Somewhere around 2000. I started on the gardening forums, them lurked at the KT for a while before joining. Spike still owned it and it was a subscription.

I came in the spring of 1999.
Other names from the "early days" that don't seem to post here now...
**GingerVirginIslands (aka Trade)

**Melanie from Katy Tx

**Tiger from Florida & she had "cat tracks" as a siggy

**RoseMary? from CA--(not certain of her name) --she signed with "Paint drop hugs"

**Joni from southern CA. (different from Jodi above)

**A gal from near Grand Rapids, MI that had red hair & was quite funny, maybe her name was Murphy also?, or something similar, but not the same Murphy from Indiana who is/was also just a scream.

**Another gal was from Ventura, CA,,, seems her name started with an M??? (maybe Monica???) She was forever getting teacup rides &/or banned by Spike. She was really amusing also... would "sneak" back in with a new name. LOL

**John(?) from Colorado ... liked to cook.

I believe the KT actually started right close to Sept 11, 1998. because GingerVI was one of the first thru the door & she recalled that it was near (if not ON) her 9/11 birthday. And the "originals" came from HGTV forums. I wasn't one of those.

I don't remember you from "back then" Michelle-PhxAz.... did you have a different name then?

I've been here since July 1999 & I remember so many of those mentioned. I miss DoTTie & BonnyGranny so much.

Anyone remember these gems???

Here is a link that might be useful: Funny Thread Keeper

I think I came in 1999. I got the computer in 1998. I do remember so many of the interesting discussions and many of the people who no longer post. Good memories!

Wonder what happened to some of those familiar names....the gal with the paint drop hugs had a pet chicken...."Orchid" from Ventura, and the "aids" patient .(minister?) from Canada. And Marlen....one of a kind and great memories.

I was here maybe from the beginning. I followed Tiger from the HGTV boards

I came on GW in '99 but can't remember when I got to Kitchen Table. Spike was here though, but I was never sent to Disney. Tamara sent me , but that was a HT incident. I spent a lot of time on the kitchen forum in those days when I was doing a whole kitchen remodel. I also loved the pond forum.

Fall of 98 I "think"...all I distinctly recall is Donna OH sister Marilyn passing away that following January

I started in 1998 or 99, I think my name at the time was Living Jewel, I changed it at some point when someone told me I was full of myself! LOL Living Jewel pertained to the koi that I loved so. Or it may have been "obsessed in PA", not sure which! LOL!!!

I too remember when Spike went to paid, I too paid and I adopted someone so she could stay on the board. I remember Bonny Granny as well, Dottie, Nancy CT, Older, Dirty Fingernails....there are too many empty chairs at our table. We've had good times and bad, happy and sad. It's what families do.

1998 or around that time

2001 Ive been here..

I've been here since 2001. DH was battling terminal cancer, and I met someone on a medical forum who recommended the KT to me. Been here ever since.

have any of you tried using the waybackmachine which is the internet archive to see if you can find the archives from some of those early days? I often find a lot of old stuff there.

The Wayback Machine

I visited several of the forums here way back then but not regularly/did not post. I was at that time admin on some of the big msn chat rooms and other forums so most of my time was spent there. Those were very busy days in the chat rooms!

RC, I was wondering about the Wayback thing, but didn't know how to find it. I just bookmarked it. May find some time to look around there. Thanks for the link.

Sue

I remember Spike, and I remember being here a few years before we had to pay. I came over from the Adkins site and gardening at composting on HGTV. I visit daily but don't post all that often.

I've been at GW since 98-99 i hung out at first on the quilting and gardening forums.Tried the sewing forum as well,and it was slow then and even slower now.Then when i was on garden junk i think it was someone directed me to KT,and i've been here ever since.Still visit the quilting,and a bunch of the different gardening forums,and others.

I have to come to some of them at least everyday or my day is not complete.
Kathi

The kt was still on page one and Spike had a welcome to the KT on it...I'm thinking it was Sept 14, 1997 but it could have been 1998...I've seen lots of peeps come and go but there isn't a better place I'd rather hang my hat! I had never been to the HGTV forums but lots had made a mass exodus from there and found the KT about the same time I did!!

