EDITOR'S LETTER

editor's LETTER We finally caught up to

Jimmy Carter. And Eva Marie Saint. And in the process, we edged ahead of Dick Van Dyke, who won't turn 98 until December.

This month is a milestone month for us. Like The New Yorker, Arizona Highways made its debut in April 1925. In the decades since, so many great publications have come and gone-Life, Look, Gourmet, National Geographic Explorer - but against the odds, we've kept on and made it to 98. We think it's an impressive number, but we're not throwing a party.

Not this year. We're saving the celebration for 2025, when we hit 100. We did the same thing in 1975, for our 50th anniversary.

Back then, Phoenix still exuded a “small town” vibe. And so, the magazine got a lot of media attention. Over the course of a couple of days in early April, our publisher, Jim Stevens, did more than 25 interviews about the milestone.

On Monday, April 7, at 1 p.m., he sat down with Mischa Axline of AM America, which was ABC's answer to the Today show - it would become Good Morning America later that year. The next day, at 12:15 p.m., he was interviewed by Rita Davenport of KPHO-TV.

"I remember the interview," she said to me with a Southern drawl as smooth as Tennessee whiskey. They talked about the early days of the magazine. And its evolution over the years. They also talked about the pomp and circumstance surrounding our 50th anniversary gala. The big event, which was open to the public - tickets were $12 - was held at Phoenix Civic Plaza. William Mahoney, the former ambassador to Ghana, was the master of ceremonies. And Senator Barry Goldwater narrated a visual presentation that honored the artists, writers, photographers and poets who helped launch this magazine into orbit. The late Jerry Jacka, a dear friend and longtime photographer, was there with his remarkable wife, Lois. She still has Jerry's plaque. It reads: “ARIZONA HIGHWAYS HONORS JERRY JACKA FOR DISTINGUISHED CONTRIBUTION TO A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE.” Ansel Adams, Esther Henderson, Josef and David Muench, Ray Manley, Allen Reed, Olaf Wieghorst, Ted DeGrazia, Carlos Elmer, Jo Baeza, Frank Waters, Bil Keane, Larry Toschik, Bob Bradshaw, Bob Markow, Peter Hurd, Herb and Dorothy McLaughlin, Darwin Van Campen ... our guest list looked like the lineup at an all-star game. Or the Oscars. And every contributor went home with a plaque, along with a personal-ized copy of The Best From Arizona Highways, a commemorative book by Tom Cooper that features 160 photographs from our first 50 years. Many of them were part of a free exhibit that was staged on the concourse of the Valley Bank Center in downtown Phoenix. The centerpiece was a 30x40 Cibachrome transparency of a saguaro-accented sunset. Cibachrome is incredibly rare.

The other big event that spring was an open house at our world headquarters. I found the highlights typed on a yellowed piece of paper dotted with Wite-Out. It reads like a rural newspaper piece about a potluck at a Presbyterian church: “1) On assigned days, each person baked cookies, cakes, etc.”; “2) Customers were free to tour the various offices of the magazine”; ... “9) Friday, April 25, 1975, was declared Crazy Hat Day.” The summary ends with this: “Everyone had a real grand time that week, and all of us were very, very proud to be a member of the Magazine family.” Janet Silvestro wasn't at the open house - she didn't join us until 1979but she definitely was part of the family. An unsung superhero who spent more than 25 years working behind the scenes in our sales department. I never had the privilege of knowing her, but when I read her obituary in The Philadelphia Inquirer, I felt the loss. So did Cindy Bormanis and Kathy Bailey, two more of the unsung superheroes. They knew Janet well, and described her as prim and proper someone who loved root beer floats and football. “She'll be rooting for the Eagles in the Super Bowl,” Cindy told me. I wish they would have won. For Janet.

For our centennial, I'll be writing a book about the history of this magazine. Like Mr. Cooper's book, it will spotlight the artists, writers, photographers, poets, editors and publishers who have made this magazine something special. They're an integral part of our story. And so are the people who didn't get bylines. People like Janet Silvestro and Delphia Hayes. Ms. Hayes was a secretary in our photo department for 23 years. I want to write about her, but I don't know how to find her family. Or anyone else's. Maybe you can help.

If you worked at the magazine, or if you're the son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter, of someone who did, I'd love to hear from you. I'm hoping for a glimpse behind the scenes in the golden age of this magazine. My email address is at the bottom of this page. I sincerely hope you'll write. Meantime, on behalf of everyone at Arizona Highways, I'd like to send our gratitude for your continued support. Without your subscription, we wouldn't have made it to 98.

ROBERT STIEVE, EDITOR

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