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130TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE By Paul Arculus This month marks the 130th anniversary of the Port Perry Star. The Star started out as the Port Perry Standard on August 16, 1866 here in Port Perry. For one newspaper to have been in publica- tion for 130 years is a par- ticularly significant achievement. The Standard however was not the first newspa- per in the area. The Onta- rio Observer began its long and respectable his- tory, in Prince Albert in December 1857. Thus Scu- gog has had a clear and al- most uninterrupted histo- of newspaper publishing for 139 years. The interruptions oc- curred at three times. The Observer missed one issue in 1873 when it moved from Prince Albert to Port Perry. The same newspa- per missed three issues af- ter the 1883 fire and three more issues as its offices and equipment were de- stroyed a second time in the July 1884 fire. At the time of the first issue of the Ontario Ob- server in 1857, Prince Al- bert was by far the larger and more commercially busy of the two communi- ties. Prince Albert was ac- tually the second busiest grain handling centre in all of Canada West. Nine years later, when the Port Perry Standard was first published, there were whispers of change; there was serious talk of a rail- way to link Port Perry with Whitby. Discussions led to public meetings and the meetings progressed to fund raising and, even- tually, contracts being is- sued. The Ontario Obsery- er supported the project with numerous editorials in spite of the fact that the Observer's home town would probably be eclipsed by Port Perry and the railway. Eventually, on Novem- ber 10, 1868, a contract was signed and work be- gan immediately on clear- ing the right of way for the railway. All of this activity helped to diminish the role of Prince Albert as the commercial centre of Reach Township. On the afternoon of Thursday, November 9, 1871, the steam engine Scugog pulled into Port Perry for the first time, al- though reliable daily ser- vice did not begin until June 1872. By this time many businesses had moved from Prince Albert to Port Perry to be ready to take advantage of the eco- nomic potential which ap- peared to be on the hori- zon. Eventually, almost View of the Port Perry Star building at 2 Queen St. taken in 1939. In front of building are the entire business com- munity of Prince Albert moved from Prince Albert and into Port Perry. : One of the last major businesses to follow this pattern was the Ontario Observer. The Observer announced, in August 1873, that it was moving to Port Perry. "Due to the shift of the greater part of the business, the newspa- per must move as near as possible to the business centre of the locality in which itis published." At the same time that the owner, Henry Par- sons, made the move, he also changed the name of his newspaper to The North Ontario Observer. The Standard came into being in August 1866, an interesting and exciting time in Canadian history. The American Civil War, which had broken out in 1861, came to a close in the spring of 1865. Abraham Lincoln had been shot only sixteen months before the birth of Reach's second newspaper. The close of the Civil War brought a. grave concern to the Cana- das; there were hundreds of thousands of American soldiers looking for an op- portunity to further their experiences. In Belleville a number of troops, initially thought to be Confederate forces were found going through their drills. It was later re- alized that they were Feni- ans, an Irish brotherhood intent on capturing the Canadas and using this as a means to force England to free Ireland. In June 1866, a large force of Feni- ans crossed the border into Canada defeating the British troops at the Bat- tle of Ridgeway and cap- tured the town of Fort Erie. They amassed at a number of points on the border of the United States, threatening fur- ther attacks. In New Brunswick, their threat was the major factor in in- fluencing that province to join Confederation. Here in Reach Town- ship, Captain T.C. For- man, a prominent Prince Albert grain merchant and store owner, orga- nized a volunteer militia regiment, made up largely of residents of Prince Al- bert. The Reach Volunteer Infantry Company, some- times referred to as the Prince Albert Infantry Company was the largest in the area boasting a membership of over 200 men. They met regularly on Wednesdays to go through marching, drills and military manoeuvers. On June 2, 1866, 65 of them marched off to Oshawa and then took the train to Toronto to serve their Queen and Country. As we shall see, they did their duty. One of the most impor- tant local issues confront- ing the residents of Prince Albert, Manchester, Bore- lia and Port Perry was be- ing fought on the pages of the Ontario Observer. The 35 employees, left, George R. Davey, Bruce Bx Irving Boyd and owner/publisher Samuel F born toward the end of the controversy. - The issue concerned the road repairs supposedly carried out on the Man- chester to Prince Albert road. The war was fought between Joshua Wright and Adam Gordon and their respective support- ers. It began through letters to the editor at the end of May, 1866. The Reach Township Council had promised to build a bridge over the Creek which runs just east the | of Manchester, rove the road. right accused Gordon of "...cons and coniving at the Ee allege thas 'ises". He a that don and the Towr Council were Ft "Dismemberi chester road". accused of usin ute labour to cross streets on one lives or travel stead of iri (Ch Puc Pras Scupos 8 Commundy Newspaper of Chowce View of the Port Perry Star building at 188 Mary St in front of building are owners, left, general manager publisher J. Peter Hvidsten with long-time emg e Port Perry Standard was years) and office manager Gayle Stapley (24 years).