I've been here since day one too. Some names ya don't see anymore are Kathy-Lee, Mushy, Damon, Bug, JayJay, Ginger, Tater and Spud, Ben, Kimmieboomboom, Pat Lavender, RuthieG, I see some of them in other forums. Others I can't find anywhere!! I"ve hunted for Kathy-Lee everywhere. When her hubbie died she fell away from all the forums. I miss her terribly. Sigh.....

I have also been here since 1999. I remember most of the names mentioned above, except the girl from Grand Rapids. I was from that area then, so seems I would remember her. Anyone think of her name?

Beeohio, I was MichelleG StL for a while, then maybe just Michelle StL, and perhaps even Smigon. I know I had to keep changing names as the owners changed, so maybe some of those ring a bell.

I participated in all the swaps, wished happy birthdays, was on daily.

I helped start the Pets Forum and am still the FAQs editor.

Hellion, she was from the "general area" of GR, iirc, & I think she went on to post @ the Treehouse. Her name is still on the tip of my tongue,,,,,now I don't think it was Murphy or even close .... maybe it will come to me. Seems she worked in an auto factory.

AAA nailed the one I was thinking of from Ventura: KATHY-LEE!! (See, I wasn't even close with my "Monica" guess! LOL). I remember one of her sneak back monikers was KAYELLE. Sorry to hear her dh has passed. I remember she had a tiny dog that had a "fancy" name.

AAA, you brought up new "oldies" that I remember, also. I wonder how Kimmieboomboom is doing. She always had interesting stories to relate.

Micelle, I do kinda remember the MichelleG StL moniker.

For those of you that don't know............
I have been saving all the KT information I can find. It dates way back. If you want to take a look click on the link below. I will be happy to add whatever you have. Memories, photos, recipes & more. Just email me.

Click here

NOW I remember you Michelle...the STL joggled my old brain!! When did you move to AZ? didn't you work on a gamblin boat on the mighty Mississip?

Started in 1999, but my registration date shows December 11, 2003. (I can't remember why the dates don't coincide) Yes, I remember Spike. Those were the days!

I found this site when doing searches for a front load washer, ended up in the Laundry Room and started looking at other Forums.

My Page says I registered January 14,2002.But I was here before hat Don't know how I found it maybe because I was on the Crafts and decoration? I didn't mind paying the $15 a year and considered it cheap. I was sent to Disney once because Spike thought I was spamming since I poted something to two different boards

On my profile it says that I registered in 2001, but the real date might have been earlier.

I paid the $15, got my t-shirt and bumper sticker too.

Good ol' Spike. He sent one of my real-life buddies to Disneyland for no good reason. Not happy about that. Even so, when things get snarky or spammy on the GW there are times when I actually miss him.

I started out on Roses Forum, Garden Party and others, and Kitchen Table soon became a favorite hang-out.

I joined the table in 2009 I think. I asked a question about my bread machine, and got so many nice and helpful responses that I decided to stay.

I also checked out the houseplant forums and vermicomposting forums regularly before that. Not anymore though.

My day wouldn't be complete if I couldn't come here.

Michelle, since you were one of the originals, where have you been? I haven't seen you till this week.

I've been here since 1998. So much has happened since then!

I signed up at the KT on day 1 when Ginger came to the HGTV Board and told us all about this new forum. I remember we didn't even have a 2nd page of posts, it was that new.
But really, it shouldn't matter when a person joined the KT. I think a person's participation is more significant than their number of years here. I always gravitated more towards the people who actually shared aspects of their lives as opposed to those who merely hit-and-run post about impersonal trivia. That's what I miss about the old KT....the people who really shared their lives with each other and didn't worry about being sniped at by someone in a bad mood or someone whose only mission in life was to be a know-it-all or be so brutally honest that it didn't matter if feelings were hurt. Some people hide behind the anonymity of a big forum and seem to live to shoot other people down. Then people become reluctant to post. Where's the fun in that?

I too miss BonnyGranny and her wonderful sharing posts. Dottie, Marlen, Murphy, CarolineSask, Kayelle, Marva, KBB.....those KT days are gone. But life goes on. And there are wonderful people here now but my life has gotten busier and I haven't been sharing myself with them so how can they know me? So just because I remember the early days of the KT and was active then, doesn't really mean anything. It's not a competition.

