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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1973-06-28, Page 103TIMES EMPLOYEES — The above picture shows the employees of the Times newspaper office in about 1909. From the left is Aquilla Sheere (brother of Frank Sheere), Russell Southcott, Frank Johns, Russell (Pat) Flynn, J. Melvin Southcott (in back), Earl Southcott, N. Bellwood, and Jim (Sneezer) Sweet. STARTED IN 1902 — J. M. Southcott used to set type by hand when he started as a printer's devil at the age of 15 in 1902. He worked a 60 hour week and had to stand on a wooden box to reach the eight-point type. He also had to tend the fires, and sweep the floors, and he learn- ed to write for the paper by reading what he had to set in type. Here Mr. Southcott is shown with a bank of this old type. (Photo by Doerr) T-A OFFICE - The building in the above picture is part of the present T- A office. It used to be a jewellery store owned by S.E. Jones and was then purchased by John White, In 1945 the T-A purchased the adjoin- ing building, and in 1953 tore out both building fronts to renovate it to the way it looks today. Section 1, Page 15 THE EXETER TIMES-ADVOCATE JUNE 28, 1973 Newspaper also marks centennial The Exeter Times-Advocate has won some 40 awards in both Ontario and all-Canada newspaper competitions. These have come under the headings of best front page layout, general all round excellence, traffic safety promotion, etc. When Mr. and Mrs. James Willis, natives of Ireland, became Exeter's first settlers they never thought at that time they would be starting a community which was later to produce an out- standing small town newspaper. In 1872, John White of Stouff- ville, Ontario, founded Exeter's first newspaper, The Exeter Times. This paper was Liberal in politics and the first issue was published in August, 1873. J. Melvin Southcott started work for the Times in 1902 at the age of 15 as a printer's devil. In this position he was required to work 60 hours a week and his duties included looking after the fires, sweeping the floors and setting the type for the newspaper by hand. Only five-feet four inches in height, the young compositor had to stand on a wooden box to reach • the eight-point type in which the paper was set, Every letter was handled individually at that time, instead of being set by line- casting machines as is the practice today. But this is how young Southcott learned to write for the paper, by reading the material he had to set up, as sent out by John and Matilda White. Many early Canadian newspapermen had the same kind of schooling. The Times, then, was an eight page newspaper and four of the pages were printed in Toronto on a yearly contract. Matilda White, who hired J.M. Southcott was a daughter of the Times founder, John White. The paper was subsequently run by Miss White and brother John. The late F.J. Wickwire, who later started the Creditors News and Dashwood Pioneer also was in charge for a short time. John took on the staff another printer's devil, a young boy named John Willison, He was born at Hillsgreen, a hamlet between Kippen and Drysdale, the son of a family who had come out to Canada from Yorkshire about the middle of the 19th century. Willison eventually became one of only two Canadians, graduating from the weekly newspaper field to have the honor of knighthood conferred on him. He became Sir John Willison Kt. LLD. The other weekly newspaperman was Lord Thomson of Fleet whose first journalistic adventure was at Timmins, Ontario, But printing was not what Willison wanted to do. He wanted to write but his duties at Exeter required that he first learn the printing trade. Therefore, after only two weeks at the Times, he slipped away in the night. The day after he left he was reported as "missing". In his own book of reminiscences, he was quoted as saying he "left by the light of the moon without notice." He had a burning ambition to be a political journalist kindled at his first political meeting at Varna in 1872. From Exeter he got a job on the London Adver- tiser for three dollars a week. When he joined the Toronto Globe staff in 144, the starting salary was $15 a week. In 1913, he received his knighthood for outstanding contributions to Canadian public affairs as a political journalist. He died May 27, 1927. The White ;amily purchased the Crediton News and the Dash- wood Pioneer in 1906 and amalgamated them with the Times. Then they were bought out by the Exeter Times Printing Co. Ltd, headed by J.G. Stan- bury, who later became Lincoln county judge. F.J. Wickwire who had been publishing the Crediton and Dashwood papers was taken into the