Today concludes a series of special sections the Williamsport Sun-Gazette has been publishing — our Then & Now sections.

We always enjoy the opportunities to share the rich history of our region with the public. We continue to believe that a better understanding of “then” can help our leaders and voters alike in deciding what our “now” should look like.

One consistent thread we find as we look back over the decades — building our communities and neighborhoods required a lot of work.

Work met the needs of families throughout our history — four housing and shelter, for food, for clothing. Work offered those families opportunities to support themselves, to most fully realize our nation’s promises of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The jobs created and filled by men and women allowed our region to build the nation — at one time, literally, as our region’s lumber industry supplied the wood for the westward expansion of our nation. And, at all times, figuratively: the free market allowed entrepreneurship to foster a middle class with the purchasing power to create more jobs and more prosperity for all classes of Americans.

As we read about the people who made our region what it was more than a hundred years ago and decades ago and just a few years ago, it was clear that a working middle class was instrumental in our region’s growth and prosperity.

Our past and present focus our attention on what our leaders must prioritize for our region’s future: Job creation and the promise of a high quality of life for every family, every man, every woman willing to work hard.

We acknowledge that there have been times — and unfortunately, still are times — when we, as a society, have lost sight of how critical employment and affordability are to a climate in which everyone has the opportunity to succeed.

We can only hope that as our nation moves beyond its first quarter-millennium, we can appreciate the vital role employment plays in giving every American a sense of investment in their community and their best opportunity for growth and resilience.