesn’t suggest that the religiously actives are better people, but they are more involved and happier, according to the study. 

For me, there’s a bigger concern beyond increasing our own happiness. The decline of religion is having and will continue to have a negative impact on society as a whole. 

I believe our own happiness never is the result of taking care of ourselves; it results from the good we do in the world – taking care of others. That includes the spiritual as well as physical care of people and is among the reasons organized religion is important.

The decline of church involvement reducess church teaching, and the decline of that teaching will have a negative impact on all of us.

I know of young families that have no interest in being part of the church. Some of them see the major celebrations of the church – Christmas and Easter – as secular holidays. Their children grow up with little to no awareness of the true meanings of those important church events. They learn to know those observances as generic holidays focusing on presents and mythical figures instead of the real person who is at the center of Christmas and Easter.

Others are interested enough to attend church on those two days, but then fail to find time to take part in the worship and mission of church during the rest of the year.

Too many of us are too caught up in the “me time” of our lives. We fail to volunteer, donate and serve others in need. Too many of us seek happiness in areas other than the work of the church, in spite of what we can learn from the Pew research.

Churches aren’t alone in the loss of involvement. Most volunteer-based community organizations and many non-profits also are struggling for support, both in time and monetary donations. 

Those trends are not encouraging, but it’s not hopeless because many people continue to support and encourage the work of the church and charities in our communities. 

For example, the Reading Berks Council of Churches, which held its annual prayer breakfast last week, has launched Transformative Solutions, an effort to battle poverty in the city of Reading. It hopes to improve neighborhoods and quality of life by starting with one section of the city – south of Penn – and expanding into other areas. It’s a good start, but it will take time and commitment from a growing group of people.

RBCC isn’t the only community organization focused on doing good for others. The problem with many of these efforts, however, remains the lack of interest and involvement from younger generations. 

Throughout my life I have believed and experienced that the more we give, the more we receive. The more we care about others, the more others care about us.

That’s where the church comes in. It’s not just a place to gather. It’s a place to spread hope and share joys and suffering. It’s a place to provide education about God’s plan for this world. 

It’s a place to help people find the peace that passes all understanding.

The church has its faults. The sex-abuse scandal, most notably in the Roman Catholic Church, has damaged the church’s reputation as a safe haven. Many mainstream Protestant churches have failed to communicate with the younger generations. The primary message – God’s saving grace – should not change, but the delivery of that message must be in a language and style that the people in need understand and can relate to.

We have to connect so we can share the good news.

Some people may get message as they get older. Others may never get it. Either way there is a loss for themselves and for the rest of us.

When our life is nearing its end, what will have mattered most? It will be family. It will be the love we showed to others. Mostly, it will be how well we followed God’s words and did His work on Earth.

Cruising through a vacation

A relaxing day in the Caribbean.

Traveling does more than provide a break from your daily routine. It also allows you to learn about other parts of the world and see and interact with new people. In the process, you collect memories.

I recently returned from my third cruise in three years. Cruising wasn’t something I dreamed of doing years ago, but it is an easy way to visit places far from home. Like many people, I looked forward to traveling during retirement. My wife is not as excited about leaving home, mainly because she hates to pack and she misses our cat.

One of the benefits of cruising is that you have the same room for the duration of your trip, so there is no continual unpacking and packing or living out of a suitcase. Of course, there also is continually changing scenery, lots of food, a variety of entertainment and numerous decks and stairs to walk so you can burn calories from all of that food.

Here is a collection of observations from our recent trip to the Panama Canal.

It’s interesting to watch the people who become part of your temporary community. Some faces you notice numerous times during the trip; others you may see once. Sometimes you remember them because of the way they dress; others because of how they act or interact.

The first people we met were a couple named Marie and Doug from Canada. Marie introduced herself during breakfast at the hotel before the cruise after she noticed that we had prayed before we ate. We have prayed before meals since we started to date. We noticed numerous other couples and groups who also paused to pray before eating. Seeing that gives me hope for the future of this world.

Cargo ships going through the locks of the Panama Canal.

