The Goderich Signal-Star, 1972-04-27, Page 13.1
Bg Mrs. Catheriae.lCiateloul �akb
°
If Monday is "bliJe", Friday must be sunshiny'•
yellow because as, surety as dawns this day,
arrives also "our hometown paper". Whatever
else ails, this faithful, folded folio helps put •it
right. To' we who nowenjoy our ""hometown but
seasonally the.temptaetion" arises to "forsake all
else, cleaving only to the copy" (just for 'a few
minutes one tells oneself).,
Eagerly we search the headlines for major
"happenings" back `,'home".Perhaps a 'not -too-
* big," industry anticipates locating? 'Unhappily,
sometimes a vicious fire has destroyed forever a
favourite landmark past which we charted our daily
course to school. Perhaps some enterprise intends
demolishing that "good old block" without
disclosing future plans.,Surely another of "my"
•
schoo l % is not doomed to destruction—this is the
second one this year! How»many youngsters wished
• for that school to fall in6 goodness, I„ do resent
that decision! Wrecking crews taking away that old
home or business block are changing the whole
"scene" "forgive them for they know not what
° they dot.' —.they blast memories not mere brick and
mortar—do tell them that even th'e sidewalk now a
pile of rubble'wa.s our best skipping block—how
clearly I can hear every 'voice in that noisy group—
"no, it's your turn"! -must look those "kids" up
someday.!
After reasonable satisfaction (with comments
aloud) one anxiously searches the "obituaries".
• This section means more now than 25. trivial teen
years ago. We are shocked to read not only of the
parents of schoolmates but occasionally .the
schoolmate himself or his child prematurely
enrolled here. Disbelief at recorded ages
(startling in print) is a natural .rea'ction..'
Next, we carefully explore with pen and paper,
, ' the weekly advertisements. Lest some "special"
escape us, this 'requires considerable time..
Neighbouringcommunities (of up to 50 m_ i les) print
the same offerings making us ,feel ` more. at
"home". In Summer these "buys" guide us in "our
hometown" on the lake while during winter "sister
chains" serve us from the. same "ads".
"Our hornetown paper" ; I ike any good
"storefront" sells itself by. "dressing 'up its•
windows" for all to enjoy. Parent and grandparent
find it a manual of information regarding home and
garden .p I anningi. marketi ng, -tasty meal up .l iftS and_
' the "editorial". Chatty current events, church and
theatre bulletins, folksy who visited or travel ivd,
expert poI itical and rel rgioias controversy I ive.n its,,
pages. Teenagers. and scholars can wallow in
sports and interschool activities amidst abundant,
camera shots,,ofthe action. Anyone wishing to buy
or sell property', pet or possession will find a
treature of "ctasspifieds".
Foreseeing, patient journalists, old enough t:b
remember while' alert enough to record, write
unsparingly historical data on old residences,
early storekeepers and natural sites (day and date
if you cannot remember). Flow we love .lingering,
here, particularly over write-ups of personal.
interest to us or our family—"Clipping for
keeping" becomes a "must" for ."of .such are
scrapbooks made".
"Our hometown 'pape,r" .cannot be scanned'"and
condemned to wrap fish:— it demands equal time for
conteMplation..H'owfrequently one refers to it that
week before the arrival of another "loaded" copy!'
• This same '`hometown paper" has been a part of
myfamily sitice perhaps its very birth. My early
copies bear a striking similarity. to the present
paper'
because then,. too,. it. was bursting with
stories, health and, beauty hints;' .no-nonsense
p "—
recipes and unforgettable ads all #ood. for
mind and body. In some of these issues of this same
paper,.,, my great-grandfather • was being
• photographed and interviewed at his residence as
he recalled his life and memories in. .the
"hometown" 60 years , previously. His
"honietown" is my "hometown" . My "hometown"
is also now the summer "hometown" of my young
sons. May its same Lighthouse which fascinated,
• them on lovely summer evenings, someday arouse
wide-eyed wonder intheir little ones, curious about
• the signals flashing across the water. I wish for.
"our hometown paper" (which by, its mere name
"Signal -Star" sends a double beam), guided by its
editor and "light -keeper" to be a habit of their I ife.
If this becomes a reality, it will complete six
generations .of one family who for past a century
has tenaciously clung to one "hometown", one
" "homestead", one "hometown paper"'
Try to beat that!!
