HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-06-13, Page 57A
Page 25S
Signal -Star preserves area's history
Few people who subscribe to
The Goderieh Signal -Star think
of the nevJspaper as a living
history book. But that's exactly
what it is and that's the reason
an all-out effort has been made
lin recent' months to preserve
the precious old_.manusiripts
which are known here as "the
old files".
For over 126 years now, the
• Signal -Star has been faithfully
recording the happenings in
and •around the community.
• The new for more than a cen-
t iry has beeri„olilitten by in-
terested'r eople and 'printed for
district aders, most of whom
are appreciative. Is that the
end of it?
At the former Signal -Star of-
fice on West Street., one small
musty room in the basement
was scattered with volumes of
the. Signal -Start,` some dating
back to,1848. Their pages were
yellowed and brittle with age.
Unfortunately, many years of
mishandling had taken their
toll and the irreplaceable
sheets were a ,sad and 'so'rry
sight.
One of the town's most
- respected historians,- W.E.
Elliott, who uses the old papers
regularly, spoke often about the
deplorable state of the files. He
shook his head regretfully every.
time he raked through the piles
of books and loose pages in
careless disarray.
But no one listened - or so it
seemed. The old files remained
dishevelled and dishonored in
that dark and damp basement
• room. Out of sight, out of mind.
Perhaps it'' takes an editor to
understand the 'meaning of
those old volumes. Perhaps it
requires a long-time affiliation
with the Signal -Star before
deep feelings can surface.
Whatever it is, 'two Signal -
Star employees looked with
compassion on the old
newspapers in that forgotten
corner when it came time to
move from the crowded con-
ditions on West Street to the
spacious plant in Industrial
Park. Shirley J. Keller and
•John. Buchanan began to take
steps to save the old files from
total destruction.
The first act was simply to
remove the old files from the
basement on• West Street to a
safe spot . awhile plans were
being,made for their future.
Anyone with any interest in
historical materials was contac-
te��l . • in the hope that some
special place of honor could be
found for them.
But no one was able to claim
them. It wasn't lack of interest.
It was lack of space for the files
of the Signal -Star for more
than 100 years take 'plenty of
space.
At last, John Berry, Huron
County Administrator, agreed
to store the old papers - at least
some of them - in the fire -proof
vaults at the court house for an
interim time until some per-
manent home could be found
for them.
One Saturday last winter the
fragile records sof Goderich's,
past were lifted from their
shadowy shelves and . packed
into cartons for storage in
safety.
But that was only the begin-
ning.
A study revealed that The
G9derich Signal had been"
• micro -filmed from 1848-1936;
that the Goderich ;Star had
been micro -filmed from 1868-
1937; that the semi-weekly
Signal had ° been micro -filmed'
from 1862-1873.
Further searching discovered
copies of these micro -films at
Goderich and District
Collegiate . Institute. ' History
students at the school used the
historical films for research of
all types! `
What's more, the micro -film
was available to the public -
but only on school days, • of
course, and only if suitable
arrangements could be made
0 with the staff at GDCI.
That was a tremendous ad-
vantage to be sure, but it still
'wasn't enough. It still didn't
preserve the actual copies of
the old' papers. It didn't allow
• people to touch them, caress
them, appreciate them.
A poignant pitch was made
td -management to save the ac-
tual papers. There was some
thought among the upper
echelon to • "go modern" -
micro-filtn the entire -126 years
of.
neW-Silap r , store the can-
isters in the desk drawer and
buy. a 'reader to- matte/ them
useful. Total cost of that kind
of action would range between
$3,000-,$3,500 - but it would'be
neat, concise and leave no
.problem about the actual bulky
.papers. They would be sold to
the highest bidder!
And there id 'sale for the old
papers. Collectors of all- types.
will., pay hard' cash for old
documents including
newspapers. But Keller and
Puchanan" frowned on this
lan. The actual old files would
be lost forever to the people of
Goderich - and that just should
got happen.
Once more efforts were made
to find some plaee to take ,,the
old papers. The museumwas
too crowded! The Huron
County Historical Society had
no space! The local library
found the files too cumber-
some! The county library
preferred micro -film!
What to do?
As .a last ditch effort, John
Buchanan and . Shirley Keller
got estimates on a large storage
cupboard in the new Sign*
Star office. They showed that
by building the shelves' and
having the papers sorted and
filed by years from 1848 to
present year; the company
would have a • smaller cash
outlay, and maintain the
precious old papers intact.
It would require considerably
continued on. page::i9S
New home for old files
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