The final chapter

Last week's edition of the paper featured the final installment of our own local Millennium madness. (Technically, the Millennium supposedly begins 2001, but I figured "why be left behind" while the rest of the country gets caught up in the excitement of the four-digit change?)
Over the course of a year, I have enjoyed learning more about Gowanda, a place my family has called home since the turn of the last century. What my grandparents didn't remember or tell me, I found through poring over my research materials.
Gowanda has experienced a lot of changes over the years, including a few sucker punches when she wasn't looking. With country fortitude and resilience, the residents of the Valley Among the Hills have managed to bounce back time after time. While not exactly a thriving metropolis, Gowanda still exudes a friendly, front-porch rocker atmosphere that Bed and Breakfast establishments across the country strive to imitate. Down the road, this consistency of spirit is sure to pay off and Gowanda will revel in its Renaissance.
Condensing 50 years of information has been a challenge over the past year. Many names and events have had to be omitted because of the column space bandit, but hopefully, the items I was able to include in each installment were enough to spark memories for readers.
Through the course of my Millennium piece, I have received correspondence from all over the country and a great deal of encouragement from area readers. For these sentiments of support, I am grateful. A writer needs feedback and I appreciate knowing whether the direction I take readers is the right one.
Before I end this dissertation, I must emphatically state that without the help of many individuals, the Countdown to the Millennium would have never happened - figuratively speaking.
First and foremost in assisting me were the Gowanda Area Historical Society and Gowanda Free Library. I cannot express my appreciation enough to everyone connected with these two important community entities. I urge anyone who longs to know more about their family and/or this area to utilize these facilities. There are fascinating bits of information to be discovered.
I am also grateful to those individuals who supplied photos and personal accounts/information. Phil Palen, Karen Strickland, Bill Peglowski, Allan "Stem" Wallace and Jean Hillis unselfishly dug through attics and boxes to share visual memories with us as each leg of the journey unfolded.
Instrumental in ensuring my hand-written hieroglyphics were transformed into easier-to-read typewritten form were typesetters Diana Beckwith and Lorraine Schreckengost. Their speed and skill on a computer keyboard still amaze me.
With my Thank You's extended (I HAD to break tradition this one time after such a mammoth undertaking for this paper), I have one final Thank You to express - to you, dear readers, for your support as we traveled "hand-in-hand" from 1949 to 2000, the Y2K moment that, thankfully, was Y (worry) 2K And now, I am on to other projects. Until then...