Please enjoy The Best of 2023

Inserted into this week’s issue, you will find our annual “The Best Of” special edition, which as the name would suggest, presents to you “The Best” things that happened in both Custer and Hill City last year. One caveat is that there are a few entries that weren’t necessarily one of the best things that happened, but were so significant they should definitely be mentioned.
We started these special pieces a year ago. As I recall, the piece was the idea of former owners Norma and Charley Najacht, who thought it would be a more fun, lighthearted way to present all the things that took place during the last calendar year. Think of it as a year in review that is a little more fun than the normal year in review that was all copy.
We remember years ago when we did the year in review the other way;  many times it rubbed people the wrong way. We used to call it the “highlights of the year,” but when we printed it and there was something negative in there, sometimes people would call us and point out that there were certain things within the story that couldn’t exactly be called a highlight or positive. And, they were right. So, we just changed the name to the Year in Review, and ran it that way, with both the good news and the bad news. That’s because, years from now, it will be important to remember when something took place, regardless of how bad it was. Bad history is still history.
That’s why, even though we have a new format, we still mention some of the more controversial or negative things that happened during the year. It was still significant, and it should still be remembered. For the most part, however, we think you’ll find the issue is positive and a keepsake that you can hang on to remember the year that was in 2023 in both the Southern and Central Hills.
As always, this special section could not be made possible without our advertisers. In fact, none of the special issues we produce are possible without our advertisers. We can write all the stories, take all the photos, and do all the layout, but without our sponsors supporting us, it’s not feasible to get done. So, if you like “The Best,” do us a favor and thank the advertisers within the pages. We will never stop showing our appreciation to those who support us. That of course includes you, the readers. To us, you’re all the best.
Custer and Hill City both have so much going on, and it’s pretty easy to fill up a 56-page issue showing all the great things that took place in the past year. As far as we’re concerned, they truly are the the best places you can find in the Black Hills.