We proudly present you with a small glimpse at the past of the place we know and love, even with its problems, its challenges and its drawbacks.

It was a challenge to put all this together for you in the context of a 16 page newspaper when it really should be done in a new version of Passport to Ballard that was published in 1988. Perhaps that can be our next frontier.

This issue, and some choice subject we will have in future issues, could not have been possible without some hard work and loving care by a small but dedicated group.

Our main source of information about the past is Dr. Kay F. Reinartz, the creator and monitor of Passport to Ballard. Her long study about what we used to be is brought to life in the stories she has written in this issue, and the ones she will write in future issues of the Ballard News-Tribune. We expect she will do a regular column in this newspaper, and we are proud to present her scholarly work to our readers.

This issue would not have happened without the fantastic work of two people this editor is very proud of, Rebekah Schilperoort and Amber Trillo. Last week, it is they who made our retro pages possible. Rebekah scoured the area for the masthead you see on Page one and the other you see on Page three and so much more. Amber took a mound of old photos, found the very best and then managed to get them in a condition we were able to publish.

We will return with a "regular" paper next week, with the sports stories, features and police news so important to the Ballard readers from Dean Wong; the work of our great columnists like the irreplaceable Ballardite, Peggy Sturdivant, and the great food reviews of Patricia Devine and Jim Anderson. Anna Kay and Pete Kinney produce the advertising that brings us the money to make the paper possible. Add all the other people in this company that bring you a constantly evolving and improving Ballard News-Tribune.

They say newspapers are dying, well, not here for this one is thriving - it is Ballard, after all.

-Jack Mayne