History Lesson 101

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Re: History Lesson 101
Proofreading any publication such as the Arrow or any other similar voice of a group such as ours is, of course a thankless task and as we have stated, inevitably, a few gremlins find their way now matter how hard one tries. Obviously the editor knows or knew that WWII was correct and no doubt the addition proofreaders did as well which only shows to go ya that .... well, we're human. In a publication like this, we sure don't want to see typos and all do their best to eliminate them. We'll never see the ones which got caught. That would be an eyeopener I am sure and probably not a pretty sight, too.
 
I recently proofread a club newsletter that had a full page extolling a new fantrip of rare mileage. However, there were a couple of problems with the page. 1) It didn't state anywhere when the trip was and 2) More importantly the deadline for reservation and payment was before the publication of the newsletter. The editor removed the item and no one except he and I are the wiser and the many members who get their monthly or quarterly issue will never know what was there in an early draft.
 
The biggest problem I see in some publications, the ones which really have the big-time "foamers", are the instant authorities on anything AND everything and are willing to put it into print as fact and never print retractions and who rely on people in the field for all their "factual" material, either current or long-ago.
 
Severl years ago, not that it was incorrectly printed, there were dreams of restoring a Big-Boy to operation for some movie. While a few small steps were made on its behalf, we all know, it never happened, but I remember a few people -- read that as "foamers" who came to shows absolutely positive that The Dallas Big Boy I think was the one was going to be restored; ABSOLUTELY!!
 
Well, we all know what happened there. Deadlines are another one which can be the bane of editors. Example: How many different "it's gonna be this or that date" deadlines have there been for the Pennsy K4 and the Boston & Maine Pacific to name a few recent ongoing ones? How long did it take NS to get 1218 back under steam in 1987, after the first hopes of only a year of work?
 
Lastly, please don't castigate me too badly for any typos in this diatribe.
 
Bob
 
 
Sunday, August 24, 2008 2:27 PM



 


Bob
 
You and Jerry are both correct, and thank you for the appropriate comments. Those of us who try to write meaningful articles for the Arrow (and my efforts at Talk Among Friends) want them to be as accurate as possible. It is the obligation of an Historical Society to strive in that direction. But often the references we consult are either incomplete or just simply wrong. And sometimes we inadvertently write things down incorrectly. Our publications committee reviews each issue thoroughly trying to catch as many of these mistakes as possible. But, inevitably, a few errors do creep through.  I think most of our authors welcome constructive criticism and corrections in the interest of making our publications the best we can make them. So, anyone out there finding mistakes ... please send letters to the editor (Bob Hundman, currently... hundman at comcast.com), so that we can set the record straight.
Sincerely, Bucky Wilson


      
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