You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t…

I read community newspapers because I like the small-town feeling I get reading them. There is always a name I know, a picture or place I recognize.

I like the big, fat dailies too. I also like supermarket tabloids. (Anyone who says they do not like gossip is in denial, and if you are not ‘in denial’ or ‘in recovery’ in 1992, boy, where are you?)

But most of all, I like community newspapers.

Community newspapers let you know what is happening where it matters – where you live, shop and look for entertainment.

Truthfully, I do not get involved in local municipal issues to any great extent, actually not at all. But it is good to know some people do, and I can read about it at length at the neighborhood level in ‘my’ newspaper.

It is a sense of belonging, kind of like visiting over the back fence. You start a conversation, run inside to check the kids or grab the phone and finish the chat later, just as you can pick up the paper anytime.

Need a dentist, massage, a new pair of shoes, preferably on sale? The ads let you know where to spend your money locally, something I think is a good idea.

A saleswoman in a nearby store calls me when something comes in she knows I will like, or when stock is on sale. I became a customer and drop-in visitor because the store advertises in the community paper.

I look forward to my personal favorite, The Villager.

Classifieds

Starting at the back, I check out the classifieds, namely the weekend garage sales, real estate (in case my lottery number comes up), and the companions column.

So far no luck, no chance to read about those gutsy people who dare to admit they are looking. Continuing on left to right, I pore over the book review (great reviewer – she agrees with me), skip the sports (terrific coverage, but not my thing) and on to the letters to the editor, some of which are on-going sagas from readers who become familiar month after month. Wonderful.

I save my horoscope to last, savoring what the next few weeks have in store. Ever notice how your community horoscope differs from the one in the big, fat paper? Ever wonder why? It’s like different Santas in all the malls at Christmas. Makes it hard to believe.

Can you imagine a city without community newspapers? When I want to feel like an individual and not just one of the crowd, I pick up a copy of my very own community newspaper, the soul of the neighborhood.

Toni Armstrong, in her 50s, is self-employed and lives in the west end of Toronto.