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125th Anniversary Supplement of The Canadian Statesman, October 3, 1979 An Exercise in Reflection This is an age when nostalgia seems to be grabbing the interest of many citizens who are buying up old articles of furniture or anything else that is tied in with our past history. So, we hope that this 125th anniversary edition of The Canadian Statesman will appeal to those people and to the newcomers to this community who may by now want to know more about this area where they now reside. We've gone through our old newspaper files as far back as we thought those still living would remember, and reproduced many articles that have appeared, detailing events of interest from yesteryear. Unfortunately, we did not find an original copy of The Canadian Statesman, but any earlier ones we have seen were pretty dull by today's standards. The hand set type was small as were the headings and they just didn't bother with photographs at all. Much of the news dealt with events in the British Isles where many in this area still had their roots and the coverage of local news was, to say the least, quite skimpy. It's easy to understand why those papers were much smaller than to ay 's. Each metal letter had to be picked out of a case or drawer, segregated into separate compartments and assembled right side up in a composer's stick. If someone jarred your elbow, an hour's work could end up on the floor. And when it had all been put together and printed, the type had to be washed off with lye to remove the ink and resorted back into the case for reuse. To make life more confusing, the letters had to be read upside down so when they were transferred to paper, they would read correctly. Anyone who can recall visiting a print shop where hand set type was used will know what those early printers went through and appreciate the problems they had. We can recall quite vividly some of our own exrriences with type because we stil1 used some of the stuff for commercial printing until a few years ago, long after the linotype came into being. We won't dwell on the many changes that have taken place because they have been dealt with before, other than to praise those early craftsmen for their skills. They spent years learning their trade while nowadays a skilled typist after two weeks would be producing more columns of type in an hour than they could in a full day. Now, that's progress. We don't remember much about those early days of The Canadian Statesman other than what we've read in those old file copies. It was some time after 1911, our birth year, that we had our first taste of newspapering at The Statesman when with our sister Dorothy we were commandeered to remove the printed papers from the old folder and deliver them to Miss E.E. Haycraft, "Lizzie" as we called her behind her back, who put the delivery labels on, using a pair of scissors and a paste pot while she held a strip of printed paper in the other hand. The going rate for our job was 5 cents an hour and we talked of striking for more but never got around to it. Our distinguished grandfather M.A. James was the ruling patriarch Editor at that time, complete with his Van Dyk goatee, and a most impressive figure. We were a bit scared of him but not of Grandma who was a pet. Both were f etting a little deaf and it wasn't ong before he had to turn over the reins to our father Norman and his brother George W. And that's about all that comes back about those early years. We must be getting like some members of the Senate who were asked what they recalled about The Statesman. One told our reporter that he had trouble remembering past yesterday and continued playing euchre at the Library. We're about in the same category. But, we do recall a picture of two or three of us youngsters in uniform during the first World War, standing in front of the post office where the Bank of Montreal is now located. What we were doing there or where we obtained the uniforms is a mystery. One other item about Grandfather M.A. He was a righteous man who shunned such things as liquor, dancing, card playing, etc. He lived next door in the double house at the corner of Centre St. and Lovers Lane and one day wandered in while we were playing poker, a'no no if ever there was one. Quick as a flash, brother Stu shouted "Snap" which to M.A. was an innocent game. The Statesman in those years from 1920 to 1930 ran to about 8 to 12 pages except for special editions and the circulation was about 2,500 to 3,000 with a staff of eight or 10 people. While still at school we spent a good deal of time exploring the wonders of the place, much preferring its mysteries to books. As a result, after we had blown a complete year at school, it was suggested we might as well go to work instead of wasting the school's time. That was in 1928 *hen W.J. Morrison was the principal. He left in 1929 and went to the school for the deaf in Belleville and the familiar quip was that he didn't notice any difference after trying to teach us 'lunkheads.' Those were great days, learning to be a printer under supervision of our Dad who loved the business as much as we did. Unfortunately it was not to last. He picked up a flu bug, possibly at a junior hockey game in which we were involved, contracted erysipelas in hospital and died in 1929 at the age of 47 and Dune Wightman was brought in to take his place as head of a back shop. A few years later, penicillin would have cured him, but it was too late in coming. We neglected to mention that in Congratulatory Letters and Comments high school we made our first money from writing a story. It was for the Screech Owl about being in the Olympies and winning a medal for some event, untrue fiction. We attributed our success to eating Cream of Barley, the cereal manufactured at the John Mackay plant, now the Visual Arts Centre. Proprietor J. Lake Morden saw the article and delivered $5 for the plug. It took us a