by Frank Schroth
As of this morning, MyTownMatter is suspending publication. The decision was a difficult one. It has been a great experience, circulation has never been better, and so it is fitting to end on a high note. I’ve learned a tremendous amount, and it’s time to move on.
So thank you . . . to everyone who has had an interest over the years and gave their support: the advertisers, the commenters, and all the readers. The goal was to provide timely news and commentary about this town, our town, that was accurate, fair, and interesting. Having an active readership that would call me to task from time to time was a good thing.
Lessons learned? No one is always right, the truth is almost always grey, and action and inaction both have consequences.
In closing, please remember that this is a great town made great in part by the people who serve it. Our elected officials and the countless volunteers who serve on committees deserve our thanks. But it is our town and ultimately, we are all responsible for it.
Oh Frank, Oh No!
I never saw this coming. I am so sorry to see MyTownMatters suspended! I have enjoyed the early morning delivery of topical Milton News, Frank Matters, coverage of Town Meetings, Town Department News, Milton Reads, etc.
Thank you Frank for MyTownMatters – it was a great idea and it will be missed by my home and many homes in Milton, MA. Best wishes
Frank, it is with mixed feelings that I write this. I have come to love my town Milton in part because I learnt so much about the town from all your information and what a wealth of information you share with us. Your posts are always timely and inform , educate and entertain. It is always my first stop once the computer goes on. I cannot thank you enough for all times I have sent in requests, photos, and the like, you have been gracious and kind. I got to know you as one of the participants during the filming of Tucker Growing Forward ,the wonderful documentary you made about our beloved Tucker School. Thank you Frank for always keeping us in the know about town events, breaking news and so so much. My town will ALWAYS matter and you are a BIG reason for this. Thank you Frank, MytownMatters will go down in history as one of the best and most informative for me and for all of us who live here in Milton. Thank you!!!! Wishing you continued success in all you do. What a gift MytownMatters has been to this town.
Frank, I wish you the very best! What an amazing (and balanced) service you have done this town! Thank you for sharing your time, intellect and observations with us. I dare anyone to try and fill your shoes. It would be an impossible task.
After listening to all the bad news of the day, nothing made me sadder than to read your post . You ‘ve been a valuable source of well written ,daily information for the town . I truly wish there was something to be done to make you continue. Thank you for the hours you put in to keep us informed. You will be missed…
I want to personally thank you for your great service to the town and you have made it a better place! We will all miss you and wish you nothing but the best. THANK YOU!!!!
Frank,
I have enjoyed your blog through the years. You did a wonderful job and will be missed.
Enjoy your freedom and best wishes.
Frank – this makes me sad, but I respect your decision and I hope that there is nothing but good in your future. You are such a tremendous resource for our community and have done so much to improve communication and the dissemination of information. 02186 My Town Matters will be missed!
I wish there were a way to persuade you differently, Frank! There won’t be an easy way to make up for the hole left by the loss of My Town Matters.
Best wishes to you and good luck in all your next endeavors.
Frank,
Perfect timing to enjoy the summer months and as your perfect end advises all Miltonites: “…it is our town and ultimately, we are all responsible for it”.
Thank you for accepting a piece of that responsibility by reporting over many, many hours of work!
Thanks, Frank. Your site has been a phenomenal addition to our town. We will all miss it terribly. Best of luck as you move on to new endeavors.
Frank, this comes as a bit of a shock. I love 02186 and you have provided a wonderful and enjoyable service to the town. I hope all goes well and that you will stay very involved in all kinds of town matters.
Frank,
So sorry to hear this news. You have created a large following that will truly miss you and your fabulous work.
Best wishes in the next chapter. Kris
I definitely won’t be as informed on Milton now that 02186 won’t be publishing. It and you will be missed.
Frank –
I’m sorry to hear that you won’t be continuing to publish MTM. It has been an invaluable resource for our community and by far the best source for local news reporting. Thank you for all you’ve done to make Milton a better place. I know you’ll continue to contribute your efforts around town and I wish you the best with everything.
Pete
Frank, MTM has meant so much to so many of us in Milton. Thank you for the endless hours you spent at meetings, events, social gatherings, and more, and for delivering the news to our computers, tablets, and phones. We appreciate it all, and look forward to the next chapter… maybe a book?
