Community Corner

1 Year with Salem Patch: 10 Memorable Stories

A look at some stories that have stuck with us during our first year.

On the morning of Sept. 12, 2010 the Patch team was all ready to welcome the newest edition to its Massachusetts Patch family — our very own, Salem Patch.

That afternoon, we were alerted to a .

The news started pouring in before we even had our site up, and it's continued to ever since.

Thank you to all our readers, contributors, bloggers, Facebookers and Tweeters as well as all of you who have allowed us to tell your stories. We wouldn't be Salem Patch without you. Thank you for your contributions.

Here are 10 memorable stories with some interesting side notes as we celebrate one year, lots of stories and many more to come.


1. September 2010 —

Thankfully, everyone was okay thanks to a swift response from the . An interesting aside on this story? Editor Aubry Bracco, who was still new to fire scenes at that point, was sprayed by a hose when she wasn't paying attention. And yes, we're sure a bunch of people in the neighborhood saw it.

2. September 2010 —

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Who could forget Shaq's visit. While Editor Aubry Bracco never did get to meet Shaq, she did meet , who later became a contributor. The most memorable part of the Shaq visit turned out to be the discovery of a rather amazing video a few weeks later from a loyal reader with a sense of humor. If you ask us, is a classic.

3. October 2010 —

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Eric Smith caught memorable scenes from the Trick or Treat with the mayor event. The coolest part of the video? We ended up meeting some of the readers in it, including the family of those two adorable astronauts () and they've been great about tipping us off to news ever since. This is still one of our favorite videos.

 

4. December 2010 —

Who could forget Dec. 1? We were working away when there was an escape from and someone robbed practically at the same time. We're pretty sure that was the quickest any of us ever had to type. Our readers followed along the whole time. Thanks for the memories of what was, perhaps, our most fast paced reporting ever.


5. December 2010 —

Salem lost James A. Ayube II in Dec. 2010, though the loss was one we will never quite heal from, from his processional and the outpouring from the community are something we won't soon forget.

6. February 2011 —

If you've been in Salem any length of time, even just as a visitor, chances are you've met our contributor BaldBil. Sure, this regular might look a little scary, but his ability to transport Salemites back to the days of yore and talent at bringing relatable piece of history alive is not so scary. In February, we ran a piece that stuck with many of our readers, and was one of Bil's most memorable. "

7. March 2011 —

In March we covered the Washington Square Fire. The fire was terrible loss for the residents, but, thankfully, all were able to get out safely. We were proud to bring you complete coverage from the moments just after the fire as well as follow up stories.

8. March 2011 —

Our coverage of the supermoon was super spontaneous after covering the Washington Square Fire, but we set up a tripod just in time to catch the moon rising over Salem Harbor, sped up the video and voila! Nearly 300 readers recommended this video, which turned out to be one of our favorites and an unforgettable sight.

9. June 2011 —

The Bruins won and we . One video that we love that got a little lost in the mayhem was the debut by musicians Ronan and Duff. We were headed in for the night when we ran into these two budding stars on Derby Street. They serenaded us, and we still think these two could make a career move that could overtake Bieber fever.

10. July 2011 —

In July 2010, we were still working on the directory. This year, we had a front row seat of the fireworks on . The music, the company, the weather — everything made for gorgeous images that were distinctly Salem.


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