The Herald Angels, by Rob Penfield

Once upon a time there was a weekly newspaper, the Farmington Valley Herald. It was a gem of a rag and for 125 years proudly carried the responsibility for providing Connecticut’s Farmington Valley residents with truth and honesty.

Led by its Editor and Publisher Emeritus, Lou Ball, its peak business years were the 1970s and 1980s. Ball was a curmudgeon with gifted assets of ambition, knowledge, and a writing style whose editorial words could start a roaring fire in a rainstorm.

During those years the paper was blessed with a cadre of people known affectionately as, “The Herald Angels.” A rouge bunch of personalities, barely a notch above vagabonds…and a whisper short of being gods.

The Herald did what big newspapers cannot do. Offer both big and small-town news. Personalized by correspondents who were your neighbors. Stories about corruption, politics, local groups, sports, school lunch menus, life and death.

Folks could visit the paper sharing views face-to-face with any one of those “Angels.” Usually in a conversation over a cup of coffee and homemade cookies compliments of the staff.

Why? Because once upon a time, there was a weekly newspaper, the Farmington Valley Herald.