Marjorie “Bos” Vining’s daughter-in-law Cathy said the matriarch of the Vining family and the Tryon Daily Bulletin kept a sign that read, “Behind every successful man is a hardworking woman.”

The same could be said for any successful family, and in this case too, a beloved community newspaper.

Bos Vining, who alongside her husband Seth Vining Jr., helped run the Bulletin for several decades, died Saturday, July 6. (See page 11 for her obituary)

Seth and Bos moved to Tryon in 1951 after they had married and were expecting their oldest son, Seth A. Vining.

Seth and brother, Jim, said their mother was committed first and foremost to her family. In fact, they said  two of them were out of school before Bos went to work at the Bulletin.

“She would drop everything – no matter what was going on with the Bulletin – family always came first,” Jim said.

Then she headed back to the Bulletin and worked until 2 in the morning, if that is what was required, he said.

When asked why they thought their father and mother were so fiercely passionate about the production of the Bulletin, Seth said part of it certainly was about keeping the family heritage alive.

“I remember stuffing inserts right out there in that hallway,” Seth recalled as he noted that they all contributed to the Bulletin’s production in some way  in those days.

Jim said Seth Vining Jr. and Bos also felt they provided a service by connecting the community and selling the area to others.

The paper strove to positively encourage people through the news it printed and the sons believe their parents and grandfather had a lot to do with fostering a strong community feel.

Jim said, “It shows you the power of a small town newspaper.”

They wanted the good news printed, said the Vining’s youngest son David, and they presented it in shorter articles because they knew people had busy lives.

Bos, much like her husband, saved everything about community. She had an issue of a Detroit, Mich. paper that once mentioned Tryon, her sons said, and an old magazine with a piece of tape marking a feature on a local restaurant. Cathy said she even heard news about their town of Gainesville, Ga. before they would know it.

“The way they ran [the Bulletin], it was an every day commitment,” Jim said.
Seth Vining Jr. was named editor in 1968, with the transfer of the Bulletin to follow in the early 1970s.

“They were really married to this job,” said David.

So, when they retired, their sons said Bos and Seth took a number of tours to experience the sites they hadn’t had the opportunity to enjoy during all those years of hard work.

“Camp Grandmother” – the summer weeks when grandkids trekked to Tryon – was a special time for Bos, as well, her sons and daughter-in-laws said.

“She was a great mother-in-law and she devoted everything to being a grandmother and great-grandmother,” Pat Vining, Jim’s wife, said. “She was always there for us – if we needed help with something she was there.”

The Bulletin came a close second in Bos’ life, but never first, her sons said of her commitment to being a mother, grandmother and eventually, great-grandmother.