"There's no place like home":

When I was a kid, I waited every year for the TV presentation of the film “The Wizard of Oz.” There were no DVDs, or video rentals then. Across the nation, families everywhere would tune in for the annual televised event. My oldest daughter, at age 4, also saw “The Wizard of Oz” for the first time on TV, but by then I was high-tech enough to make a VHS recording of it. Subsequently Katie watched the “Wizard of Oz” every day for about two weeks, memorizing every line.

Not only is the movie wonderfully entertaining, but the issues it addresses are both universal and deeply personal. And therein lies its true magic. If I only had “a brain…a heart…the nerve.” So yearned Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. Of course, they possessed those traits all along…they just needed the Wizard’s help to realize it. And what did Dorothy want? To return home – but first she learns for herself that she didn’t need to run away to find her heart’s desire.

In a way, the story of Hometown Focus is much like “The Wizard of Oz.”And oddly enough, our co-founders, Jeff Asbach and Scott Asbach, and their kids call each other “Oz” all the time, short for “Asbach.” So, it’s like the Land of Oz around here, figuratively and literally. In reflecting on our 2nd anniversary, I thought I might as well take the analogy all the way.

Several years ago Hometown Focus was an intangible concept of Jeff’s and Scott’s. They would need the Oz traits of smarts, heart, and nerve in order to make it become a reality, and fortunately, they had the right stuff. Their mentor and father, Larry Asbach - now gone - was not unlike the crafty but kind Professor Marvel/ Wizard behind the curtain. He taught his sons how to find within themselves the resources for successful business and community-building during their decadeslong tenure as publishers and managers of Mesabi Daily News. They tell me their father wasn’t a coddler: lessons were often learned the hard way – not unlike the way the Wizard of Oz made Tin Man, Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion confront the Wicked Witch of the West and return with her broomstick before he would bestow upon them what they each were seeking.

Me, I’m their Dorothy. I just wanted to celebrate my Kansas – the Iron Range. At a period in my life when the dizzying child-rearing was near complete and I could ask myself, Now what? I realized that I wanted to be more involved in (i.e., return to) my community, give back to the Iron Range in some way. “Hey, Oz,” I said to them both, when they shared their vision with me, back in the early days. “I get it. I can see it. Let’s do it.” And away we went, down the yellow brick/taconite road, a bee-line to the Emerald City/ Iron Range.

Our journey has been, at times, as harrowing as Dorothy’s, Tin Man’s, Scarecrow’s and Lion’s. Any small business owner can tell you how hard it can be out there. But our small staff is united in vision, mission, and implementation. Like Dorothy and her newfound friends, we work together for a common goal.

We built a platform for people to share what they wanted – personal stories, news, photos, recipes, poetry. We said, “You have a story. Please share it.” And you did. Some of the stories took a lot of courage. Some took intelligence and heart. Some were just fun, like all the great recipes. But whatever it was, it was important to you, so you shared.

We featured Range history, our unique culture and the interesting characters that make our communities special. Just when we thought we knew the Iron Range, its never-ending mysteries and bottomless resources became evident. A new-found appreciation for our heritage, friends and neighbors grew.

We’ve battled the wicked witches and the flying monkeys; the quest continues. We’ve looked behind the curtain and realized there is no wizardly magic that will guarantee our success. Our success comes from what we have inside ourselves, what you are willing to share, and support from those who believe in what we’re doing.

Well, I guess my analogy stops here: I just can’t liken Rangers to Munchkins, even though I have a friend who does a scarily good rendition of “We Represent the Lullaby League.” And she’s short, too.

Jeff and Scott didn’t want our cover story to be about Hometown Focus this week, even though it is the 2nd anniversary of our print publication. “Do something else,” they said.

No, no, no, I thought to myself. We must celebrate! We didn’t even know if we’d HAVE a second anniversary! I’m the editor and I said to them both, “Oz, take some credit!”

“It’s all about the contributors. The subscribers. The advertisers. We’d be no where without them. Write about them,” they insisted.

“I will. I will,” I promised. “But if it weren’t for you guys, there would be no platform for our contributors to share their stories and information. Someone had to build it. Don’t be so humble!”

“I’d rather not,” muttered Oz 1.

“I just don’t know,” said Oz 2.

“Look, I was right about the Chicken Edition, wasn’t I? Trust me,” I said.

In Hometown Focus, we give you a voice; we give you a choice. We believe everyone has a great story to tell. Even us. We hope you’ll join us on our journey…wherever it (i.e., you!) takes us. If you haven’t already, we’d be humbled if you’d support us with a contribution, subscription, or advertisement.

Thank you so much for our first two years.