What do Feb. 1, 1901 and the word “support” have in common? If you advertise in or read the North Kitsap Herald, quite a bit.

More than 100 years ago, this paper’s founder Peter Iverson took a chance on the residents of North Kitsap. He ventured that they would embrace his vision of establishing a true community newspaper and back the idea that it was a worthy cause. In short, that residents would support the Herald if it stayed a true course and reflected the interests of its readership.

While sometimes this is a daunting task and sometimes this paper fails to live up to every need of North Kitsap residents, we assure you that we do our absolute best here.

That said, and despite our shortcomings, we also have not forgotten why we are here — to serve the community that supports us. We contemplate this fact more deeply than most of you will ever know and with Thanksgiving tomorrow, it seemed like a good time to express our appreciation to all who peruse these pages.

If our readers ceased caring about the community, we would cease to exist. Mr. Iverson knew this in 1901 just as we know it in 2004.

Fortunately, he was correct in choosing North Kitsap as a location for this paper. We are thankful for this fact and the fact that our varied readership allows us to continue to serve it.

While we do not pretend to be all things to all people, we will continue to strive for excellence. We are proud to be a part of North Kitsap and proud to have such a fine community as readers. We are thankful for your support.