Hey there, neighbor.

I’m so glad you found The Line, The Assembly Network’s newest newsletter connecting Cary, Apex, and other parts of Western Wake County.

If we haven’t met yet, I’m Sarah Day Owen Wiskirchen (you can call me Sarah Day). I’m a six-year resident of Cary and, perhaps more importantly, an enthusiast of this community. I am raising my kids here, I volunteer here, I love our vibrant downtowns, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

I’ll be bringing you news, cultural coverage, and conversations about this place we call home in editions delivered to your inbox weekly—then growing in frequency.

You can expect spotlights of local restaurants and things to do, mixed in with town council coverage and voices that deepen our connection to each other. I’d love a few minutes of your time filling out this survey to know what other topics you care about.

When we first started talking about the shape of this newsletter, we had to start with a name.

It was important to me to pay tribute to the history of our towns while capturing the growing, diverse communities we’ve become.

That’s how we landed on The Line.

Cary, Apex, and Morrisville are railroad-built towns. At Cary’s incorporation, the railroad warehouse was the center of the town, with boundaries extended a half-mile each direction. Apex got its name because of the railroad: “The community is situated at the highest point along a 30-mile section of the Chatham Railroad, hence the name ‘Apex,’” according to history posted on the town’s website. Morrisville, too, started as a railroad town.

Even today, railroad tracks are the throughline of our communities and historic downtowns. Who hasn’t been stuck on Academy or Harrison because of the Amtrak stop?

I believe that good local news and information help move us forward and connect us to each other, giving The Line another meaning.

In that spirit, I want this newsletter to truly serve you and provide something useful to your life.

My goal is that reading The Line will help you:

  • Engage meaningfully in decisions for how Cary, Apex, Morrisville grow.
  • Be in the know on issues that come up at your work, kids’ schools, parks, and everyday life.
  • Learn more about culture and creativity from your neighbors.
  • Meet creative people and their ideas that surprise, delight and make Western Wake a great place to live.

We have a survey here to give your initial thoughts on what’s missing from our local news ecosystem.

Take This Quick Survey!

Or, just reply to this email! I’d love to hear from you. We’re neighbors after all.

Thanks for being here.

Sarah Day Owen Wiskirchen
The Line/Guides Editor, The Assembly

P.S. Tell your friends in Cary, Apex, and Morrisville there’s a new newsletter in town 🙂

Sarah Day Owen Wiskirchen is the head of newsletters for The Assembly Network and editor of The Line.