Our Shared History

IT’S AN HONOR AND responsibility to be editor-in-chief of Signs of the Times, which turns 120 years old this month. The challenge fell to me to attempt to summarize a dozen decades of both sign and ST history in our cover story.

Like the iceberg principle, but with far more unseen supporting the visible, I think of the 99% I had to leave out, hoping the 1% might give some indication of what transpired from our founding by Billboard magazine’s creator to the present.

I am only the tenth editor of Signs of the Times, and the sixth longest serving. I hate to be cliché, but I feel as though I am standing on the shoulders of those who preceded me: H.C. Menefee, all the Swormstedts and many others. Having just returned from the ISA International Expo, I again encountered decades-long readers, many who’ve saved every issue. I thank all of you, too!

ST would not be where it is today without all of the above. To make sure ST is where we all want it to be tomorrow is my great task, but one I relish and remain confident in seeing through until I pass the baton to the next editor-in-chief. I feel confident because I still meet and hear from sign professionals who want their signs to be featured in articles and on the cover. I see how much it means to them — and that means everything to ST and to me.

See complete issues of ST (1906 through 1930) at signsofthetimes.com/archive.