On the morning when we entered the first lock of the canal, most people were up early to get a good viewing spot on the front of the ship. We moved around to see the canal from different vantage points.

At one point, we were at the front, when a woman behind us asked me to move. She was sitting on a deck box about 10 feet from the front railing where others were standing. She told me I was too tall and she couldn’t see. I offered to let her stand in front of me, but she rejected that and wanted a clear view from her seat. I wasn’t the only one in her way, but I found it interesting that I was the target of height discrimination.

We saw what appeared to be several May-December romances – young women with much older men. Of course, those types of conclusions aren’t always accurate. A couple of years ago, I traveled with my sister, her husband and their daughter to Alaska. When the four of us were together, my niece and I sometimes were the target of stares. Some older women looked with disapproval. Some older men looked with apparent jealousy. Knowing the truth, my family found it all amusing.

Toward the end of this cruise, we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the ship. We saw normally off-limits areas, including the bridge, laundry, engineering, kitchen, food storage, water and sanitation areas and even the morgue. That’s just a part of a community when many of the people are elderly. On this trip, it was used to keep the flowers fresh.

Any time you’re with a tour group, there always is one person who seems to be the center of attention. Sometimes it’s someone who wants to be a comedian and interact one-on-one with the guide. Other times it’s a person who asks more questions than anyone wants to know. On this tour, it was a man named Alvin, who probably was about my age. His first of many observations was how much the tour cost. I kept thinking about the Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon and Theodore) and was waiting for someone named Dave to scream “Alvin” in frustration.

On that tour, I found it interesting that in some ways the lower deck of the ship reminded me of the lower floor of a newspaper press room, where there is a lot of storage and less decoration.

Perhaps the most interesting person we saw was an elderly woman, who sat alone every night in the dining room. We wondered if that was by choice or circumstance, so we asked the maître-d. He said she is a member of the “president’s club” of frequent cruisers. All the waiters seemed to know her and stopped to talk. Every evening her table was set in advance with four breadsticks as an appetizer.

Halfway through the cruise, we stopped to ask if she’d like to join us for dinner. She politely refused and said she enjoys her time alone. But she chatted for a few minutes and recommended a show on the ship. She shared that she is from New York and was on this ship for 52 days. I would have loved to have heard her story, but we didn’t want to interfere with her privacy. We did stop briefly to say hello during the next few nights.

When I see people like her, I’m intrigued by what might be their interesting life stories. Sometimes those stories aren’t meant to be shared regardless of how fascinating they might be.

I thought it was interesting where some of the onboard programs were held. As expected, the “morning stretch” was in the fitness center. However, “Pain management workshop” and “How to look 20 years younger” were held in the Pinnacle Bar. Some irony there.

Cable cars gave us a view of the rain forest.

This was a 10-day cruise, and that seemed to be a perfect length for us, especially when it included several days at sea to simply relax. 

Most people know that a big part of cruising is all the food, especially at the buffets. It’s easy to gain weight, so we make sure to walk the decks frequently and to always use the stairs instead of the elevators. That means I don’t have to pass on the amazing sticky buns every morning. We try not to give into temptation and eat too much because of all the food that’s available. Some people aren’t as disciplined and overeat because they can. I gai

ned only three pounds on the trip.

It’s always nice when the weather cooperates, and this trip was a good one. It rained one day at sea on the way home and during our tour through the rain forest in Costa Rica. It wouldn’t have seemed right not to have rain in a rain forest.

Perhaps one of the best parts about this vacation was knowing that when we came home we wouldn’t have to go back to work. Retirement provides a wonderful way to recover from a traveling vacation.

Some family bonds never really broken

With my sister in Southern California in 2016.

I returned home two days ago after a vacation from my busy retirement life. Here is a post-vacation column I wrote three years ago.

If you want to know how well you will get along with someone, try a vacation together. I spent a long-overdue vacation week with a person who once was my annoying little sister. She’s all grown up now and not the least bit bratty. A lot has changed, but she’ll always be my little sister. 

The week was everything a vacation should be: tiring sightseeing, too much food (and some craft beers) and a few quiet afternoons and evenings sitting in the warm sun and communicating even when we had stopped talking. 

