Welcome to the Mansfield Record!

By Amanda Rogers

Mansfield Record

It’s funny how things seem to come full circle.

Mansfield, Texas, was incorporated Aug. 23, 1890, with 418 residents. The name of the local newspaper was the Mansfield Record.

Today, I’m launching the online newspaper, Mansfield Record, dedicated to serving more than 70,000 residents of the city of Mansfield and the Mansfield ISD.

There were newspapers in Mansfield before the original Record, and several newspapers after, including the Mansfield News-Mirror, where I served as editor for a dozen years. It wasn’t my first foray into the city. On my first trip, I was promoting the Hometown Star, a community section of the Arlington Star-Telegram, and Mansfield was in our coverage.

I attended a candidate forum at the Walnut Creek Country Club, hosted by the Mansfield Area Chamber of Commerce. I wound up seated next to then-candidate and future mayor David Harry. What was interesting about this is that years later, I would interview David multiple times and we would carpool our kids to summer camp.

My next trip was to buy a house – our dream home after moving across three states for the first 12 years of our marriage. We found our home and soon settled into small-town life. My kids joined Cub Scouts, we began attending a local church and started volunteering at the kids’ schools.

By the time I became editor of the News-Mirror in 2005, I thought I knew Mansfield. I had grown up in a small community in Arkansas, and Mansfield reminded me of home.

I was soon to learn a lot more about the city’s history (thanks to Fran Nifong, Vern Raven and the members of the Mansfield Historical Society), the politics, who was related to who, and the future. New business and what’s coming next were some of our most popular stories – and there was a lot to report, including Big League Dreams, Hawaiian Falls, the Shops at Broad and dozens of new schools.

And we all fell in love. After years of wandering, my Detroit-born husband, three sons and I fell for the small-town charm, Texas sunsets, Blue Bell ice cream, bluebonnets and a group of friends that seemed to grow every day.

We got involved with Mansfield Cares, Common Ground, Habitat for Humanity, Boy Scouts and started the World’s Only St. Paddy’s Pickle Parade & Palooza. We met so many wonderful people, some who now have Mansfield ISD schools named for them. When the new football stadium was being built, we asked for a tour and then-Superintendent Vernon Newsom showed up to show us around the facility that now bears his name. We learned about the history of Juneteenth and found the best food in town.

After getting laid off from the News-Mirror in 2017, I quickly found another job thanks to friends, but still felt adrift. I missed my Mansfield friends and contacts. The News-Mirror stopped publishing last year, leaving a void in local news.

So today, I’m coming home, back to Mansfield. One hundred thirty years later, the Mansfield Record will publish again, covering the city’s past, present and future. The website will be free, paid for (hopefully) by advertising. If you are interested in sharing stories, purchasing an ad or donating to independent journalism, contact me at editor@mansfieldrecord.com.

I would appreciate your good thoughts, your prayers and your support. Read and share our articles, buy from our advertisers.

Let’s do this!

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