Twenty years is a long time, yet it has gone by so fast. Fast, but slow. Long, but short – Memories are a collection of contradictions.
Twenty years ago, when we started this magazine, it was titled The Central Sierra Gold Country’s Visitors Catalog and the project was to produce a catalog of local goods and attractions in Tuolumne County for the tourism market. It was soon apparent that we were all visitors in our own home towns and our readers were as often locals as they were visitors. In 1991, the title “Seasons” was adopted, but it took nine more years until the word “Catalog” was switched to “Magazine.” However, I still feel we “catalog” the best of our region.
It didn’t take long for the magazine’s success to expand to our sister county, Calaveras. Our second year included stories (and advertising support) from across the Stanislaus River. Visitors can hardly identify the county line and they treat the region as one Central Sierra getaway. Before long, Seasons was including the best of Yosemite, Oakdale and Amador regions as well.
Our success can be attributed to the many local writers, photographers and artists that have contributed to issues over the past twenty years. I have made so many wonderful friends who have worked their craft with such care. I hope that Seasons has been a worthy showcase for their work and they can be proud of being part of Seasons.
Since that first issue much has changed and much has stayed the same, as they say, in twenty years. We started the magazine with the purpose of showing the best of our region using the best possible full-color printing. The beauty of the Central Sierra deserves nothing less, and the longevity of each issue attests to that value. We continue to get requests for issues going back over all the years!
Part of Seasons that has changed little is our advertising support. Our advertisers are business owners who recognize the value of long term exposure and association with the finest businesses in the region. In return for their support, there has been only a 10% increase in advertising rates since we began publishing, even while nearly doubling the press run!
How can a magazine increase its page count, press run and distribution area and keep expenses down? The answer to that question is the total change that the printing industry has experienced in the last twenty years. Seasons has kept on the leading edge of those changes. No longer are stories sent out for typesetting and galleys of finished type pasted onto layout boards which are layered with tissue paper covered with instructions to the printer for color and photo size and placement. No longer do printing plants have huge stripping and proofing departments to convert these artboards into negative film from which printing plates are made.
Today’s print production is computer driven. Seasons is produced in-house and delivered to the printer on compact disk, and from that, printing plates are made. That is CTP (computer-to-press), and that is the biggest change in the printing industry since moveable type.
Is the next big change the internet with interactive content? It has certainly changed the travel industry, from booking events and lodging to searching for directions. But I like a real magazine. You can take it with you in the car or read it in the doctor’s office. You don’t need to charge its battery. You can easily turn the corner of a page, or even tear the page out. (Ouch!) Plus, a magazine looks good on the coffee table!
This issue celebrates our twenty years of publishing with a look back at 1988. What was the region like? What were local businesses doing? And, what did Sierra Seasons feature in the early issues?
Here’s to 20 more years,
Don Hukari, Publisher
We are proud give you a peek at a series of these stories here at sierraseasons.com, and introduce you to the Chance family.
Message From the Publisher
Central Sierra Seasons
is known for our beautiful photography and interesting articles. Occaisionally we get to publish terrific fiction to augment our informative non-fiction. We still have the chance to convey information about our area with these entertaining stories.