Comments on: TMEN Founder John Shuttleworth — a very gifted writer/publisher has passed away

By: Anne Durkin

Anne Durkin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:08:55 +0000

I was just 8 when Mother #1 was first published, and about 14 when I discovered it and became addicted and a subscriber. I learned so much and stayed a subscriber until the sale. I searched high and low until I found all the back issues I didn’t have. I now have #1 and all up to the sale protected in binders. I will be gifting them to my 29 year old son this year, to use on his 14 acres, along with a gift subscription to BHM. RIP, Mr. Shuttleworth, you lit a light in my soul, and passed it down to my child.

By: mike konczak

mike konczak — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:20:14 +0000

John was a gifited individual, and was responsible as any one person for the success of the back to the earth movement. While “MOTHER’ was under his guidence it was a GREAT inspiration and help to me personally. I looked forward to each issue and read it cover to cover…… the tips, tricks and ‘look what I did’ articles were wonderful. After the sale the phrase came to mind….. ‘where am I and why am I in this handbasket???’

John left a void, somewhat filled by Dave and BHM, FARM SHOW, and a few other publications. But there has never been another John and the original MOTHER.

By: Dave Brock

Dave Brock — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:40:42 +0000

Sorry to hear of Mr. shuttleworths passage as “his” early version of TMEN had a tremendous effect on my life when I first found it at about issue No. 48. At that time it was like my Bible for getting back to the land. Yes, John was probably one of the first environmentalists but it’s my opinion that he was a common sense conservationist and nothing in comparison to those wacky left tree huggers of today.

I also loved the writing style that he developed for TMEN and I taught myself a college education by studying his writer’s guidelines with intense passion. As a result they ended up buying two feature articles from me, one of which they used in No. 86. Regretfully, I eventually canceled my subscription in 2000 when I felt they only offered one opinion during the national elections and I wasn’t interested in the brand of environmentalism and activism they had become and nothing in line with what John & Jane Shuttleworth had given us.

Thanks for the heads up about someone who had a profound effect on my life during the 1970’s and 80’s.

By: Suzy Brown

Suzy Brown — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:42:42 +0000

The early TMEN articles were full of detail and well thought out so you could actually do yourself what they were talking about. We have kept all the old issues. In the last 8 years of so it has become more of a “Yuppie” magazine, more story than meat. The early TMEN magazines are the best ones. John Shuttleworth truly made the magazine’s reputation. He will be missed.

By: Bob Lewis

Bob Lewis — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:02:10 +0000

Personally, I always thought TMEN was sort of the ‘National Enquirer’ of the back to the land movement. The hokey ‘down-home’ language (sawdust became ‘tree sand’ or some such) was bad enough, but the articles never lived up to the hype on the front cover, and were generally poorly researched. You had to read the letters in the next four issues to see what was wrong with the idea.