Gwen Hilson knows coulee people and things

While working at the Star, I learned early on just ask Gwen Hilson.

She has worked at the Star for a zillion years and under three owners.

When writing about people or places you always come up with questions,and it’s easier to ask Gwen than find a source that will provide answers.

Gwen knows just about everyone and how they are connected to other people — where the skeletons are buried, so to speak.

Not only is she a treasure trove of community knowledge, she can do several things at the same time and not lose a beat.

She not only solves a lot of the newspaper’s problems, but she also solves problems for others when they bring them to the front counter.

I often watched amazed how she could be working on a project, take a phone call, and wait on someone at the front counter,  and yes, also, answer a question you put to her. 

She types like a cyclone, can lay out the paper, and sell a bunch of ads.

She knows almost everyone, remembers what they like, and builds a good relationship with all  customers.

She isn’t a one-person show, but she could even probably do that.

Gwen provides wise counsel and will do anything to make work easier for others.

She doesn’t lack a contagious sense of humor, and it is usually a riot at the workplace.

That’s one of the things I miss by not being in the office on a regular basis.

Community members who often ask her how to do something are in her debt.

She takes the impossible and makes it seem easy.  Those who do forms, newsletters, and family journals appreciate her help.

So if I didn’t say thanks as often as I should have when my desk was next to hers, I do so now.

Thanks, Gwen!

And I was excited for her when she recently became a grandmother.

This all says something about publisher Scott Hunter, who is a master at letting people develop their skills.

And so I trade sitting at my old desk, where I wrote countless thousands of stories, to a secluded place in my home, where I write a weekly column.

Then there’s the other side of the coin.

North Central Regional Library officials have created a toxic workplace.

The director and apparently the board have decided that you will need a master’s degree in library science in order to be a librarian in the 39-library system.

I can’t think of another place that requires a master’s degree to serve the public.

And to check books out, that seems a little strange.

Anyhow, this decision has forced our local librarian, Lisa Moore, to resign, and pulled the hours of our library substitutes, effectively putting them out of work.

It’s mostly about how it was done, no thank-yous for years of service, and not even a wave goodbye.

I served 17 years on the regional library board, and this is the most callous thing I have ever seen.

If there’s one place in the community you can go where a pleasant work environment is apparent, it should be the library. In all my 17 years on the board I hadn’t ever seen such disrespect for employees.

Dean Marney was our director then, and he would never have done such a thing, and the board would have not agreed to it anyway.

We have a new librarian coming to the community from Oak Harbor, and yes, she has an MLS. She is not part of this episode, and library patrons should welcome her to the community.