letter from the EDITOR
How HELLO FRIEND, do you start a letter to someone
you haven’t spoken to in a
long time? Is “friend,” too intimate?
“To whom it may concern,” too
impersonal? My theory is you start a
letter off as a wish. A letter is a hope
to convey a message to someone.
There’s no guarantee you’ll reach your
audience, even if you have the right
address. So I hope at the end of this
letter, you and I can be what I hope us
to be: friends.
My name is Madison Hogan. I’m
the new Cobb Life Editor.
I’d say it’s great to meet you, but
we certainly aren’t strangers. In 1999,
I moved to Cobb County with my
family and it’s been my true home
ever since. I spent a few years in the
Midwest, obtaining my degree in
journalism at Indiana University
Bloomington, and about a year in
Beaufort, South Carolina before
Georgia was on my mind again.
I began writing for the Marietta
Daily Journal’s sister paper, the
Cherokee Tribune, in 2017 as a crime,
government and business reporter, in
addition to being a weekly columnist.
I spent more than two and a half years
writing for Atlanta Inno, a sister
publication to the Atlanta Business
Chronicle, covering tech, startups and
innovation. I like to say that I’ve
written just about every beat in the
newsroom, and this isn’t my first stint
as a magazine editor either.
In the fourth grade, I published
my first work as the editor of “Due
West Elementary Magazine.” With the
help of friends, we created a handdrawn
cover, a nice little gossip
column, a brownie recipe one of our
mother’s gave us, a crossword puzzle
and for some reason that I cannot
fathom why, the first 10 numbers in
French. We only made it to press
twice, but I was hooked.
In some ways, putting together
my first edition of Cobb Life felt a lot
like those early days on the playground,
plotting out layouts and
design on the monkey bars and
holding writers meetings at the old
tree stump.
Our theme for this month’s issue
of Cobb Life Magazine is the return of
fall, as we close the final weeks of
summer and enter into a new season.
Our cover, shot by local photographer
Brittany Willingham, owner of Evie
Mae Photography, is an ode to the
all-American fall festival we know and
love. Our cover story revisits the
North Georgia State Fair, having been
postponed due to the pandemic, and
its plans for an epic comeback in
September. Be sure to check out our
“Now & Then” photo segment at the
end of the magazine for a glimpse
back to fairs past.
For the 20th anniversary of the
September 11th attacks, I spoke to
Cobb County residents who were
directly affected. Their stories are
riveting. I hope you’ll enjoy learning
about the places around town to
discover fall fun in our favorite fall
spots feature and even try a few of the
coffee shops featured in our story on
cool cafes in Cobb. If you’re feeling
particularly adventurous, make sure
to check out our story on spooky
haunts and where to visit paranormal
hotspots. And if you’re dying to get
your book clubs and dinner parties
going again like me, take a crack at the
tips and recipes that will help you play
host, post-pandemic style.
I hope you enjoy this edition as
much as I enjoyed putting it together
with the help of our photographers,
writers and designer. May you start
the season off right. Until then, happy
reading, friend.
-Madison Hogan
Cobb Life Editor
8 COBB LIFE | FEBRUARY 2020