Throughout most of my life, theater has been an important feature. I got my first taste of performing on stage in Mrs. Graham's 4th grade Christmas Play; "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever". I was immediately infected with the "acting bug" and began auditioning for anything I could. Unfortunately, at that time, my level of passion for the craft was much higher than my level of actual talent and I was repeatedly disappointed in my pursuits for roles.

While there are a never-ending amount of issues that divide us, one  development of the past decade seems to unite one and all in their resentment: self-checkouts. Everyone apparently agrees that the rise of cashier-less shopping is an entirely unnecessary move that inconveniences shoppers and takes jobs away from their community.

Last week was a historic one for the small community of Cooperstown as one of its last remaining businesses shut its doors for good. On Friday afternoon, Heiser's House of Hair closed up for the last time after 27 years of top-notch service and countless memories.

This week will mark the one-year anniversary of my first article published in The Denmark News. After twelve months, fifty-two issues, hundreds of articles containing thousands of words, I am still unable to comprehend how fortunate I am for finding my way to my current role writing for the paper.

While working with The Denmark News, I have covered dozens of board meetings across numerous municipalities. While admittedly tedious at times, these meetings have been an excellent opportunity to learn more about surrounding communities and how they function. It saddens me that, for many of these meetings, very few if any residents of the municipalities attend.

Over the course of the Fourth of July weekend, I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with some of my extended family. My mother's family, the Nooyens of Bay Settlement, have always been close-knit and, as I was growing up, always spent a lot of time together.

This week, my adventures reporting for The Denmark News involved a great deal of discussion about what is next for the current Early Childhood Center (ECC) building. It was in the middle of December when it first clicked for me that the fate or future of the structure would be one of, if not the, most significant and contested developments I would cover in the coming months.

For as long as I can remember, the annual Maribel Lions Picnic has been a yearly highlight as well as the unofficial start to the summer season. Since I was a small child, "Maribel Weekend" has meant two days of excitement and fun in the nearby town.

This week, I had the honor and privilege of accompanying the Denmark Vikings and their legion of loyal hometown fans as our baseball team obtained their third consecutive state title. Over the course of two exhilarating and nerve-wracking days at Fox Cities Stadium, those courageous Vikings managed to pull off two spectacular wins and bring home a historic third state trophy.

Over the past ten months reporting for The Denmark News, I have had the honor and privilege to help cover just some of the amazing things happening in the Denmark High School Athletics Department.

This Sunday, I had the honor of covering this year's Denmark High School Graduation. Although after enduring my own commencement ceremony eleven years ago I had thought I would be happy never attending another again, I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to salute and send off this year's senior class.

By: Alex Sekora, Contributor

In 1918, the village of Denmark had many reasons to celebrate. They had recently completed paving Main Street downtown with concrete. Residents completed a large service flag commemorating all of the 85 men who entered the service during World War I. The village also led all of the towns in Brown County in securing their entire allotment of Liberty bond subscriptions to support the war effort.

Of the many problems our current society faces, one in particular has raised my concern more and more as of late, especially in its impact on younger generations than my own--that is the ever-growing issue of social media and its ever-deepening effect on our lives. Social media has become more than just an economic powerhouse, it has infected all but every aspect of our everyday life and, I believe, has made us far worse off for it.

One thing that has stood out to me over the past months reporting on the goings on of Denmark and its surrounding area, is the deep and committed partnership between our community's farmers and our schools. While agriculture is important to everyone everywhere as a source of food, for the people of the Denmark area, it is so much more than that.

Video and other marketing innovations on the rise

By: Chris C. Nelson, Publisher/Owner