Cover designed by Anna Macedo, story by Dorcas Woods Brown.
The first-ever issue of Country Roads, in which founder Dorcas Woods Brown introduced the publication, which has remained in print for forty years, to readers. It would be more than a decade before she would hand writing the Reflections column off to current Publisher and her son-in-law James Fox-Smith.
This story was selected by the Country Roads magazine editorial team as the representative piece for 1983 in the archival project "40 Stories From 40 Years"—celebrating the magazine's 40th anniversary on stands. Click here to read more stories from the project.
Welcome to Country Roads! We hope that you will enjoy our little magazine, designed to keep you informed of the many adventures found in this unique region. Our country roads stretch from Natchez to Baton Rouge, passing through wonderful small towns and rural settings with their own special beauty. The people of “English Louisiana,” the Felicianas, and southwest Mississippi bid their neighbors and visitors a hearty welcome and invite them to participate in pilgrimages, concerts, art, craft and antique shows that forecast the season as reliably as the calendar. A pleasant, relaxing country atmosphere pervades all of our events, which are characterized by an extension of old-time Southern hospitality. Enjoy accommodations in an historic home, stroll the time-caressed streets of our towns, sample our cuisine or just meet some of our people. The byways can often be the best highways. Country Roads will help you discover why.
—Dorcas Brown
Publisher
Dorcas in 1983
Dorcas Brown—CR's founder and James' oft-teased, much-loved mother-in-law—signing copies of the first issue. September 1983.
