On the road of life, Vanessa's a must stop

There's a new baby in the house, and you want everybody to see how beautiful this child is...

Just yesterday those children were babies, but now they're getting engaged...

Where did the time go? Seems like the wedding was yesterday, and here we are together 50 years...

The death seems sudden, and we understand we can't have life without death. Still, telling it's difficult...

Vanessa Van Natta has been typing up all this information for nearly 10 years at the News-Gazette, some of it coming in on napkins and written with a dull pencil.

"I know every snippit of information is critical to the people who want a facet of their lives recorded," Van Natta said. "But it can sometimes get a bit harried when I have to fit all of it into limited space on my pages. That's why I need about three tablespoons of coffee on deadline day."

Van Natta gets her pages on Tuesday and Friday mornings, and she has to have it together and ready for the printer by the end of either day. "Deadlines are unforgiving, so it can get hectic around this desk," she said.

"On some days, it doesn't pay to kid around with me, but I can usually manage to get the basic information onto the page."

Van Natta handles the Family, Community, Worship, Classified and Datebook sections of the paper. "My desk sometimes looks like a tornado just passed through, but I know where everything is...

"Well... most of the time, anyway!" she said.

Van Natta said she understands how important the information she's handling is, "and I try to get it in the paper just the way they want it.

"It's rewarding to share all the ups and downs of people's lives. My job makes me feel connected to my community in an integral way.

"I do like my job," she said. "And the paycheck buys pretty dresses and precious playtoys for my one granddaughter, making all the work worth it!"