Volume 1 number 3, March 1999 Mushing in Ester Mushing magazine is published in Ester by Stellar Communi-cations, Incorporated, in the little red house across the street from the Golden Eagle. Mushing magazine has survived and thrived for over 11 years in an industry that sees six out of seven new publications fail within the first three years. The periodical is one of only a handful of Alaskan-produced magazines and possibly the only regularly published magazine in the Interior. How did it begin? If you don’t buy a magazine business, then the beginning is beget with “the idea.” For me, the flash of light came in 1987 as I was on my way to Fox in my truck to get water with my four-year-old son. All my Alaska life I’ve lived on or in the shadow of Ester Dome, and most of those 27 years have been spent without running water. To be sure, “getting water” is one of those jobs with which many Ester folks are familiar. Thus it was to quench my family’s thirst that we were on our way to Fox, driving down Goldstream Road, when I passed Ivory Jack’s and a sled dog race in progress. As a freelance journalist I had just finished covering a portion of the Yukon Quest for the News-Miner, which probably heightened my senses to the event-in-progress and to the significant number of vehicles parked along the road. The spectacle, along with my recent memories of the Quest, got me thinking about the real and growing interest—locally and worldwide—in what remains Alaska’s state sport. Fairbanks in 1987—and Alaska in general—was still in a pretty good recession. Everything seemed to be in the middle of going bankrupt. Work was scarce and money was tight. As I drove by that sled dog race at Ivory Jack’s, the light started to flicker. All the way to Fox and all the way back home I conceptualized about starting the first modern dog sledding magazine that would be a step above the numerous club news-letters that were then in existence. We would become a successful example of exporting Alaska know-how, I thought, importing Outside cash and providing jobs. As it was, that drive turned out to be the easiest part of the whole process. None of us had any business experience. And when that business is producing a “real magazine” with personnel that had extremely limited experience (I had taken a magazine production class while earning my journalism degree from UAF), the beginning was a course in hard knocks. One needs, first, people to believe in you and your idea. Then you turn those people into people who help finance you or work with you or both. These people are truly your first and most important assets. Our start-up financiers and staff people are a who’s who of great and generous people. Allow me to recognize just a few of the cream of the cream who helped us start: Al Geist, Al Burgess, Polly Wheeler, Peter McRoy, Bob and Bobbie Ritchie, Nancy Veitch, Rich Eathorne, Linda Simpson, Carol Kaynor, Glynn Hoener, Scott Schuttner and others. Over the past 11 years Mushing magazine’s readership has evolved from a few hundred charter subscribers to thousands of loyal readers. Mushing magazine’s renewal rate is over 50 percent. Readers are found in every state and in over 25 countries. We’ve done our share to boost business for Ruth at the post office. Lots of locals still may not be aware of our magazine, however. In fact, we’ve probably had more exposure in the New York Times than in the News-Miner. The magazine features articles on sled dog welfare and health, training tips, musher interviews, dog profiles, equipment innovations, expeditions and adventures, mushing history as well as news and writings by junior mushers. Mushing trends have changed since the late 1980s, when interest was directed to mid- and long-distance racing. In the early 1990s, however, stage racing became more popular. Today, there’s a growing interest in areas that require fewer dogs, such as skijoring, gig racing and recreational trail running and races like the FirePlug. The magazine has also matured during a time of technological advances in the publishing industry. Starting out with labor-intensive production methods, using light tables and wax, the transition was made early on to desktop publishing. The only thing that has remained the same for us is our location. I still believe it’s the people who make Mushing magazine and contribute the most to our success. Our staff members, our readers, our advertisers, the writers and photographers all deserve the bulk of the credit for building and sustaining our magazine. We thought we were on a wave when we put together the first issue of Mushing magazine just a few weeks after moving into the little red house. We never guessed how high the crest might get. Sixty-seven issues later we are still in business. Sometimes I wonder just how crazy we were. It’s been hard. It’s been fun. It’s been terrible. It’s been joyful. Ignorance is bliss. Typical for a small business. By the way, visitors are welcome to the Mushing magazine office. If you want to stop by, you might want to give us a call first, at 479-0454. | ||
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