By Harold McIlvain II
VAN BUREN, Ark.--An elderly woman knocked on the door during March three years ago at the house of Richard Hodo.
When he answered the door, the woman had a gift for Hodo: an afghan blanket she had been working on since Christmas.
She explained the blanket was finished despite the rough times experienced during the holiday with inspiration from viewing the light show at the Hodo house that features over 80,000 lights synchronized to music.
Hodo never found out why she had gone through a rough time. But it was the memory he was able to provide through a light show that opened his eyes.
“There was no telling what she was going through,” Hodo said. “She might have lost a husband or something. But she watched the light show and said it really got her through Christmas. That was worth it all to me.”
After building the house 15 years ago at 1205 Woodland Creek Circle, the 66-year-old Van Buren business owner had always put lights up for the holiday season.
Five years ago, he wanted to take it to another level and add music, make the lights flicker to Christmas songs and provide a free show to the surrounding area.
“I just wanted something different,” Hodo said. “I got with a friend of mine. He puts the lights on the house for me and he had a franchise for bright ideas, so I bought my lights from him. It has kind of expanded from there.”
Hodo said there was a lack of inexpensive entertainment during a time when families spend time together.
“This is a time to give back to the community,” Hodo said. “It seems like everywhere you go, you have to pay for everything you do. No one seems to want to give. But this is the season for giving.”
And the popularity has shown as 300 cars have lined up at once winding down the street and down the main part of town.
“They appreciate it,” Hodo said. “If people didn’t respond or show that they loved this, we would think people don’t really like it. But we get the phone calls and letters throughout the year. We just watch night after night how people line up.”
The stories of the experiences the show has provided for local residents never gets old for Hodo. Last year, a woman and her two sons said they were having a hard time. But the light show was something the family was able to enjoy, Hodo said.
“She said they were able to come here and forget about their problems,” Hodo said. “She said it just lifts them up and got them throughout Christmas. It’s worth all the effort and expense that I go through.”
Hodo gave away 15,000 candy canes last year and gave way 2,700 just during the Thanksgiving weekend this year while over 7,000 cars watched the show last year.
But more is expected this year.
“There will probably be 9,000 people watch the show this year,” Hodo said. “We are just expecting more because it’s already picking up in pace early. When it gets closer to Christmas, only more people keep coming.”
Armeda Holmes, a nearby resident of the light show, said the popularity has started something that people will want to come to for years to come.
“The tradition is really growing because of it going on for a while now,” Holmes said. “Kids are starting to go because they remember going when they were younger. It is a great thing for our community to bring the spirit of the season.”
And because of the popularity of the show, Holmes said alternative routes have to be found for people who live in the area.
“At times it is so busy you have to go around the town just to get back home,” Holmes said. “I had to wait about 20 minutes trying to get back before I just turned around.”
Hodo admitted he didn’t want to think too much about the future of the light show. But he wants to keep providing memories for those you just need an activity.
“I hope I’m around in 10 years,” Hodo said laughing. “I’m sliding down the mountain. I don’t know if I can do it any different. I might just have real reindeer out there in 10 years.”
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Newspaper merge leaves writers with questions
By Harold McIlvain II
Bart Pohlman knew finding a job in the journalism industry was going to be difficult.
The 2008 journalism graduate from Arkansas read stories during his senior year about The Rocky Mountain News folding and how the Seattle Post-Intelligencer went inclusively to a Web site.
Not finding a job relating to his degree was a scary thought for Pohlman.
And after not being able to find a job in the industry since he graduated, the finalization of the joint venture Sunday between Stephens Media LLC and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc., is another obstacle young journalists are now facing.
“The merger demonstrates the current state of the job market: more firings, less hirings,” Pohlman said. “Here I am, seven months after graduation, and I still haven’t found a job.”
It has been a daily struggle for Pohlman to search through over thousands of jobs on Web sites, hoping for an opportunity to break into the industry.
“The sad part is that out of the over 100 jobs I’ve applied for, I've had three interviews - and two were with the same place,” Pohlman said.
The Memphis, Tenn., native said he knew it would be difficult to compete for a job - but not as difficult as it has been so far comparing resumes with veteran journalists who are, too, looking for opportunities after layoffs and mergers.
“I had no idea it’d be this absurd,” Pohlman said. “With so many newspapers and news organizations letting go of so many veterans, it’s difficult to compete.”
Columnists Nate Allen and Bob Caulde were not offered jobs back with the merged news organizations. But with more than a decade of combined experience between the writers, both were able to get job opportunities back - something Pohlman has been searching for.
“Whenever there is a job opening, the employer essentially has their pick of the cream of the crop,” Pohlman said.
But the merger and job loses were not a surprise to many writers. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has reduced its staff by about 10 percent over the past year because of the financial trouble the organization has faced.
Jeff Jeffus, the new president of the Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, said it was necessary for the newspapers to regroup with a new plan after the merger - which included letting people go.
“I think this is in the best interests of both companies and our readers and advertisers, too,” Jeffus said to the Associated Press. “We were both losing millions of dollars. You had to have a model that would succeed.”
