For three years, Ms. Purcell’s satirical wit kept Walkerville residents laughing uncomfortable at the barbershop, the hardware store, and the faculty lounge of the Walkerville school system. Carolyn Purcell was the conscience of Walkerville, Virginia from 1990, when she became the lead editor for the Walkerville Weekly Reader, until 1993 when she so famously left both the Reader and the town of Walkerville, as told in the brilliant biographical epic It Isn’t Murder If They’re Yankees.

The print version of the Reader folded after a very sporadic publishing schedule towards the end of the twentieth century. Sam Lee and Shaheen Hamedi purchased the rights to the name and instituted the on-line version of the Reader. After filling it out with three of Carolyn’s classic pieces, co-editor Hamedi published the inaugural article, Klan Backs NAACP, on January 17, 2000.

Throughout that year, the Reader covered the election coverage, from Elections Over to Reporters Confused and finally Nobody Wins! after the election. The inaugural year set the tone for the Reader’s later coverage of politics and other news. A year later, the Reader provided timely coverage of the trade center attacks and the ensuing war on terror, starting with Bin Laden Aid through 9/11 Rights Off! a year later.

Today, the Reader continues to provide insightful coverage of national politics and media coverage. If you haven’t subscribed to the Reader yet, why wait?