new Exeter company as secretary. The new paper remained Liberal, politically opposing the Exeter Advocate, the Conservative party organ in the village. In 1910, Southcott purchased the shares in the company that had been held by John White. A year later, at the age of 25, he bought. out Wickwire's interest and became managing editor at a salary of $65 a month. In 1924, while he was in control of the company, the Advocate was purchased from Charles Sanders and R.N. Creech and the papers were amalgamated into the Times-Advocate, The Advocate, formerly the Reflector, was published across the street from the present Times Advocate sight, probably in what is now Sanders Grocery Store. The charter of the company was surrendered in 1941 when Southcott acquired all the capital stock. It remained in his name until 1953 when his two sons, Robert and Donald were taken into the private company. Robert had served as an air- frame mechanic with the RCAF during the second World War, and his mechanical abilities were helpful in designing and building much of the equipment found around the office. Don Southcott graduated from the journalism course at the University of Western Ontario before joining his father and brother in the publishing. business. For a time Don served as editor and in May 1964 he founded the Stratford Times, It was sold March 2, 1967. Besides serving as editor, J.M. Southcott operated almost all of the presses and equipment which had been installed by the firm during his years at the paper. He could recall setting the news on the now obsolete Typograph machine which preceded the Linotype as line-casting equip- ment. In 1911, the year he became managing editor, the firm in- stalled its first Linotype. It was in 1928 that Southcott purchased a Babcock-Optimus press at a liquidation sale in Toronto for the sum of $500. It cost him three times that much to install the machine in the basement of the plant. The press printed the newspaper until 1956 and it was with this machine that the Times- Advocate won a provincial award for typographical excellence, In 1958, the Exeter paper purchased the Zurich Herald from Chester Smith. For awhile the Herald was published within the Times Advocate. The Hensall Observer, Crediton and Dash- wood papers had been bought out in 1906. In Grand Bend, the Holiday was run by the Times Advocate for several years. In April, 1963, the Exeter Times-Advocate changed its production to the offset method, a photographic process. The paper had formerly been printed on the rotary press of the Stratford Beacon-Herald from 1956-1963. Now Webco Publications in London handles the paper's printing although all the com- position is done in the Exeter plant. J.M. Southcott celebrated 60 years in the newspaper business in 1962. He was a president of the Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association and a charter member. Also he was a member of the Canadian Newspapers Association. He has attended a score of newspaper conventions from coast to coast and has been overseas twice with other Canadian editors on tours of England and the continent. He first went in 1922, when he attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace and was among the group presented to King Albert of Belgium. It was on this tour too, that he and Mr. R.N. Creech, then editor of the Advocate, represented Exeter, Ontario, at a civic banquet in Exeter, England.In 1956, Mr. and Mrs. Southcott went overseas on a CWNA tour. While in Rome they had an audience with the Pope. The publisher was also ex- tremely active in local affairs. He served on the village council, was chairman of the board of education, a member of the arena board, Scoutmaster of the Exeter troop, recording steward of James St. United Church, Sunday School superintendent and organizer of the district older boys' parliament which met for several years at James St. Church. In his later years he devoted considerable time to the development of Southcott Pines Park Land Ltd., a Grand Bend subdivision in which he held an interest along with his brothers and sister. Mr. Southcott relinquished active participation in the paper from 1953 on. But he contributed a weekly column called "J.M.'s Jottings", which dealt with the history of Exeter and surroun- ding area, You will find many of them printed throughout this paper. His lengthy career as a newspaperman ended in 1969 with his death. Don Southcott left the firm in March, 1967 when he was ap- pointed executive assistant to the Treasurer of Ontario, Hon. Charles S. MacNaugh ton. From 1967 the Exeter Times- Advocate has had Robert South- cott as its publisher and William Batten as editor.