to current and former Milroy residents, Rae Ann Flesner has decided to relax a little
By Per Peterson
How long has Rae Ann Flesner been in charge of bringing current and former Milroy residents the monthly dose of news and tidbits? To put her impressive longevity into perspective, she used to save her work on floppy disks.
“Since 1982 — how many years is that?” Flesner quipped about her work with the beloved Milroy Community News.
For the record, it’s 39 years. Thirty-nine years of filling people’s mailboxes and P.O. boxes with all the happenings, schedules, school information, council news, church news and anything else she has been able get her hands on, including photos of local graduates and other images.
Now, after all those years of gathering and sharing the local news, Flesner has decided to turn over the Milroy Community News reins to Sharri Van De Wiele.
“Francis Zupher was a retired teacher here in Milroy, and his wife was an English teacher here and he kind of got it started,” Flesner recalls. “He talked to me one time and wanted to know if we could do something for the residents. Lilian Welu piped up and said she’ll help. I really didn’t realize what I was getting into.”
The rest is history — documented history, thanks to Flesner, whose “Local Log” and so much other news has been enjoyed by some 465 current and former Milroyites. If it’s going on in or around Milroy, she knows about it and has loved letting so many friends keep track of everything Milroy.