The Stevens Point area is one large magnet. Attracted by many of the wonderful new shopping opportunities, especially in Plover, my family and I were slowly enticed to switch our weekend excursions from Appleton or Oshkosh to Stevens Point.
Instead of driving between 45 and 60 miles one way to the Fox Valley, we could find everything we wanted here driving just 35 miles on quick-moving I-39.
Like a piece of metal stuck on a magnet, we found it difficult to pull ourselves away to go home when we were here. Not satisfied spending just one day in Stevens Point, many times we returned the next, even as gas prices rocketed and kept many would-be travelers home.
In addition to enjoying the shopping sites, we loved the restaurants, cleanliness and the relaxed vibe of this area. Nothing makes me happier than lunch at Noodles and Company. Well, maybe nothing except the flavored fish fry at the Final Score.
Last December, my wife, Jenny, was asked to interview for a job at the Marshfield Clinic. As the news editor at the Waushara Argus in Wautoma, a position I’ve had for the past 10 years, my initial response was to tell her no. I had a good job and we loved our house, family and friends in Wautoma.
But the more I thought about it, the more the Stevens Point magnet pulled me in. By centrally locating to Stevens Point, we’d still be close to family and friends and we could move to a booming area that we both loved.
Within two days, I told Jenny she should interview for the job, which she then promptly landed. We put our house on the market and I started my search for a job in Stevens Point.
The job search took a little longer than I anticipated. The last time I had gone looking for a job, the Internet did not play a major factor in the search. I had found my job at the Argus the old-fashioned way – by reading the classifieds.
I spent a month sending resumés and cover letters through several online services only to discover I wasn’t saving my files correctly and the potential employers were receiving blank applications. I was lost in cyberspace without even realizing it.
Eventually, my job search ended when I found a new one in another old-fashioned way – word-of-mouth. Someone I knew at CAP Services knew the Portage County Gazette was in need of a new writer. He put me in contact with Gene Kemmeter, whose knowledge of the newspaper business put any nerves I had about a job switch to rest before they could even emerge from my sometimes worrisome mind.
In the last few months, we have spent many weekends driving around Stevens Point to look at a number of houses for sale. Although we haven’t made the physical move to this area because we’re still trying to sell our house in Wautoma, we are looking forward to the day when we are here permanently.
Our 2-year-old son Braden started this week at a local daycare and we know he will get a good education in the future at the local schools. Even 35 miles away, SPASH has always had a reputation for being synonymous with high quality, along with the other public and private schools.
The magnetic pull became even stronger on June 1 during my first day at the Gazette when Gene drove me around the area and introduced me to many of the people I will be working and dealing with as the associate editor.
I hadn’t been to any of the parks prior to this date, so I did not know the true lure of this area’s beauty. Our decision to move here was deemed the perfect choice after seeing the great hockey rinks, soccer fields, toboggan runs, swimming pools, hiking and biking trails, and countless other park attractions and knowing my little 2-year-old will soon be old enough to do all of these things.
This column will become a weekly fixture in the paper. It originated as a humor column in the Argus as my forum for entertaining people with anecdotes about my life.
My goal is to provide a little “Light of Day” while making you laugh.
Instead of driving between 45 and 60 miles one way to the Fox Valley, we could find everything we wanted here driving just 35 miles on quick-moving I-39.
Like a piece of metal stuck on a magnet, we found it difficult to pull ourselves away to go home when we were here. Not satisfied spending just one day in Stevens Point, many times we returned the next, even as gas prices rocketed and kept many would-be travelers home.
In addition to enjoying the shopping sites, we loved the restaurants, cleanliness and the relaxed vibe of this area. Nothing makes me happier than lunch at Noodles and Company. Well, maybe nothing except the flavored fish fry at the Final Score.
Last December, my wife, Jenny, was asked to interview for a job at the Marshfield Clinic. As the news editor at the Waushara Argus in Wautoma, a position I’ve had for the past 10 years, my initial response was to tell her no. I had a good job and we loved our house, family and friends in Wautoma.
But the more I thought about it, the more the Stevens Point magnet pulled me in. By centrally locating to Stevens Point, we’d still be close to family and friends and we could move to a booming area that we both loved.
Within two days, I told Jenny she should interview for the job, which she then promptly landed. We put our house on the market and I started my search for a job in Stevens Point.
The job search took a little longer than I anticipated. The last time I had gone looking for a job, the Internet did not play a major factor in the search. I had found my job at the Argus the old-fashioned way – by reading the classifieds.
I spent a month sending resumés and cover letters through several online services only to discover I wasn’t saving my files correctly and the potential employers were receiving blank applications. I was lost in cyberspace without even realizing it.
Eventually, my job search ended when I found a new one in another old-fashioned way – word-of-mouth. Someone I knew at CAP Services knew the Portage County Gazette was in need of a new writer. He put me in contact with Gene Kemmeter, whose knowledge of the newspaper business put any nerves I had about a job switch to rest before they could even emerge from my sometimes worrisome mind.
In the last few months, we have spent many weekends driving around Stevens Point to look at a number of houses for sale. Although we haven’t made the physical move to this area because we’re still trying to sell our house in Wautoma, we are looking forward to the day when we are here permanently.
Our 2-year-old son Braden started this week at a local daycare and we know he will get a good education in the future at the local schools. Even 35 miles away, SPASH has always had a reputation for being synonymous with high quality, along with the other public and private schools.
The magnetic pull became even stronger on June 1 during my first day at the Gazette when Gene drove me around the area and introduced me to many of the people I will be working and dealing with as the associate editor.
I hadn’t been to any of the parks prior to this date, so I did not know the true lure of this area’s beauty. Our decision to move here was deemed the perfect choice after seeing the great hockey rinks, soccer fields, toboggan runs, swimming pools, hiking and biking trails, and countless other park attractions and knowing my little 2-year-old will soon be old enough to do all of these things.
This column will become a weekly fixture in the paper. It originated as a humor column in the Argus as my forum for entertaining people with anecdotes about my life.
My goal is to provide a little “Light of Day” while making you laugh.
Originally published in The Portage County Gazette in June 2007.
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