A New Look for Appalachia

Appalachia, June 2004

By Lucille Stott

This year Appalachia turns 128. Since the AMC’s founding in 1876, its companion journal has provided members with information, insight, and inspiration about the nearby White Mountains and all "adjacent regions." Much has been written about the vision of the scientists and explorers who founded the club and inaugurated this journal, but less widely known is the long view they took of "adjacent regions." When E. C. Pickering wrote in 1877 that "adjacent" should include the Himalayas and "even the lunar mountains," he set the club — and its journal — on a path of boundless exploration.

With the summer/fall issue, Appalachia is following AMC tradition by embarking on an adventure that will take it to some hitherto unexplored adjacent regions. Besides being available, as always, to members of the AMC, the journal will also be distributed more widely in select bookshops. To correspond with this wider distribution, the journal has undergone a modest style makeover — one that we believe honors the publication’s history while refreshing the look of its pages. The familiar elements that appear in every issue — "Accidents," "Alpina," "Mountain News and Notes," poetry, and nature photography — have all been maintained. The only difference is the more up-to-date look, including crisper, cleaner fonts and a more consistent cover banner. See what you think. We will be interested to know your reaction.

— Lucille Stott is Editor-in-Chief of Appalachia Journal.