Ding, ding, ding! There it is! Marva.... she's the one from MI that I couldn't recall her name. She was a hoot! Thanks JenTx!

And you're right Jen,,, it doesn't mean much who was here when. I pretty much left when it went to pay. There were other options that many KT'ers meandered off to that were free. But it's also fun to "reminisce about the KT good ole days" (which also had their bad moments too).

It's kind of amazing to think about how the format of the KT is so much like it was at the beginning. Seems to me the only think different when you look at a page from the KT is that we now have ads that we didn't have back then. Otherwise, no fancy, changing backgrounds, no emoticons, no off shoot "rooms"... things that are prevalent at other message boards.

Liz, you have a great memory! I did work at the President Casino, then we moved to Phoenix in 2003 when Arizona legalized Blackjack. Love it here, and am still in the casino biz.

I forgot about the HGTV board, that is how I learned that this site had opened that day.

I remember Denny, he was creepy.

I wish I could find my tee shirt, I slept in that thing for a long time, maybe it fell apart. :-(

I remember several people not being able to afford the $15 to join when Spike decided to charge, and a bunch of us chose a member or two and bought their memberships for them. I think this is still the most generous site I have been to.

Jasdip, I was a regular until I didn't have a laptop and I got incredibly ill and was bedridden for a long time. In the last few years I have gotten a lot better and got a laptop (woohoo!) so I can post again. I have kept up my position as FAQs editor on the Pets Forum here, but that is because it was already pretty much done and I didn't need to work on it as much.

What happened to BonnyGranny? She was one of my faves.

I remember Lydia1959 best, she and I were exchange partners for Christmas one year and I still have the vintage silver coffee container and spoon that she gave me. I think of her daily!

JenTX, no one ever said this was a competition. I am trying to remember those who joined from the get go. Your comment "That's what I miss about the old KT....the people who really shared their lives with each other and didn't worry about being sniped at by someone in a bad mood or someone whose only mission in life was to be a know-it-all or be so brutally honest that it didn't matter if feelings were hurt. Some people hide behind the anonymity of a big forum and seem to live to shoot other people down. Then people become reluctant to post. Where's the fun in that?" is dead on. That is why these people don't last long here if they do that. That is why I came back, to try to kickstart some of the fun and kindness that I personally feel this forum has lost. I am glad you are with me!

Felt like I was one of the old timers but I guess not...I joined in 1999 or 2000. I remember I was planning my wedding and on the wedding forum. I liked that site so much I began to look around and wondered why people would devote a whole forum to Kitchen Tables!!

I knew Spike-got sent to Disney once but can't recall why?

Michelle-I recognize your name-I have an old email addy for you (I think we share the same last name?) I recognize a lot of the names everyone mentioned. Remember BonnyGranny's grandson, Griff? And I'm surprised no one mentioned TT!! Tadpole Terror? One of the few men here, he loved to cook and post pics of his meals. He was also good at causing trouble if I remember?

I've been here off and on for all the years. I remember going on vacation once and wondering how I would make it without reading the KT everyday!! lol The KT is where I found out about Sept 11, 2001 first. I believe it was Glenda talking about it before it was posted on the internet (I was at work, so I didn't have access to a TV). We have laughed and cried together many times!

Michelle, Bonny Granny passed away. I don't remember the year. Everyone sent her angels and they were hung all around her room at the hospital. I remember crying for days after she died. It is amazing how attached you can become to an "imaginary" friend.

Teresava, my last name used to begin with a G and was very obscure, my married name is Smith. I was on the wedding forum a lot in '99 and 2000, I married in May of 2000 on St. John in the Virgin Islands, Ginger from St. Thomas was going to help me with the wedding food but we got a lot of crossed signals when my dad had a heart attack that year and I never got to meet her.

Nita, that is so sad about Granny, she was a great source of entertainment here! Was she the one who had a grandson named Griff or something close to that? I remember someone having a grandson who had medical problems and we all cheered him on.

Thanks for the updates!

