The Wingham Advance-Times, 1979-07-25, Page 50L%r Cogtonnial Edition, 1979.
Newspapers have been serving
Wingham for the past 108 years that town.
When Wingham's founders couple of other short-lived publi-
•oW for incorporation in 1879 cations.
m own editors of t
The WingbaTimes was already Well knpas
eight years old. The Times was
years included H. 8. Elliott, Theo
established by Robert Matheson
Hall, A. G. Smith and many
and during the year 1871 it was
printed at Clinton for distribution
others.
Rising costs of labor and equip -
in WWgtnam. In April, 1872 R. A.
ment made it evident in the early
Graham purchased • the paper
twenties that only one newspaper
and set up the first printing plant
could survive, so Andy Smith of
Elliott of
in Wingham.
in
The Advance and H. B.
The Times realized that
The Advance was started
1875 by a Mr. Cliffe of Kincard-
amalgamation was inevitable. As
ine. His foreman was James
a consequence The Times was
Fleuty, who came to Wingham
purchased by The Advance, in
from Walkerton and who pur-
1924. In 1927 W. Logan Craig pur-
The Advance -Times and
chased The Advance in 1874. He
as publisher until 1885,
chased
following his death in 1932 W • W
when he sold The Advance to
Armstrong the
nd loW. ng -time employee McCool,
of
John Cornyn.
From time to time third news-
the newspaper, formed The Ad -
papers were started in town, sur-
vance-Times Publishing Co. and
its Bill
viving from a few months to a
One of these was The
became publishers.
McCool became sole owner in
few years.
Vidette, edited by J. T. Mitchell,
January, 1946 and continued so
which was purchased in 1885 by
until sale of The Advance -Times
The Tunes. Other newspapers
to the present owners, Wenger
absorbed by the Wingham pub-
Bros. Limited, in January, 1951.
lishers were The Howick Enter-
Since that time Barry Wenger
prise, The Gorrie Vidette and The
has remained in Wingham as
Wroxeter. News, as well as a
managing editor and for several
years was asses e y
brother, Bob.
In 1968 the Wenger firm pur-
chased The Listowel Banner and
Bob Wenger moved to that com-
munity as managing editor of the
paper. In 1971 The Mount Forest
Confederate was added to the
company's holdings. David
Wenger, son of Barry, continues
In 1973 a fourth publhcaul
known as Crossroads was started
and runs as a weekly supplement
to the three parent newspapers
and goes into an additional 6,000
homes to create blanket cover-
age of the towns and surrounding
rural areas at Palmerston, Har-
riston, Brussels, Milverton,
Drayton, Moorefield and Wallen -
stein — with total readership of
about 56,000 people.
The days of letter -by -letter
hand typesetting and hand -
powered printing presses disap-
peared with the introduction of
the Linotype machine and the
cylinder press after the first
world war. These new machines
dominated the newspaper print-
ing plants in this area until about
15 years ago, when the electronic
age began to take over. In 1962
The Advance -Times installed its
first "offset" printing press — a
radical departure from the "hot
type" printing method.
Offset printing relies on photo-
graphy as its key process. The
type is no longer set in metal, but
is photographed letter -by -letter
at very high speeds. The Wenger
firm's type composing facilities
are located at a central plant in
W. B. McCOOL Listowel and its six computerized
Bill McCool and W. W. from
machines produce
from 80 to loo pages each week —
(Wally) Armstrong formed a task which would require the
the Advance -Times Publish- work of at least 80 hand typeset-
ing Company in 1932. Bill be- ters in 1871.
came sole owner in 1946 and . When the present publishers
continued unth he sold to bought The Advance -Times in
Wenger Bros. Limited, in 1951 the paper employed only
January 1951. three people. Full and part-time
EFFORTS TO SECURE
PLOWING MATCH FAIL
Huron County was u
successful in its bid for the 1
International Plowing Match, t
Ontario Plowmen's Associati
at Toronto acceLY-ina the i
..e
vitation of Elgin County. A stro
deputation from the coun
headed by J. D. Thomas
Goderich presented the Hur
invitation.
Whether or not Huron w
reissue its invitation for the 1
match has not been decided,
will probably come before
special joint committee at
early meeting. The mate
alternate each year betw
eastern and western Ontario
1939 Item.
staff now total about 50 at thehr
three locations.
For many years the local paper..
n consisted of eight pages per
940 issue. Today an average issue
he runs from 36 to 40 pages.
on The Advance -Times staff in-
n eludes Henry Hess, editor; Dave
ng
Dineeti, ass., M-1 editnr; Gladys
ty Jermyn, receptionist and book -
of keeper; Muriel Coultes, circula-
on tion; Bill Crump, advertising
sales; Lavonne Ballagh, social
ill editor; Louise Welwood, mailing
942 and filing; Harry Gerrie, driver;
but Scott Cornwall, Janice and
the Joanne Coultes, mailing.
an During the past 25 years The
hes Advance -Times has won many
.,en provincial and national awards in
competition with Canada's, more
than 6o0 weekly
Best overall, best front page, best
women's page — in some of these
CHEAP PORK categories the Wingham paper
Mr. Thos. Wilson last week sold won several times. Two years
in Wingham a 14 -months -old pig ago one of its editorials was
which dressed 477 pounds and judged best of the year in a class
which netted him within a few which included all weeklies in
cents of forty dollars. (From The Canada regardless of size.
Wingham Times, Feb. 3, 1893)
John Dinsley of the Dinsley
House had several incandescent
lights put in his house this week.
—News itetn 1891.
SPRING FIOOO OF 1947
Courtesy Robert Angus
6r�k v, i✓. �'`'�!'��r'w11iY�`.'���i'4,'�".illi
*V
Greetings from
The Advance -Times Staff
Front: Henry Hess, editor; Louise Welwood, mailing and filing: Lavonne Ballagh, social editor; Gladys Jermyn,
receptionist and bookkeeper; Barry Wenger, publisher. Bock: Dave Dineen, assistant editor; Harry Gerrie,
driver and deliveries; Muriel Coultas, circulation; Bill Crump, advertising sales.
With Win4ham All The Way.
We at The Advance -Times have inherited a long -stand- The Advance -Times is read in 86.9 per cent of homes in
ing responsibility. For 108 years the Wingham papers the Wingham market area.
have been the only news medium devoted solely to the
welfare and progress of this community. Our tradition of community service and support will con-
tinue as the town enters its second century. We hope the
Just how well we have carried out that responsibility is, townspeople 100 years from now will be able to look
we hope, attested to by reader support. back with equal satisfaction to their past.
THE ADVANCE -TIMES STAFF on the occasion of Bill Fleuty's 90th birthday, February 25, 1955. Back row, Alf
Schwichtenberg, pressman; Miller Davis; Barry Wenger, publisher; Nellie Gannett, linotype operator; Lillion
Overend, wife of Miles CNerend, reporter -photographer who took the picture; Lois (Borho) Warwick; Walter
Charlton, compositor; Ruth Charlton; Edna Davis, receptionist and bookkeeper. Front, Clarence Borho, lino -
type operator; Jean Wenger, linotype operator; Bill Fleuty and his sister, Moudie Dodd.
The Town
of our Choice !
We haven't been in Wingham
very long ... just long enough
to know we picked a good
town for our place of
business.
The people of this community
have a proud heritage and a
history of progress.
We will do our part to boost
for continued prosperity
and growth.
Happy Centenma#
to One-und, All!
el
Ken 41 ,loan Crawford
and Staff
ffl