In uncertain economic times, it’s natural to anticipate the worst. That’s why we’re fearing the unexpected market shutdown of the Otis Mill in Jay and Livermore Falls, which has placed 90 people out of work for three weeks.

One of the historic mill’s paper machines was already scheduled for permanent closing; No. 10’s shutdown put 150 people out of work Sunday. Now the other machine, No. 11, is quiet for the holidays, with a hopeful return in the new year.

Our hope is that the market recovers sooner, so the families around Livermore and Jay who depend upon that mill can greet the new year with more certainty about the future.

The Otis Mill is an institution. It was once the largest newsprint maker in the world, and was the acorn from which the mighty oak of International Paper eventually grew. That mill has put food on the table for generations of workers, and still should.

In the past, these “market shutdowns” were commonplace. Now, with all the bad economic news floating around, the phrase carries a whole new meaning.

But we’re hopeful. Hopeful, because that mill hasn’t lasted as long as it has, through boom and bust times, through luck alone. It’s thrived because it makes good products, by the hands of good people, whose skill and experience are pretty much irreplaceable.

We’re hopeful, too, that our elected leaders have had enough of watching industries shutter in this state and will see what preventive measures can be taken to ensure the mill’s continuing prosperity, if anything.

Now, we’re realistic, too. The economy is bad and industry across America is struggling, to the point where the Big Three automakers are spending more time in Washington than Detroit. It certainly is upheaval, and none of it is good.

That’s why it’s expected to expect the worst with this shutdown. With everything else that’s happening, nothing can be taken for granted. But this mill, and its communities, have been through similar times and emerged fine on the other side.

We’re hopeful this will happen again. While it will be strange to see the Otis Mill quiet, for the first time in a while, this break will only be memorable if it’s a harbinger of things to come.