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After 25-year run, graphic designer Lisa Vidal is moving on
Fresh out of what was then Eveleth Technical College and not far removed from her days in the classroom at Orr, Lisa Vidal walked into the Ely Echo offices for a job interview in May of 1999.
Even if she was successful, Vidal hadn’t planned on making the Echo a career.
“My plan was to work here for a year and then move back to Alaska,” said Vidal.
That possible one-year stint instead turned to several years, then 10, 20 and eventually a nearly 26-year run that ended this week.
For better than a quarter century, Vidal has worked as the Echo’s graphic artist - designing nearly all of the display advertisements that appeared in the newspaper as well as working with hundreds of customers on everything from restaurant menus to designs for a myriad of Echo printing jobs.
“We’re going to miss her skills and talents that have made the paper look better week in and week out,” said publisher Nick Wognum. “It will be very difficult to replace someone with her 25 years of experience.”
Vidal wasn’t thinking about a permanent home at the Echo when she interviewed in 1999.
“I was 20, working at the college in Eveleth as a teacher’s assistant for my graphic design instructor,” said Vidal. “He handed me a fax that came through about this job at the Echo. My job was ending at the college at that time and he said ‘you should apply.’ I needed a job so I thought I’d apply.”
Within a week, Vidal was interviewed by Wognum and his mother and then publisher Anne Swenson.
“It was a little intimidating,” Vidal recalled. “I didn’t think I would get the job, but Anne called me a few days later and said I got the job.”
When Vidal started, the Echo was still in its previous home at the corner of Sheridan Street and Central Avenue.
The Echo still had its own printing press at the time and like most newspaper operations in the country, was much larger then than it is now.
Technology was nowhere near as advanced then as it is now, and Vidal recalled working with numerous Echo staffers, including the late Jackpine Bob Cary, who was in the twilight of his career and working part-time writing editorials and outdoors features for the Echo.
“Working with Bob was interesting,” said Vidal. “He would talk Ojibwe to me and I would answer in English because I couldn’t answer in Ojibwe.”
Vidal developed a rapport with Echo customers and learned the ins and outs of the operation along the way.
“Janice Tessier taught me a lot about proofreading,” said Vidal. “And Ann Weckman showed me a lot as far as designing goes, and Anne Swenson was tough to work for but I learned a lot.”
It was in Ely where Vidal started a family, and that’s another reason why she made the Echo a long-term home.
“I thought Ely was a good place to raise my kids and it was,” said Vidal, the mother of 22-year-old Winter, 20-year-old Raven, and 15-year-old Skylar.
Vidal said her job evolved and that it involved “juggling all of the work...sometimes a lot of projects all at once, ads and brochures and trying to get them all done in a timely manner.”
“The technology (also) has changed,” said Vidal. “When I came here we were waxing and pasting and that all has changed. It’s gotten better that’s for sure.”
The downsizing of the Echo operation has brought more responsibilities, including answering phones and proofreading, and Wognum said she adjusted with the times.
“We’ll miss her working with the customers,” said Wognum. “Whether it be something simple like making copies or something more complex like designing a brochure or printer-related work. I’d say in today’s working world it’s extremely uncommon to have someone work here so long. We’re very fortunate to have employees like Lisa who has been around that long.”
As a long-tenured employee, Vidal took on greater responsibilities and that resulted in one of the more memorable - and humorous - tales of her time with the Echo.
“I’ll miss a lot, other than coming here at 3 o’clock in the morning with my Superman pajamas on, because Nick was in England and needed me to wake up his computer,” said Vidal.
But all good things eventually end and so too will Vidal’s tenure at the Echo.
She’ll soon begin work at Fortune Bay Resort Casino as a marketing production specialist.
Distance played a big role in her decision, as Vidal has commuted from Tower for the last four-and-a-half years.
“My commute will be shaved down by an hour a day,” said Vidal. “I’ll be doing their in house printing. That’s all I know.”
Vidal also has a wedding in her future, with plans to exchange wedding vows with Jason Carlson on June 7.
The Echo, meanwhile, is pondering how best to fill the sizable void that will be created by Vidal’s departure.
“At this point we’re looking at different options to see what will work best,” said Wognum. “We will miss Lisa a lot.”
The quiet-spoken Vidal said she’ll miss the “laidback” atmosphere at the Echo.
“It was a good place to work,” she said.
