Publishers Notes January 2012
This January issue of the Old Town Crier marks the 25th time we have printed a January issue. Looking back 25 years ago, not only does it seem surreal, but it also seems like it was just yesterday. We put our first issue together in December of 1987 in Dave Underwood’s dining room. Dave was my friend and business partner who passed away in January of 2007. He has been missed!
We could have been one of those stories about how the business got started in a garage, but it was a cold December…so this business got started in the dining room. We had no computer, in fact, back then we didn’t quite understand what a computer was, so we hired someone to print out galleys for us and we pasted them down on boards. We took the boards to the printer the next morning, paid for the printing with a credit card, and picked up the finished product three days later. Since we never did a business plan, we had no investment money, so we started in a hole. Thanks to our advertisers over the past 24 years, we have managed to survive.
Our first cover was of the Schooner Alexandria, which was owned by the Alexandria Seaport Foundation and upon which I proudly crewed. The Alexandria was built as a Baltic Trader back in the 1920’s and served as Alexandria’s seagoing ambassador until her sinking off of the North Carolina coast. A reproduction of that cover is on this month’s cover.
To give you an idea what it was like 25 years ago, here is a summary:
The number one song debuting in 1988 was Faith, by George Michael. The overall number one song in 1988 was Need You Tonight, by INXS. The number one country song was Addicted, by Dan Seals. People in 1988 wore funky clothes; after all, it was the era of heavy metal. Some of the more popular styles were acid washed jeans, tight mini skirts (think Kelly Bundy, in Married With Children), denim jackets (think Miami Vice), lots of pastel colors, leggings/tights/colored pantyhose, high top sneakers for the guys (rebirth of Chuck Taylor), and ankle boots for the girls. Accessories included lots of multi-pierced ears (still popular among the youngsters), and left piercing for the guys. Hairstyles for the girls were big hair with lots of hairspray and the side ponytail.
The top 5 movies in 1988 were; Diehard, A Fish Called Wanda, Bull Durham, Rain Man and Dead Ringers. Rain Man went on the win the Oscar for best picture. The most popular car was the Acrua Legend Coupe and the Integra.
After more than 8 years of fighting in Afghanistan, The Soviet Red Army begins to withdraw. Former pop singer Sonny Bono is elected mayor of Palm Springs, California. Microsoft releases Windows 2. The first National Cancer Survivors Day is held. The 1988 Summer Olympics are held in Seoul, South Korea. NASA resumes space shuttle flights, grounded after the Challenger disaster, with Space Shuttle Discovery. Super Mario Brothers 3 is released in Japan. George H.W. Bush is elected president over Michael Dukakis. Ted Turner buys Jim Crockett Promotions, known as NWA Crocket, and turns it into World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In Palmdale, California, the first prototype B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber is revealed. The late, great Roy Orbison dies of a heart attack. The last Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant roll off the assembly line in a Chrysler Factory. Pan Am flight 103 is blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland; killing a total of 270 people…a new world was anointed with the beginning of modern terrorism!
A lot has changed since 1988, and we have changed with the years. Starting out as a publication for Old Town, Alexandria, we soon began to include the other small towns and old towns that lie beyond the 22314 zip code. Although our primary focus is still Alexandria, we have extended our footprint through distribution to places like Harpers Ferry, Winchester, Middleburg, The Plains, Front Royal, Sperryville, Warrenton, Culpeper, Fredericksburg, Leonardtown and Solomons, Maryland, and even into St. John, USVI – now, that is cool!
There are too many people to thank for helping to make our publication successful, so I won’t even try. Suffice it to say that, from day one, if it were not for those kind souls who put their sweat into the writing, picture-taking, production help and just a kind word, we would not be here today. The business owners who, over the past 24 years, realize that the Old Town Crier is, and always will be, a great way to market their wares…we owe them and recognize our responsibility to them! You are welcome at my fire anytime!!!
And finally, for you cats who take the time to pick us up and read us…well, if it weren’t for you, there would be no point. We know some folks who have read our first issue and even all the ones in between. I cannot tell you how gratifying that is. To all of you, our friends…Thanks!! Wishing you a very joyful and prosperous 2012!!
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