That’s the way it can be with families, including with siblings who are separated by an entire continent and have far too little face time. All of those special years growing up together — times when we were too anxious to move away and pursue our individual lives — came rushing back when I walked through the airport terminal and saw her. She was literally jumping with joy. Who knew my visit could mean so much? 

In reflection, maybe it’s our age and the realization that we never know how many tomorrows we will share that make those times so precious. I wasn’t really thinking of that all week, however. I just enjoyed our time together. 

For a while as young children born two years apart, we were best friends. Perhaps that hasn’t changed. Through the years, we haven’t lost contact, but since she moved to the West Coast and I remained in the East, our visits are infrequent. There were times during our adult lives when our own families consumed each of us and there were long stretches without phone calls. We have talked more often during the past two years as my wife’s health faded. When my wife passed away in September, my sister and brother-in-law, along with the rest of my family, were here within days. 

We continue to talk at least weekly. Some of it is to help and support me through the grieving process. We also talk with our baby brother as we consider the needs of our parents, who are in their late 80s. 

That communication and these special family times show us who is important in our lives. It’s the same feeling I get every time I’m with my parents, my children, and especially when I’m with my grandchildren. 

Flamingo and frog bonding time.

Vacations can be difficult, however, when you no longer have your partner to share the experience and then the memories when the trip is over. Revisiting this trip with my sister, her husband and their youngest daughter, who also was visiting, will have to wait until her next phone call or perhaps our next visit. 

But it was an important step at this stage in my life, because I again was reminded of all the family members who still care. 

It’s amazing and encouraging that as we age we still lean on those from early in our life. Those bonds that form never really are broken. Visits such as this one give us time to reconnect and reminisce. Most of the memories are good ones. We laughed as we told some stories that we’ve shared more times than we can count and others that we’d forgotten. We teased much as we did as children, but now there’s a special kindness and caring in what we say and do. 

My sister was the one who started the family joke about my lack of appreciation for flamingos, which developed into a large collection of ornaments, stuffed animals and decorations. She collects frog ornaments, so when I arrived at her home two weeks ago, she had a large blowup flamingo floating in the pool along with a smaller blowup frog. Strange as it seems, everywhere the flamingo went in the pool, the frog was right by its side. Some kind of irony there. 

I returned home with memories of new experiences and a renewed confirmation that there are lots of family members who love me and will be there to help me through difficult times. 

For parents who worry that their children can’t get along, there’s hope. Sometimes it takes 50 or 60 years to realize it. 

Facing facts about facial hair

To shave or not to shave. That’s the choice men face every day.

Do I want to be clean-shaven every morning? Do I skip a day or two and look a little scruffy? Do I stop shaving, let my beard grow, then spend that shaving time trimming?

During my adult life, I’ve answered “yes” to all of those questions.

In the early 1970s, I grew a mustache. I kept it until the mid-’80s when we sold our second house while building a new place. I remained clean-shaven until late last year, when I decided to let my beard grow for the first time. It was a good change for me during my first year in retirement, and the vast majority of people who saw it liked it.

Last week, I decided to end the experiment for now. Maybe I’ll reconsider in the fall.

That experience led me to do some thinking and research about beards.

The growth of shaving

Beards seem to have become popular in recent years. That’s a change from most of the 20th Century, when most men were clean-shaven. And that was a change from the 19th Century, when beards were very popular.

Men have been shaving for thousands of years (think clam shells and shark teeth), but obviously shaving was more difficult before the development of sharp knives, which led to the development of the razor, according to howstuffworks.com:

“Even with these developments, however, men preferred beards. This may be because shaving with a straight razor is a somewhat dangerous activity better left to a professional. Unless you live in a city and are wealthy, being able to find and afford a shaving professional is difficult. And so, all the way up to the 20th Century, beards were fashionable and most men wore them.

“But during World War I in the United States, that all changed. And there were two reasons for that change:

“Gillette had released the ‘safety razor’ in 1901, and it was steadily gaining popularity because of a massive ad campaign. The safety razor made it possible and inexpensive for men to shave daily.

“Soldiers in the United States army were required to shave.”

