For nearly 30 years, I’ve been privileged to work with a wonderful team of individuals to produce publications and events in south-central Pennsylvania that bring consumers, businesses, and service organizations together.

It was a difficult decision to conclude the journey of On-Line Publishers, but as they say, all good things must come to an end. I will be retiring and closing the business at the end of 2024.

In 1995, I began a journey to serve the mind, heart, and spirit of the senior community in Lancaster County. Volunteering at the Lancaster County Office of Aging led to the creation of Senior News (now 50plus Life), a free monthly publication with content specific to the interests of mature consumers.

Fortunately, local businesses who serve this demographic were interested in advertising their products and services, which funded the publication. The journey continued and the audience grew as we reached surrounding counties, including Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York.

Over the years we added 50plus Expos to bring readers and advertisers together in person to further discuss their needs and the products and services that could enhance their lives.

We also added a focus on professional women with BusinessWoman magazine and Women’s Expos; b magazine, a full-gloss magazine for baby boomers; and the Veterans’ Expo & Job Fair to connect our area’s veterans with resources and employment opportunities.

Many, many publications and more than 200 events later, we arrive at today, where we deliver the final edition of our 50plus Life publication, and later this month we’ll wrap up with our final expo on Nov. 9 in Carlisle.

It seemed fitting that we conclude in this month of Thanksgiving, although “thank you” just doesn’t quite express the immense gratitude I feel for the many wonderful relationships that have evolved over the years. I am eternally grateful to our readers, advertisers, sponsors, exhibitors, and expo attendees who allowed this journey to continue for nearly three decades.

No one individual can be credited with our success, but it surely wouldn’t have been possible without the commitment of our team: Christianne Rupp, Vice President and Managing Editor; Elizabeth Duvall, Business Manager; Stanley Anderson, CFO; Kimberly Shaffer, Event Manager; Megan Joyce, Editor; Lauren Phillips, Production Artist; and Joshua Binkley, Senior Marketing Consultant.

As I close, I will wish that the good things of life will be yours in abundance, not only at Thanksgiving but throughout the coming years.

Donna Anderson

President and Publisher

Hello, Readers,

Opportunities present themselves in our lives, and we don’t know where they will lead. About 27 years ago I took a part-time position that turned into a wonderful and whirlwind 27-year experience.

I started out doing some bookkeeping and editing 50plus Life (then Senior News). As the company grew, Megan Joyce took over as the editor of 50plus Life, and I turned my attention to new publications we were introducing, such as BusinessWoman magazine, beyond50, Caregiver Solutions magazine, 50plus Living guide, b magazine, and Lancaster City Living … as well as other specialty focuses. And of course we were hosting expos and expanding our coverage into new counties.

In addition to her work as the editor of 50plus Life, Megan was instrumental in proofing all of our publications and event materials. Lauren Phillips, our production artist of many years, and Renee Petros (a past but longtime production artist) kept their creative juices flowing, coming up with new cover ideas and formatting and laying out our many publications, as well as the plethora of work associated with marketing our publications and events.

I have met many wonderful people during my years as managing editor and account representative. I will miss those I have worked with over these many years and members I’ve come to know at the monthly SOS meetings. And since we’ve hosted more than 200 50plus EXPOs and Women’s Expos, I’ve come to recognize many of you and enjoyed seeing your smiling faces from year to year. 

It’s hard to make the decision to retire. What started out as a small part of my life, became a great source of fulfillment. Many of the staff of On-Line Publishers are now my extended family.

And thank you to our loyal readers, advertisers, exhibitors, and expo guests. It has been a pleasure serving you over these many years.

May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. – Traditional Irish Blessing

Wishing you the best in life,

Christianne Rupp

Vice President & Managing Editor

Dear Readers,

It is with both sadness and gratitude that I announce that this issue of 50plus Life will be On-Line Publishers’ last.

Started in 1995 out of the home of company president Donna Anderson as a way to connect seniors with information and resources, 50plus Life (originally Senior News) has served central Pennsylvania’s older adults for nearly 30 years.

Its initial success enabled OLP to eventually expand its outreach with the creation of our 50plus EXPOs, in-person community events that made manifest the company’s original mission: “serving the mind, heart, and spirit of the 50-plus community.”

I have served as 50plus Life’s editor for more than 17 years, taking over the mantle from longtime editor Christianne Rupp, now OLP’s vice president, who showed me the ropes and then handed over the reins (how’s that for a mixed metaphor?) to let me make the publication my own.

For me personally, producing this publication has given me the deep satisfaction of putting to noble use the language skills I sought a degree for — but more importantly, 50plus Life gave me a means to honor the genetic gifts I inherited from my maternal grandmother, who worked well into her later years as a copyeditor and never met a piece of punctuation she didn’t like.

I am grateful she lived long enough to see me continue her occupational legacy and that she and I could enjoy “talking shop.”

We owe a special thank you to the many talented writers and columnists who have contributed to 50plus Life over the years, whose wordsmithing gave our pages both variety and vibrancy.

And we offer sincere gratitude to the advertisers whose support enabled us to offer this publication to our community free of charge for nearly three decades.

I owe both professional and personal thanks to Renee Petros and Lauren Phillips, production artists and graphic designers extraordinaire, who were my workplace “other halves” these last 17+ years in the monthly creation of 50plus Life. I brought them each issue’s words; they blended them with ads and images and artistry to give the publication its architecture and its visual signature.      

I deeply enjoyed the monthly challenge of crafting each issue into something I hoped people of all ages would find value in — but that spoke most directly to our region’s older adults, with both the focus and respect they deserve.

I’ve wanted 50plus Life to be a thoughtfully created, entertaining, and truly helpful monthly funnel for information and resources, a special blend of lifestyle, health and wellness, financial, and fun content in each and every issue I produced — all 212 of them.

With gratitude,

Megan R. Joyce

Editor, 50plus Publications