Untrue Grit

After decades of curiosity -- largely fueled by comic book ads -- I finally checked out Grit. Remember Grit? The newspaper that kids could sell door to door to earn points they could exchange for valuable prizes? Well, it's still around.

To my dismay, however, the August 2006 issue was Grit's last as a newspaper. That 48-page tabloid opens with an editor's letter announcing that the next issue would be a magazine. A magazine? Jean Teller's four-page history of the paper takes a look at other changes the paper has faced over the last 125 years.

And the September/October issue, which arrived in my mailbox today, is Grit's first as a magazine. I've yet to read the 100-page bimonthly, but at first glance, it looks a little bit Yankee, a little bit Sunset, and maybe a smidge Reminisce or Saturday Evening Post.

The design is better than that of the just-passed tabloid, and the read appears a little meatier, but I can't help but think that something has been lost. Let's take a moment of silence and take a look at one of the classic Grit ads.