4 From the Editor The cover story for this issue is an in-depth look at two Morris Habitat for Humanity builds happening simultaneously in our area. One build is on a property in the Lake Shawnee area of Jefferson for the Davis family, who will move into their home sometime before the end of this year. The other build is at Roxbury High School, where students are helping to construct a modular home that, when completed, will be transported to a property in Landing. That part of the build will take about two years to complete. Two very interesting and very newsworthy stories combined into one. The story is long—longer than any other story published in this magazine in my tenure as editor. But, please, don’t let the length deter you from reading it. Writer Melissa Summers has crafted a very informative, thoughtful piece. Maybe, after reading it, you might even be inspired to volunteer at a Habitat build site. You might have noticed in the past that stories for this magazine begin and end on one or two pages. This is intentional, mostly for layout purposes. When I assign writers a story, I usually let them find the best path to a finished product. The only parameters I ask is that they meet a deadline date and they write to a word count—sometimes as little as 800, sometimes as much as 1,200. Comfortable lengths by most accounts. It’s only recently that I’ve broken my own rule and let the length of the story be determined by the subject. It started with Mike Daigle’s story about the Lake Hopatcong Commission, the Lake Hopatcong Foundation and the four lake-town mayors banding together to help secure funds for Lake Hopatcong. That story, which was published in the 2020 Holiday issue, ran over three pages. In this year’s Spring issue, Jess Murphy’s well-reported and well-written piece on the Jefferson Township Municipal Alliance also ran three pages. Let’s face it, if you let writers write, they will—and rightfully so. When I started working at the Daily Record back in 1984, newspapers were still thick with pages and pages of copy. Photographs were big, headlines were bold, stories were long. There were charts and graphs and pullout quotes scattered throughout. But it wasn’t long before newsrooms across the country were reacting to the times. Higher production costs led to less editorial copy. And, Americans, according to a multitude of focus groups, were too busy to read long stories. So, despite the outcry from writers and photographers everywhere, shorter stories and smaller photos became the norm. I remember the battles in the newsroom between writers and editors, between photographers and editors. In the end, though, those doing the layout always won. There was only so much space for so much content. And all this happened before the internet. Now, our collective attention span barely registers. I often hear from readers how much they enjoy the magazine, that it is read cover to cover. I certainly appreciate the kind words and hope that these few “longer” stories aren’t a deterrent to reading an issue from front to back. These stories are more of an anomaly, rather than the norm. I trust Melissa, Mike and Jess will understand. But back to the Habitat story—not the length—the actual story. It is the second Habitat story in two years (Fall 2019 Vol. 12, No. 6), and it will not be the last. We will be following the progress of the Roxbury High School students; look to the LHN website for updates. And, when a family is picked for that house, we will report about it in the magazine. So many stories, so little space. —Karen STUDENTS PARTNER WITH SMITHSONIAN AND LHF GREAT-GRANDSON OF JOE COOK OFFERS GIFTS AREA NURSES VOLUNTEER AT VACCINATION SITES ONE FAMILY’S PANDEMIC JOURNEY ake Hopatcong News INFORMING, SERVING AND CELEBRATING THE LAKE REGION Building a Community MEMORIAL DAY <strong>2021</strong> VOL. 13 NO. 2 Morris Habitat for Humanity finds a way forward despite the pandemic LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS <strong>Memorial</strong> <strong>Day</strong> <strong>2021</strong> ON THE COVER Roxbury High School senior Gavin Yiu helps install a wall to the floor of the modular home being built by students for Morris Habitat for Humanity. -photo by Karen Fucito KAREN FUCITO Editor editor@lakehopatcongnews.com 973-663-2800 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Michael Stephen Daigle Melissa Summers Ellen Wilkowe COLUMNISTS Marty Kane Heather Shirley Barbara Simmons EDITING AND LAYOUT Maria DaSilva-Gordon Randi Cirelli ADVERTISING SALES Lynn Keenan advertising@lakehopatcongnews.com 973-222-0382 PRINTING Imperial Printing & Graphics, Inc. PUBLISHER Camp Six, Inc. 10 Nolan’s Point Park Road Lake Hopatcong, NJ 07849 LHN OFFICE LOCATED AT: 37 Nolan’s Point Park Road Lake Hopatcong, NJ 07849 To sign up for home delivery of Lake Hopatcong News call 973-663-2800 or email editor@lakehopatcongnews.com Lake Hopatcong News is published seven times a year between April and November and is offered free at more than 200 businesses throughout the lake region. It is available for home delivery for a nominal fee. The contents of Lake Hopatcong News may not be reprinted in any form without prior written permission from the editor. Lake Hopatcong News is a registered trademark of Lake Hopatcong News, LLC. All rights reserved.
ANNUAL VETERANS' CRUISE LAKE HOPATCONG CRUISES IS AGAIN PLEASED TO HONOR OUR VETERANS - AMERICA’S HEROES. Residents can show their support at one of the four public gathering locations notated with a as Miss Lotta cruises by with our veterans. Mt. Arlington Municipal Beach Mt. Arlington Residents Gather Here JEFFERSON TWP. JUNE 26, <strong>2021</strong> 9 AM - 10:30 AM JEFFERSON & HOPATCONG 11 AM - 12:30 PM MT. ARLINGTON & ROXBURY lakehopatcongnews.com 5
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