es, this is our 50th anniversary. Now, to many of you, that would be the celebration of 50 years of accomplishment. Maybe it is your 50th wedding anniversary, or 50th class reunion, or the 50th anniversary of your favorite happening, such as a rod run. But alas, this is the 50th anniversary month of Modern Rodding.

When we started this project 4-1/2 years ago, it wasn’t the best of times–do you remember COVID-19 and all its pitfalls? How about 19 of the most popular aftermarket automotive and truck titles “killed” in one fateful day? We knew the end was coming, but on Friday, January 24, 2020, all these great titles, some of which were a few months away from their 50th anniversary, were killed, buried, suppressed, forgotten, repressed, or (select your verb).

Many of us were walking on the floor at the beginning of that year’s Grand National Roadster Show when our phones started “dinging” with email alerts. Each of us received an email. Effectively, “You are all fired as the books cease all operations.” There are better ways to discover that your profession, life’s work, and love no longer have merit in the eyes of the “powers that be,” however, it was to the point, and no one misunderstood what was being said. It was time to move on. (To be proper, many were given severance packages based on their years of service, others were retained to continue with the three books left, and then there were those of us who were retained but weren’t granted any severance if we wanted to leave. It was a difficult time, to say the least.)

No question, many great books were lost, but the downsizing also took a substantial toll on many individuals who had now lost their jobs. Many had been doing these jobs for years, some decades, and some still have not found equilibrium. Unfortunately, the end user, yes, you, the reader, was left without something you had come to enjoy and count on as a respite from life’s daily grind. It was that moment many of you looked for each month to be able to sit back and forget and remember—forget life’s hectic push and remember those thoughts that brought back great memories or began new enjoyable memories.

For those of you, probably much like me, who can’t remember or have already forgotten when we began Modern Rodding, it turns out that while we started making plans in March 2020, the first issue wasn’t until July 2020. It was a bi-monthly publication for the remainder of 2020. It wasn’t until January 2021 that MR took on creating a monthly magazine. (Remember Classic Truck Performance, our sister title, began its life with the June issue in 2020. Another sister publication, All Chevy Performance, started as a monthly, and that was with the January 2021 issue.)

It’s 50 months later (magazine lifespan speaking), and all are moving forward. All the titles are doing well, and that’s a good thing. It should be noted that currently, magazines aren’t just the printed word on paper but also digital (same great title with words and pictures but available to you on your smartphone, tablet, computer screen, or as I have viewed from time to time on my large-screen television), websites, social media, YouTube (videos are the what’s-happening-now thing), and our weekly newsletter.

Modern Rodding has enjoyed favorable responses wherever we have tried distribution, whether in print or digital. Interestingly, there is life still on newsstands, and virtually anyone in the industry would tell you differently. While we don’t see MR being as widely distributed on newsstands as the old titles were, you will continue to see newsstand growth working for us. It’s been an exciting 50 issues because we are producing a new magazine and a new business. Who knew so much more behind-the-scenes effort was required to “run” a magazine (or three)?

Yep, there are many ways to enjoy Modern Rodding as an integral part of our hobby. Let’s all hope we are all around for another five decades and our titles continue to provide enjoyment for a hobby all of us would find life difficult to live without.