while to settle down. Alger Press in Oshawa were looking for a young understudy to Major Stroud, the superintendent, so we went there for a while and learned a great deal about fine printing. Unfortunately, we got carried away and painted a nice oak desk a gleaming black without asking permission and then ran up a huge phone bill when the bosses were away in New York and Stu Alger's wife, formerly Helen Bunner of Bowmanville went into convulsions when son Bill was born. Happily both recovered and the bosses came through our costly network of emergency calls without being spotted. Shortly afterwards, we went on the road, selling printing or rather, trying, but it didn't work out and we returned to the fold. Then there was the war to be followed by a stretch in politics until the electors smartened up in 1957, followed by a short sojourn in Trenton at the Trentonian and the roaming days were over. Enough about the present editor and his misspent youth, this editorial is about the venerable Statesman. Throughout its 125 years history or at least the past 101 years that The James family has been connected with it, this newspaper has been dedicated to providing news of this community in a manner that is fair, readable by any member of the family and as accurate as any human being can be. We have been blessed with good staff members and they have contributed a great deal to any success this newspaper has achieved over the years. The only place you'll find comment of national or world affairs is in the editorial columns; we leave that to the dailies. Some people wonder why we carry so much correspondence from villages and hamlets around the area in comparison with other newspapers. We think it's important for those small places to have a voice in their newspaper because it helps them to retain their identity as valued members of this community. Some of our correspondents have been sending in such news for more than 25 years, l eeping the members of their villages informed. Harvey Malcolm of Yelverton just celebrated his 25th anniversary and Mrs. James Richards of Orono passed that milestone some time ago. And there are others all over the area who have done and are doing a great job that is appreciated by us and their local organizations. Our thanks go out to those who have placed advertisements in this edition and so have helped pay some of the cost of its production. Their co-operation is deeply appreciated because they really had nothing to gain by doing so, they are merely recognizing an historie event that doesn't happen too often. We hope they will prosper and be around to celebrate their 125th. Now, to conclude this rambling. There's no way of telling what's ahead of us in this community or at The Canadian Statesman. We have experienced considerable growing pains in the past few years as new citizens from many parts of Ontario and Canada have come here to take up residence and become p art of the Town of Newcastle and Durham Region. As they are becoming more familiar with their new surroundings and gradually joining churches, and other organizations we know they will discover that this is a good place to live and raise their families. Through the columns of The Statesman and now the Newcastle Independent,s we have tried to make them acquainted with all the facilities that are available throughout the area and shall continue to do so, hoping that they too will find news o f interest and entertainment in these local newspapers. We also dedicate ourselves to expanding our news coverage and our plant equipment to keep pace with the growth that appears to be on the not too distant horizon. If you've read this far, you must be as tired as we are, but thanks for bearing with us. We won't bore you again until we celebrate our 200th year. There's one person, wife Dorothy or Mama as she's known around here, who deserves special mention for taking on the tedious job of digging out all the background material in this edition. Without her efforts, this anniversary issue would not have been possible. The familiar front of The Statesman office as it appears today. Hon Allan Lawrence, Q.C., M.P. Durham-Northumberland Ottawa K1A OA6 (613) 992-8756 HOUSE OF COMMONS CA NAIDA Constituency Offices *40 Walton Street Port Hope, Ont. LA 1NI (416) 885-2044 *68 King Street East Bowmanville, Ont. LC 3X2 (416) 623-7761 *fror ail other constituency areas phone Zenith 9-6130 0 t t a w a, September 24th, 1979. Mr. John James, Editor, The Canadian Statesman, 66 King Street, West. Bowmanville, Ontario. John: I am delighted to extend my sincere best wishes to you on the 125th anniversary of The Canadian Statesman. This is a landmark, not only for you, but for the entire Canadian newspaper industry. You publish one of Canada's great weekly newspapers. This anniversary is a fitting tribute to the quality and journalistic integrity which you, your family, and your predecessors have devoted to The Canadian Statesman over so many generations. I would like to join your many other readers in saying just how fortunate we are to be served by this fine newspapet. With warmest personal regards. Yours very trul Allan Lawrence. h ree Generations Editor John M. James in 1948 M.A. James Norman S.B. James Dr. Geo. W. James - CANADA PRIME NISTER P MIER MINISTRE OTTAWA, KlA OA2 September 24, 1979 Dear Mr. James, From my personal experience and family tradition with weekly newspapers, I have a particular understanding of their role and the unique contributions they can make to a community. The celebration of your 125th anniversary is a true indication of just how much The Canadian Statesman means to the people of Bowmanville, the Town of Newcastle, and the surrounding areas. I would like to extend my congratulations and very best wishes to you, your staff, your family, and your readers on this memorable occasion. Yours sincerely, Mr. John James, Editor, The Canadian Statesman, 66 King Street, W., Bowmanville, Ontario.