•
titian Mania toot* t
0t x" W • xY * i•C R
Lloyd Lounsbury runs off
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1 25 YEAR 1 7.
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THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1912 ' SECOND SECTION
ia,g,,s' s e-ts- t h e- b e:adin.g 3.,.. .
.14 V. Chambers
My Hometown Newspaper—and that is just what
itis! The Signal -Star is my hometown ne.wspager—
arrives every Thursday—brightens, the day—this
is really the reason Thursday . is .spelled with a
capital.
A °hometown weekly is a special kind of
publication=-family.names are familiar, regions
covered are close -by, advertising is from local
businesses and . all the important events in
community living are recorded. The regular daily
paper may.have the same format, but we read it
impersonally-trictly for information:
Now you take this week's Signal-Star—the people
are' going to be able to express. their wishes at a
public meeting regarding.a by=la.w ,appearing in
detail in our paper;. before council gives final
ruling on it. Such items would never be known to us
generally if we didn't have our weekly paper -it is
good news when the business of local. governing'
,bodies is made known to the public -and our local
paper "does a fine job in this department.
I like the variety Of subjects covered—politics,
social, education, religions, rural news, markets,
sports—truly there is something of interest to
everybody—any age --but no funnies. Oh,' we have
Smiley's column= -with cartoons it would be
something else. again!
.And there are repgrts°fr m organizations and
clubs .,and societies that o• on money -raising
binges, at regular intervals -read the Bulletin
Board for coming events—there is always a
listing, and you can check• for an open date so that
your bazaar doesn't happen on' the same day as
their rummage sale—And this service is for free!
Do you have something to sell—your house, your
spouse, the family Bible or any other odds and ends
like that—advertise in your hometown ,Paper --
you'll be delighted 'wi;th the response --some may,
even offer cash.
There are recipes for those who like,to 'cook and
defrosting hints for those who like 'to thaw.
Ouar local paper keeps us informed on 'The Arts,'
Country Club activities, Weight -Watchers, Bridge
Scores ---we know who is "doing what When, and we
can always guess Why, Then again, if your memory
slips a bit, you can refer back to printed facts, Snd
this is ,difficult to do if you heard it! ,
'And the pictures—lots `n' lots of pictures!
Yes, my hometown newspaper bras a special
place—I d hate to be without it.'
lig Gordon Hardg
A community newspaper, whether it be a dai ly or
a weekly, is a,rnedia which fills -many roles.
To some people it is merely the gatherer and
dispatcherpflocal-interest.news; to others, it is a
seller, with rows upon rows of. items of alI makes,
types, and natures, being presented to us, the
potential buyers; 'and to still others, it is a,
convenience through which one person can practise
his right to present his views to others
.'But, whatever the role, the,. .community
newspaper has one all-important goal -to serve
the community which is giving it life. It doesn't
matterwhat role it plays as it must not lose sight of
this goal. •
Asa collector and distributor of facts it has the
ideal of,presenting the local news to the reader in a
.clear and unbiased manner. There is no room for
unwarranted slanting of news; as a sales. -agent, its
job is to provide an effective means of sale for any
and all items that the community offers; and as a
conveyor of views, it mustbe sure that the thoughts
expressed by its contributors are' as exact with
their actual. statements as is humanly possible..
These goals are high, and., in some cases, almost
too idealistic to be ever completely met, but the
community newspaper., in trying to achieve these
ifi
goals, is making a truly significant contribution to
the betterment of -its -comthunity.
, And this is the principal role of. the hometown il
neWspaper—to make, our community better.
Ruth
Leonard "pastes -up"
480 'Laura Johnston
When the lid comes off the old greeting card box,
-the smell that hits the -nose could only come from,
,yellow and brittle newspaper clippings. The .bits
and pieces of ads for I inements and burdock blood
bitters and things that only'Aunt Minnie had a. use,
for are goodfor a laugh.
But there is a real diary of a family and, a
community on the other side of the clippings. In the
forties, brothers, sisters and cousins arrived at
Alexandra General & Marine. °They most grew up,
graduated, moved on to jobs. They married and
shortly thereafter had wee ones of their own. The
clippings say so.
