When I called the Saranac Lake Rescue Squad during my blood clot scare on Sept. 6, 2017 — putting together the Lake Placid News from my home on a Wednesday deadline — Cathy was there at my door. I called her to let her know I couldn’t finish my final pages, and she was in my living room before I knew it, grabbing my laptop so I couldn’t work in the hospital and helping the EMTs carry me out to the ambulance.

How many bosses would do that? Not many. It’s one thing to say, “I hope you feel better,” but actions speak louder than words. And Cathy’s actions over the almost 14 years I’ve been working for Adirondack Publishing — at either the Lake Placid News or the Adirondack Daily Enterprise — have shown how much she cares about people. And animals! She’s been a huge supporter of the Tri-Lakes Humane Society.

Cathy has also given me a number of opportunities since I first walked into the Enterprise newsroom in November 1994 as the Saranac Lake reporter. I was 25 years old at the time, making a fresh transition from public radio to newspaper journalism. She helped me move up the ranks, to the LPN staff writer, ADE city editor, LPN editor and ADE managing editor before leaving in July 2001 for a job at the Adirondack Park Agency Visitor Interpretive Centers. And she gave me another opportunity to return as LPN editor in November 2013. In between my tours of duty, she gave me side hustle work as the editor of the summer and winter vacation guides for 10 years.

Cathy’s support means the world to me. She gave me a career, one to be proud of, one to cherish, as I have cherished her friendship.

Cathy is a staunch supporter of local journalism. She’s never given up on the printed word, even as more and more people read our stories online. And it’s not just the sales lady inside her; she really believes in print. And she believes the Tri-Lakes region needs the Adirondack Daily Enterprise and the Olympic Region needs the Lake Placid News — and our associated products, such as the Adirondack Vacation Guide, Adirondack Living and the Dining Guide.

Even with financial pressures during the digital age and the coronavirus pandemic — some coming from her obligations to our corporate offices to keep things afloat — she managed to keep the newspapers intact, despite some layoffs and furloughs. She knows how important local journalism is to our communities. I’d go as far as to say that — thanks to Cathy Moore’s hard work, creativity, support, and sales and management skills — we are lucky to still have our hometown newspapers. She was the backbone that held it all together.

And now she’s gone. Retired after 47 years, just shy of her 68th birthday. She stayed longer than she had planned, but it was for the good of the newspapers and the communities we serve, especially during the COVID health crisis. The pandemic presented her with the biggest challenge of her career, and — knock on wood — the newspapers are still here.

And now she’s gone. Thanks, Cathy!

We’ll keep plugging away. We’ll think about her every time we face a challenge and keep local print journalism alive — and going strong — for the Tri-Lakes communities. It’s not just a job for us, as it wasn’t just a job for Cathy. It’s a public service. And Cathy did it best.

While she’s probably getting free subscriptions to the LPN and ADE for the rest of her life — which she deserves — and may use those copies of paper on the floor to prevent paint from getting on her carpet while she dives back into the art world with all that free time, I’m sure she’ll keep a watchful eye on us. And she’ll still look out for us, support us and be there when others won’t.

As they say in Norway, “No fish without bones,” meaning nothing in life comes easy. On the hardest days, you could tell the hardships were weighing heavy on Cathy and retirement couldn’t come fast enough. But she always plugged away with a smile. She shielded us from the worst.

Three cheers to Cathy Moore. May she be happy in retirement, enjoying her time traveling and being with her family. Thanks for everything, Cathy. Until we meet again.