Yes Bonny Granny had a grandson, Griff, who we all adored. Stephanie hears from Harley, Bonny Granny's DH, and he reports that Griff is grown up now and doing fine. Such a sweet lady she was and is missed by all of us that knew her.

I joined in 2004 and spent my time at the Pool and Spa forum because I was renovating my pool. For the most part we had a great group of people and had alot of fun times, but there was a small handful that liked to stir the pot. It got insane at times. Thankfully Spike sent them off to Disney. I lurked at the kitchen table during that time, but was hesitant to post because it seemed as though newbies weren't all that welcomed by some members.

Don't remember exactly when I started on the KT but I was at the Garden Party in 1996.

Bee, I remember those names - speaking of Ginger, I also remember bearnecessities and tammy.

And who could forget Tahni?

Haven't been on here for a few years but have started lurking here lately was wonderful to see some of the older names. I remember having to pay to post Thinking 1998

Not me. I joined just a few months before the split.

Matti5, I remember you from the Pool Forum, we were building our pool at the same time!

I was here in the 'days' as well. Seems as if we would all post animated gifs to enhance our words! I remember Spike and often wondered what he thought about all of us and our nonsense!!!!
Never got the T-shirt though!!!

Michelle, I'm trying to remember some of the pool people. First that come to mind are Belly Flop, Muddy water and Jeff. Also, Muddy Boot? She was the pool designer/builder from So Cal that did a few episodes of HGTV Designer's Challenge. Her own pool was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. She ended up leaving the forum because of pot stirrers.

Were the t-shirts you're all talking about from GW or iVillage or were they the ones with the Kitchen Table logo that I designed? I printed the logo out on iron-ons and sent them out to about 100 KTers.

Jodi-

Have no clue how long that I've been at the 'Table. Jodi, I was one of the ones who received a KT iron-on and proudly wore my KT shirt for years.

I also paid the $15.00 at one time to stay a member.

Haven't been on here much lately (life's been comin' at me just a weee bit too hard the last several months) but I do try to stop in occasionally and see what's happening.

A welcome to all of the posters whom I haven't met, or talked to. It was nice to see a lot of the old names here. Did anybody mention, I think it was Ducky, the one who used to challenge all of us to clean our houses!? LOL

Next?

Jodi, interesting that you mention the T-shirts. Correct me if I am wrong, please.

When Spike first started the KT, there was no charge. Later, in order for him to be able to "pay the bills" which were getting higher all the time, he started the $15 fee.

Then T-shirts were offered fo sale to help raise money, but I don't remember the price, because as much as I appreciated the forums, I don't wear any T-Shirts with advertizing logos. I do remember you made the iron ons.

About the $15 fee, I could not understand why anyone who could afford a computer, and the cost of the internet provider, could not come up with $15 a year for these great forums, and so I never offered to pay for any one to join.

And so Spike sold to iVillage. Although things here have gotten better, still proof that we get what we pay for. {{gwi:1472708}}

Sue

I remember paying for some gals that live in other countries. With the exchange rates at the time it would have cost them a lot more than $15. There were others that were on fixed incomes that didn't leave them any room for them to pay the extra for a membership. I was happy to help those that needed it.

I think you got it right Sue ... on all accounts ... except I don't remember the t-shirts for sale, but then again, I am not a t-shirt person either.

I charged just enough for the iron-ons to cover my materials cost which was about $3 I think. Unfortunately after printing so many, my printer got all goobered up so the charge didn't come anywhere near my actual cost. :-]

Jodi-

Gosh, I've been here on and off since Summer/Fall 1998, although I post mostly in the Diet Chat Forum. I can't imagine not having here, you know? I've posted with a great group of ladies for well over a decade that have become like sisters to me. :)

What happened to Kris in MI? She was a riot! And what happened to Lulie Wayne (her DD was killed when she went to rescue her brother's dog in the street)?

The tees were tan and said "Gardenweb" on them. I didn't know about the KT tees.

Deamn, EVERYBODY had animated gifs then, that's right! And that was back in the days of dial-up, so some posts would take forever to load. I remember I had a huge file of them and used one for every time I posted. I am glad it is much cleaner and simpler now, they were like the big hair and shoulder pads of the 80's: cool back then, now they just seem silly!