LastWord

Appropriately. The End

This column represents 'Outdoor Illinois' "Last Word" of the century. Literally. And I'm in a dilemma. What are the most appropriate points I can make in 500 words or less, covering 100 years and pertaining to the printed word? After all, the 1900s have been the most exciting, progressive years in the history of our state.

When the century was in its infancy, most youngsters attended school for at least a few years—or long enough to learn to read. Newspapers and magazines flourished. Most cities had a morning and an evening newspaper, and outdoor sporting magazines were numerous. Since the Department of Conservation hadn't come into being yet, no Illinois-related outdoor magazine existed even though the state was busy protecting its fish and wildlife resources and acquiring land for state parks. In fact, it wasn't until 1935-10 years after the establishment of DOC—that the first public-owned outdoor magazine came into being. It was appropriately named Illinois Conservation and rolled off the presses looking more like a typewritten office newsletter than a magazine. But, it was a start.

Illinois Conservation was published until 1949, when it updated its name to Outdoors in Illinois. In 1961 that publication ceased to exist. No one seems to remember why it went out of business, but there was no conservation publication for the next 11 years. In 1972, Conservation Today made its debut. The DOC publication lasted just three issues before folding for lack of funds. Then came Illinois Outdoor News in 1973, which became Outdoor Highlights shortly thereafter and Outdoor Illinois in 1993.

With the advent of Outdoor Illinois, we discarded the newsletter format and evolved into our present-day magazine trademarked by its full-color, wrap-around cover. But one thing that did not change is our enthusiasm for this magazine and for promoting the natural resources and outdoor recreation in this state.

According to the editor's message in the initial Illinois Conservation magazine, the purpose of that publication was to "weld together the hundreds of sportsmen's organizations in the state...and...establish a direct medium of communication between the conservation department and the sportsmen." We would like to think that goal is pretty much the same today. We agree with one other thing the editor wrote in that first Illinois Conservation magazine. He suggested people should "quit harping on what 'has been' and plan for tomorrow."

With that thought in mind, we're currently in the process of making some changes to improve Outdoor Illinois, based upon your suggestions in response to our recent survey. You'll start to notice them in our next issue. We think you're going to like what you see.

-Gary Thomas

20  OutdoorIllinois