The first issue of the Schulte Daily landed on doorsteps in mid-March.
Its editor, publisher and chief reporter, Joshua Schulte, now 13, also served as paperboy.
He was a sixth grader at Lux Middle School then and, like all of his classmates, he was learning at home.
His first issue reflected that news: “LPS Schools closed Indefinitely due to the Coronavirus.â€
He noted the outbreak: “Coronavirus keeps Kids in their Houses.†And the number of deaths in the United States: 100.
On Page 2, he urged readers to wash their hands, cough into their elbows, refrain from touching their faces, keep their distance and stay home when sick.
On Day 1 of the newspaper, that seemed like all the news that was fit to print.
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But Joshua was just getting started. The enterprising boy had more to share with his seven subscribers.
“I’ve always liked writing newspapers,†Joshua said last week. “Sometimes I would make a newsletter that I give to my family, but this one got bigger.â€
Why? He had more time, for one thing. And there was a lot going on in the news.
By May, his scope had increased to include the weather, a “Joshin’ with Joshua†column — texted questions, answered in an upcoming issue — and profiles of neighbors, including a two-part look at the life of Dan Lehman, an LPS bus driver with a bucket list that included visiting all the national parks and traveling the Camino Trail with his wife. “They could actually die on the trail,†reporter Schulte noted.
The Daily has since become a weekly, fewer issues but more pages. Issue 72 came out the week before Christmas and the paper is on hiatus until after New Year’s Day.
“My goal is 100 issues by the one-year anniversary,†Joshua said.
Joshua’s dad’s name is Matt. He turned 41 this year, duly noted in the Schulte paper. (He is also a former LPS school board member, duly noted here.)
Joshua’s mom is Kristin, who received a shoutout for her homemade peach pie after Joshua and his sister Susannah’s piano recital in May, under the headline: “Piano Recitals.â€
The paper is wonderful, said longtime subscriber Jess Hustad, whose house backs up to the newspaper publisher’s family.
The paper arrives on Saturday now and the whole family rushes to read it.
“When Joshua pulls up on his bike, it’s a roar in the house,†she said.
One week, they were having trouble finding out what time the Husker game came on and another cry arose: Check the Schulte Weekly!
The weather, ditto.
Fun facts about Beethoven on his birthday? The Schulte Weekly.
Army Facts is a new feature, and two of Joshua’s younger siblings — Susannah and Micah — have also penned guest columns. (Rebekah, the youngest, remains a faithful reader.)
When the family got a dog, a special issue rolled out.
“There are a lot of headlines about Tucker the puppy,†Hustad said.
She called the young newspaperman kind-hearted and loving, responsible and super-balanced.
“He did a great job through the election telling us what was going on in the news,†Hustad said. “And trying to be nonpartisan.â€
Hustad's husband, Erik, co-owner of Honest Abe’s, has advertised in the weekly, as has the Schultes’ church and a local honey business; $5 for two weeks.
Joshua has also plugged a side project in the paper, his 80-page book “The Hazelton Chronicles: A Christmas Case,†a fictional tale set in a fictional town 4 miles north of London, on sale for $5 and available on Kindle.
His editorial advice on Page 4 of the Dec. 19 issue of the Schulte Weekly: “Get it now! Talk to Joshua Schulte and he can help you out with the deal.â€
FIVE CINDY LANGE-KUBICK COLUMNS FROM THE PAST YEAR:
Five Cindy Lange-Kubick columns from an upside-down year
Columns from an upside-down year: Soups and scones
This story is about nostalgia -- so many of us, packed so close together in the pursuit of good soup and scones. It gives me hope that those days will return.
Columns from an upside-down year: Remembering Chuck E. Cheese
Sometimes it's the little things that put a lump in your throat, like not knowing that the last time you took your sweet grandson to the germ-infested arcade parlor he loved would be the last time.
Columns from an upside-down year: Dying alone
So much pain during the pandemic, but none worse than the grief of families and health care workers as so many die alone in the hospital.
Columns from an upside-down year: An ugly baby?
Who doesn't love an ugly baby story?
Columns from an upside-down year: The Angel in Room 255
A story about hope and goodness and friendship at a time when people needed to hear about the angels of this world.