Park Publishing,Inc.

Peggy R. Wolfe, Peggy R. Wolfe, the author of Macular Disease, Practical Strategies for Living with Vision Loss, is carrying on a 70-year family tradition started by her late father, Herbert P. Richter. He established Park Publishing in 1939. Peggy has been the president of the company since 1996, and in 2001 she brought out the 18th edition of her father's other book, Practical Electrical Wiring, originally published by McGraw-Hill. With Macular Disease, she is making her own debut as an author and is bringing the company into the health area. National distribution is already in place with the Independent Publishers Group, which has been selling the wiring books to the book trade to complement Park's other special distribution channels to the home center and electrical markets.

The beginnings in 1939

The company was founded in 1939 by Herbert P. Richter to publish his book, Wiring Simplified, now in its 42nd edition—with over seven million copies sold. The book began as a catalog item for Montgomery Wards in 1932 and was one of the first “how to” books ever published. Wards was selling wire and electrical devices and many customers were farmers who needed instructions on how to install their wiring systems. Richter was the buyer for these products and he also wrote the catalog copy. He was asked to write a manual to help prospective customers with their wiring projects. The result was the first edition of Wiring Simplified, a 76-page booklet that explained how to install wiring on farms and in homes.

Wards published eleven editions from 1932 to January 1939, when the book had grown to 96 pages. In 1939 Richter obtained the rights to Wiring Simplified,in lieu of a raise. Park Publishing was formed to publish the 12th and subsequent editions. Now in its 42nd edition, the book has been continuously updated to conform to new editions of the National Electrical Code®. The 32nd edition published in 1977 was the last prepared by H. P. Richter, who died in 1978. His wife and daughters carried on the business with W. Creighton Schwan as the new author, who continued to expand the book. Starting in 2002, NEC expert Frederic P. Hartwell became the author and he has brought the book to its current 244 pages.

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Expansion into the professional wiring area in 2001
with Practical Electrical Wiring
In 1939 Richter wrote his larger book, Practical Electrical Wiring: Residential, Farm, Commercial, and Industrial. For the wiring professional, it was published by McGraw-Hill for its first seventeen editions. Richter’s last as sole author was the 10th in 1975. Editions 11 through 17 (published in 1996) were revised by W. Creighton Schwan. In 2000 Richter's heirs regained the rights to Practical Electrical Wiring from McGraw-Hill and the company expanded by adding the book to its list, with Frederic P. Hartwell as the new author.
Park Publishing’s first edition of Practical Electrical Wiring, the 18th, was a prize winner in the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Awards sponsored by the Publishers Marketing Association (now Independent Book Publishers Association). It was named first place winner in the professional/technical category. The competition was very large, with over 1400 entries in 50 categories. One of the judges said on the evaluation form: “This is the perfect entry. There are none better in this year’s professional/technical category. It is the standard reference for electricians and the information is substantial, well-written and extremely accurate. I am pleased to give it a perfect score.” Another said: “This edition is very good—with clear, good illustrations and excellent index."

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Expansion into the health area in 2008 with
Macular Disease: Practical Strategies for Living with Vision Loss
By 1996, Peggy R. Wolfe became president of Park Publishing following the death of her mother and, later, sister. She has carried on the family publishing business with her son Steve, who is preparing to continue his grandfather's work into the third generation.

In late 1999, Peggy was diagnosed with macular degeneration and, while her sight gradually declined over the years, she has fought back by developing many strategies to make her life easier and by preparing for the day when she might have to rely solely on peripheral vision. These ideas, and those gathered from many other sources, are presented in the 2008 book, Macular Disease: Practical Strategies for Living with Vision Loss. Besides her work in the publishing company, Peggy has spent her working life as a research librarian at a major university, so she is drawn to research when confronted with a challenge. In the words of her preface, "I’m the owner of a small family publishing business, so it seems perfectly natural to me to write a book about the things that have been helpful to me as my sight diminishes. I hope you will find the ideas presented in this book useful." The truly large-print book has received acclaim from physicians and other medical professionals, as well as from its main audience—people with low vision from macular disease.

 

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