The Herald? Sometime, Somewhere, Someone.
Perry Knitting Company infiltrated the Herald for a small window of history. These editions of the Herald give an inside view of not only the community but the inner workings of the community at the mill. Perry is a community in itself but this PK edition of the Herald reminds us of how tightly knit the knitting company actually was, how it effortlessly entwined into the community. This front page gives us a look into the Herald and how it reported news. The PKC News series almost makes it feel like the workers of the knitting company are a town of their own.
Bill Courntey was a part time worker at the Knitting company during the summer months. He is featured in a column speaking to his accomplishments at college. The highlight of the article goes to Bill since he is a direct member of the PKC workforce, but the Herald does not forget to mentioned the other names of Perry residents who attend Clarkson College as well. This is where we can see two communities mesh into one.
The Herald served as the main outlet of communication for the town of Perry. We can compare this to modern-day social media: any time there is an important event in our lives, we share it with social media and ensure to always give updates. The PKC News reports on baby showers, births, engagements and weddings. These events are always personalized; each community member is equally recognized. It is notable that each feature of the insert names community members by their first names. This shows that other members of the Perry community are well aware of who the PKC workers are--or should be aware--and what their general role is in the factory.
The PKC news feature also mentions factory workers from many years ago, They mention all of their work experience and how it pertains to the present day. This small-town community treasures older members who can serve as their “textbooks”. It seems as though, instead of an impersonal trip to the library to research, or our own quick google search of today, you could just have a conversation with someone that knows all the news! This is a major difference that we can see between the implied community dynamic of the PKC News.
The Perry Knitting company was a workplace, but that did not take away from its social aspects. The simple fact that the Herald had the longrunning PKC news feature shows us that there was so much to talk about and cover just in the company itself. Much of the important news of the town came from these people. All of these somebodies made Perry the community it was, down to the last employee in the office or sewing room. There were so many relationships within the company that turned the work place into a community in itself. Some couples even met here, as well as lifelong friends. The Herald preserved these friendships by making the newspaper a forum for old employees to reconnect.
The Herald currently issues hundreds of copies to former Perry residents who no longer live in the community. These former Perry residents are loyal subscirbers as well as contributers. They all make up an umbrella community that functions as a partner to the paper to keep it running. The most popular column in the current Herald publication is "Down Memory Lane", where the newspaper revisits different events and community members from the past. Having a newspaper that is dedicated to one community, and a large community of people who were once a part of this town, gives everyone a sense of time and place. All of the workers that the Knitting Company employed contributed to the growth of the town, an emphasis on "community" that we see shine through the Herald as well as current and past town of Perry itself.
Big thanks to Lorraine Sturm for insight into the Herald today.