Just before the holidays, TP and I discussed column ideas for the winter edition of your Marietta Magazine.

The topic that rose to the front of that conversation is the need to send out a survey to our readers about what they like and would prefer to read in Marietta Magazine. Naturally, that led me to write about my fixation with game shows when I was in kindergarten.

Being the youngest of four meant that, as my siblings completed their full days of school, I went for only half a day, so the giant 23-inch Zenith console television was all mine until late afternoon. The first part of my day was spent with fellow 5-year-olds and Mrs. Knowlton, but after the graham crackers and milk, it was Bob Barker, Richard Dawson, Dick Clark and sometimes Chuck Barris.

Some days, I would catch part of The Price Is Right when I arrived home from school. If I could remember to check the time (by “check the time” I mean ask my mother what time it was, as I couldn’t tell time yet), I would switch from The Price Is Right to Family Feud, then to The $20,000 Pyramid. If all the planets aligned and if I could convince my mother to let me skip my nap, I could watch one of my favorites: The Gong Show.

While all the shows were fueled by competition to win the biggest and best prizes, my favorites — Family Feud and The Gong Show — seemed to take it to a different level. Family Feud was all about how well the family members competed as a team, while The Gong Show focused on contestants trying out their talents before a panel of three judges, hoping not to get cut off midway through their routines with the sounding of the thumbs-down gong.

To draw similarities between my game show memories and the forthcoming survey, we want feedback on how the magazine is meeting your needs and how we are performing as a team — what types of stories do you enjoy reading, and what areas need to be improved, changed or cut? As TP and I develop appropriate questions for the survey, which will be coming out this spring, we hope you will take the time to share your thoughts and ideas.

It’s important to us that you — our audience — are satisfied with the variety of stories that are offered in the magazine. It’s important that the stories we feature entertain you, challenge you and shed light on new ideas, much like the education offered at Marietta College. Most of all, the survey will help us improve our engagement with you and ensure that we all stay on the same channel.

Letters From Our Readers

Dear Editors,

I just received the latest edition of the magazine and, naturally, was reading the article about the Class of ’68 and Homecoming, since I was a member of that class and was a participant in that great weekend. And there I discovered myself being quoted as part of the article and remembered that I had spoken to Ms. [Claire] Berlin at the banquet. I would like to clarify the following in relation to that discussion — While my story about my own extracurricular experiences at MC — and specifically the amazing help I received from Willard “Boss” Friederich — is completely accurate, one aspect of that discussion, as printed, needs amendment in order to give full credit where credit is due. Yes, I was managing editor of The Marcolian that year, but it was our co-editors, David Herd and Tim Maroney, who made the decision to run an editorial against the Vietnam War, after consultation with our advisor, William Sheppard. I remember feeling proud of this then and I still feel intensely proud to have been part of that Marcolian staff, but I did not make that decision. They, as editors, did that. I do believe that I accurately conveyed what Shep advised them at the time. If not, Dave and Tim must further correct me in print!

Janet Matthews Cohen ’68