Don’t worry, this article has nothing to do with arguments about the origins of the world, or if/when our ancestors came out of the caves or down from the trees.  It is the, more or less, true story of how a useful idea was conceived and then implemented.  

On a cold and windy night a couple of years ago, I had dinner with Doug Slocum. Doug is the founder of both the Slippery Rock Gazette and Braxton-Bragg. He is a very creative guy, bubbling over with ideas, some of which make sense. We had dinner at a local fish joint and as I remember it, the dinner was OK. After dinner, Doug invited me to his house for a taste of some very special bourbon that he had been keeping under lock and key. Of course I felt honored, and we proceeded up the mountain to the castle.  

While I was contemplating the fact that the bourbon was extraordinary and a vast improvement on the corn provided by mother nature, Doug hit me with an idea. Raising his glass, he said that times are difficult and we should help our customers by offering FREE! Classified ads in the Slippery Rock.

My normal response to ideas not my own is to find fault with them, so I quickly pointed out the labor of typesetting (wonder if we still do that?), the huge expense of paper, ink, and postage, and most importantly that we would simply not be able to keep up with offering free ads.  After making a few unkind remarks about my lack of sensitivity and mental acuity, Doug more or less gracefully accepted defeat.

The next morning we had a meeting with the programming team that was working on the new SlipperyRockGazette.net website and it slowly dawned on me that a specialized “Craig’s List” for fabricators, installers, and contractors just might make sense. We then checked a couple of other websites, and when we saw how much people were charged for online ads, we immediately changed our program scope to include FREE Classified Ads!  

Well, the rest is history. Many people now visit www.SlipperyRockGazette.net each week and check out the free classified ads. Many people have also been able to sell unneeded equipment, find employment, and advertise their need for things. It is open and absolutely free to fabricators, installers, contractors, and others in the trade. We exclude manufacturers of new products and distributors of various products as well as weight loss programs, vitamins, and hair restoration products.

The screen capture below will show you how easy it is to use:

Placing your FREE Ad in the Slippery Rock Gazette is as easy as 1-2-3

Rich Hassert

Email responses to: publisher@slipperyrockgazette.net