I was pleased this past week to join with many other Northerners to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Thompson Citizen.

For 50 years, the Thompson Citizen has not only been recording our history it has been part of our history as well. The Citizen has been there to record major events, community activities, sports, arts, culture and much more.

If you read any past or present edition of the Citizen it is like a time capsule. It gives you a sense of Thompson at that time.

Few newspapers have had such an impact on their community as the Citizen. Other newspapers came and went but the Citizen continued to be the main forum for our community.

The Citizen has also very much been about people. For many years it was synonymous with the Wright family who were the owners and the heart and soul of the paper for many years.

The Citizen has also been about people another way. Many of us have saved clippings throughout the year of our kids’ activities and of community events.

I have had a great deal of contact with the Citizen as MLA. I have always found it to be fair and to follow high standards of journalistic integrity.

I can also claim to have another connection to the Citizen. When I was in school I used to deliver the Citizen in the Westwood area. I often joke that I went from going door-to-door as a paper carrier to going door-to-door to visit as MLA.

A recorder of our history. A part of our history. An important part of our community.

Congratulations to the Thompson Citizen on this significant anniversary.