Welcome, readers, to the November/December issue of the Wayback Times, the 133rd issue to be exact. We are just entering our 23rd year of publishing. The first issue printed hit the streets in November of 1995.
As is true in most of our lives, change, for better or worse, is usually an incremental thing. Sometimes it’s so gradual we hardly notice what’s happening. In my case, as an editor and publisher, change is pretty easy to see; I have “hard copy.” I can pick up the first issue of the Wayback Times from 1995, or look at an issue from 2006 (when I bought the business from Jay Telfer) and then I can have a look at a current issue. There have been a lot of changes.
Back in 2006, the WT had been around for almost 11 years. It was printed in black and white. It was usually less than 30 pages. There was virtually no social media to tie into it. The website was simple, but not terribly interactive and although it was a digital representation of the paper, a great deal of the actual printed paper wasn’t accessible through it.
In a nutshell, it was simpler time. Cell phones were used to make phone calls. Your computer was typically too big to lug around… and not many people wanted to anyway. If eBay wasn’t a viable option for what you were looking for, (and you didn’t want to pay for shipping) you still went to the mall to shop for things like clothes, gifts, home decor and so on. Even books.
As you know, things have taken an about-turn and as the younger generations, with their tech-based backgrounds, start to drive the different industries, we are required to adapt. And that’s a good thing. It’s not always easy, of course, especially when you are definitely not a millennial (not by a very long shot) and learning today’s technology, which changes almost daily, is comparable to studying a new language in senior years… it’s harder. But not unachievable.
With all of this in mind, the decision to print on a quarterly, rather than bi-monthly schedule made good sense. The WT has a strong presence online, in print and via social media — we aim to serve our readers on all levels and be available in the format that you prefer. I think we’ve adapted very well. A quarterly publication means we leave less of a carbon footprint, but still give our readers the pleasure of picking up a newspaper to take home and read. There are lots of us out there who still love to read a newspaper and we hear that all the time.
Something I have discovered over the years of advancing technology that saddens me a little bit is that, despite all the ways we can communicate now… text, message, phone, fax, face-to-face, blog, snail-mail, email etc… we seem to communicate less. With all those methods to get in touch it has actually become more complicated to do just that. We have all developed a preference of communication and sometimes it’s difficult to figure out just what the other person’s is. It can take a very long time to reach someone through the method of elimination. (Hence that little option of “add to contacts” becomes indispensable on all of our devices… if you actually use it!)
We’re about to enter the holiday season which, at its best, is a time of communication, a time of sharing, a time to let others know that you appreciate them, enjoy them and are glad to know them, especially if you’ve been remiss in doing that to date. (I know I have been.) I want to do that right now. I want to thank all of our readers for picking up a paper at their favourite location… whether it’s an antique shop, a show, an auction, a restaurant, a library… wherever it is – thank you. I want to thank our advertisers for their business… we realize it’s an evolving process, this adventure we call “advertising”, but we have all the bases covered here at the WT. I want to thank our writers for their work and effort and for making the Wayback Times entertaining and informative. I have learned so much myself from the articles written by our many writers over the years, and I hope you have, too. Thanks to those who join us on Facebook and visit our website. And thanks to the many, many kind friends who are constantly taking bundles of the Wayback Times to locations we sometimes can’t get to. You are a generous and thoughtful group of individuals and are the heart of the Wayback Times.
Our first quarterly (aka “Winter”) issue of the WT will be out before Christmas and, as such, we’ll be hitting the ground running to put it all together almost immediately after this Nov/Dec issue is printed. It’s exciting to have a big change coming up and I hope you will be with me to enjoy the process of making some great memories – in print, online and hopefully in the grey matter – for many years to come.
If you, as a reader, or an advertiser, have any suggestions, ideas or thoughts you would like to share about the Wayback Times… how we can make it better, what kind of things you like to read about – things of that nature – we’re listening!
In closing, please make a point to remember and honour our war vets and military, and all of their sacrifices and efforts – not just on November 11, but always. They deserve our respect and support on an ongoing basis. (Please read Douglas Phillips’ article on page 16 for “case in point” and our profound debt to our vets and military.)
All of us here at the WT, (including my two fur kids, canine Chevy and feline Nemo, who keep me company every day) wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and happy, healthy holidays. I hope it’s a season filled with peace and joy – those things that we find so elusive in these crazy days.
Be well, safe travels and God bless.