20 Years of Interim

Jim Dorsett wrote the "In The Interim" column, which he described as cross between a journal entry, a snapshot, and a letter to friends," in every issue of The Scale Cabinetmaker. It provided him with a place to discuss the goings-on with Dorsett Publicatitons, and later with the restoration of the Christiansburg Station. As Dorsett Publications begins yet another phase, we will be adding new interim columns, but for now the original "In the Interim" columns are reprinted below.

Dorsett
Publications

The Middle Years

The middle years for TSC were characterized by three events and one trend. In the summer of 1982, Jim and Helen decided to move TSC's base of operation from Pembrook (in Giles County, Virginia) to Christiansburg, located in Montgomery County (a more populace county) to the south. The journal's graphic designer, the layout people, and the printer were located in Blacksburg and Christiansburg, and Jim was spending more and more time commuting between the two locations. They moved the main offices of TSC to downtown Christainsburg, then to their house, and finally to the Cambria Depot in 1985, following two years of restoration work on the structure.

In 1983, Helen purchased the Cambria Depot for $19,000 on a handshake and an unsecured note. The Depot had been hit by a two runaway boxcars, and at the time she purchased the structure, it had no back wall, the rear of the freighthouse was 16 inches out of plumb, and there was a demolition order posted on the front door. For the next two years, Jim, Helen, and any volunteers they could scrounge (including their daughter) rebuilt the depot. It became the new home of Dorsett Publications in 1985 and continues as the corporate headquarters to this day.

From 1980 until 1988, the miniature field experience a slump, as did the rest of the country. When folks need to tighten their belts, the first thing the eliminate are expenditures on hobbies. For hobby publications, it was necessary to find a way to survive the slump, including moving from a quarterly publication to one published six times per year. The move lasted one year, and by the end of the year and the sixth issue, all three (Jim, Helen, and Meghan) were exhausted and forced to acknowledge that the publication schedule hadn't helped.

Late in 1988, Helen began her battle with ovarian cancer. By mid-1989, it was clear she was beginning to lose the battle. While she still spent her days at the workbench, the chemo was taking its toll and the content of the magazine began to center on Jim's modelling work and the work of contributors. Helen died of cancer in August, 1990, bringing and end to a collaboration that had started 40 years before with a common interest in modelling and railroading.

In the Beginning (1976-1982)
The Middle Years (1982-Summer, 1990)
7:1 (October 1982)	7:2 (January 1983)	7:3 (April 1983)	7:4 (July 1983)
8:1 (November 1983)	8:2 (March/April 1984)	8:3 (May/June 1984)	8:4 (July/August 1984)
8:5 (September/ October 1984)	8:6 (November/ December1984)
9:1 (Spring 1985)	9:2 (Summer 1985)	9:3 (Fall 1985)	9:4 (Winter 1985)
10:1 (Spring 1986)	10:2 (Summer 1986)	10:3 (Fall 1986)	10:4 (Winter 1986)
11:1 (Spring 1987)	11:2 (Summer 1987)	11:3 (Fall 19857)	11:4 (Winter 1987)
12:1 (Spring 1988)	12:2 (Summer 1988)	12:3 (Fall 1988)	12:4 (Winter 1988)
13:1 (Spring 1989)	13:2 (Summer 1989)	13:3 (Fall 1989)	13:4 (Winter 1989)
14:1 (Spring 1990)	14:2 (Summer 1990)
After Helen (Fall 1990 - August 1996)
At the End (Concluding Essay) (August 1996)
In the Beginning...Again (March 2007)