Ten years ago a new visitors publication
appeared in Lancaster County. It had a nice, four-color cover, ads
organized by category, maps of the local towns, lists of events, etc. In
other words, it was an attractive, user-friendly, professional, and
informative monthly guide. There was nothing else quite like it.
Unfortunately, the man who put it together
was not a salesman, and was not from the area. Very few people wanted to
risk ads in an "unknown," new publication. Luckily, ownership
changed hands and "Wilkum," as it was first called, became
"Amish Country News."
Area businesses soon recognized the
quality and value, not to mention the many visitors who arrived with
copies in their hands. Since then we have grown to become the largest
visitor publication in Amish Country, with free distribution of over half
a million copies in season. Copies of Amish Country News have
traveled as far away as Europe and Japan. A man from Russia even wrote to
ask our help in finding him a wife in America!
There have been many changes. We created
"theme issues" devoted to such topics as Quilts & Crafts,
the Amish, Town of the Month, Special Events, and Dining. We have had
photo contests and asked local chefs to share their recipes. One
especially innovative idea has been asking a group of local school
students to visit attractions and write about them, from their point of
view, for our annual family issue.
Our Amish series remains our most popular
feature, with well-researched articles on everything from Amish nicknames,
history, and food to Christmas customs and farming practices. Guest
writers have included Dr. Donald Kraybill, one of America’s leading
authorities on Amish culture. Prior to publication, each article is
reviewed by a member of the local Amish community.
The world of publishing has changed a lot
over these years, too. In the beginning, I would go to the printing
company and there would be some forty mock-up pages spread out in a row 25
feet long. We would cut, peel, paste, and re-position ads and copy until
everything was ready. Then a huge camera would photograph each page and
the "plates" were made to go onto the printing press. Nowadays,
the entire publication is done on a computer, and can even be stored on a
disk. We hope to have Amish Country News available soon on the
Internet, reaching a much wider audience.
Each person who has worked on our paper
has brought new ideas and valuable changes. We keep trying to improve our
publication. So thanks to everyone who has been a part of Amish Country
News over the past ten years. And thanks to you, our readers, for your
interest and support.
Happy 10th
Anniversary!
Amish Country News Publisher's Message by Brad
Igou (2000)
