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Clarksville Family Magazine — April 2007

The April 2007 issue of Clarksville Family Magazine is the very first edition — the debut of a publication that would chronicle Clarksville family life for years to come.

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This inaugural issue introduced Clarksville Family Magazine to the community, launched by founder and publisher Carla Lavergne with a warm welcome and a promise: a free monthly magazine full of local content, created for and about the families of Clarksville. It arrived in April 2007, and everything the magazine would become over the next two decades is visible in these first pages.

The debut established the practical, service-minded tone the magazine would keep. “May We Suggest: Feeding Frenzy” rounded up clever products to make family mealtime easier, from a Good Bites crustless sandwich cutter to other kid-friendly finds, while “Ways to Trim the Fat from Your Food Bills” offered seven shopping tricks — shop alone and after eating, the feature advised, as one simple recipe for avoiding impulse buys; keep a list; and grow a little basil, dill, thyme or chives to pinch from rather than buy.

A technology feature caught the community at the dawn of the digital-camera age, marveling that a great digital camera could now be had for under $200 — and a decent one for less — so that everyone from teenagers to soccer moms could take high-resolution family pictures every day of the week. It was a snapshot of a technology just then becoming universal.

The calendar pointed families toward a full spring: the Nora Witzel Statue unveiling at the Montgomery County Courthouse on Third Street, the International Streetfest on Franklin Street in front of Trinity Church, and story time at the Busy Bee's Children's Library, with brightly colored picture books, songs and finger plays. “Balance-Beam Parenting” and a “Dad's Pad” feature rounded out the family coverage.

Read today, the debut issue is a genuine piece of local history — the first chapter of a publication that would go on to document nearly two decades of Clarksville life. Carla Lavergne's founding vision, a free monthly magazine created for and about local families, is fully present here, and the mix of practical guidance, local flavor and warmth established on these pages carried the magazine forward for years. For anyone browsing the archive, April 2007 is where the whole story begins.

Table of Contents

  • Ways to Trim the Fat from Your Food Bills (p. 14)
  • Kitchen (p. 13)
  • ARTS & HERITAGE Balance-Beam Parenting (p. 14)
  • Dad’S Pad (p. 29)
  • Invitation (p. 30)

Regular departments

  • Family (p. 8)
  • Art & Craft (p. 11)
  • Phone List (p. 23)
  • The Fridge (p. 24)
  • Faith & Family (p. 28)

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