A City In Print

In 1887, C.N. Marvin founded The Sentinel and served as its editor for nearly 50 years. His column, "The Easy Chair," was widely read and quoted. W. D. Archie purchased The Sentinel in 1936 and continued the editorial tradition with his "Along the Banks of the Nishna" column. The Archie family published the daily Sentinel for 50 years. Local ownership ended in 1985, when The Sentinel was sold to a newspaper chain.

The Iowan magazine, a publication highlighting Iowa's "statewide surprises," also called Shenandoah home. Founded and edited by David Archie, the magazine shares Iowa's traditions, treats, and treasures.

Shenandoah's largest and most widely read publications were the seed catalogs. Henry Field Company alone mailed over three million catalogs a year in the 1960's. These lavishly illustrated "dream books" were standard reading for farmers and housewives all across the U.S. Radio spawned several popular magazines. Behind the Mike, KMA Guide, Jessie's Homemaker and SOS gave radio listeners a closer look at their favorite broadcasters. Leanna Driftmier turned her "Kitchen Klatter" radio program into a magazine that reached a monthly circulation of 100,000. Author Evelyn Birkby gained a national reputation with her book Neighboring on the Air, a history of Shenandoah radio homemakers. Farmer-poet Michael Carey celebrated Iowa's rural beauty into the twenty-first century.