In the winter of 1998 what was then called the old Vanity Fair building sat on Cedar Avenue.

Its presence – more or less its vacancy — was not the banner of civic pride. Hundreds went jobless when that facility closed.

Then, in the spring of 1998, it all changed. In the snap of a finger – or in the scribble of a pen – the empty building was once again alive with the whirl of sewing machines.

Those jobs were back and better than ever.

Now, here in the winter of 2010, those jobs – nearly 12 years old – are on their way out again. They will likely be all gone before the facility can celebrate its 12th anniversary.

However, all is not lost.

We’ve been here before. In fact, we’ve been in this exact same spot before: charged with filling the space located along Cedar Avenue.

It’s been done before and it can, and will, be done again. City and county leadership, along with community support, are charged with bringing those jobs back, even if they come in a trickle at a time.

New Era Cap Co. was good for Demopolis, as was Vanity Fair before it. Now, it’s time to find the next good fit. We know those days are ahead.