A big thank you to Jim and the crew

Phew.
If you’re reading this, good news. The Custer County Chronicle is up and running at its new location. The lights are on, the computers are on and the internet is working. We were able to get this week’s paper out, despite spending the better part of last week packing and moving and spending time with family and friends as part of our little Thanksgiving break.
None of this would have been possible without a small army of people who have helped us out, either by moving an inordinate amount of “stuff” we have accumulated in 25 years in our new old location, or, more importantly, by making our location sparkle. There was a lot to do in the month between closing and our date to be out of the old building and into the new, and so many people pitched in to make it happen.
We have to lead off our praise by giving the biggest of thanks to Jim Understock. Jim served as our leader and organizer of sorts on the project, and coordinated the renovations inside our new office. And a lot of renovations there were. There is new paint, new flooring, shelving, doors, and so much more—not to mention the complete and total renovation of the shed outside that will now serve as our production room. Both of the buildings look beautiful, and we owe that to Jim, so we want to thank him personally. Jim was joined in the work by Deb Wallenberg, and Warren and Bambi Graham.
We wrangled up Marcus from Vector to be our IT guy for the project, and he was tasked with making sure our computers were up and running when we showed up Monday. That’s the thing about this business—we don’t have room for down time. It was frequently people would come in our old location after word spread we were moving and wonder why it didn’t look like we had moved or packed much. The answer was always the same—we didn’t have time. Jeanne packed occasionally as time allowed, but ultimately that’s why we closed down last Wednesday. We had to buckle down and get it done.
We must also thank Jeanne’s husband, Ron, who showed up with truck and trailer to help us move some stuff, as well as our intrepid do-it-all Carl Hansen, who was on hand to help us move stuff as well. Thank you to Golden West and Black Hills Energy, as well. Working together, we got back up and running quickly. Team work. Whether we’re producing the newspaper or moving to a new location, when we work together we get the job done.
We will miss being downtown, but we are excited to be in our new location. Nothing will change as far as our operation is concerned; it will just be a new location. Jason and Esther are excited they don’t have to try to find parking at the Armory for sporting events. All they have to do is walk across the street.
We encourage you to stop by and see our new location when you get a chance. We’d be happy to show you around. You might wait a day or two, as we are still getting settled. We also want to wish the Custer County Candy Company the best of luck at 522 Mt. Rushmore Road. It’s a wonderful old building, and we’ll miss it.