Ground Water started in 1963 as a publication of the Technical Division of the National Water Well Association (NWWA). Times and names have changed. The Technical Division was renamed the Association of Ground Water Scientists and Engineers (AGWSE) in 1985, and the National Water Well Association became the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) in 1992. The appearance and delivery of the journal have also changed. In 2002, we changed the cover design and the font. In 2005–2006, we provided online access to current and all back issues. In 2009, we introduced color figures at no charge to the author. When the journal debuted in 1963, the science was still young; Ground Water was one of the first water journals. It was the intent of the founding editor (Bill Walton) that articles in Ground Water would advance the science and practice of ground water hydrology. This is still our mission. Occasionally someone will tell me that Ground Water has become “esoteric” and no longer provides practical information of immediate use. But we need to remember that the field of ground water hydrology has become increasingly sophisticated and complex, and articles in Ground Water reflect the maturing of both the science and practice. Collectively, journals constitute a historical repository of ideas and findings that are essential to the advancement of science and engineering. Ideas are often introduced in a founding paper and refined, expanded, and evolved in later papers as researchers explore and improve on published work. Because journal papers are peer-reviewed, readers are assured that the reported ideas and methods have been vetted by at least a small segment of the community before publication. In any journal, some papers will never lead anywhere; other papers will have immediate practical impact while others contain ideas that evolve and mature with time. For example, C.V. Theis' landmark paper (Theis 1935, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 16: 519–524) was recognized as an important paper immediately but was not used in practice until 7 years later when Wenzel's type curves (1942, U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 887) converted the Theis equation into a practical tool for pumping test analysis. Although the name of the journal has not changed throughout its 46-year history, the use of “ground water” both nationally and internationally has evolved from two words to one word. The controversy over the spelling of “ground water” has largely been resolved in favor of “groundwater.” In the Technical Commentary in this issue, Vicki Kretsinger Grabert comments on the evolution of usage. Today, most papers submitted to Ground Water use the one-word spelling as do most of the ads published in the journal. Yet, papers in Ground Water are edited to use the two-word spelling. Unfortunately, it is not a simple procedure to change to the one-word spelling in articles published in the journal. The NGWA oversees the publication of Ground Water as well as the association's two other journals. Although the editor-in-chief has control over most aspects of the journal, the way “ground water” is spelled within the NGWA is determined by the NGWA Board of Directors. NGWA is both a professional organization and a trade organization. In addition to AGWSE, by far its largest division, the NGWA includes the Contractors Division (well drillers), the Suppliers Division, and the Manufacturers Division. The NGWA Board of Directors consists of 10 members from the Contractors Division (including president, president-elect, past-president, secretary, and treasurer), 2 from AGWSE, and 2 each from the other two divisions. Following NGWA policy, which was recently re-enforced by the NGWA Board of Directors, we are required to edit articles published in Ground Water to the two-word spelling, even though the editor-in-chief much prefers the one-word spelling, which is the spelling used in most other water journals. Our readers now have an opportunity to begin a dialogue about this choice. The NGWA Board is open to considering whether “ground water” should be two words or one, and how widely any possible future change may be integrated throughout the organization—from just within the pages of its journals to perhaps as widely as changing the name of the journal and the association name itself. NGWA President Alan Eades (alan.eades@yahoo.com) is receptive to hearing from you. I would welcome hearing from you as well, whatever your opinion. Note: On June 12th, the NGWA Board voted to allow the one-word spelling in journal articles. Note: Opinions expressed in the editorial column are those of the editor-in-chief and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NGWA.