Sometimes a company has an employee who is quietly working but constant. So much so, they become part of the very fabric of that company.

In 1986 Susan Arena arrived in Maine and was hired to work at the Advertiser Democrat. However, on her very first day it was decided she was needed at the company’s Skowhegan paper so off she went to be their General Manager/Editor. A year later, she was back in Norway at the AD as its editor. Between then and 2010 when she retired from the paper, she also filled in as editor at other company papers including The Berlin Reporter and The 302 Times in Windham.

Although Susan retired as editor from the Advertiser, she continued to write her very popular column – Yesterdays – for the next nine years … until now.

This week her last column is being published as she is not only leaving the area, but the state. Moving to be near her daughter in North Carolina, Susan contemplated continuing the column from afar. Unfortunately, the logistics of getting and returning material would have been cumbersome so she decided against it. However, she made sure it was in good hands, getting long-time friend and journalist E.C. Shanor to take it over.

Nevertheless, losing Susan leaves a hole in the fabric of the Advertiser Democrat. The hole can be mended but the fabric will never be quite the same.

We will miss you Susan. Farewell and thank you for 33 years of service to this newspaper and the community.

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