Thereâs always more to a story for Patricia Benoit.
âThe challenge of writing my (weekly âBackroadsâ column for the Telegram) is the research, but thatâs where you get the depth and the real interest,â Benoit said. âItâs not just something you rip off of Wikipedia. I go through census records, death records, old newspapers, scholarly material, books and peer-reviewed journal articles ⦠to try and find a little depth and context to it.â
Benoit emphasized how research requires patience and can often lead her to new content.
âIt always opens the door to something new,â she said. âThere was something that I wrote about 20 years ago ⦠and I looked back at the research and said âWell, thereâs a column.â There was more to the story that added a lot more depth about this womanâs life and it was from research that I had done many years ago.â