May 21, 2025

Tribute to Our Parents

by Adrienne Kim

The Marshall Advocate has been in operation for nearly thirty years. I’m thirty-two, my brother is thirty-one, and my sister is thirty-six. It’s no exaggeration that the newspaper has played a significant role throughout our whole lives, perhaps my life the most.

Some people recall memories from their childhood because of a familiar scent, or a song they used to enjoy, or the taste of a comforting family recipe. For me, it’s when I sit in my office and hear someone use the scanner. As the light goes across the page, I’m taken back to my childhood, sleeping next to my brother under one of the tables at our parents’ office as they worked long hours into the night. Mom would be scanning in documents to reformat them for the paper, while Dad was at his layout table, cutting and gluing each article to the sheets. There were always deadlines to be met, and the two of them were a team.

I started helping my parents with the newspaper when I was about twelve years old, maybe younger. I remember being tasked with trimming the articles and sometimes even getting to glue them down. But the most important job that Dad trusted me with was editing articles. I’m sure part of it was out of necessity, but being trusted with something so important gave me confidence and knowledge that helped carry me through another decade of education. 

I helped at the office, usually only during the summers, up until I left for college. And I complained about it probably 90% of the time. I can give myself enough grace now to know that I was just a normal teenager, but there is still a twinge of guilt for giving my parents a hard time for putting me to work. I just didn’t know then what I know now: that watching their hard work, perseverance and service leadership firsthand was instilling within me those same qualities that I would eventually bring to my work as an architect. The same qualities my brother has carried into his career as a creative and retail director, and my sister into her military and humanitarian service. The same qualities that we, as parents ourselves now, will instill in our own children.

My siblings and I watched our parents struggle throughout the years to stay afloat. Truthfully, there were several times we asked them why do this? Why deal with the tremendous detriment to your mental, often physical, and sometimes even emotional well-being, just to struggle with virtually no financial gain? The answer always went back to when our parents started the paper: our dad saw a need in the community and decided to fill it. Of course, as kids we hated that answer. “Why not work just stocking shelves or answering phones?” we would ask. “You’d probably make more money and not be stressed all of the time.” But now, I’m thankful they stuck through our (and often their own) doubts. I’m proud of what they’ve done these thirty years, and my siblings and I are better people for it. And what is the point of anything if not to shape the next generation into better people?

I absolutely believe Marshall and the surrounding areas have taken their hometown newspaper for granted. I’m guilty of it, too. But small towns and rural communities are dying nationally for a plethora of reasons, and losing a local newspaper is certainly a blow. But I’ll be looking to the future, where my parents can rest and be rewarded for the love they’ve poured into their children and the people who have recognized their sacrifice.

Imagining the future without the newspaper in it, or at least the way I’ve known it, is still bittersweet. After all, I haven’t really known a world without it, but at the same time, I’ve seen it very literally drain the life out of my father. My dad deserves more than that, both of my parents do. They deserve the world, and I’m excited to watch them be able to fully step into their newest jobs as the best grandparents to their grandchildren. Thank you Mom and Dad for everything. We love you and are so very proud of you. Your legacy is in us, not the newspaper.