During the years, friends and relatives were
°gained and lo,stthrough the Marriages, Births and
Deaths columns. The rest. survived fire and
witnessed flood. The clippings noted all the events
important -to the multitude or to just a few. They
`kepttabs.on old school chums and friends whit) were
once so close, There is the wedding picture of the'
kid t used to babysit! The clippings cause a Inhg.
-pause and faces flash by that haven't entered our
Minds for ages:
The'diary is not yetfi l led. The paper sti I I graphs
the pulse of our community 'and reports the weak as
wel I as th°e strong beats. It tells us where to go to
buy, sell, worship, vote, trade, have fun—or just
where to go!
It is sti CI a diary of everyone we knowor wi l I get
to know, from the oldsters -at Huronviewtothea
newest prune at 'Alexandra General &Marine; from.
the Iadies.throwing,a rock at the Maitland to the guy
running the saw at "Slabby 5d's".
We al I make a dent on,the pages of our weekly so
let's keep it Lively, fellow'Huronsl
• d u M
Mrs. AIlaa e
In termsw.s
of definition the weekly nepappr
isasp
we know it, one which is editedand published on .a
weekly basis and falls into two categories; larger
and s.mal ler. The. Larger ones .such as, the Family
Herald and The Free Press Weekly have all but
disappea,reddiowever, we do have the Star Weekly
.and The Weekend Magazine which are published in
conjunction with the weekend daily papers.
But the one withwhich we are presently,
concerned i"s the beloved weekly hometown paper
which emerges from most towns and villages, from
coast to 'coast usually on a Wednesday or ' Thursday
and brings the printed word, messages,
advertisements, sports, human interest 'stories',
general news; you name it, they have it; and the day
on which it is due has a special meaning.
Very often there is little or no mail throughout
the week except perhaps an unpaid account, but.
come Wednesday or Thursday, one knows he will be.
rewa rded fo r going to the mail box or Post Office
with his trusty friend; the local paper: and when. the
same paper,goes on holidays or is delayed for some
inexplicable reason one feels a definite sense of
loss. It is almost like a ray of sunshine on a cold •
du l I day in winter, or a welcome shade -tree on a hot
sultry day in summer, and what better way is there
to spend a period of relaxation than to,sit quietly
down with ,the hometown weekly, and read and
'reflect on the contents therein.
This same precious paper does not stop within
the confines of its own particular domain but
reaches .o1,t it's friendly 'informative word .into.
every province of Canada, into the far towering
north, and,to Many of the states of our neighbour to
the south of us and then takes wings across the
skies to almost any corner of the globe.
The advertisement pages in this same weekly
contain a wealth of information as to who has what .
to sell, or may want to buy. 'It informs us locally
whether there. is help wanted or work needed. If
offers an excellent opportunity to publicly say
thank you for services rendered. In fact, the
innumerableways in which it serves its' readers
are .legion. ...._...
In this rapidly changing world where big things
are getting bigger • and the smaller things
disappear, let us .fervently hope that our .local
weekly newspaper will continue to come to us on
:e"ven keel . This could put the onus on the publisher
himself, for often times he must be ,master of the
fate of his paper; and to turn. out a good paper and
serve his readers well, he mustbe dedicated to his
work and any doubts or frustrations he may feel;
would be far' outweighed by the appreciation of the
readers -themselves and their actual love„for the
paper.
A local weekly newspaper means enough to me
that should I be .in any sizable town in Ontario or
Canada or anywhere for thatmatter, l would stop at
Y .
the nearest newsstand and buy -the week-ly;l-cal 1 -f -l•
were ob l i ged to choose between a cup of,,coffee and
the weekly -paper, I would choose the latter; '
'For shutins, introverted or lonely people it is a,
means of communication al I its own. It gives them
an intimate relationship with their community and
a link with, a whole -series of tiny communities
which they could never otherwise have, For those
who enjoy and are capable it creates a 'olden
opportunity not only to gather local items of news,
and present them, but a chance for self expression,
on any subject of their choice.
Perhaps the actual function of a. hometown
weekly,.newspaper could best be ,assessed and
proven by the, innumerable letters which come.to
the editor from readers and subscribers voicing
appreciation and expressing gratitude .of the many
services received together with a real.i,zation of the
simple down to earth pleasure of the reading of the
paper itself.
•e