When I woke up Saturday morning there it was, what I would categorize as the first significant snowfall of the year for the county. Yes, we had a small amount back in December a few days before Christmas, but it wasn’t anything more than a dusting.

Although I’m not sure exactly what made it pop into my head, but seeing the snow got me thinking about all the preparations that go into things we see and do each day.  Maybe it was seeing the truck going down the rod clearing snow away, or it was talking with a person earlier this week about the process that goes into getting a paper out each day.

But when I saw the snow on the ground, I began thinking about other products and services that we may purchase or use in our every day lives.

Whether it is a product that we purchase at the grocery or hardware store, the road crews out clearing the roads, or even the delivery of the daily newspaper or mail.

Sure, I know exactly what goes into getting a product like the newspaper delivered each day from gathering stories and advertising, getting pages built, printing the paper and ultimately distributing it to subscribers and single copy locations.

For the newspaper, the process from start to finish typically takes several days from the time our editorial staff starts working on stories and advertising representatives meet with advertisers to the time it is delivered to your home, rack or dealer location.

But what about the gallon of milk or loaf of bread, the package of nails or bolts, or driving on a clear road?

From the time the process begins at the dairy farm, bakery, production facility, the county or state garage to the time that milk or bread is delivered to the store or the crew is out clearing the roads, could be a much longer process.

As I continued to ponder on this topic, I began thinking about how much some of these things are intertwined together. For example, the road crews providing passable roadways for the delivery drivers to drop their products off to a particular location. Or, it could be some of the bolts that were manufactured are being used to secure the snowplow to the plow truck.

I know it is always fun for me to give a tour of the newspaper office for a Boy Scout troop, a Cub Scout pack or another organization because people are always surprised about our process at the newspaper.

It was definitely an interesting topic to think about and I know the next time I’m at the grocery or hardware store, or driving on a clear roadway, I will have a different perspective and thankfulness about all those who made it possible for that product or service to be available.

 

Josh Morrison is the general manager at The Tribune. To reach him, call 740-532-1441 ext. 16 or by email at josh.morrison@irontontribune.com.