Reading Material- Great Find

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I made an interesting discovery today. A few years ago, I found a single copy of a magazine called Back Home (Winter 94-95).At the time, I thought it was a real neat find, and over the years I read and re-read it many times. There was an interview with Carla Emory, a story on outdoor wood furnaces, generators, home-made toys, etc. A real down to basics, how to magazine. Well last night I was looking at it again, to quote some facts from one article, for a letter I was writing to a fellow list-member. (thanks for the info Hoot). For the first time in all these years, I noticed an 800 number for back issues or questions. I called and the number was still good!! So, I left my phone number, and this morning recieved a return call. The long and the short of it is, this is the ORIGINAL group from TMEN. Not the, as she put it, "slick group from New York", but the orginal staff that was left behind. They've been printing since Fall 1990. I'm still a "newcomer" to Homesteading as a lifestyle. However, it's been a nameless dream for many, many years. This issue of BH was my first printed proof that others of a similiar mindset existed. They have a webpage, but no forum. As a matter of fact, the girl I talked to (who was also on original TMEN'er) wasn't familiar with what a forum was.I feel rather strange mentioning this magazine on a forum sponsored by another magazine. But, I've read so much on the 2 homesteading forums I belong to, bemoaning the "decline and fall" of the old TMEN, that I felt that I had to share this. Out of respect for Countryside, I won't publish a competitor's phone number or e-mail address on their Forum, unless I recieve a note telling me that it's ok. Until then, if you want this info, feel free to e-mail me at the listed address and I'll forward the info to you. Take care all, I'm back to "lurking".

John D in Pa.

-- John D in Pa (mrmopar@penn.com), August 03, 2000

Answers

There is an ad for Backwoods Home Magazine on page 111 of the current issue. It isn't unusual for magazines to swap ads - you run mine and I'll run yours. It was started by former TMEN staffers. Ad says they have a readership of 100,000 - so they and CS&SSJ are about the same size. However, at the time TMEN was sold they had a readership of something like seven million. I've heard once they took it slick they lost so many readers it came close to going out of business. John Shuttlecock (founder of TMEN) is probably still laughing.

-- Ken S. (scharabo@aol.com), August 03, 2000.

Backwoods Home and BackHome are two different mags. Those two plus Countryside are all the mags I subscribe to and I love all three. Backwoods Home is very Libertarian, BackHome is more "Green" and Countryside is the realist (real people - left, right, up, down, and everything in-between).

-- Deborah (ActuaryMom@hotmail.com), August 03, 2000.

Glad to hear that some other folks subscribe to all *three* of these magazines! Although I subscribe to other mags, I look forward to receiving these three the most.

I also have all the anthologies from BWH; I remember calling Terry and ordering them; I wasn't a subscriber at the time and I think she thought I was a little 'touched' for ordering them and never having subscribed.

Anyway, these are all great magazines and I, for one, will be a subscriber for many years to come.

j

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), August 03, 2000.


I have been reading "Back Home" magazine for many years. It is a good magazine - almost but not quite, as good as "Countryside"! Not to be confused with "Backwoods Home" magazine, it is too far left to suit me.

-- b.williams (bjconthefarm@yahoo.com), August 03, 2000.

I tried Backwoods Home for a year and it was too Libertarian for me. I just started with Back Home and liked the first issue. I also subscribe to Mother Earth News and Organic Gardening but Countryside is my favorite and the only one I wait anxiously for it to arrive.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), August 06, 2000.


I think Countryside really knows how to see what is available and keep a good balance. Its like a drifter in the wilderness, most always welcome, a great source of info. The others out there always struck me as too left or too right, Countryside lets you decide. Hope it never goes slick.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), August 07, 2000.

We have a magazine up here in Canada that I was subscribing to prior to finding Countryside. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but it was all I could find with ANY of the content I was looking for. It's called Harrowsmith -- but as soon as I found Countryside I dumped my subscription. I noticed the most recent issue on a recent visit to the bookstore and realized, yet again, exactly WHY it wasn't my kind of magazine. The cover article was on community theaters across Canada. What the heck did that have to do with country living and homesteading? Who knows. I guess it sold copies.

Countryside is still my favorite -- but I do wish I didn't have to wait two weeks longer that you folks for my copy to arrive -- everyone is talking about it before I even get it!!!

-- Tracy (trimmer@westzone.com), August 08, 2000.


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