Bob Michaels
nobody special
We should acknowledge that the original Shutterbug Ads magazine was one of the many things that came from the Apollo program at KSC. It originated as the classified section of the KSC camera club newsletter. In 1974, after the US had won the great space race to the moon, the Apollo program was ended as the costs were huge. The resulting massive layoffs at KSC left the Space Coast of Florida with huge numbers of aerospace engineers and highly skilled technical people with no potential for future employment anywhere in their field. Many became entrepreneurs.
Glenn Patch, a then unemployed computer hardware tech, in Titusville FL began self publishing the old classified section of the club newsletter as he had little else to do. It became a business and adopted the name "Shutterbug Ads". That business eventually became profitable and sustained Glenn and his wife Patty who helped him.
Several years later, Glenn thought the emergence of the personal computer market would cause techies to begin selling their TRS-80s, Commodore 64s, and original Apples so they could upgrade just like cameras. He started "Computer Shopper" which proved to be a home run that he later sold for a lot of money.
Glenn was know for his scrupulous ethics as he never let anyone see an issue of Shutterbug before it arrived at subscribers homes via mail so there could be no cherry-picking of items for sale. I worked with Glenn some back then and he would not let us see a copy until it had been in the mail for two days.
Glenn was also the photographer for some of the astronaut's unofficial, very personal, and private parties as he always delivered the negatives along with prints and never said anything about what went on at those parties.
So while we acknowledge the many products that came from the space program, we should not forget that the original means of buying and selling cameras remotely was one of them.
Glenn Patch, a then unemployed computer hardware tech, in Titusville FL began self publishing the old classified section of the club newsletter as he had little else to do. It became a business and adopted the name "Shutterbug Ads". That business eventually became profitable and sustained Glenn and his wife Patty who helped him.
Several years later, Glenn thought the emergence of the personal computer market would cause techies to begin selling their TRS-80s, Commodore 64s, and original Apples so they could upgrade just like cameras. He started "Computer Shopper" which proved to be a home run that he later sold for a lot of money.
Glenn was know for his scrupulous ethics as he never let anyone see an issue of Shutterbug before it arrived at subscribers homes via mail so there could be no cherry-picking of items for sale. I worked with Glenn some back then and he would not let us see a copy until it had been in the mail for two days.
Glenn was also the photographer for some of the astronaut's unofficial, very personal, and private parties as he always delivered the negatives along with prints and never said anything about what went on at those parties.
So while we acknowledge the many products that came from the space program, we should not forget that the original means of buying and selling cameras remotely was one of them.