According to the website, because of chemical agents used during World War I, soldiers needed to use gas masks. For those to fit properly, soldiers needed to be clean-shaven:

“The army bought millions of Gillette razors and blades to make shaving possible.

“When all of the soldiers returned from WWI with their clean-shaven faces, they were heroes. They appeared in their home towns, and they also appeared in newsreels in the new movie theaters that had sprung up everywhere. Combined with ad campaigns from companies like Gillette, it became the fashion to be clean shaven. Between 1920 and 1960, beards were definitely unfashionable.”

Famous beards

Some famous men were known for their beards, including Confucius, Leonardo da Vinci, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln, who served from 1861-1865, was the first bearded president of the United States. Only four other presidents have had beards: Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877), Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881), James A. Garfield (1881) and Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893).

Seven others had some type of facial hair: John Quincy Adams (1825-1829), long sideburns; Martin Van Buren (1837-1841), long sideburns; Zachary Taylor (1849-1850), sideburns; Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885), mustache and long sideburns; Grover Cleveland (1885-1889, 1893-1897), mustache; Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), mustache; and William Howard Taft (1909-1913), mustache. Taft was the last president to have facial hair.

There is an interesting story about Lincoln’s beard, reported by many sources, including The Atlantic:

“In what has to go down as one of the all-time great moments of political image consulting, an 11-year old girl suggested to a fresh-faced Abe Lincoln that he grow a beard. And then he did. The website Letters of Note even has copies of the girl's letter and Lincoln's response. Beyond being the cutest historical footnote of all time, Ms. Grace Bedell, had some solid reasoning behind her request.”

Here is the lettersofnote.com transcript of that letter from Grace, who lived in Westfield, N.Y.:

“Hon A B Lincoln

“Dear Sir

“My father has just home from the fair and brought home your picture and Mr. Hamlin’s. I am a little girl only 11 years old, but want you should be President of the United States very much so I hope you wont think me very bold to write to such a great man as you are. Have you any little girls about as large as I am if so give them my love and tell her to write to me if you cannot answer this letter. I have got 4 brothers and part of them will vote for you any way and if you let your whiskers grow I will try and get the rest of them to vote for you you would look a great deal better for your face is so thin. All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands to vote for you and then you would be President. My father is going to vote for you and if I was a man I would vote for you to but I will try to get every one to vote for you that I can I think that rail fence around your picture makes it look very pretty I have got a little baby sister she is nine weeks old and is just as cunning as can be. When you direct your letter direct to Grace Bedell Westfield Chautauqua County New York.

“I must not write any more answer this letter right off Good bye

“Grace Bedell”

Here is the transcript of Lincoln’s response:

“Springfield, Ill. Oct 19, 1860

“Miss Grace Bedell

“My dear little Miss

“Your very agreeable letter of the 15th is received— 

“I regret the necessity of saying I have no daughters— I have three sons— one seventeen, one nine, and one seven years of age— They, with their mother, constitute my whole family—

“As to the whiskers, having never worn any, do you not think people would call it a piece of silly affectation if I were to begin it now?

“Your very sincere well wisher

“A. Lincoln”

Whether or not Grace’s suggestion made a difference, Lincoln was elected as our 16th, and arguably most famous, president, and the rest is history.

Other men have been defined by their beards, such as Blackbeard the pirate and James “Grizzly” Adams. And who could imagine Santa Claus clean-shaven?

Beard varieties

Beards are as different as hairstyles, and it’s good that not all are alike. Some beards are neatly trimmed, others are wild. Some are short, others extremely long. Some are thick, others are scraggly. Beards look natural on some men. On others, not so much.

Some young men want to grow a beard before their beard is ready to grow. I guess it’s an attempt to make them look older.

There are many styles of beards, according to Gillette, the grooming products company. It lists circle beard, royale beard, goatee, petite goatee, Van Dyke, short boxed, Balbo, anchor, Chevron, 3-day stubble, horseshoe mustache, original stache, mutton chops beard, gunslinger bear and mustache, chin strap and chin strap style beard.

The names are fascinating, as are those of mustaches, including Fu Manchu and handlebar.

