CITY LIGHTS:

Two weeks ago, I spent the night in Cawker City, Kan., a minuscule town in the north of the state whose main claim to fame is boasting the world’s largest ball of twine. It was my latest random vacation around the United States — every so often, I pluck a quarter out of my change bag and visit whatever state appears on the back — and when I read about the massive twine ball in my Kansas guide book, I knew I had to see it up close.

As it turned out, Cawker City was one of the strangest, eeriest places I’ve ever visited; the only competition would be the California ghost towns I saw years ago, and even those came equipped with gift shops.

Cawker City, which boasts a population of a few hundred, does indeed have a huge ball of twine (though years of gravity have made it closer to a mound) and a collection of paintings on the main thoroughfare that feature a twine ball in some way or another. And in terms of vitality, that’s about it. The rest of the town looks as shattered as if a tornado had just passed through it, with abandoned storefronts, crumbling buildings and jagged weeds poking through the sidewalk.

Of the few businesses still open in town, though, one is a weekly newspaper, the Cawker City Ledger, which covers the town and a pair of neighboring ones.

The Ledger has no website, so I can’t say what its content is like, but I learned long ago that no town, however small, suffers from a lack of stories. In every new business, there’s a tale of hope; in every closing one, there’s a tale of hard luck. Every school has its promising students; every political race has its ins and outs. And every community has its culture, which, in Cawker City, consists largely of the Twine-A-Thon games every summer.

So I’m sure the staff of the Ledger has its hands full every week. That said, if I had to choose between covering Cawker City and Huntington Beach, I would gladly pick the latter. So it’s with promise and anticipation that I take the reins this week as the new city editor of the Huntington Beach Independent.

As a reporter and editor for the Daily Pilot for several years, I rubbed elbows occasionally with Huntington Beach, and I know it to be one of Orange County’s richest and most varied communities.

On one hand, it’s considered by some to be the pinnacle of American surfing culture; on the other hand, it contains some of Orange County’s premier wetlands and the region’s only Germanic shopping center.

It’s the home of KOCE-TV, Golden West College and more punk bands than I can name. Moreover, it’s the domain of Candice Baker, one of Times Community News’ veteran reporters, who’s been shouldering most of the writing burden for the last few weeks as we interview intern candidates.

In stepping in as city editor, I am taking the place of Jennifer Frehn, who departed earlier this year to teach English at a university in Peru. During her years at Times Community News, Jennifer was the model of poise, calm and professionalism, which leaves me with a tough act to follow. Regardless, I wish her well in her new endeavor, and I know she will excel in whatever path she takes.

As for me, I hope to meet a lot of you in the coming weeks and hear your stories. So if you’ve been building that twine ball in your backyard for the last few years, now’s the time for your close-up.

City Editor MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at [email protected].