From the Editor | Summer 2022

Summer is officially here, and while many of us would like to enjoy some R&R, this season often becomes the busiest time of the year. Over the past couple of months, we’ve put together a 64-page fair catalog and the magazine you now hold in your hands. While the work has been both time-consuming and tedious, we can’t complain. It just means we have a few growing pains to sort out.

Growing pains aren’t necessarily bad, especially for a start-up print publication in 2022. Still, they present a new set of challenges that I doubt anyone involved with this magazine could have anticipated.

First and foremost, you’ll notice quite a few more ads in this issue. This magazine would not exist if it weren’t for advertising, which pays for print costs and allows us to ensure this magazine stays free for as long as possible. More advertising means adding more pages, so we’ll be on the hunt in the coming weeks for at least two more writers to keep a good balance between advertising and editorial.

Secondly, I’ve received numerous emails and Facebook messages inquiring about subscriptions. Because only a few people are working on this magazine, we believe our focus should remain on building our audience, keeping the current advertisers, and gauging future interest. So, for the foreseeable future, the magazine will continue to be offered at a number of Owen County businesses and select locations in Franklin, Carroll, Grant, Henry, Scott, Gallatin, and Woodford counties (we also anticipate placing this issue in Fayette and Jefferson counties). For those unable to pick up a print copy, Sweet Owen is available on our website at https://www.sweetowenmag.com/e-edition.

Last but not least, over the last year or so, you’ve undoubtedly heard of product shortages of all kinds—everything from Oreos and cat food to potatoes and baby formula. Since the beginning of the year, the folks at Bluegrass Integrated Communications that oversee the printing of Sweet Owen have been gracious enough to keep us in the loop about paper shortages and, subsequently, rising paper costs.

So far, with your support, we’ve escaped this crisis unscathed, but many have asked for an increased publication schedule, i.e., every month or every other month. While a monthly or bi-monthly publication would be a dream come true, at this time, it’s just not feasible. As with everything else, we’ll wait and see what the future brings.

Now that our bit of housekeeping is out of the way, on to the good stuff! The Owen County Farm & Craft Market is now in full swing from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., every Friday under the pavilion behind Owen County Farm Bureau (430 Roland Avenue). The Owen County 4-H Fair & Horse Show is only days away (June 25-26 and July 5-9), followed by the Wide Open No Fear Rodeo scheduled for July 22-23, and the last Food Truck Friday event of the season is scheduled for Aug. 5.

The folks that bring you these events work tirelessly, volunteering their time and resources to benefit Owen County, its residents, and those traveling through. Make plans to join in on the fun and support these events throughout the summer to ensure their continued success. We’ll see you there!

Molly A. Haines