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For several years, I was a licensed insurance agent, working for Lincoln Mutual and Pioneer Mutual, helping insurance agents sell group life and health insurance. I had a vague idea of it, but it wasn’t until later I found out that Pioneer Mutual was the last real offshoot of the very first modern life insurance company ever, the Ancient Order of United Workmen. I found insurance quite interesting, as a product and a business, even if the clerical stuff bored me to death.

So, yes, I do realize that you, and the majority of the world out there, don’t really find the history of modern insurance all that exciting. The reason for the Infomercantile’s existence, however, is to create resources online for those people who do. If I can’t find anything about it online, I make a page. If I’m Googling, somebody else might be, too. I’ve got information — not the most valuable information — but it’s useful to somebody, I’m sure.

Oh, and that lady, up and to the right? She’s from the cover of a Lincoln Mutual booklet — she’s so excited about insurance, she had an aneurysm and collapsed in a heap. That’s dedication to insurance, right there.

I’ve had this magazine for maybe 6 months now, I it helped inspire an article at Collector’s Quest, and now I’m sharing it with the world. In conjunction with Kitschy-Kitschy-Coo, you can follow along as I scan & comment on each page of this old magazine. The theory is that I’ll add a page or two each week…we’ll see how long my amusement with myself lasts. There’s a point even I don’t think I’m funny anymore.

This blog, while informative, shall be a resource for keeping track of recent updates, projects-in-process, and other interesting tidbits not worthy of an entry in the Wiki software. Start at the main page, and go from there.