Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023 - 5

MAGAZINE HISTORY
FROM THE EDITOR
CONTRIBUTORS
35th Anniversary
Kickoff
F
or the first 15 or so years, the town was Wheaton,
Illinois. Over the past 20 or so, Hillsville,
Virginia.
But the name above is the same on all of them:
Arlene Betts.
These are all address labels on the lower left corner
of issues of Blue Ridge Country, beginning with
the inaugural, July/August, 1988.
Making this the beginning of our 35th anniversary year.
And how better to start the year-long celebration than with deep thanks to
KURT RHEINHEIMER
Arlene Betts and her daughter, who contacted us last year with the message that
Arlene Betts had every issue from the beginning, had reached the point in life of
needing to scale back, and did we want a collection of every edition?
We do have one full company archive, but several editions from our basement
supply have been depleted to the point that the one in the main archive is the
last one.
We've had occasional offers like this one over the years and have always suggested
a nearby library or civic group. Maybe it's the combination of that dwindling
supply, the ever-increasing " maturity " of the publication and its editor, and
the kindness of the offer that made us say yes, thank you, this time.
Arlene Betts' daughter and her husband showed up with a collection of grocery
bags filled with magazines, with apologies for the randomness of the collection.
The bags sat unattended in a corner of my office for a few weeks while
I considered what to do with them. At some point I sorted them by half-decade
and then by year. They now sit closer to my desk in sequenced piles-a horizontal
archive to parallel the vertical one on the shelves in another corner of the office.
So, our 35th-anniversary-year-kickoff thanks to Arlene Betts and her daughter,
and to all who have thought enough of our editions to save them for a time.
We could not feel more complimented. -KR
LETTERS
NEW FAVORITE!
Just purchased my first issue of
Blue Ridge Country from my
local Publix. Having recently
relocated from Michigan
to Florida, I was choosing
something to read in my down time. I'm glad
that the cover of this magazine called out to me.
What an amazing read! Not just one thing in
particular. I started by reading the bios of the
contributors. Then there were the stories of tours,
the historical stories, the recipes and beautiful
photographs. Of course, no magazine would be
complete without dogs. Their stories and pics
brought smiles and tears.
All of this in one magazine. I've read my share
in my life but I have found a new favorite.
Keep doing what you're doing. You've got this.
-Sharon Rose Tabor, North Fort Myers, Florida
CLARIFICATIONS
* " Best Holiday Towns " (Nov/Dec) had incorrect
info to start the Bedford, Virginia, section.
Bedford details:
destinationbedfordva.com
* The snail darter (Creature Feature, Nov/Dec)
was delisted as an endangered species just after
we went to press.
* More info on North Carolina's Gorges State
Park ( " State Parks Where a River Runs Through
It, " July/Aug): Turtleback Falls is accessed by the
park but owned by the U.S. Forest Service; the
park is in a temperate rainforest biome; 1916
dam break debris is visible along the Toxaway
River.
ginny Neil
(Almanac items
and art, Singing
in the Garden) is a
contributing editor
who lives with her
husband on a farm in the Appalachian
Mountains. Her work has appeared
in Grit, Country Magazine and
elsewhere. She writes dramas for the
Christian drama service, Skit Guys, and
sends manuscripts off in the hopes of
being a published children's author.
Follow her at thesingingfarmwife.
blogspot.com.
lauren stepp
(Mast General
Store)) is a lifestyle
journalist from the
rural North Carolina
community of Horse
Shoe. At 15, she was hired as a
stringer for a local newspaper. She
hasn't stopped writing since. Her
work regularly appears in Blue Ridge
Outdoors, Smoky Mountain Living,
The Laurel of Asheville and many
other publications.
jill devine
(2,300 Acres Curio)
writes from Loudoun
County, Virginia. Her
favorite assignments
involve making new
friends, and her work appears
regularly in Virginia Living, Ashburn
and Northern Virginia magazines.
Her boots stay busy on Virginia trails,
and she never passes an opportunity
to poke around an old town,
museum or historic site.
david
mccormick
(Mints Curio) has
a master's degree in
Regional Planning from
the University of Massachusetts.
He was employed by the City of
Springfield, Massachusetts, for
several years. Now retired, he works
as a freelance writer; his articles have
appeared in America's Civil War,
Michigan History, Naval History
and Pennsylvania Heritage, among
others.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 5
http://www.blogspot.com http://www.destinationbedfordva.com
Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023
