Unheralded.fish: A work in progress

Feb. 10.

The sun rose. A few inches of soft Arctic snow fell. And a wicked night wind challenged travelers in the Northland, one of the most god forsaken places on Earth — according to some wimpy saps — but not us.

Up here and at Unheralded.fish, obstacles such as floods, blizzards, discrimination and stupid politics are only pebbles in the path. We persevere.

We choose to live in Minnesota and North Dakota for many reasons. For us,  this website, where story tellers meet, is one of the most recent.

Unheralded.fish staff celebrates its one month anniversary Friday.

I decided to celebrate the event with great fanfare a few days early. For me, it was a short conversation with my springer spaniel. “Hey, we are a month old,” I told Kea. “Let’s go move some white stuff.” She wagged her arthritic tail in agreement and we shuffled out to do what’s been a pleasant rarity around here this winter. (Shoveling snow isn’t unlike writing, editing, taking photos or keeping a web page fresh and navigable.

As one works, ideas come and go like snowflakes. The process requires moving stuff from spot to spot. It’s labor. Sometimes, you sweat. When you’re finished, you know the job has been well-done, at least for the time being. Or you touch up and move on.)

I described Unheralded a month ago when we began this endeavor as being an infant. That infant has some decent genes. That’s because our first month was one of growth and development that quite frankly caught us a little off guard.

Apparently, readers enjoy good writing and seeing good stuff from a mix of both familiar and fresh faces.  In the coming weeks, you’ll see more faces, some you will recognize and some young writers you won’t. We need youth to add more diversity to our content — and an edge. The core group of Unheralded, you see, have been around the country once or twice.

Between the weather and the month-old anniversary, now is a good time to officially acknowledge two Unheralded contributors whose names you’ll see quite often down the road.

Joe Greenwood is one of the original core members of Unheralded. He’s kind of a behind the scenes guy, the one who manages this site’s appearance with tools and settings and such. He’s far from a shy individual. Anyone who is willing to grab a guitar and jump on stage to play before people ain’t shy. Let’s just say he’s multitalented.

Jeff Olson is a former Northland resident and knows the region well. He calls Alexandria, Va., home now. See more about Joe and Jeff below.

Jeff is just one of a group of individuals you’ll be reading or seeing in the months to come. These are people who share the common bond of journalism, however that’s defined these days, and extends to those who are some how connected to Unheralded’s home base. They may live elsewhere but they persevere. They know our sense of place.

If you’re a reader, we thank you for lending us your most valuable possession to check us out — your time. Feel free to contact us or stop us on the street and say hey. We want to know what you liked or what you would like to see. Be bold and send us story ideas. We also accept praise. So spread the word. We intend to remain here awhile.  So stay tuned. It’s February, and we’re just starting to get warmed up.

About Joe Greenwood

Joe Greenwood lives, writes, and plays guitar in Grand Forks. He began working at the Grand Forks Herald in 2006, and was Online Content Coordinator from 2007 to 2012. In this capacity, he also worked as Multi-Media Consultant for several Herald-owned websites such as Agweek.com and PrairieBizMag.com. Currently, Joe is webmaster for Vintage Guitar magazine, and runs his own web design business, Greenwood Online Services and Consulting LLC. As a songwriter, Joe is a member of the American Society of Composers, Artists, and Publishers (ASCAP), and has written more than 100 songs. He has played in several rock ‘n’ roll bands, including The Midnights and Ortolan Saints, and is currently performing with the jazz guitar group Tone Drones. Joe is also collaborating with local musicians to record old-time folk songs on guitar, mandolin and banjo. He has published three books of poetry through his publishing company, Blackwood Press, “An Ode To A Statue,” “One Mile To Palermo” and “Pipe Etchings.” Find out more at www.JoeGreenwood.com. View all posts by Joe Greenwood

About Jeff Olson

A photo intern and part-time sportswriter at the Grand Forks Herald during his undergraduate days at the University of North Dakota, Jeff Olson spent 20-plus years in North Dakota newspapers as a photojournalist. He is a former small business owner and for the last dozen years has been a public affairs officer for the National Park Service. Olson works with members of the news media on national park issues from the bureau headquarters in Washington, D.C. He lives in Alexandria, Va., with his wife, Joanne, and Coach, their 10-year-old golden retriever. They are avid Washington Nationals baseball fans.

(Unheralded editors don’t care which pro sports team you support except for one: The Winnipeg Jets. If you have a penchant for the goons in blue, we need to talk. One more thing, Kayne West fans — take a hike.)