From the Ground Up

Covering five New York counties, Chris and Kim Altman bring history of many areas to readers of their online magazine.

One interesting Christmas present of historic proportions, led to one New York couple authoring a book and later, the publication of an online magazine. Kim Altman gave her husband, Chris, that present and the rest, as they say, is history.

Kim Altman, graphic design and writer for "From The Ground Up."

Editor-in-Chief of "From The Ground up," Chris Altman.

Chris Altman explains the details that surround that gift. It eventually led them to destinations in America and Europe, eventually becoming a literary adventure as well. Both their book title and their online magazine are aptly named, "From The Ground Up."

What was that gift?

"She (Kim) bought me a metal detector for Christmas a dozen years ago. We were in the forest metal detecting an old logging road on my Dad's property in the Catskills. We found an 1817 Large Centcoin which absolutely amazed us. That coin has led to meeting new friends and homeowners, plus 11 straight years of metal detecting in England. We've even made friends in Spain because of that single coin so many years ago. We also do metal detecting talks now."

Both graphic designers and experienced journalists who met while working at a newspaper in Rochester, N.Y., the Altman's worked together on both the book and magazine. Chris Altman continued,"I have always enjoyed writing, and I needed and outlet for that. I had written articles in my metal detecting newsletter and had written a metal detecting book, but I wanted something I had complete control of (writing, design, etc.) that I could send out to a larger group of people. I originally was doing one per month but that became overwhelming, so I eventually decided on three per year, which still takes a lot of work!"

The work the pair have produced has received many accolades from readers, yet Chris,when asked if "From the Ground Up," had received any awards, he stated, "I've never submitted it for any awards, although our printer (we do small runs of all 13 issues)wanted to use it for their company brochure. We declined because of the personal information in the issues and we didn't know exactly what they were going to show."

Although the magazine, at the moment, is on hiatus, writing and graphic designing continues as the Altman's prepare an expanded version of their original book. The online publication, however, is expected to return in the near future. Meanwhile, they were willing to share cover photos and favorite articles.

Chris Altman remembers,"My first stories were: The Old Stone Fort Museum; A Warm Welcome to the Past (Editor's Letter); Lost & Found: Missing Links; Artifacts: Repurposing Old Glass & Pottery; Roadside Attraction: The TePee;Our Towns: East Meredith; Root Historical Society; Being British; Herkimer Scrapbook; Events Calendar."

One story that surprised the two was one they titled, "The Bittersweet Story of Lt. Claude N. Kimball."

It developed a life of its own following a discovery, an act of kindness and a man who visited the museum.

"A British friend of ours," Chris explained," had found his military ID bracelet on the field where his plane crashed (Claude was a WWII pilot). We learned so much about Claude while trying to get the bracelet back to family members. We didn't find any close living relatives, so we donated it to a museum close to where Claude had grown up. An 87-year-old touring the museum had remembered the Kimball family and we started corresponding with her. "

Another article reveals the history of Chris Altman's family home.

Editor- in-Chief, Chris Altman, says they are open to accepting material from other writers as long as it covers one of five counties in New York State, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Montgomery and Herkimer."The book is due to go to the printer in about 2 weeks. At that point I'll start work on my magazine again."

As Melrose Mirror/Patch readers wait for the expanded version of "From the Ground Up," it is suggested that readers look back at previous articles noted above in italics in this story as within the Altman's 13 issues of "From The Ground Up" that can be found on the internet.

The 2nd edition of their book, Chris added, " will be an expanded version of the first one, full color and glossy pages throughout. It's going to be an amazing book. We don't really sell to the masses at this point. It's mostly for our talks and as presents to family and friends."

Altman did add though that some copies of the book are available to readers and homeowners should you be attending one of their talks. " I sell the book locally at our talks and homeowners."

Discover more about metal detecting by attending the Atlman's presentations and dig into some interesting stories inside the pages of "From the Ground Up," both within their metal detecting book and previous magazine issues online.

**Photos courtesy of Chris and Kim Altman.***