Bill and Laura Locke - Editor and Publisher of Kolbe Times

"All good things must come to an end." That oft-quoted proverb is believed to have originated in a poem called "Troilus and Criseyde" by Geoffrey Chaucer, who lived in the 1300s and is best known for writing The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer's sentiment feels very true to me today, as I write my last "Musings" for Kolbe Times. Working together to publish Kolbe Times has indeed been, for my husband Bill and I, a "good thing." We've had the privilege and joy of meeting an amazing array of artists, writers, poets, musicians, scientists and theologians as we put together each issue. It's been a delight to be able to offer them a space to share their work, their ideas, and their creativity. In our Kolbe Times Conversations we've interviewed a multitude of fascinating folks. We've also had the great pleasure of receiving many, many positive and encouraging comments over the years from our readers. for which we are very thankful. (I've saved every one of those comments, and treasure them.)

In this, our sixtieth (and last) issue, we’ve chosen to include our five most popular articles, listed below – the ones that garnered the most “clicks” and were seen by the most people. We will be keeping our website “live” for six months (at www.kolbetimes.com), so you can read or re-read other articles.

Looking back, it's hard for us to believe that it’s been fourteen years since we first considered the idea of putting together a magazine that focused on spirituality, the arts and social justice. After talking to many folks about the idea, including friends and family as well as journalists and editors of other magazines, we concluded that the idea was worth a try. Bill and I had recently become Third Order Franciscans at the time, and we made the decision, in the spirit of St. Francis, to always offer subscriptions to our eMagazine for free. We knew we were neophytes in the publishing field, so Bill travelled down to Baltimore to attend a Conference for Communication Directors & Magazine Publishers. He learned a lot, met some great people, and also concluded that there wasn’t really anything out there quite like Kolbe Times. He came home very excited.

Our first issue was published in October of 2010. We had a few hundred copies printed at a local print shop, and then drove around Calgary, dropping off copies at churches of many denominations, doctors’ and dentists’ offices, hair salons, barber shops, cafes, colleges, and the University of Calgary. For the next few years we printed three issues yearly, and a few amazing staff (including a retired priest in our community) helped with deliveries to over 120 locations in our region of southern Alberta.

As Kolbe Times became more widely known, we began getting more and more requests for it from businesses and places of worship. It was exhilarating to see it catch on, so we increased the number of copies being printed, and delivered them to more locations. But as time went by, the cost of printing and distribution soon became a bit too much for us to bear ourselves. We had a few paying advertisers in each issue, but the revenue from the ads made only a small dent in the costs we were accruing. In 2016 we decided to become an online eMagazine, and we stopped including advertisements. Being online, of course, allowed us to expand our reach. Slowly at first, Kolbe Times began to gain more and more subscribers. I’m amazed to report that now, in early 2024, we have subscribers in every continent – except Antarctica. Such is the power of the internet.

But the time has now come to move on to other things in our lives – in particular, spending more time with friends and family (especially since we are now grandparents!) As well, I am also looking forward to doing some freelance writing for other magazines, and who knows, I might even try my hand at writing a book...something I’ve long been considering. Sameh Elsayed, a Community Developer and Life Coach in the U.K., once wrote “The greatest challenges humans face throughout their lives are two: the challenge of where to start; and the challenge of when to stop." With Elsayed’s second formidable challenge in mind, we bravely (and somewhat sadly) bid you adieu, dear Kolbe Times’ reader, with our love and thanks.