After advertising revenue has dropped by 18.5 percent in the first nine months of this year, Jeffus said the company hopes the merger will bring financial stability to the Arkansas newspapers.
But staff writers who were able to keep their jobs have been advised to not talk about the merger.
“We are not suppose to talk about it,” a journalist employed by the new joint venture said. “We will pretty much lose our jobs if we talk about it.”
The Arkansas newspaper industry hasn’t been the only organization to feel the affects of a poor economy, and Pohlman knows that too well.
Editors around the nation are able to sift through resumes from top talent that have more experience than younger college graduates.
Pohlman said it’s a vicious cycle that is keeping recent graduates from moving up into upper level journalism jobs.
But Mathew Petty, a Fayetteville Alderman, said the merger could be a positive for younger journalists through independent news organizations.
While visioning the future of the Arkansas newspaper market, Petty predicated independent news providers could become a factor in the Natural State now that the decade of competing has ended for the two big newspapers in Arkansas.
“This will be the moment when independent news producers prove local commentary can be a livelihood for any dedicated writer,” Petty said. “It will be a moment that only further accelerates the growth of the independent news market, and it will scare the newspaper to death.”
Pohlman said anything - including independent opportunities - would be something that needs to happen to further the field of journalism for recent graduates.
“Someone needs to give the younger crowd a chance,” Pohlman said. “They just might have a solution to the problem facing newspapers. If you keep recycling the same grizzled veterans of the industry, you have no chance of getting up-to-date on the future of journalism.”
But for now, the search for a job is still ongoing for Pohlman and thousands of recent journalism graduates.
Bart Pohlman knew finding a job in the journalism industry was going to be difficult.
The 2008 journalism graduate from Arkansas read stories during his senior year about The Rocky Mountain News folding and how the Seattle Post-Intelligencer went inclusively to a Web site.
Not finding a job relating to his degree was a scary thought for Pohlman.
And after not being able to find a job in the industry since he graduated, the finalization of the joint venture Sunday between Stephens Media LLC and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc., is another obstacle young journalists are now facing.
“The merger demonstrates the current state of the job market: more firings, less hirings,” Pohlman said. “Here I am, seven months after graduation, and I still haven’t found a job.”
It has been a daily struggle for Pohlman to search through over thousands of jobs on Web sites, hoping for an opportunity to break into the industry.
“The sad part is that out of the over 100 jobs I’ve applied for, I've had three interviews - and two were with the same place,” Pohlman said.
The Memphis, Tenn., native said he knew it would be difficult to compete for a job - but not as difficult as it has been so far comparing resumes with veteran journalists who are, too, looking for opportunities after layoffs and mergers.
“I had no idea it’d be this absurd,” Pohlman said. “With so many newspapers and news organizations letting go of so many veterans, it’s difficult to compete.”
Columnists Nate Allen and Bob Caulde were not offered jobs back with the merged news organizations. But with more than a decade of combined experience between the writers, both were able to get job opportunities back - something Pohlman has been searching for.
“Whenever there is a job opening, the employer essentially has their pick of the cream of the crop,” Pohlman said.
But the merger and job loses were not a surprise to many writers. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has reduced its staff by about 10 percent over the past year because of the financial trouble the organization has faced.
Jeff Jeffus, the new president of the Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, said it was necessary for the newspapers to regroup with a new plan after the merger - which included letting people go.
“I think this is in the best interests of both companies and our readers and advertisers, too,” Jeffus said to the Associated Press. “We were both losing millions of dollars. You had to have a model that would succeed.”
After advertising revenue has dropped by 18.5 percent in the first nine months of this year, Jeffus said the company hopes the merger will bring financial stability to the Arkansas newspapers.
But staff writers who were able to keep their jobs have been advised to not talk about the merger.
“We are not suppose to talk about it,” a journalist employed by the new joint venture said. “We will pretty much lose our jobs if we talk about it.”
The Arkansas newspaper industry hasn’t been the only organization to feel the affects of a poor economy, and Pohlman knows that too well.
Editors around the nation are able to sift through resumes from top talent that have more experience than younger college graduates.
Pohlman said it’s a vicious cycle that is keeping recent graduates from moving up into upper level journalism jobs.
But Mathew Petty, a Fayetteville Alderman, said the merger could be a positive for younger journalists through independent news organizations.
While visioning the future of the Arkansas newspaper market, Petty predicated independent news providers could become a factor in the Natural State now that the decade of competing has ended for the two big newspapers in Arkansas.
“This will be the moment when independent news producers prove local commentary can be a livelihood for any dedicated writer,” Petty said. “It will be a moment that only further accelerates the growth of the independent news market, and it will scare the newspaper to death.”
Pohlman said anything - including independent opportunities - would be something that needs to happen to further the field of journalism for recent graduates.
“Someone needs to give the younger crowd a chance,” Pohlman said. “They just might have a solution to the problem facing newspapers. If you keep recycling the same grizzled veterans of the industry, you have no chance of getting up-to-date on the future of journalism.”
But for now, the search for a job is still ongoing for Pohlman and thousands of recent journalism graduates.
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