It was before COVID 19, even before HIV. It was before Spotify, even before CDs. It was before SpaceX even before the Space Shuttle. Can it be that we’ve published 480 issues of the Caroline Review?

It doesn’t even seem that long ago when we were celebrating the 30th anniversary of this publication. Along with the intermittent pain in my shoulder, realizing that we are celebrating 40 years of The Caroline Review this month makes me feel worn. Nonetheless, looking back, I find myself tickled by all the changes that have occurred since our ground-breaking first edition. Some good, like Bluetooth, Pop Warner Football and Rita’s Italian Ice; some not-so-good, like social media, identity theft, and the weird traffic pattern at Rt. 404 and Legion Road. For the Caroline Review, much has changed… and little has changed. It began due to vision, hard work, and need, and has become a unique Caroline County institution due to community demand and a passionate concern for accuracy. Still a great value to advertisers, it is more than a local source of interesting news, facts, stories, and features. It is much more than just an established local family-run business. It is even more than the least expensive advertising medium for local merchants. Dare I say that it is now a part of Caroline history.

Some of you may recall that I wrote a piece several years ago in honor of The Caroline Review’s founder and my mother, Adelaide Warfield, and the contributions she made to the community she loved so much. I wonder if she would have ever dreamed that her “little magazine” would still be serving Caroline well into the 21st century when she triumphantly put that 28 page first issue to bed forty years ago. Over the years she had gained training and experience in the newspaper business and gathered the courage to turn an interesting idea into a reality when she launched The Caroline Review in November of 1980. Drawing on her own knowledge and that of several of her close friends, she was able to communicate to most of the local merchants at that time that they could expect more exposure for their advertising dollar by using The Caroline Review. It was clear to her that the magazine would become something that folks in Caroline would keep on their coffee table or near the telephone until the next month’s issue came out. She also believed that folks would quickly become excited about its many unique features and that excitement would translate into exposure and customer traffic.

Some of those original merchants continue to advertise in the Caroline Review and feel that it has been an integral part of their own personal success stories. These “oldtimers”, like Lifetime Well Drilling and Ray’s Electrical Service may recall that the first issue contained this “… Message From The Publisher.”

This little magazine does not intend to have causes, or to engage in controversy. We just wish to collect, for your review, happenings of interest to Caroline Countians during each month, frequently featuring people and events which contribute greatly to Caroline County’s unique character.

The interest for a monthly magazine was generated when the “Journal” ceased publication on July 30, 1980. The Journal office was flooded with telephone calls, asking “what can we do to keep our Caroline County newspaper?” It was at this time that several residents decided that there was something that we can do— even if we can’t publish a weekly newspaper— we can publish a monthly magazine.

Because of this interest by readers as well as Caroline County businesses, we bring you the first edition of “Caroline Review.” Even without subscriptions we will have the largest circulation of any publication in the county.

To Our Advertisers: Our sincere thanks for supporting this first edition knowing we presented only an idea to you. We hope to offer Caroline County merchants and business people a fresh and a little different way to get their message to potential customers. If you know exactly how you want your ad to look, we will try to get just that look. But if you would like help from us, we would like to offer you our assistance in design and layout.

To Our Readers: We ask you to support the merchants and business people who bring you this first edition of “Caroline Review.” We believe that advertisements have very important messages too, read them for bargains and savings. We also ask you to let us know what you would like printed in a Caroline County magazine. We hope we don’t lose sight of what makes life here a little slower, a little sweeter, a little kinder, a little more understanding.

And that is what we’re about— Caroline Review.

Adelaide Warfield

She must have known what she was doing all those many issues ago. Each issue translates into a month of our lives with deadlines, appointments, accounting processes, and deliveries. Hopefully, we are still holding fast to her intentions for this publication and haven’t lost our way.

It might be interesting to learn how many of the couples whose marriage announcements were in the first issue of the Caroline Review remain married. What piece of property has shown up the most over the years in the “Land Transfer” feature? How about the “Caroline Review Word Puzzle”, formerly by Bertha Miller, now created each month by me. Can anyone claim to have solved all the puzzles? Unfortunately, Bertha is no longer with us but her legacy lives on every month within this fun feature.

Surely, this is all worth celebrating, but the big question on everyone’s mind is, isn’t print dead? I say no because, even as smart as she is, Alexa still can’t tell you when the class at the Caroline Arts Council you were really looking forward to is being offered. When I asked her where to go for warm alpaca socks, she told me, “Sorry. I’m not sure about that.” Seriously?

Where will The Caroline Review be in five or ten years? Will we still be putting ink to paper at that time? I would like to confidently say “Yes!” but frankly, the impact that COVID-19 had on business in Caroline shook us. What if our printer can’t operate due to government restrictions? Why would anyone need to advertise if their doors are closed? Yes, we have a web presence and, yes, we’re on Facebook… Yes, you can access the current issue digitally and archived copies whenever you want. But by God’s grace, the “fresh and a little bit different way” that my mother talked about so many years ago is still ink and paper, and still in demand and still available throughout the county all these years later.

There are many moments in forty years, each one significant in some special way. Take a moment now and reflect on what has changed in your life and what you have accomplished since Ronald Reagan became president, assuming you were there 40 years ago like me. Consider using most of the waking moments God has given you to encourage and build into someone else moving forward. Moments are fleeting but like drops of water slowly filling a cup, each one contributes to the fullness of our lives. Flavor each drop and create miracles. Who knows, most of us didn’t expect to ever see Rt. 404 get dualized so perhaps in five years we’ll be able to get out of Denton Plaza without having to go through Dunkin!