Highlights Magazine

 By Bruce Shawkey

Highlights for Children, often referred to simply as Highlights, is an American children's magazine. It was started in June 1946 by educators Garry Cleveland Myers and Caroline Clark Myers in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. They worked for the children's magazine Children's Activities for twelve years before leaving to start Highlights. The Highlights tagline is "Fun with a Purpose".

Highlights does not carry any third-party advertising or commercial messages. It relies solely on subsciptions.

Company history

Garry Myers earned a PhD in psychology from Columbia University before World War I, providing a basis for the teaching he would do the rest of his life. He and Caroline Myers taught illiterate soldiers for the US Army, with Caroline becoming the first female teacher employed by the Army. This experience led to their pioneering of elementary education. They taught educators and parents for a time at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1928, Garry Myers started writing a nationally syndicated column entitled Parent Problems, which continued for 50 years. The couple also co-authored several books.

The first issue had 20,000 copies printed, but sales were lower than expected. Within six months, the magazine was losing money and the founders asked their son Garry Myers, Jr. to work with them to wind it down. Recognizing its potential, he decided it was worth saving and came up with the idea of placing copies with doctor and dentists offices throughout North America. This turned the magazine's fortunes around.

I remember this magazine being in the offices of my dentist and eye doctor. It was fun reading while waiting for Doctor Berger or Virgil Simley to do their work on me.