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Tahoe Weeky 40th Anniversary
1982-2022
TAHOE WEEKLY
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On Feb. 18, 1982, David Mogilefsky published the first edition of “North Tahoe Week” featuring a photograph by Vance Fox of a skier cliff jumping near the horse trails in Olympic Valley. Our cover for this 40th anniversary edition is a nod to that first cover featuring Chuck Patterson in the Tahoe back country photographed by Matt Bansak. That first edition was 12 pages and was full of information about local resorts, babysitters, events and things to do in the North Tahoe and Truckee areas. Lift tickets were $20 at Squaw Valley (now Palisades Tahoe), and advertisers included realtors, art galleries and restaurants. The cover featured a photograph inside a hand-drawn outline of Lake Tahoe, and the only editorial feature was the tongue-in-cheek Yesteryear column that featured fictional news from the past. The slogan of the magazine was “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News.” The goal, David wrote in that first edition, was “to present a comprehensive weekly tourist information guide for North Tahoe visitors,” which was to include events, ski area information, entertainment and a North Shore map, among other information. North Tahoe Week represented a new type of publication for the area — an advertising and information outlet designed specifically to reach and serve those vacationing in Tahoe. It was also distributed for free throughout the community with an emphasis on casinos, vacation rental properties, convenience stores, ski shops, visitor centers and other locations where visitors could easily find it. In 1997, the magazine was purchased by Dale and Shirley Good. The Good family operated Tahoe Weekly for nearly 17 years, before I became the new owner in 2013. While the magazine has undergone several name changes through the decades, David’s vision has remained a guide for Tahoe Weekly.
Tahoe Weekly at 40 BY KATHERINE E. HILL, PUBLISHER & OWNER CELEBRATES AnniversaryBefore I became its owner, I worked for three years as the magazine’s Editor and nearly 7 years as its Associate Publisher. All the while, I made changes to the magazine’s content gradually until I became the owner and was able to implement my own vision for Tahoe Weekly. First, it was important to me to stay true to David’s original vision covering events and entertainment, recreation and dining for our visitors and vacation homeowners. As the late Joy “Big Joy” Michel would say: “We cover the fun.” But my vision was to cover a broader spectrum of the fun. What makes Tahoe such a special place to visit and live is not just the events, but the people, the sense of welcoming, the commitment to living life to its fullest, the family we make in Tahoe. It’s that connection that also draws our visitors to return again and again. And, as the only publication specifi- Our readers send us the cally targeting our visitors and vacation best photos. homeowners for the last 40 years, it was important to me to use our platform to provide them with information that will help them feel like a part of the community while also helping to protect its fragile beauty. That has included increased coverage on public-lands access, including back-country access, increased parking and transportation for trail users, changes to U.S. Forest Service rules on access and the impacts on winter and summer recreation on the environment. I also increased our coverage on the local food scene by adding a feature in every edition on a variety of topics and added a profile in every edition on local artists, craftspeople and makers in our community. As wildfires become more a threat to our communities, I’ve also added Wildfire Preparedness coverage to Tahoe Weekly and will continue to do.
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One thing that we’ve been asked for decades to provide is mail subscriptions “You are all part of the Tahoe Weekly family.”
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of Tahoe Weekly. It wasn’t feasible or cost effective to do so with our former schedule of 36 editions a year. But, with changing to publishing every two weeks and a shift to a new printer that can handle subscriptions, we will start offering subscriptions this summer. We will need to gather enough subscribers first to qualify for the required postal permit to allow us to mail every edition to you. The level of interest we receive will determine the annual cost. If you’re interested, email sales@ tahoethisweek.com and we’ll add you to our list and send you updates when we receive enough interest.
What’s next?
I also receive regular requests for access to our archives and particularly our covers. There’s a lot of logistics (and cost) involved with digitizing publications made before the modern computer age, but we’re working on making those early editions available to our readers in the future. And, yes, to the question I am asked the most — we will have a party to celebrate our 40th. I hope to have a party later this year once we see how COVID case numbers are looking. As a business owner, local employer, community member and someone passionate about what I do, I want to share my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to each of our readers, our clients and the scores of staff, writers and photographers who have helped produce every edition of Tahoe Weekly for the last 40 years. You are all part of the Tahoe Weekly family. n
2012 From left, former Tahoe Weekly publishers Jenna and Charlie Good, the late “Big Joy” Michel and current owner Katherine E. Hill at the 30th anniversary party. Joy is in an outfit she created from some of her favorite covers. Hill is wearing Tahoe Weekly cover earrings made by Joy.
Tahoe Weekly founder David Mogilefsky.
1980s
North Tahoe Week’s first cover Feb. 18, 1982
Read the first edition in full at issuu.com/TheTahoeWeekly
1990s
2000s
The Dec. 26, 2001, cover is a favorite memory featuring “Big Joy” Michel as Mrs. Claus, Katherine E. Hill, left, and Barbara Haas as elves and former owner Dale Good as Santa Claus in the snow globe. | Jim Stroud
