In the early years, working at the newspaper often required a lot of heavy lifting, dirty work, and long monotonous hours setting type, nonetheless, Hoverud said the staff always managed to find time to have fun. The fun often came as a result of a practical joke either on each other, or Merrill.

"There were so many funny things that would happen," she said.

In fact, there was one practical joke Stan Behl played on Merrill that still makes Hoverud laugh today.

"Mrs. Merrill was walking up the steps and Stan (Behl) crawled up behind and cut her slip," said Hoverud. "I’ll never forget that."

Hoverud did temporarily leave the Times in 1999 in order to work at the Minnewaska Lutheran Home to collect social security and health insurance, but she returned to the Times just two weeks later on a part-time basis.

"I’ve always liked my job here and I’ve never regretted working here," she said.

Working for five different publishers, countless employees, and even a change in location, change has become a commonality for Hoverud at the Times. However, no change was bigger than the change in technology and in turn, the way the paper is put together each week.
"We went from an old press to one click of the mouse," she said.

In the 70s, the Times staff used a justowriter to set its text. A few years later technology improved to allow the newspaper to buy a compugraphic, which allowed Hoverud to type text in columns. The text was then printed onto paper, cut apart and pasted together like a puzzle on wax paper before being sent to the printer.

Today the paper is essentially sent directly from the computer over the internet to the printer.

Though she could have retired nearly a decade ago, Hoverud answers one of the most commonly asked questions, about whether retirement is in her future, the same way.

"What would I do if I sat at home alone," she said. "Besides I love the trivia page and I love the people who contribute to the trivia page."

In fact if the full-blooded Norwegian and lifetime Starbuckian has anything to say about it, she will remain behind the desk she has called home for the past half century for as long as she can see and think straight.

"They’re going to have a hard time getting rid of me," she said.