Three years have gone by since the first issue of The Lunenburg Barnacle. Our passion for this county, our resolve for a better world, and most importantly, the number of seats at our table have all grown larger since then.
Five young Lunenburg County-ites (Carmen Cumming, Sal Falk, Carley Mullally, Issie Patterson and Jesse Ward) that started this endeavor in winter 2023 could not have imagined the impact this paper would have on them and their communities. The first issue spoke about Cornwallis Street, the South Shore Players, and shared the first leaderboard from The Knot Pub trivia with Joelle.
For three years, the Barnacle continued to keep tabs on local politics, arts and culture, sports, trivia winners, local environmental issues, and so much more. This was only possible because a wide community rallied around this project and saw the value in local, independent journalism.
Nearly 100 pairs of hands worked on the Barnacle.
These volunteers shared expertise in research, writing, illustration, design, editing, and non-profit management. The Barnacle was set-up under cooperative values that meant everyone who wanted a seat at the table could provide input, direction and suggestions that were taken seriously by our dedicated board of directors.
This number doesn’t include the countless individuals and organizations who were willing to speak with our writers, the monthly donors who made sure we had funds to print each issue at Printer’s Corner in Blockhouse, the 73,000 people who visited our website or the thousands who followed us on social media. All of these people are equally important in the story of how the Barnacle got made.
This project, as much as it was tossed together by an unassuming trivia team, grew into a deliberate and meaningful passion project. It wasn’t accidental that our communities craved what this project was proposing. We are all capable of carrying forward the sentiment and values of curiosity and community that ran deep through the Barnacle.
The Barnacle will live on through each person who worked on, engaged with and supported it. Thank you.
– Sal Falk, Editor-in-Chief
