Giving thanks

I returned to work Oct. 1 after enjoying my first vacation and extended time off in several years, feeling energized and especially grateful for this gift.

My good fortune comes as I look around and am grateful for a plethora of blessings in my life that are material, social and spiritual.

This month, as our nation celebrates Thanksgiving, Bugle social media specialist Laura Adrian is picking up on the theme of gratitude and conducting another reader-participation contest. You can read about Laura’s latest column elsewhere on this page.

Meanwhile, I marvel at the generosity that typifies the St. Anthony Park-Como Park-Falcon Heights-Lauderdale community. Case in point: Grant Abbott and Elaine Tarone, St. Anthony Park residents since 1981, held a garage sale at the end of September with all their proceeds going to support the Bugle’s annual fall fundraiser.

“We raised $750 for the Bugle, while ridding our house of over 600 books and five bookcases,” said Elaine, a retired University of Minnesota professor.

Elaine and Grant said their love for the Bugle has grown since they moved into St. Anthony Park.

“We raised our two children here 1983-2005,” Elaine said. “Grant was rector at St. Matthews Episcopal Church from 1981 to 2003. I am still a member there, and for about 20 years I coordinated a multi-church neighborhood Project Home shelter there every August for homeless families. Grant served on the Bugle Board 2011-2017.”

Grant noted, “When I started at St Matthews in 1981, I knew nothing about the neighborhood. Church members told me to read the Bugle. I did, and after three to four months, I really felt I knew a lot about people and activities in the local community.”

Elaine added, “It means a stronger sense of connection with both older and newer neighbors.”

The couple said they hope their support helps the Bugle defray its distribution expenses, especially because the paper covers a larger geographical area compared with earlier years.

In the end, Grant said, “Without the Bugle, the region it serves would just be a group of individuals. It is the Bugle that makes us a community.”

Elaine added: “At our yard sale a number of people told us how much they appreciated the Bugle.

“One girl told us her name had been in the paper for one of her school achievements. That sense of pride in ‘being somebody’ is so important. As a monthly delivered free to our doors, the Bugle can’t exist without our support.”

Grant and Elaine are two of hundreds of people who support the Bugle every year. Their financial contributions help keep the newspaper financially health. For a current list of donors, click here.

Scott Carlson is the managing editor of the Bugle.