[nafex] Re: More on Stark (somewhat OT)

["Christopher Mauchline" <mauch1@aol.com>]

>> Is the Nafex membership reflecting this?

>     My response-----

>     Yes, a couple of weeks ago I asked Jill V. about and currently 
>membership
>continues
>to decline to around 2,300 now.  This trend started some 12 years 
>ago when
>membership
>was around 3,500.

Sorry to be responding to an old message but I was away for a while.

According to a book I'm reading "Bowling Alone" by Robert D. Putnam, 
most community, social, and political organizations have been 
declining for quite some time.  So NAFEX is not alone.

Chris Mauchline
SE PA, zone 6


--- In nafex@y..., Ed & Pat Fackler <rocmdw@a...> wrote:
> 
> 
> Doreen Howard wrote:
> 
> > One thing that I didn't mention in the previous post is that the 
end of
> > Foster Gallagher also means the end of the National Gardening 
Assoc..  They
> > ceased publication of their magazine last year (subscriptions 
were satisfied
> > by Organic Gardening) and became a totally web-oriented service.  
Foster
> > Gallagher bought them up and allowed their not-for-profit 
foundation to
> > continue its existence.  In exchange, NGA provided all the 
gardening content
> > on the MySeasons website and did much of the hort info work for 
various
> > catalogs, etc.  Now NGA is out of business, too.  This is a 
double blow in
> > that NGA was one of the last print and/or web magazines that 
covered fruit
> > and vegetables extensively.  Kitchen Gardener by Taunton is 
gone.  And
> > Organic Gardening changed their focus about 18 months ago.  They, 
too, will
> > cease publication this month and be replaced by a woman's 
lifestyle
> > organically-oriented magazine.  A smaller, thinner organic 
gardening
> > magazine targeted towards male gardeners is planned and will 
appear later
> > this year.  This magazine will be heavy on landscaping and 
flowers and light
> > on fruit and veggies.
> >
> > What do you make of this?  Do you think there is a decline in 
fruit
> > interest?
> 
>      My response--------
> 
>      Yes, during the last few years, technology has become 
available to the
> masses.
> Hence, this machine and prior so-called techno gadgetry has put a 
high
> percentage
> of our population inside.  Actually when air-conditioning became 
available, this
> trend
> started and has rapidly accelerated in recent years.
> 
>      You wrote------------
> 
> > Is the Nafex membership reflecting this?
> 
>      My response-----
> 
>      Yes, a couple of weeks ago I asked Jill V. about and currently 
membership
> continues
> to decline to around 2,300 now.  This trend started some 12 years 
ago when
> membership
> was around 3,500.
> 
>      You wrote-----------
> 
> >  Do you think this is
> > the economy or social changes?
> 
>      My response------
> 
>      Both.  Folks have way too much disposable cash (or the 
illusion of it via
> plastic).  And
> socially, the entire society has changed in the last 20 or so 
years.  When I was
> a kid, you
> simply did not require an appointment to visit your 
friends/family.  Now it is a
> common
> or societal "correct" practice.
>      Also, we are 2 generations from any real "rural" community 
wherein ag was
> the foremost
> sustaining activity.  Now, nationwide, "rural" means something 
totally
> unrealistic, almost surreal
> in expectations.  Everyone bitches about manure being spread on 
fields,
> pesticides being applied,
> neighbors doing what ever.  The key words here are "everyone 
bitching"-------the
> rest are kinda
> unimportant, as most city folks do a fair amount of bitching as 
well.
> 
>      You wrote--------------
> 
> >  And, do you think that maybe it's time to
> > publicize Pomona aggressively as a magazine for fruit information?
> 
>      My response------
> 
>      Some 4-6 years ago, I tried for a couple of years to get Lee 
Reich, Lon
> Rombough, and a local
> garden writter, Maggie Oster to write a rah-rah story on the shear 
educational
> benefits of NAFEX
> for a pub. like Readers Digest, Midwest Living, Southern Living, 
etc., etc., and
> of course, etc.
> All said it was a worthwhile project, but for reasons totally not 
clear to me,
> it never happened.
>      Also, for the last 5-7 years there has been moderately regular 
periodic
> verbage on the
> great benefits of local chapters.  However to my knowledge, Tom 
Olenio of Canada
> has established
> the only new one.
> 
>      You wrote----------------
> 
> >
> >
> > This summer has been a watershed of change for the horticulture 
industry,
> > and I don't think the changes are finished.
> 
>      My response---------------
> 
>      The changes of which you speak are indeed upon us.  I'm 
currently eating a
> virtual apple!!!!
> 
> 
> Ed, So. Indiana, heaven and luvin' it


 

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