• Peg McNicholPatch Staff Verified Patch Staff Badge

  • Plymouth-Canton, MI

Welcome to Canton Patch!

I've been in the journalism business for the better part of my career, with breaks for being a mom to my two now-grown children and helping my own parents at the end of their lives. Along the way, I graduated from the Specs Howard School and earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Wayne State University. I've been a soccer mom and a single mom, a caregiver and a dog owner.

This year, I also became the mother of a bride and now find myself happily ensconced in the Midwest, with a son in California and a daughter in Washington, DC.

In my career as a journalist, I've learned to roll, most of the time, with changes. Like almost everyone else in Michigan, changes in the last five years have changed me: Restructured out of a radio job in early 2005, I took what seemed like a big leap at the time – moving from Macomb County, where I'd lived most of my life, all the way across the state to write stories on entertainment, home, garden, science, health, religion and family for the Holland Sentinel.

Two years later, a Missouri editor recruited me to cover city and county stories. But I also covered severe flooding; devastating ice storms; bizarre sinkholes and a county commission that bickered its way to that state's Supreme Court. As challenging and fun as that job was, the marathon of having a house four states away took its toll and I moved back, just in time to be counted for the census, landing a job at my former newspaper in Holland.

Lo and behold, an editor from Detroit called just a few months later with an offer that seemed too good to be true: a job in Detroit and a significant raise. With my daughter's wedding set just months away, I leapt at the chance to be closer to family and friends and, once again, report stories in Southeast Michigan.

It was too good to be true.

Eleven days after starting at the Detroit Daily Press, 60-some coworkers and I were jobless and rather stunned.

A job loss is not the end of the world, though it can seem so. My dad made his living as a Chrysler engineer and as many as half my nine brothers and sisters have worked in an automotive-related jobs over the years. Layoffs happen.

A few months later I landed a temporary web producer job for Booth Newspapers, reporting for The Grand Rapids Press, Kalamazoo Gazette and the Muskegon Chronicle. (As an aside, having moved from Missouri and worked so briefly for two other companies, I didn't qualify for unemployment. I do believe it can be a lifeline for people and have seen it be just that for many.)

In August, Patch recruited me to be a local editor and I'm delighted to work for a company with a strong commitment to community -- not just news, but the organizations engaging people who live here and the businesses, small and large, which do the same.

I've only begun to discover Canton, so if you have suggestions, call me at 734-386-6475, email peg.mcnichol@patch.com.

Posting Activity

Plymouth-Canton|News|

Michigan Needs Law Addressing Youth Concussions

Football, hockey and other high-impact sports put young athletes at risk of debilitating injuries if concussions aren't quickly recognized and treated.

Michigan Needs Law Addressing Youth Concussions
Plymouth-Canton|News|

Patch Picks: Making a Difference

These are a few of the non-profit making a difference in the lives of Western Wayne County residents.

Patch Picks: Making a Difference
Plymouth-Canton|News|

Patch Picks: Boutiques

Five little shops that are quaint, whimsical and somehow just right.

Patch Picks: Boutiques
Plymouth-Canton|News|

And Now, a Few Words From Santa

The Jolly Old Elf shares what he's hearing from children this year, how he gets around town and what kind of pizza he likes best.

And Now, a Few Words From Santa