In several years of writing for Town Crossings, I have met and talked to countless people from Boxford and North Andover, each with a different story. I am thankful for each one.

As I sit down to write for the last issue of Town Crossings, the song "So Long, Farewell" from "The Sound of Music" is running through my head. I am flooded with memories from the past three years: of school classrooms I've visited; Memorial Day parades and ceremonies I've covered; veterinarians, cooks, mail carriers, travel agents and other professional's I've profiled; the good work done by nonprofit organizations, Scout troops and churches.

One of my favorite things to cover was the annual Apple Festival in Boxford each year (save the date; it's coming up on Saturday, Sept. 20). The festival is a chance to see Boxford's East Village come alive, and just about every organization, craftsperson, local history aficionado and child in town is involved in some way. Organized by the Boxford Historical Society, it truly is a quintessential New England event.

The day that stands out the most in my mind is when I met Connor Ciesielski, a North Andover 6-year-old, in April 2007. I interviewed Connor and his parents, Paul and Lisa Ciesielski, as they celebrated Connor's five-year anniversary of being cancer-free after having been diagnosed with leukemia at 22 months old. Connor had saved up his allowance to buy 48 chocolate Easter bunnies, which he delivered with his dad to patients on the oncology floor of Children's Hospital in Boston. When I went to shake Connor's hand after the interview, he gave me a hug instead.

Tragically, Connor passed away later that year, in July, at age 7.

Also, I will always remember my interviews with Boxford World War II Marine Corps veterans and heroes Frank Pomroy, who fought on numerous Pacific islands, including in the Battles of Peleliu and Guadalcanal, and Bill Eckerson, who fought on Iwo Jima. Eckerson saw the soldiers raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi, the scene made famous by the photograph taken by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal.

One of the most gross — and smelly — assignments I ever had was when I covered Squid Day at Franklin Elementary in North Andover. Part of the fifth grade's science curriculum on invertebrates, Squid Day is, er, celebrated each year at Franklin, and students conduct a squid parade through the school, wear hats they've designed that look like squid, taste-test calamari and dissect squid.

I was in a Franklin fifth-grade classroom for the Squid Day dissection in November 2006 and almost lost my lunch. The kids, on the other hand, were having a ball.

Another favorite assignment was writing about the Community Giving Tree, a nonprofit organization started by two Boxford moms to connect the "haves" and the "have-nots." Leslie Levenson and Betty Obernesser pour numerous volunteer hours into the West Boxford-based organization, which collects clothes and other supplies to be distributed to local social workers and other charities. They are currently collecting school supplies; find out more at www.communitygivingtree.org.

Every Town Crossings story has been special, and I have many more "favorites," too many to mention here. I believe community newspapers connect neighbors and town residents in a way no other media outlet can, and I thank you for opening your lives and sharing your stories with me these past three memorable years.

Going forward, I will be covering Andover and writing for the Andover Townsman, another weekly community paper owned by the Eagle-Tribune Publishing Co.