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If you have been by our office on Water Avenue, you have seen all of the construction to preserve and renovate our historic building at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

I have to say, Steve Romein is doing a great job of getting our building looking good again, and I cannot wait to see the final product of our offices here on the second floor of the Selma Times-Journal building. 

As you know, whether you’re moving out of a building so that you can make room for the new in a renovation project, you know that you have to go through a lot of stuff to see what you’re going to keep and what you’re not going to keep. So in the last few weeks, we have been doing that here at the Selma Times-Journal. 

Obviously, there are a lot of things we have been tossing out. Some of it is going to the shredder that contains sensitive records that would contain private information. Other things are just plain trash that we have been putting in the dumpster outside.

However, there have been a few items that could be classified as treasure while cleaning out my closet. We have found some old pictures and artwork of our fair building over the years. We have found things like an old style guide from probably 20 years ago or more that shows how a page designer is supposed to lay out the pages each edition (probably something we need to update in 2024).

There are old satchels and briefcases that belong to some of our previous publishers and owners that we are trying to reconnect with their families.

And of course, since we’ve been at this location for more than a century, there are a lot of newspaper clippings, papers and even some “collectors” items that contain a notorious goof or two. (Yes, we do occasionally make mistakes.)

One of the most interesting finds was a scrapbook that contains all kinds of goodies that I am looking forward to reading through. Just briefly glancing at it, it contains a few notes from people like Kathryn Windham Tucker, clippings of Times-Journal stories during the Civil Rights Movement and other historic events through the years. I hope after looking through those items that I can share more of it with you and find ways to display it here at the Times-Journal. 

With my stuff, I look through stuff and find some really interesting stuff. That always seems to slow down the cleaning process. Sure it makes it take longer, but it’s nice to take a step back and look at stuff when you find something interesting. Perhaps, you have a way to showcase that item in another way when you get done with the renovation process.

No one loves taking time to go through your stuff and sort what to keep and give away, but it’s worth it to me when you find a neat treasure.

Brent Maze is the publisher of The Selma Times-Journal. He can be reached at brent.maze@selmatimesjournal.com.