Frank, Thank you so much for providing such a great site for our town. May the future hold many good things for you and I shall miss clicking on each morning to see what has taken place in Milton and what is to come. Carolyn Savage
Frank,
I still remember the day when you came into our office to meet with us about your future endeavor, My Town Matters. We loved the idea and jumped on board immediately. You have been a wealth of knowledge for all including those who grew up in the town to newcomers. You have spent countless hours (I can still picture you scribbling away at our late night warrant committee meetings) educating the town at the most local level possible. Our community has been so lucky to have you as a resource. I will sadly miss reading your blog every morning but wish you the very very best and I am so glad our paths crossed.
Thank You,
Carolyn
My wife and I bought in Milton 2 years ago. Knowing I wasn’t a Townie, I have invested heavily in most public resources. We wanted to be a part of one of the best town’s in America for raising kids. Joined this, attended that, PTO, library etc.
No singular resource, no posting, or association has made me feel more a part of Milton than daily reading, and enjoying MY TOWN Matters. Frank I wish you well. I hope that you might pass the baton to someone. I am certain your readership would continue to support what you started.
It is immeasurable the role you played in making feel a part of Milton. In some ways more Townie, than true townies who take Milton for granted. Irene and I will remain grateful.
Peace.
Thank you, Frank, for all of your hard work. I know how time- and emotionally- consuming this can be. The residents of Milton all appreciate it, but when the balance gets out of whack, it’s time to move on. Enjoy your time off!
I’m saddened by this news; you always kept me and many more in Milton up to date on the salient issues. You have truly made me a better-informed member of our community, and I’m truly grateful for all of your hard work.
Frank, I am saddened to hear this news. MyTownMatters has been the go-to source for daily Milton news and fair commentary about happenings in our town. I looked forward to reading your articles each morning. You spent a tremendous amount of time covering meetings of so many town boards and committees during the past few years. Milton is better for the time, efforts and talent that you brought to MyTownMatters. You will be greatly missed. I wish you and Annie all the best in your future endeavors. Thank you for MyTownMatters and all of your hard work these past few years.
Sad news Frank that you are ceasing publication on your outstanding local Milton web blog MyTownMatters02186. Frank, it may be true for you that ‘ it is time to move on..’. but where will we now go to find the latest updates about Milton politics which is never ending. Unlike the cable outlet that professes to be “Fair and balanced” but never is your MyTownMatter02186 has always been ‘ fair and balanced. I don’t know what your next venture will be but I am sure it will also be as successful as MyTownMatters02186. Thanks for a great run Frank!
Thank you so much for your invaluable contribution to our town, Frank. Wishing you the very best in all your future endeavors. Your blog will be greatly missed.
Frank,
Oh no! Your column provided so much to the Town of Milton. Thank you for the countless hours you devoted to keeping the rest of us posted….your column was the first place I turned for the all of Milton’s “breaking” news. Thank you! Thank you! Thank You!
Frank – I am very sorry to read this. Your blog has been the key news source for all things Milton in the Palmer household. Having an unbiased, up-to-date news outlet has been invaluable. Thank you for all you have done for our town and best wishes to you and Annie with whatever the future holds.
For me, My Town Matters has been akin to The Pennsylvania Gazette for the 21st Century, offering our Town, news, information, a forum for different points of view, analysis of more than one side of an issue, and even cartoons. Best of luck to you and Annie, Frank, and remember, though the publisher of that 18th Century broadsheet had quite a quite a series of second, third, and fourth acts, he always referred to himself as “B. Franklin, Printer.”
We are so grateful to you for keeping us informed about Milton in a timely and most interesting fashion. MTM will be sorely missed. Wishing you well in your future endeavors. Mike and Sue Spinelli
Frank,
Very sad to hear that you are signing off. I don’t know the back story, I just hope you and your family are well and this is a decision that will make your life better. The countless number of hours you have spent at the meetings of town boards trying to get the story and your perspective out is remarkable. You should get the “I love Milton Award”! You truly love the people of this community and it showed in this great online publication. Your probably selling it to Google for some undisclosed outrageous sum so you can retire in the Cayman Islands. We will miss the emails in the the early morning and all the great links you provided to other news articles about Milton and it’s people. We will miss the great service you provided to organizations posting their events on the Milton Non-Profit calendar.
I hope the time that you have freed up in your life provides you with the opportunity to pursue any other passions that you may have put to the side to provide this great service to our community. I look forward to many more conversations in person or over the phone in the years to come. It has been a pleasure getting to know you and I truly wish you the best going forward.
What a Country! What a Town! What a positive difference you have made for Milton.
