Five Years of Yester Year Retro

Wow!  Two days ago, on October 9th, YesterYear Retro turned FIVE YEARS OLD!  

Long before creating this website, I was a regular reader of several nostalgia blogs and websites.  Unfortunately, there aren't too many "blogs" left.  Readers (and writers) switched to the much easier way of reminiscing by looking at old images on Instagram or listening to a five-minute YouTube video instead of reading a complete article.  But that's the state of most things today.

I've always had a somewhat creative streak and wanted to find a way to create on my own, but I assumed nobody would ever care or read what I had to say.  When I saw The Retro Network's "Essay Contest" during the summer of 2019, I figured I might as well give it a try, and I wrote up an article on the line of Dick Tracy figures from Playmates that serves as the first post on this site as well.  

I had so much fun writing about something I enjoyed as a kid that I decided that either win or lose, I'd create my own site and have fun writing about things I wanted to read about.  Things that weren't written about at all (Nick at Nite's Block Party) or from an angle that I wanted to hear (any long-form company history I've done).

Some things worked, for sure.  I have over 375 articles published on this site and over 20 at the old Retro Network (now called "Geekster").  Not all of my posts were hits, but I've had a blast writing them all nonetheless.  

I've certainly had some flops, too.  

In my first year, I tried a few social media contests and only got one entrant.  I also tried a series of "Trivia Tuesday" posts that had the lowest interaction of anything else in five years.  I tried to make a go of a podcast and website, "The Gnarly 90s," but that also failed; although I'd argue that G90 had a really good product, consistency was the major issue.  

I'd still like to try another podcast someday.  Hit me up if you have any ideas.

In all, it's been a very enjoyable five years.  A very FAST five years.

At first, I would write sporadically when the spirit moved me.  Within months of launching the site, we had a new baby in the house, and it became really tough to find time to write even though a pandemic kept us home at the same time.  Most of my current writing comes from my time on the road at work.

For the past three (or more) years, I have consistently posted every Monday morning, along with the occasional Friday article, despite whatever else has been going on.

As we start 2025 in a few months during our 5th year, I'm not so sure that will continue.  

I'd like to post weekly, but we shall see.  Life is busy!

I had initially just hoped to document the things rattling around in my brain just for myself and any family that ever cared to read it in the future.  I never intended for people to find my stuff in large numbers, but eventually, you showed up.  Thank you.

The topics I covered morphed from a "memory dump" into a fun opportunity to explore things that had always interested me or that I vaguely remembered from the past and wanted to learn more about.  

Along the way, you joined me on this venture, and I'll forever be grateful. 

I don't have much to say other than THANK YOU.  

Thank you for reading.  Thank you for sharing.  Thank you.