The cost of shaving

We spend a lot of time and money on shaving and trimming.

If a man spends three minutes every day shaving for 65 years, he will have spent about 50 days of his life shaving.

It’s difficult to point to how much each of us spends on shaving products because we have different approaches. 

There also is variety in how we care for our facial hair. Some men use blades; others prefer electric razors.

Years ago, shaving required some type of soapy lather and a straight razor. I remember my grandfather using a brush to apply the soap from his mug to his mug. Now many men use gels that turn to lather to avoid nicks and cuts and to give a closer shave and a smoother face. And don’t forget the pre- and post-skin treatments that some men use.

And new products are being developed.

According to an article by CNBC in 2018, Harry’s shaving club (there’s a great company name) has cut into the men’s shaving market that has been dominated by Gillette and Schick:

“Harry’s has captured about 2 percent of the $2.8 billion men’s shaving industry since its launch in 2013, according to Euromonitor market research firm. Its main shaving club rival, Dollar Shave Club, has about 8 percent.

“Gillette controlled about 70 percent of the U.S. market a decade ago. Last year, its market share dropped to below 50 percent, according to Euromonitor. The company, owned by P&G, was forced to slash its razor prices by an average of 12 percent last year.

“No. 2 razor maker Schick has also been squeezed. Parent company Edgewell Personal Care reported a 3.6 percent drop in net sales from its North America shave business in its most recent earnings report.”

And through all of this information I haven’t even addressed the shaving, waxing and plucking that women do to remove body hair.

Personal choice

Some religions encourage or require men to have facial hair, but for most of us it’s a personal choice. Do I like the way I look with a beard? 

More important, I believe the best way to answer that age-old question – To shave or not to shave? – is to ask the woman in your life. 

She’s the one who has to look at you. And making her happy will help you to avoid a different type of close shave.

We all need the Reading Eagle

Soon after I started working at the Reading Eagle more than 40 years ago I heard the first of many rumors that the newspaper company was being sold. It was a valuable and profitable company then and it made sense that larger newspaper companies, especially chains, would covet a vibrant family-owned community newspaper. 

Every year as new rumors surfaced, there were assurances that the family had no intention of selling. The family, descendants of founder Jesse Hawley, who published the first edition of the Eagle on January 28, 1868, was committed to serving the people of Berks County.

And that continued for a century and a half. 

All of that changed last week when executives at Reading Eagle Company announced they had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and are seeking a buyer. 

It is sad news for the company, its employees and the community. Those of us who have retired from the Eagle are hurting, too, because we invested so much of our lives in that great institution. We worry about the future of the 250 employees who remain at the Eagle and at WEEU radio, South Schuylkill News and REP commercial printing, which the company also owns. We worry about our community, which needs a local newspaper.

For many people, the news was shocking, but change has been coming for some time. 

The newspaper industry has suffered in recent years. Several weeks ago Joyce Terhaar, former executive editor of The Sacramento Bee and a board member of the American Society of News Editors, wrote about the state of the industry: “In recent years, the outcome has become dire, with nearly one in five — almost 1,800 newspapers — closed in the last 15 years, according to Penelope Muse Abernathy, the Knight Chair in Journalism and Media Economics at the University of North Carolina.”

Many of those were community weeklies, but dailies also have closed.

Others have been sold, some more than once. Circulation has declined significantly, and so has advertising, the two main revenue streams that fund newsrooms, as more people have sought free information – not always real news – on the internet, and as businesses turned to the internet and direct mail to connect with customers.

According to a recent report by the Pew Research Center:

“The estimated total U.S. daily newspaper circulation (print and digital combined) in 2017 was 31 million for weekday and 34 million for Sunday, down 11 percent and 10 percent, respectively, from the previous year.”

Circulation has been on a steady decline for years at most newspapers, and internet traffic hasn’t made up for the loss in print readership. According to Pew:

“Gauging digital audience for the entire newspaper industry is difficult since many daily newspapers do not receive enough traffic to their websites to be measured by comScore, the data source relied on here. Thus, the figures … reflect the top 50 U.S. daily newspapers based on circulation. In the fourth quarter of 2017, there was an average of 11.5 million monthly unique visitors (across all devices) for these top 50 newspapers. This is nearly the same as in 2016 (11.7 million), making this the first year since we began tracking the trend that did not show a double-digit rise in web traffic: There was, for example, a 21 percent increase from 2015 to 2016 and an 18 percent rise from 2014 to 2015.”

