First job flashback

Former C-T reporter reflects on job at paper; family now resides in Michigan
gan Information and Research
Service, and I write for the
magazine and legislative publis I write this, it is exactly
cations at Michigan Townships
three years since my last
Association.
day at The Courier-Times.
We bought a house and have
My husband, Craig Mauger,
a
one-year-old
boy named
had already left his C-T reportSamuel. Our lives have
ing job and had been at his
changed so much, but we still
new job in Lansing, Mich., a
week, while I stayed behind to love to reminisce about our
five years we spent at the Coupack up our apartment. My
last day didnt feel real. I think rier.
Then-Managing Editor
half my co-workers probably
Randy
Rendfeld offered me my
thought wed eventually come
first
real
job out of college as
back my husband and I had
both left before only to return. the education and business
At the time, we thought wed reporter. I started in July 2007
and thought I was a profeslive in Lansing for a year
before moving on. But here we sional ready to hit the ground
running. Really, I wasnt even
are, three years later. Craig
22 years old, a baby, and I had
covers the Michigan Statemuch more to learn than I
house as a reporter at Michirealized.
Friday, October 16, 2015 | 175th Anniversary
page 52
By BETHANY MAUGER
For The Courier-Times

Working in my home county

was certainly interesting. On
the first story I ever wrote a
preview of the Mooreland Free
Fair parade then-News Editor John Hodge put my sisters
name on my byline. He was
used to typing her name for
her cross country and track
accolades, I guess. Also within
my first couple of weeks, an
elementary school friends
mom called the office and told
my editor an embarrassing
story from when I was in third
grade. I was far from incognito.
But being the hometown girl
had its perks. I quickly learned
that most people liked that I
was from the county. They
trusted me when they wouldnt
have trusted an outsider.
New Castle, Ind.

New Castle, Ind.

We truly wanted our

community to be informed.
We got excited about the
stories and tried to dig
deeper in our coverage.

go home when he was

sick during the swine
flu scare. Another time,
the guys at work bet
me $10 I couldnt eat
an entire container of
Blue Bunny mint chocolate chip ice cream in
one sitting. I won that
bet over my break one
night. Or in another
sense, I lost too I
didnt feel right for
days.
But shenanigans
aside, we were dedicated to our work. My coworkers and I melded
into a team and pushed
one another to be better. I became a better
writer by reading the
stories in our own
paper, especially the
ones written by Craig,
to get a sense of what I
should strive to be.
Craig was doing amazing work with the
design. He worked
more hours than anyone knew, and to this
day, I would put those
front pages up against
any other paper. Within a couple of years, we
were placing high in
general excellence
awards and winning
individual writing
awards.
The awards were
nice, but that was never
what it was about. We
truly wanted our community to be informed.
We got excited about
the stories and tried to

dig deeper in our coverage.

The people of Henry
County made our jobs
what they were. The
best parts of my day
were when I was out of
the office, interviewing
both officials and
everyday people. I
cared about the people
I spoke with on a regular basis, and I really
did want them to reach
their goals.
When Craig and I
got engaged, I got a
much clearer look at
the caliber of Henry
County people. Everyone who heard the
news was so excited for
us. The Courier threw
an open house for us,
and I couldnt believe
the outpouring of love
and support we experienced. How many people can say that the
mayor, sheriff and city
and county council
members came to their

wedding shower, to
name a few? It was an
amazing day I will
always treasure.
The decision to leave
Henry County was
incredibly difficult. Not
only were we leaving
the home we loved, but
we were moving away
from our families, who
live in Knightstown
and Richmond. It
came down to an
incredible opportunity
for Craig that we
couldnt pass up.
We still miss all of
you. We were in New
Castle earlier this
month celebrating the
life of our dear coworker and friend,
John Hodge, where we
got to see some of our
old friends. Even just
spending an hour in
my old favorite coffee
shop, Caf Royal,
made me wistful for
the old days. On our
way home, we couldnt
stop talking about how
wonderful it was to
spend time with everyone again.
I dont know where
life will take us next.
After all, I never imagined moving to Michigan Indiana was cold
enough for me. But
wherever we go, and
whatever were doing,
Henry County will be
in our hearts.

people

Bethany and Craig Mauger, with their son Sam. They were star
reporters at The Courier-Times in recent years. While working at the
paper, they met, fell in love, married and now reside in Michigan.

People were rooting for

me to succeed because
there are few things
they like more than a
young person returning
to his or her community.
I was also pleasantly
surprised by the people
working with me. Two
other young people
including my future
husband were hired
within weeks of me,
and I also hit it off
with the veteran staff.
As a reporter, you
dont have much of a
life outside of work.
Your evenings are too
full of meetings and
events to meet many
people. I was lucky that
my co-workers and I
genuinely liked being
around one another.
We picked up fellow
co-workers in the early
mornings when their
cars were frozen shut.
Former Sports Editor
Jeremy Hines dug my
car out of a snow drift,
probably on multiple
occasions. We spent
many an afternoon eating lunch at Ron and
Pams, El Chile Poblano, Highway 38 Diner
and a multitude of
other Henry County
establishments.
There was even an
epic night we spent
playing Rock Band at
Craigs apartment. I
couldnt look at some
of my co-workers the
same way after hearing
their vocal stylings.
We played pranks on
one another, like the
time we piled trash on
a neat freak co-workers desk while he was
on vacation. Once, we
got Henry County
Health Department
Administrator Doug
Mathis to call thenPolice Reporter Matt
Hrodey and tell him to

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175th Anniversary | Friday, October 16, 2015