Dear Members of the Stemgas Family:
We want to keep the Rev. Elmer Ritzman’s magazines just as
they have been in the past — a place where friends can talk to
each other through the medium of words and pictures.
Mrs. Ritzman has done an excellent job in keeping the magazines
lively since the passing of her beloved husband, and I hope that I
can carry on in the tradition that he set and she continued.
As a newspaperman, I am interested in PEOPLE and hope you will
see that reflected in what you read here.
As an Almanac editor, I am interested in weather, and farming,
and gardening, and recipes and oldtime stories.
I am also interested in old buildings, and trying to save them;
do some writing about historic events, help to foster the
handicrafts, and collect children’s books (in a limited
way).
My wife, Margaret, is an artist and an interior designer who
works for Armstrong Cork Co., which has its main offices in
Lancaster. She was born in Montana and we get out there to visit as
often as we can.
I hope you will bide with me through the next few issues, so
that you can see how we’re doing. If we make mistakes, let us
know. Don’t hesitate to write and tell me if you have
suggestions – or criticism. I’ll try to be responsive.
Speaking of letters, I think it would be considerate of you to
write to Mrs. Ritzman to tell her how you enjoy the magazines. She
knows that, because of your continuing subscriptions, but it would
be nice of you to tell her in your own words. She will continue as
an advisor and a consultant, and boy, am I glad for that!