Advertising revenue also has declined. Pew, citing figures from the News Media Alliance and Editor & Publisher magazine, reported that total newspaper advertising revenue in the U.S. fell from $49.4 billion in 2005 to $16.4 billion in 2017.

As a result of those losses, many of the news companies that continue to operate have cut staff.

Pew recently reported: “According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics, 39,210 people worked as reporters, editors, photographers, or film and video editors in the newspaper industry in 2017. That is down 15 percent from 2014 and 45 percent from 2004.”

TheEagle,in stories about its bankruptcy filing, reported that advertising revenues declined from $17 million to $12.6 million between 2016 and 2018. It lists daily circulation at 37,000 and Sunday at 50,000. 

Several years ago, when I still was the editor at the Eagle, I was told by ownership that the one area that was not to be cut was the newsroom, because without strong content the newspaper could not survive. Yet, soon after I retired more than a year ago, 13 positions were cut in the newsroom. That didn’t help.

Neither did the cost-saving moves to reduce the number of pages and eliminate some features in the newspaper. But when revenue declines, something has to be done to reduce expenses.

All of those moves weren’t enough for the Eagle.

The model that has existed for centuries no long is sustainable. But focusing on the business side rather than on the journalism won’t save it. And it won’t help our community or our nation and the freedoms that newspapers protect.

The future likely will have a scaled down version of news delivery that still will require dedicated editors and writers. Most notably, it won’t be free. It likely will require benefactors who are willing to help fund independent journalism and consumers who are willing to pay for credible news.

When a community loses its local newspaper it loses part of its conscience. 

Who provides credible and accurate information about what is happening in the community?

Who asks the hard questions?

Who represents citizens when they are too busy or distracted?

Who holds public officials accountable?

Over the course of 20 years, Chuck Gallagher, who preceded me as editor of the Eagle, and I took a newsroom that was revered and respected and built a dream staff. We hired excellent editors, photographers, designers and some of the best writers in the state. Some came from other regional newspapers that were struggling and making staff cuts. Others wanted to be part of what was becoming one of the top newsrooms in the state.

Although journalists don’t focus on winning awards, the recognition of hundreds of awards – including the current streak of six Keystone Press Awards sweepstakes, a Pennsylvania Newspaper of the Year Award last year and three straight Inland Press Association national Community Leadership Awards beginning in 2013 – came as the result of doing quality journalism.

All of that was important. It served the community, and it made us feel good, but it couldn’t save the company.

The Eagle’s $20-some million investment in a new printing press and distribution center that opened in 2009, and the resulting debt, was too much to overcome as more readers turned to the internet for free information and as advertisers used the internet and direct mail to connect with customers.

Last week the Eagle’s newsroom reported its company’s own story, including specific details from its bankruptcy filing. That’s a tribute to the excellent reporters and editors still there. In the Friday edition, they included a list of creditors. 

The Eagle cited bankruptcy papers that listed the company's assets at just over $15 million and its liabilities at almost $38.5 million.

It also listed its shareholders and their percentages, which I’m sure few in the public had ever seen from this private company. 

Among the Eagle’s stories was one announcing that the company’s chief financial officer was trying to put together a group of investors and financing to purchase the company. Something isn’t making sense there. 

I have my own theories about what drove the Eagle to the cliff, but sharing those here would serve no purpose at a time when positive solutions are needed. 

These days it is nearly impossible for a newspaper to survive under leadership that doesn’t understand the basics of good journalism and doesn’t value and respect employees. Those things have to be part of a newspaper company’s fabric and culture.

Maybe another family or community group will come forward and purchase the company. It would have to be someone or some group that sees the value of local journalism as something more important than profits. It will take someone with a lot of resources, including deep pockets. It will take someone with strong management skills.