Brian Kelley
I was saddened to read your post, Frank. I have come to rely on Milton Matters for all my Milton news. I appreciate your hard work on this site. You did a fantastic job of keeping me informed and I am so grateful. I will miss your site…
Frank, I am suddened by the suspension of the MyTownMatter operation, and it will be missed. Thank you for all of the hard work that you have done to keep us all informed. Whatever your new ventures might be I wish you well.
Thank you again!
Oh dear! I, too, have really enjoyed getting my daily news reports from you– along with the photos and poems. I will miss it!
Good luck,
Annie
I will miss My Town Matters so much! Thank you for your devotion to this site – it was a reflection of all that is great about Milton. Best wishes to you.
Frank — Your insightful commentary will be sorely missed. Thank you for years of yeoman’s work, attending meetings and getting the facts out to so many of us. Best of luck on your next adventure.
Tony Cichello
Frank
Your coverage provided an immeasurable addition to our town’s connection to events, ideas and culture. I am really saddened and surprised to learn about this. I want to thank you for all of your efforts and leadership over the years. I imagine that you will be participating in our town’s civic life in new ways in the future, and I look forward to seeing how that unfolds. Best of luck and see you in the ‘hood!
Oh my goodness, Frank. This makes me incredibly sad! You are my “go-to” for everything Milton!!! You have been such an amazing resource to me and the town as a whole. I can’t thank you enough for all you have done. Your departure from this format will undoubtedly leave an enormous hole in the communication process for so many of us! We’ll have to work very hard to overcome this loss. Please know how much I appreciate everything you have done in these past several years, and that I wish you much success, love, friendship and peace in whatever your next chapter holds. My best to you.
OMG Frank! We’ll miss you and this wonderful space so much! Thanks for all you’ve done to bring this town together. All the best to you and the family!
Frank that you for all of your work in making these posts and keeping us up to date on happenings in Milton. It must have taken a great deal of your time and will be missed. Best wishes with whatever you now do.
I’m so sad that my daily connection to your fine venture, Frank, is now ending. I join the numerous others who thank you for the endless hours you have devoted to such a valuable, and fun, Milton asset. I know you and Annie will keenly enjoy more free time and wish you the best in whatever the future blows your way.
Dear Frank, I will sorely miss your wonderful commentaries. You’ve kept us up to date on everything from the Wildcat games to the Selectman’s decisions to the results of Town Meeting and fun events at the library. I get it! You finally need to sleep.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Dear Frank,
Say it isn’t so! I just moved back to the Milton area after growing up here. I just recently found our about your site and looked forward to your wonderful and informative updates on Milton everyday.
You and your reporting will be missed.
Thank you for keeping us all informed.
Sincerely,
Susan M. Coffey
Frank
Was so shocked to read you are ceasing to do MY TOWN MATTERS, we will miss you
and all the good work you did in reporting, good luck.
Thank You Frank!!!
Frank – You will be missed. I’m sorry to see this go away. I have told so many people about your website. You did such a great job. I only wish you the best. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I love this website of yours and will miss it! Thank you for all of your efforts. It is very impressive how often and quickly you respond to the news of our town. I actually read you every morning before the Boston Globe! What is next?
Echoing all the good things people have said about you and your blog. Who will fill the gap?
This site has been such a valuable resource to the community and I will miss my check on the day’s events. Thank you for your hard work in putting all of this together and best wishes for your next endeavor!
Frank, You’ve been so wonderful about sharing information and giving residents a platform for real time exchanges of opinion on so many important issues. The discontinuance of MTMs will leave a huge void in Milton news and community engagement. Thank you for all of your hard work. It was no doubt a labor of love to sit through all of those meetings! I wish you well in future endeavors and look forward to chatting again very soon. Best, April & family
Frank,
I have been a faithful reader of “My Town Matters” since I discovered you a few years ago. I don’t think I’ve ever missed a day. It’s quick, informative and you had it all covered. I especially enjoyed your “Photo of the Day”. Thank you and best of luck.
Jean Peterson
What a shock this is! Everything has already been said, but I am also very sad to hear that My Town Matters will no longer be publishing. Your site has been our source of all things Milton for so long now. You’ve not only provided all of the information that we’ve needed, but in a truly humane and balanced way. Whenever we have a question about anything taking place in Milton “Let’s check Frank’s blog!” has been our mantra.
All of the very best – and thank you for your tremendous service to this community!
Say it isn’t So!”
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You…. for all you have done. I suppose it’s true that All things must pass, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Wishing you good health and some extra time to enjoy with friends and family.
Please just tell me this doesn’t mean you are moving away!