They Rise When the Sun Sets
Story by Leah Larson
Photography by Paul Riley
Panera Bread
It is a little after 3 a.m. and, though the lights are off in most Harrisonburg businesses, Panera is aglow.
Cherif Ndiaye, the baker for the night, pulls out a rack of trays filled with loaves and bread bowls and places it next to the other racks to cool off. The aroma of pastries and other baked items permeates the room.
Ndiaye, a native of West Africa, has been working at Panera for three years, coming in at 10 p.m. and baking until 6 a.m. Although sometimes another person helps him, tonight he is alone and constantly on the move, running through several processes at once. Except for the clanging of pans and oven doors, he works silently.
As soon as he separates the dough into different loaves, he places them in the deck oven and then heads over to check on the bagels in the rack oven, where most of the sweeter items are being made.
“In one night, I can make about 2,500 things,” he admits. This is no small feat, considering all the different breads — for both for whole loaves and sandwiches — and pastries he has to make so that they’re ready for customers the next day.
Harrisonburg Rescue Squad
The Harrisonburg Rescue Squad station, located next to Sheetz on Reservoir Street, is yet another building that never sleeps. Run by Chief Brandon Peavy, it is considered one of the busiest rescue programs in the state. “It’s not a small town at all,” Peavy says.
The rescue squad, started in 1949, currently has about 90 active members. In the station’s main entrance are two showcases filled mostly with trophies. They’ve won so many competitions that there’s not enough room for their awards, and some have to be thrown away, according to Peavy.
But what makes this squad different from many others is that all of the members are volunteers. Although many of them are students, the squad is also made up of members of the community.
“Some of the reasons I volunteer for the Rescue Squad are for personal satisfaction, and to help out the community,” Chief Peavy says. “This is one of the best ways to do it.”
A minimum of 30 hours a month is required by each volunteer, but most end up putting in much more. There are bunkrooms on the second floor to allow members to get some rest while on the night shifts.
But as soon as the alarm sounds, everyone is downstairs and ready to go, whether the call is for a brush fire or a car accident. One thing is certain — others in the Harrisonburg community can sleep a little bit easier knowing that the rescue squad is on the job.
Because this organization is run by volunteers, donations are greatly appreciated. They can be made out to the Harrisonburg Rescue Squad and sent to 1700 Reservoir St., Harrisonburg, Va. 22801, or to P.O. Box 1477, Harrisonburg, Va. 22801.
Daily News-Record
“We usually come in between 7 and 7:30 p.m.,” says Wilda Knight, a member of the Daily News-Record pre-press staff. “We don’t leave until we’re done, which is usually around 3 a.m., but sometimes it’s later.”
The presses are already running at 1 a.m at the DNR. The press prints about 35,000 papers a night, going through around four sets of paper rolls, each weighing 1,000 pounds.
But the DNR doesn’t print just its own newspaper. On Sunday and Wednesday nights, James Madison University’s student newspaper, The Breeze, gets printed there as well. Five weeklies normally get printed on Tuesday nights, and the Hispanic paper Uproots gets printed on Wednesdays. Needless to say, the press is almost always running.
It is a process that involves about 40 people, including editors, reporters, the people working the pressroom and a distribution team.
The press itself is an enormous machine, loudly working through the night. One almost has to yell in order to be heard above the whir and noise of the press. Once the paper has been assembled, it comes out into the next room on a conveyor belt where the advertising sections are added. Afterward, the papers are separated into different sections, depending on whether they are to be mailed or distributed to other businesses.
While the newspaper is being printed, another important task is being performed upstairs: updating the Web site. Each night, the site has to be changed and updated to reflect the top stories and other features that will appear in the next day’s paper.
The DNR, which can run up to about 48 pages, is usually done printing by 4 or 4:30 a.m. Although bad weather could make paper delivery impossible, or should something happen to their printing press, the paper is always printed, even if someone has to go to Staunton to get the job done. Knight, who has been working at the DNR since 1967, attests to this: “There’s never been a day we’ve never gotten the papers printed.”