I walked inside the door of my favorite pharmacy, and there they were, as usual. There was a display of the latest edition of a locally published magazine called, “Old Huntsville Magazine.” Regular readers don't expect to find some kind of gossip about a celebrity or space alien. They don’t expect to see a colorful layout of an attractive gal in a skimpy two piece on the cover of Old Huntsville Magazine. Instead, we find stories about people, real people who lived or grew up in our area in days gone by. Or maybe, there will be some unknown history uncovered.
The founder of Old Huntsville Magazine was Mr. Tom Carney. I wish that I had been acquainted with Mr. Carney. He and I have a kindred spirit. He passed away in 2011. The magazine started somewhat as a prank when he and his wife, Catherine printed up 500 copies of a twenty-four page newsletter and anonymously distributed the copies to neighbors. Soon, they got discovered. They received calls from businesses who wanted to buy advertisement. Tom didn’t know how much to charge for his newly born paper. So he asked them. He honored their words and the advertisers continued with him month after month. There was a stipulation that he would charge monthly just in case he decided to take off for a month and go fishing. Copies could be picked up for free at local businesses. By the third issue, the demand called for 4,000 copies. To slow things down, he put a $0.50 price on the publication. But it didn’t slow down the demand for Old Huntsville Magazine.
He didn’t want in the circulation business. He wanted to write. I can fully understand that. He gave the circulation to a local seniors Kiwanis Club. The deal was that they kept 100% of the proceeds. He sold subscriptions for $15 per year. Someone bought a subscription for Paul Harvey. Mr. Harvey featured several of Old Huntsville Magazine stories on his radio syndication. Eventually, Paul Harvey asked Mr. Carney to write for him. So in the words of Mr. Harvey, “So now you know the rest of the story.”
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