Throughout its existence many people have generously contributed their time and effort to keep this endeavor afloat. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to them all for their dedication and their caring. We extend a special thanks to Carol Elevitch, one of the founding members, who has remained actively involved and is, to a large part, responsible for its continued existence.

Beginnings

Writer Lois McCoy, the first editor, came up with the idea of a newsletter in 1977, having moved to Palisades from a town which had such a local paper. She felt it was important to keep everyone informed of problems as well as events relevant to the community. She was the real founder and the chief engine behind having a paper here.

The other two people involved were Johanna Lo and Jane Bernick, who was the first treasurer and fundraiser. Johanna Lo thought up its name. Jane's job was to get the advertising (not very much, at first!) and the money to get going. But it was Johanna, who designed the layout and knew how to do so. Jane remembers standing in Johanna's kitchen, watching the process and being impressed. (Those were the days when Johanna was giving terrific Chinese cooking classes too.)

Lois was a writer and she wrote the whole paper herself. Stories in our first two-page March 1977 publication reflected issues that are still relevant – the environment, schools and traffic. It was an instant success.

Technical Advances

John Converse joined the staff in 1989 and introduced the computer for layouts. (For more information, see Alice Gerard’s upcoming book, Palisades and Snedens Landing: The Twentieth Century. Last year this website (palisadesny.com) was introduced by Greta Nettleton, providing "web exclusive" stories as well as up-to-the-minute information on important issues.

The length and frequency of the newsletter has fluctuated throughout its 30 years. Today we produce a twenty-page issue that comes out four times a year. Each 10964 issue has a different volunteer editor. In most recent years, Carol Elevitch has been responsible for the October issue, Greta Nettleton for the December, Kathleen Sykes for March and Alice Gerard for May. Susan Gersony is our treasurer and Robby Whitstock, David Wolk, Lisa Powers and Alice Gerard our layout artists. Carol Baxter is a contributing writer.

Our Community Support

Funding the newsletter, which is distributed free to everyone in Palisades, used to be a perennial problem. To help cover the costs for printing and mailing, an auction was held in 1980 followed by three others in the next few years.

The newsletter and website is now supported by advertisements and generous contributions from neighbors. We sincerely thank all who have given us much needed financial support throughout the years and hope you will continue to remember us in the years ahead.

We extend a warm welcome to anyone interested in joining our staff. We also encourage you to contact us if you have story suggestions and information you would like to see included. Please send it to P.O. Box 201. You know the zip code!