More likely, as has been the case in other communities in recent years, some large company from another community or state will see an opportunity to buy at a bargain price and cut its way to a profit. That’s very sad, but it’s the reality of journalism today.

It’s also reality that many younger people refuse to pay for news and choose to get their information online from sources that often are not credible, including much of what is posted on social media.

Before I retired and shortly after, I reminded people about the importance of community-based newspapers. I encouraged them, in what I wrote in my Sunday column and in conversations with people individually and while speaking at events, to support local news by subscribing to the newspaper and encouraging local advertisers. I warned that people won’t realize how important local news coverage is until they lose it.

It costs money to collect and distribute local news. You can’t support a stand-alone community-focused newsroom solely on advertising revenue. Many people don’t understand that or refuse to accept it. As one long-time newspaper executive often told me: Facts are stubborn things. Citizens need to invest in local news; there is no free ride.

Yet, through the online posting of this news about the state of the Eagle last week, some people continued to criticize the Eagle’s model of charging for news. I often wonder why they don’t criticize grocery stores for not giving them free food or utilities for not providing free services. Maybe people think they can’t live without those things, but they don’t believe they need a newspaper. They are wrong.

Some on social media labeled the Eagle’s reporting as liberally biased. Others criticized the Eagle as too conservative. In both cases, they are wrong.

You would be hard-pressed to find a more balanced or accurate newspaper than the Eagle is. 

Early last year, the Reading Eagle marked its 150^th anniversary. It’s sad that a year later the company’s days as a family-owned newspaper appear to be over. Regardless who owns it in the future, two things are critical:

■ The community must have a local news company.

■ That local news company must have the freedom to independently report the news.

If not, we’ll all pay the price.

Bugged by news about the Beetle

I’ve never been a car junkie, but I can’t imagine living without one. I was thinking about the cars in my life several months ago after reading about Volkswagen ending production of the Beetle this year after 80 years. The story brought back memories from 50 years ago.

In the early 1970s I bought a 1964 Bug. It wasn’t my first car – that was a ’64 Rambler American I shared with my mother – but it was the first car I bought. Who didn’t love VW’s Bugs and Buses back then?

It was rear-engine and air cooled with a stick shift on the floor and got great gas mileage before gas became expensive. I could fill up the tank for under $3 because gas cost about $.27 per gallon back then. Compare that to today.

It wasn’t much on power. When I would drive home from college, I had to get a running start to make it up the hill outside of town. Sometimes I thought I could run faster than that car moved when it reached the top of that hill.

That was the first of about 20 cars I’ve owned during 51 years of driving, including many years as a two-car family. Most of them we kept between five and 10 years. I recently tried to make a list of all of the cars I’ve owned. Great nostalgia. That includes several mini vans, which allowed parents to separate their children (“Mom, she’s touching me.”) and carry all the things that never fit in the trunk of a car.

I’ve never had an interest in owning another Beetle, but it’s sad to see such an iconic symbol of the ’60s and my journey into adulthood end. 

The Beetle was associated with the decade of love – the love bug – and was featured in the “The Love Bug” movies of the late ’60s and early ’70s. The Bug and the Bus were favorites of the hippies and the flower power generation of the ’60s. College kids tried to see how many people they could stuff into a Bug, when they weren’t doing the same thing in phone booths. Remember those? Those challenges may have seemed silly, but they made more sense than some of the things kids do now.

The Bug spawned the punch buggy game – punch buggy (red), no punch backs – that entertained kids (“Mom, he’s hitting me”) who watched for the cars on long family rides decades before electronic devices came on the scene.

It also had one of the top advertising campaigns of the 20^thCentury – “Think small.”

The beauty of the Bug back then was its simplicity. Now it’s hard to live without all the bells and whistles – gauges, navigation, power accessories, remote starters, heated seats and voice-activated commands. I used to take pride in believing that a car was simply a way to get from one place to another. I’ve become spoiled, although I sometimes try to convince myself that it’s all in the name of safety.

As I’ve grown older, all of that technology helps on long drives, which seem longer than they did when I was in my 20s. Which is part of the reason I’ve been thinking about owning a sports car. If you’re going to spend a lot of time behind a wheel, shouldn’t it be a little fun to drive? 

