70 Years of CONTRACTOR | Contractor

John Carlson was the first Editor of CONTRACTOR—a title that morphed over the decades to Chief Editor/Editor-in-Chief as staff expanded, then to Editorial Director as business models changed, and even briefly to Content Director as the brand staked out new territory on the World Wide Web.  Following Carlson came Seth Shepard, who directed editorial operations almost 30 years until his retirement in 1984. Over the years the editorial torch passed in turn to John Schweitzer, Bob Miodonski, Robert Mader (more about both Bobs later in this feature) and finally, in 2018, to myself.Over the years CONTRACTOR has featured columns by such industry legends as Dan Holohan, Matt Michel, Dave Yates, Mark Eatheron, Al Schwartz, Pat Linhardt and countless others. While my sympathies are obviously on the editorial side, the continuing success of the brand has been the work of publishers including William Adams and Bill Everham, of our several art directors (including our current one, Susan Lakin), our sales team, support staff and so many more.It has been a remarkable 70 years, and all made possible thanks to you, our readers. We hope to keep bringing you the news, insights and expert know-how that will help you run a better business for decades to come.TIMELINE1950sThe first issue of CONTRACTOR is published in January of 1954. Initially The CONTRACTOR, it prints twice a month at a price of 50 cents an issue.Plumbing Manufacturers International (then known as the Plumbing Brass Institute) is founded (also in 1954).