The Rural Voice, 2000-06, Page 44krDE
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40 THE RURAL VOICE
jam them on her head before going to
make a call.
Gunby and Brown were business
partners until 1983 when Brown sold
her share of the magazine to Gunby
because of changes in her personal
life.
During the time that Gunby
owned the magazine it received some
publicity of its own. She remembers
visiting the CBC studio in Toronto to
do an interview with Vicky Gaberau
in Vancouver about The
Rural Voice. The same
story also featured the
magazines Frank and The
Beaver. The Family Farmer
television crew also came
to the office, to tape a show
about the publication. By
that time The Rural Voice
had outgrown the second
floor of the Gunby house
and was housed above Van
Dely's in Goderich,
"I had a really good
time," said Gunby. One of
the ultimate pleasures of the job, no
matter how hard she was working
was she was able to work with her
family. Her daughter Lise has a
Masters in English and was the editor
for several years and when a job
became available as the ad
representative for Grey/Bruce her
husband Merle took the position and
holds it to this day. "We put our life
blood into the magazine," said
Gunby. "It was just all the people
who came together. I just think it was
the people who made the magazine,"
she said.
However, it wasn't all work
and no play. There were a
few humourous anecdotes she
can recall. In one case of mistaken
identity The Rural Voice lost its rural
roots. Gunby called up United
Breeders and wts asking them
questions quickly and the response
she got from them was oddly
hesistant, she said. It turned out they
thought it was Rolls-Royce magazine
phoning them.
Another time, The Rural Voice
featured a story about the 10 Sexiest
Farmers. Jim Reed had been wanting
to do a story about the 10 Sexiest
Farmers for awhile. The idea of the
story was that the magazine had done
a poll and these people had been
chosen. Then they were phoned for
their reaction and to ask them why
they thought they had been named.
Some people even wrote to the
magazine to ask why they weren't
picked.
Despite her dedication to what she
was doing, circumstances started to
change within the Gunby family.
Merle and Sheila went on a vacation
to Granada and Sheila worked at the
paper while she was there for three
days. then was offered a job when
she got home. The trip also
sparked a desire to travel
more as a couple. At around
the same point in time, their
daughter Lise who had been
looking after The Rural Voice
as the editor was thinking of
going to teacher's college.
Gunby wrote letters to
Southam, Thomson and
Signal -Star Publishing and
before there was time to
think, The Rural Voice had
changed hands and was
bought by the Signal -Star
within six weeks to two months.
Soon after, Gunby, who was helping
Jim Fitzgerald with the transition,
was at the office when tragedy
struck. Both Fitzgerald and Gunby
were wondering why the new editor,
Amber Underwood, who had just
been hired a month ago was late for
work. Gunby said Underwood had
the contacts and was very involved in
all areas to really push The Rural
Voice forward. Unfortunately, she
had died of an aneurysm on the way
to work that day.
On a more positive note
eventually, The Rural Voice found its
way home to its creator in 1991 when
it was sold by the Signal -Star to
North Huron Publishing Company
Inc. The offices moved back to Blyth
and Keith Roulston was in the
publisher and editor's seat once
again.
Many supporters of The Rural
Voice are also glad to see the
magazine has returned to its roots.
"Keith is doing a super job. . He put
a lot of effort into starting The Rural
Voice and it's part of who he is," said
Gunby.
"It's a terrific magazine and I'm
glad it's still going and that Keith is
the owner again because it is deep in
his heart to make the magazine a go,"
{ said Brown.0
Bev Brown, with
her famous red
hat, helped build
up the magazine.