It couldn’t possibly be a mid-life crisis because I’m no longer middle-aged. Besides, it’s not likely to happen because I don’t like to spend excessive money on insurance, repairs and high-octane gas.

All of which never were concerns when I owned that Beetle five decades ago. 

Even though I have no interest in reliving those days, they are good memories of a much simpler time.

Celebrating my first year of retirement

Several years ago I started to keep a countdown of days until my retirement. It seemed to take forever until I reached that target date. But I did. A whole year ago. It’s amazing how quickly that first year of retirement has passed.

Retirement is everything I hoped it would be. Freedom. Peace. Less pressure and stress. You get the idea.

A decade ago I thought I would have had trouble walking away from a job I liked. That changed several years ago, and I knew it was time to start thinking about the next chapter in my life. 

It has been a busy year, but one filled with things I want to do and often when I want to do them.

So here is some of how I’ve spent my first year of retirement.

At the top of the list was getting married. Now I have someone special to share every day again. There are no longer all of those lonely evenings. Loneliness is a terrible way to live. When my wife of 41 years died after a lengthy illness, I didn’t expect to find someone else to love and share the rest of my life. I was wrong. Love can do that.

We’ve spent a lot of time during the past year combining two houses into one. That has included many projects at the home we now share. In addition to moving furniture, I organized a large workshop in the garage, which has made it easier to do other things, such as adding shelves in the walk-in pantry, installing lazy Susans in the kitchen cupboards, replacing lights, putting new floors in the bathrooms, installing cabinets in the laundry room and cleaning out attics. We also spent several weeks working in the gardens.

There still is a list of things that we will be working on this year. She lovingly calls me her handyman.

This year hasn’t been all work. 

We've walked and biked. This winter we’ve spent a lot of time doing puzzles. We spend many evenings sitting in front of the fireplace watching the news, “Jeopardy” and “Everybody Loves Raymond” reruns. There have been numerous shopping trips. 

We also have done some traveling – to Italy and Greece and to visit my sister and brother-in-law in southern California. I’ve been to Michigan twice to visit my daughter’s family.

We’ve attended a few of my local grandsons’ sports games and have spent time with our parents. We’re fortunate to still have all four of our parents. They range in age from 88 to 91. As can be expected at that point, three of them have been dealing with health issues, but their ages give us hope that she and I may have many years to share.

I have gotten involved with several community organizations, but I don’t intend to allow them to overwhelm me or infringe on my new relationship. I’ve come to believe that relationships are strongest when you make each other your priority. We’re looking for things to do together, such as when we help to serve meals for seniors on Christmas Day.

After a break of several months, I also started writing again, mostly through this blog. The hardest part of leaving my job was losing touch with some of the thousands of people who read my column every week. As much as this has helped others, it has helped me just as much.

People have asked if I plan to write a book. I may. At least I’ve formed a couple of ideas, but I don’t want to see that turn into the pressure of my working days.

I even have become a cat person. Who could have known? Oliver sometimes even gets off of my chair so I can work at my desk.

Now that I’m an experienced retiree, I’ve collected a few thoughts and some advice for those looking to follow me into this incredible lifestyle:

■ Stay active. Take walks, Work in the yard. Don’t sit around the house all day.

■ Don’t put off things you want to do. Go places while you still are healthy.

■ Don’t be pressured by things you don’t want to do. A big part of the enjoyment of retirement is getting to pick and choose what you do most days.

■ Do things to keep your mind sharp. Work jigsaw puzzles and crosswords. Read books, magazines and newspapers. Watch Jeopardy.

■ Don’t look back with regret. Memories are good things, but don’t dwell on what could have been. That won’t change the past and will only cloud the future.

■ Don’t waste time worrying. It won’t add any time to your life.

■ If your hearing has declined, get a hearing aid. At this point in life it doesn’t matter if it makes you look old. You are.

■ Don’t stop learning. It’s never too late.

■ Don’t stop dreaming. Setting goals helps you to be excited about the future

■ Take time to watch the sunsets.