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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1950-08-03, Page 2PAGE TWO nton New Era Started In 1.865 (By Richmond Atliey), As •one oldtimer to another, CLINTON:NEWS:RECORD heart- ily congratulates the Town of Clinton, on the celebration of its 75th anniversary as a town. The paper can lay some claim to longevity, too, for it was: on June 6, 1865, that the first issue of The Clinton New Era—which amalgamated With The News- Record in, 1924—appeared.. • Now hi 86th Year That means that this great family journal has completed 85 years of service to the -cominun ity, and 'now -.is. in its 86th year of publication, During their long existence as separate and conjoined institu- tions, The News -Record and :The New Era have had many ups and downs. They have had a num: ber of proprietors and many more employees, all of whom have given their best to their papers and thein town and community. Capable Staff Present owners of the paper are R. S. Atkey and A. L. Colquhoun, with <a, capable staff consisting of Clarence Cooper, compositor and make-up man; Benson Sut- ter, office manager, proofreader, etc.; and G. E. Hall, proprietor from '1916-1995. who still is ac- tive as pressman: and compositor; Mrs. R. S. Atkey, writing under the pen -name of "MBA", con- tributes a regular, column of interest to women .under the' heading: "Let's Chat. while from time to time, Murray Col- guhoun, ' brother . of Laurie Col- quhoun, gives a hand in the shop as printer's devil, - . Fine Correspondents The NEWS -RECORD is very fortunate indeed to have', one of the finest staffs of rural cor- respondents in Ontario—a group which has 'Contributed greatly to the success of the paper. Their effortsare much appreciated both CLINTON' NEWS -RECORD — OLD BOYS' SOUVi?NIIE EDi7': ow 011110 etes THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 1980 Editor R., S. ATREY by .the management and the public which they serve. Early 'Days of Struggle Clinton was only a struggling village back in -1864, but it was being served by two newspap- ers The Courier owned by, George Laycock, and The True Briton, owned by a Mr. Kelly. The inevitabie(.happened; during the fall of that year both found the going so tough that they died a natural, death for lack of financial support. It was then that Edmund. Holmes — great-grandfather of Benson Sutter—and an employee of The .Hamilton Times _ came into the picture. He bought the plant of The True. Briton, com- bined with :George Laycock and. his Courier plant, and' formed 'a partnership known as Holmes and Laycock. A "New Era" Dawns That's when the name "New Era" came into being, for both men hoped to establish' just .that in contrast with the habitual reverses. which ',seemed to dog the footsteps of the new paper's predecessors. The -plant was 'sit- uated to the rear of Laycock's- book store about where Frank Fingland's law office (formerly n The Paper In Its "New .Look" Plant Manager' , The NEWS -RECORD'S new, modern front is pictured ABOVE;' replacing 'the old-fashioned "grocery store"; front which had done duty for many, many ,years. It was a break with the past but a necessary one, as the timbers were almost ready "to. collapse and the basement wall had to be replaced, la fir three, l laminated plywood, striated, and is finished in . The new front is o£ Douglas p y natural colour, with hard varnish finish. .The plate glass windows provide excellent lighting facilities. The new sign, styled in the ' paper's signature, is of sawed plywood finished in black to contrast with the •natural colour of the front. •' M. D. McTaggart's bank) : now stands. The New •Era hit the streets on a bright Thursday, July, 6, 1865, the staff consisting of•`Ed- mund Holmes, his son Robert Hoinies, a daughter, Miss Anna, and Edwin Grigg, tie last-named the only' paid employee.. Perhaps that is why the new paper lived and prospered! Six months later, Edmund .ifoImes, a strong Free Trade Liberal, purchased the Layock interest, but under threat of the Conservatives starting a paper; he sold The New Era to Edwin Grigg, who was a Conservative. The latter changed the name to New Office Provides Plenty of Working Space The Monitor,. but as the support was not what he expected to re- ceive, he disposedof the property after six months to. Robert Math- ison, a school •teacher from Mil- ton. Again not `a financial suc- cess the paper reverted to the Holmes family once more. The New 'Era; operated under the firm name of B. Holmes and Son for some years, and dater was the property of ' Robert Holmes, - who disposed of the property to W. H. Kerr and S'on in the spring of 1910: Incidentally, Robert Holmes was Mayor of Clinton 1894-98,. and was Liberal Member of Compositor Parliament for West Huron 1904- 08. He spent his latter years as a member of the Civil Service in Toronto and died in March 1934. "Rescued Press . Used The New Era was printed for years on a Washington hand press with produotion of about 250 an hour. Subsequently, this gave way to a power press with a little history behind it, as it had been . the press used by William Lyon Mackenzie in Toronto and later had beendumped into To- ronto Say.. Recovered from the deep, the press had been repair- ed and brought to, Clinton for service with The New Era. After several years, it was broken up ',apers joined In 1924 (By Richmond Atkey) Two smaller, streams converged, into one larger and more power- ful river when- The News -Record and ,The New Era were ain.algam- ated in October 1924., under .the ownership of 'G E.- Hall and the editorship, .