The paper doesn't deliver there anymore
Seven decades ago or so, when he was a boy, my father-in-law delivered the Asheville and Charlotte papers in his hometown of Columbus, N.C.
Later, after returning home from service in World War II, then college and law school, he faithfully took both papers.
Many years ago, however, the Charlotte Observer stopped home delivery in Columbus.
Now the Asheville Citizen-Times has done the same.
For the first time, Pop doesn't have a newspaper in his front yard when he gets up in the morning. And he isn't happy about it. (Don't even suggest he read the AC-T online; he's not going there.)
Asheville's about 35 miles up I-26 from Columbus. The Citizen-Times said it was losing money sending papers all that way. I don't doubt it, especially because fewer Polk County residents were taking it anyway. The economics of delivering newspapers, especially over a long distance in areas where customers are spread out, are deadly.
The Citizen-Times doesn't even have a rack at the Columbus post office. I went over there yesterday and picked up a copy of the Hendersonville Times-News for Pop. Also available is the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
The Hendersonville Times-News, edited by my Carolina journalism classmate and one-time Thomasville Times reporter Bill Moss, has improved a lot since I saw it last. Hendersonville's only about 15 miles up I-26 from Columbus, and Pop might decide to subscribe. But he's used to the Citizen-Times. After 70 years, I'd say so.
These are unsettling and challenging times for the newspaper business. It's a shame, though, that when it's harder than ever to retain our customers, a newspaper would drop a loyal reader who'd like nothing better than to keep it coming every morning.