Who would have thought?

Four years ago, on March 31, 2002, when this website experience began, we could not have dreamed that it would grow into such a massive repository of history and memorabilia, far larger and more comprehensive than—as far as we know—any Internet site dedicated to a town or city of any size.

At the time we thought the initial dozen articles and a hundred or so pictures would suffice to tell Cliffside’s story. After all, the town was never more than a dot on the map where relatively few people had lived and worked, right? Who, beside a few diehard Cliffside loyalists, could possibly be interested? And, we thought, very little that was new was to be discovered. Once we’d related the tired old stories and anecdotes that every true Cliffsider knows by heart, there would be little left to uncover. How many ways can you tell the Raleigh Haynes story, or tell the tale of the railroad chickens? We’ll be through with this in a month or so, we thought, then we’ll move on to something else.

And then came the deluge of material. Dozens of people made, and continue to make, valuable contributions: photos, complete stories, isolated facts, hints, tips, speculations. It seems the ever-widening stream of information may never end. We’ve found that, while the roots of our citizens grew deep they also extended well beyond the tree of Cliffside. We’ll try to follow them, as best we can, but there are so many of them, and so many branches. With your help, we’ll continue to fill the gaps in the short timeline of Cliffside and the much longer one of our county.

Readers with no connection to Cliffside continue to hearten us with their compliments and encouragement. The site has become well known to Internet users in a wide area of the foothills and beyond. During the past year, Remember Cliffside has attracted two talented writers and researchers, namely Joyce Hunter and JoAnn Huskey, who voluntarily devote much of their time to chasing down facts and connecting dots, all to preserve and present an accurate and interesting history of our area and its people. To them and to all our contributors and readers, we extend our thanks.

Congratulations to us all!

— Reno Bailey