For one year, in 1906, Felix Feneon re-wrote the news for a column in the French newspaper Le Matin, "Novellas in three lines."

In a sparse sentence or two - only three lines in a single newspaper column - he captured the march of industrialization, the scourge of rural disease and the randomness of death. He showed acts of violence and charity throughout France.

"Ouch!" cried the cunning oyster eater, "A pearl!" Someone at the next table bought it for 100 francs. It had cost 30 cents at the dime store.

What?! Children perched on his wall?! With eight rounds M. Olive, property owner in Toulon, forced them to scramble down all bloodied.

Each offers a detailed portrait. Together, they become something more, a mural of French society.

Once his year in three lines ended, Feneon left Le Matin. He opened an art gallery and discovered the postimpressionist painter Georges Seurat. He published the first French translation of James Joyce. And he remained largely silent, writing only rarely.

After his death, Feneon's literary executor found the 1906 collection his mistress had bound and published it. The work has since been hailed as a landmark in modern writing.

So, inspired by Feneon, we set out to tell the stories of York County in 2008.

We present them here, taking a moment to pause, before most of them pass from our collective memory.

Some were major news stories that stretched across the front page; others were just ordinary events, barely briefs. They are meant to unfold as a series of moments, much like life itself, strung together day by day, or like a Seurat painting - little dots making up a bigger picture.

Below is a look back at 2008; use the arrows at the bottom left to flip your way through from month to month. And check out Short stories: 2009 in three lines, which will be updated weekly as the year progresses.