- of Miss:, Mabel R. Clark. The 'latter was a member of e famous-, newspaper family and aunt of the -famous Greg Clark of Toronto Star Weekly and,Montreal Standard fame, She passed away in February' 1937. Amalgamation, of- the two pap- ers . helped to strengthen •the one - remaining; and to serve the people of the• community more -, efficiently. ` Now for ` close to 26 years, Clinton has been a one - paper town. During the strenuous years. of World War Il,. with shortages. both in staff and supplies, Mr. Hall laboured- under great -diffi- culties to produce a newspaper. It was hard going fpr one near- ing the mark of three -score -and - ten. ,. So in September 1945—after 56 years of his life spent as a work- ing newspaperman — Mr. Hall decided to shift the responsibility to younger shoulders and dispos- ed of the business to a partner- ship of R. -S. Atkesr and H. L. Tomlinson, both of whom hed had extensive experience in t h e weekly newspaper field' with The Barrie Examiner. The former be- came Editor and Business Man- ager and the litter Plant Man- ager. Mr. Tomthison - sold his interest fo the former in June 1946 and returned to his old love. A. I,.. COl,QUHOUN and sold as scrap iron to Clin- ton Foundry. Following : the Holmes regime, which had continued for 45 years, the . Kerrscontinued until Oc- tober 1924, when competitive conditions were such' that the owner at that time, J. Leslie Kerr, decided to dispose of the property to G. E. Hall, publisher of the rival News -Record. The New Era, office was located where the egg grading station of C. J. Livermore now is situated:,, ; Since that time, Clinton has been a -one-paper, town. The New Era is not forgotten, for many people still ask to renew. their subscription to `;The Era." "Record" Established The Record—by which many of our subscribers stilt, know The News -Record= -originally was a political bairn, ' produced and nurtured by the stalwartsof the Conservative Party- in Huron County. And it was founded by Edward Floody, a. Goderich Township schoolteacher. For some time, Mr. Bloody had, been turning over in his mind the idea thathe would like to go intothe newspaper business as (Continued on Page Nineteen) Then in, March 1948, A. L. Colquhoun, 'who had learned his trade as a printer and linotype operator with the paper and had done his trick of duty with the RCAF overseas until the fall of 1945., entered into partnership with Mr. Atkey, the former be- coming Plant r Manager and the latter Editor and Business Man- ager. This partnership is in effect et the present time. Good Equipment Essential' in. Modern Printing, Plant CLARENCE COOPER Office Manager In the new front office, every facility is provided for efficient service to the public. The -- ABOVE' photograph was taken from the main entrance looking into the office, with individual offices of the Editor and Plant Manager to the left and the entrance "to the printing plant in ., the background. Walls are a soft nile green, with natural finish trim, and white ceilings. Floors are marboleum,in rippled slate -gray finish, Counter is black with natural finish front. BENSON SUTTER office manager, is seen at his desk.. CANADIAN "BROADCASTING CORPORATION and Clinton News -Record Presents "Salute to Clinton!" featuring Dr. I. W. Shaw, and other Clintoniams and "Nei News" ews" with Don Fairbairn o° to be broadcast over CBL from Clinton Lions Arena .un at 9.30 a.m. as a feature of the Old Boys'. Reunibn (August 5-9) FREE TICKETS • obtainable. at The News -Record accommodation will guarantee seating in the Arena • LIMITED NUMBER AVAILABLE Do not be disappointed! Secure Your Tickets Early!, NOTE: Please :he in your seat by 9.30 a,la. New Era Proprietor The backbone of any' modern newspaper and commercial printing plant, such as operated by The 'NEWS -RECORD, is effioient equipment, along with fine workmanship. ABOVE picture shows one section of the paper's commercial printing plant, with platen job presses on the left, the speedy 'Heidelberg automatic printing press in the centre, and the ever -reliable linotype—which sets the type for the paper and for commercial printing jobs -on the right. In the foreground is a modern Hammond proof press. Nearby, but not in the photo, are two very useful articles—an electric caster and an all-purpose Trim -o. -saw. CLARENCE COOPER rand LAURIE COLQUHOUN are the figures shown, "" News -Record Founder BENSON SUTTER Pressman THE LATE ROBERT HOLMES Whose father, the late Edmund Holmes, founded The Clinton New ,Era, the first issue ap- pearing July 6, ' 1865. Robert Holmes, ex -mayor and ex -MP, • published the; -paper until he sold it 'to W. H. Kerr and Son in the Spring of 1910, Mrs Hol- mes joining the Customs Be- Mpartment, Toronto. G. E. Hall. bought - it in October 1924 and amalgamated it with The News -Record. Mr. Holmes died in March 1934, G. E. HALL Who published The NEWS - RECORD from October 1916 until September 1945, and. still is active :on•the composing room staff, although he will be' 75 on Sunday, August 6. He came to Clinton in August 1906 to work as a journeyman printer on The ",News Record with the late W. "J Mitchell, TILE LATE EDWARD FLOODY.' Who founded The Huron Re --- cord, the initial issue appearing in the •First week of January 1881. He sold the paper Ito Whitely and Todd of The Code- rich News .in December 1882 and later joined the Civil -Ser- vice in. Toronto. He passed away in June 1942. ' ABOVE is not the present location of the plant but the sign over the door disappeared only recently when the dew front was constructed, but is still in our possession. The picture was taken during the period when Todd and Whitely were at the helm. Members of the staff, reading from left to right were: A. M. Todd; , W. T. Whitely; Miss. E. Sheppard; John Manuel!, now living retired in Clinton; a young man not identified; and Dick Finch.