Anyway, I finally ponied up the forty one clams and we are back in book leasing heaven. (Given the fines we rack up, I can't call it "borrowing" anymore.) One of my fave aspects of our library is its "dump a magazine" section- those nifty stands where people emptying out their nightstands, bookcases, bathrooms, etc., leave all those fantastic magazines they never got around to pitching. I relish rummaging through them and picking up magazines I'd love to have, but wouldn't ever pay for. Today, I hit the mother lode. A huge stack of early '80s Freshwater and Marine Aquarium magazine; and an even bigger stack of pre-1981 Tropical Fish Hobbyists!
FAMA was my absolute fave as a kid. I had a longrunning subscription, and remembered several of the cover photos. What I don't think I ever appreciated was how much attention NATIVE fishes got in it. Out of 13 issues ranging from Oct '82 to June '84, if I remember the dates correctly, eight of them had articles or featured departments focused on natives! I grabbed every one and have briefly begun to go through them. What a joy! Articles by Tom Baugh, Edward Taylor, Thomas Simon, James DeBernardo, and Troy Henderson. I especially look forward to reading Tom Baugh's articles again. They fueled my imagination as a tween and teen. I even have his book, somewhere...
The TFHs also had more native material than I expected. But for that outrageous $3.25 annual subscription price, they should have had even more!
I snagged the Oct. 1959 just cuz it was the oldest I saw, but I also grabbed Aug '76 for its Stanley M. Wild article on sunfishes (everything from Lepomis to crappies to dwarfs). I also grabbed July 1980, because it had an write-up on a fantastic little native, Notropis welaka. I wish I hadn't been in such a hurry because it turns out it was penned by none other than Gerald C. Corcoran! If I had noticed that, I probably would've swiped the rest of the stack sight unseen! Here is the not-accurate-enough-for-academics bibliography. Great stuff!
Corcoran, Gerald C. The Bluenose Shiner. TFH, July 1980.
Wild, Stanley M. Something About Sunfish. TFH, Aug 1976.
Baugh, Tom. In Search of the Salt Creek Pupfish, part II. FAMA, June 1984.
The Fathead Minnow. FAMA, Jan 1984.
In Search of Crenichthys nevadae, part I. FAMA, Oct 1983.
In Search of Crenichthys nevadae, part II. FAMA, Nov 1983.
DeBernardo, James. Some Aquascapes for Native Fish. FAMA, Feb 1984.
Simon, Thomas P. The North American Darters. FAMA, Dec 1983.
Taylor, Edward. Upstream... On Virginia's Appomattox River. FAMA, Jan 1983.
Henderson, Troy. A Tank Full of Teeth, Gars in the Home Aquarium. FAMA, April 1984.
Considering the wealth of native gold above, Ima thinkin' I definitely have to scoot back and get the rest of those TFHs!
NANFA Youtube Channel 
