Thanks to the people of Port Chester, and the paper will be sorely missed

I no longer live in Port Chester, but my parents do. They live in the same house where I was born and raised. My father is also a native of the village, and my mother moved there when she was in her early 20's and they were married.

They are in their mid-80's now and have been reading the Westmore News for as long as I can remember, and I am 61.

This morning my mother gave me the melancholy news about the end of their favorite hometown paper. She then asked me to do her a favor and write a Letter to the Editor because in her words "You are so good with those kinds of things." So here I am. Hoping to make her wish come true.

She wanted me to express her sadness at the change that is about to happen and at the same time acknowledge that some things in Port Chester do not change. "Like what?" I asked, and then, matter of factly, she responded, "The good people of Port Chester are still good people, and I want people to know that."

Like most of us as we grow older, my mother is starting to be forgetful. Lately she has been misplacing her purse and wallet while she is out shopping. In fact, I was shocked to have her tell me that it has happened three times this month alone. She then expressed how lucky she feels to live in a village like Port Chester, a village filled with good people. I could hear the smile in her voice when she said this. She then told me that all three times her purse and wallet were returned to her—once by the business where she left it and twice by Good Samaritans who wished to remain anonymous. Every time the contents of both the purse and the wallet were just as she had left them. She said to me, "I have never written a letter to the Westmore News, and now that they are ending, I would like you to do it for me. I would like to thank the people of Port Chester. Will you do that for me?" I answered yes.

The Westmore News will be remembered fondly by my family as a great local paper read by a good many people. God bless all who have worked for your publication over the years. Your hard work and dedication are appreciated, and you will be sorely missed.

Name Withheld Upon Request

Albany, N.Y.