Celebrating Our 32nd Year Of Publishing
October 2020 will mark our 32nd Anniversary of The Country Register which started in Arizona. We hope to start celebrating with a series of special feature stories and some recipes from Barbara Floyd, Founder. Barbara retired seven and a half years ago from active publishing but still is very involved with a lot of social networking, selling group advertising, and promoting all of The Country Registers across the USA and Canada. The active publishers are licensed by The Country Register, Inc. The special series of stories will give some history as to how this all started and continues, a bit about the trends we have promoted over the years, a few good recipes from Barbara’s kitchen, and past experience with owning a couple of tea rooms. We will post the articles online as well for those who catch up with us that way. It will be somewhat of a memory journal — follow along if you like. We remember the very first issue, born in Arizona. It was very small, starting with 24 advertisers and very shy on articles. Color was not widely used in publishing, so black and white it was. That reminds us of the age-old joke: What is black and white and "red" all over? Well, that was The Country Register being read all over. It was back in the days when we cut and waxed each item in the paper onto a "flat" to send to the printer. A "flat" was a large card-stock layout sheet with blue grid lines for keeping things lined up. The printing company then took a picture of the flat to make plates for the press. That was the way of publishing in 1988. Since then, many things have changed in the way a newspaper is produced. We have loved every minute of it and look forward to many more years to come. We do keep our publisher’s list current, so you can always contact your local publisher. If there is not a paper in your state and you have an interest in publishing, please contact Barbara Stillman or Lolly Konecky at 888-942-8950.
Country Register Publishers
As in any business nearing their 31st year, changes have occurred and 2019 has seen a number of changes. It is always hard for the publishers who need or want to retire and sell their papers as they always get very attached to their customers and the process of producing the Newspaper. It was hard for Barbara Floyd to give up publishing four different areas in February of 2012 (AZ, WA, OR and NE) plus The Antique Register magazine in AZ only. She loved them all and the only thing that made it feel possible was that her papers went to two of her main employees. She knew they would continue to be successful. Barb Stillman combined her office management skills with Lolly Konecky’s Graphic Design skills and years of experience in The Country Register, Inc. office. They have recently combined the WA-OR-S. ID editions into one, and they took on CA-N. NV as well as The Carolinas. They are busy!
Kathy Gramham, publisher of NH, sold her paper to one of her advertisers. Kathy still submits her patterns to all of The Country Registers who elect to print them and still has her Countryberries shop in Deerfield, NH. A new publisher this spring of 2018 is Michelle Hatch who owns Bittersweet Blessings in Chester, NH. Michelle will combine Vermont with Maine which will be a great combination.
Deborah Daney has become Maine’s new publisher, taking on the great efforts that Gail Hageman had achieved and loved doing.
Mike Dempsey, a long-time publisher of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut retired last year and it has worked well in the transition to Dave and Amy Carter who do multiple Registers to combine those three states into one edition.
Sad to say, but currently do not have publishers for Tennessee-Kentucky, Utah, Alabama, Louisiana, Alaska, and Hawaii. And there is one state that has never had a publisher, and that is Mississippi.
However, this presents opportunity in the above-mentioned areas. Check our publisher's list either online or in one of our many publications across the country and see if there are any states that aren't represented by a publisher. If you see an opportunity and are ready to take the next step in owning your own business, please email Barbara Stillman or Lolly Konecky or give them a call at 602-942-8950.
"Like" The Country Register, Inc. on FaceBook and enjoy a variety of posts from around the country plus some shared recipes and comments. You can also look up The Country Register of various states and Provinces and follow them as well.
Shared Stories In Each Edition Of The Country Register
Each edition of The Country Register has feature stories, patterns, recipes and all the things we refer to as press releases or "filler". Nearly 30 years of working as a group the publishers have collected a large and varied number of writers and contributors on various topics related to our advertisers and focus.The recipes continue to remain a favorite and one writer that many publishers have used steadily is Lydia Harris who writes "A Cup of Tea With Lydia". Her columns come with pictures to prove that tea time is still a very cherished tradition and Lydia writes a "tea-riffic" column without fail every two months. She is the author of Preparing My Heart for Grandparenting and you can learn more at www.preparingmyheart.net.
The quilting industry is very prolific with writers all over the country and another thing that is prolific are the numbers of quilters who are our readers. You are all much appreciated.
Each publisher chooses their own filler which best applies to their areas and their readership. You can check out the majority of the papers on-line by going to our publishers page and clicking on the state or province to see current and past issues. You can pick up a free print copy in each advertising shop and at most events that advertise. Or you can subscribe. It is much more fun to pop into one of the shops, say hi, shop a bit and get your free copy if that is an option. They all enjoy getting local news and recipes from their readers.