Stratford Mirror
Description
- Creators
- Fletcher Johnston Press, Publisher
- Johnston, Benson, Editor
- Rae, David, Editor
- Stratford Mirror Press, Publisher
- Johnston, Fletcher, Editor
- Media Type
- Publication
- Text
- Newspaper
- Item Type
- Newspapers
- Description
- The Stratford Mirror, a weekly paper, was founded by Fletcher J. Johnston. As a young man, Fletcher had been an apprentice at the Stratford Herald, but he turned his attention to business and opened his own shoe store. In the early 1920’s, he left his store and formed the Fletcher Johnston Press. He first published The Stratford Mirror on June 22nd 1923 with the tagline “The Mirror’s reflection is always an attraction.” The Mirror and printing press, was located at 123 Ontario Street.
Fletcher remained publisher and editor until his death in November 1944. After his sudden death, subscribers were unsure what would happen to the paper. An announcement on the front page of the December 8th 1944 issue noted that they must clear up some matters after Fletcher’s quick departure and once everything has been sorted they would be able to give an update on future plans. Another front-page announcement appeared on the January 5th 1945 issue noting that the paper will continue to publish as usual and they have many plans to improve it, but will welcome feedback.
One of the first notable changes was the publication information in the newspaper header. The paper was published under the Fletcher Johnston Press for the last time in the February 9th issue, and in the next issue on February 16th, it was being published by the Stratford Mirror Press. Fletcher’s brother, Benson Johnston, was listed as editor. By February 1946, Benson was listed as a publisher and David Rae was listed as the manager. In the September 20th issue, David was listed as the publisher and the paper boasted a circulation of 4,200.
The last issue of The Stratford Mirror was published on December 27th 1946. It was volume 24, issue 52.
More about the publisher:
Fletcher Joseph Johnston (1873-1944) was born in Tyrone, Ireland to William Johnston and Isabella Thompson. He came to Stratford from Ireland with his parents in 1887 and resided here for the rest of his life. He had one brother, Benson, and one sister, Eva.
As a young man, he apprenticed with W. S. Dingman, the publisher of the Stratford Herald. Soon after finishing his apprenticeship, he left the printing profession to go into the show business with George Dobson, a relation of the Dingman family. This allowed him a greater opportunity to follow his boyhood ambition of being on the stage. While Dobson looked after the store, Johnston enrolled himself in vocal and drama lessons in Toronto. He got a part in a travelling stock company and he did not tell his parents for fear of running his reputation.
After two months on the road without much success, Fletcher decided it was time to return to his shoe business in Stratford. Although, he did not leave his love of performing on the road. He was well known in local entertainment circles as a vocalist, a reader, and his performances were in constant demand at city and district gatherings. For years, he was a prominent members and soloist in Central Methodist (now United) Church choir and was also a member of the James Bromley male chorus group.
Once back in Stratford, the Johnston Shoe Store became the talk of the town. He had picked up a strong respect for the power of advertising from his newspaper experience and he channeled it into the ads for his store. Individuality in advertising was his focus and it brought in the customers.
His love of printing and writing has been calling him, and by 1920, he had left the shoe business to form the Fletcher Johnston Press. He founded The Stratford Mirror, a weekly paper, whose tagline was “The Mirror’s reflection is always an attraction.” The first issue was published on June 22nd 1923.
Fletcher was very involved in his business endeavors, but he still found time to serve as an alderman on City Council for several years. He even had time to publish a collection of verses from his own pen, titled “Wayside Musings.”
He remained publisher and editor until his death in November 1944. In his obituary, it was noted that Fletcher “possessed a magnetic personality and his genial disposition and thoughtfulness of others won him a wealth of friends.” - Publisher
- Fletcher Johnston Press
- Place of Publication
- Stratford
- Language of Item
- English
- Geographic Coverage
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Ontario, Canada
Latitude: 43.36679 Longitude: -80.94972
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- Location of Original
- Originals of the Stratford Mirror are held at the Stratford-Perth Archives.
- Terms of Use
- Possibly protected by copyright: Uses other than research or private study may require the permission of the rightsholder(s). Responsibility for obtaining permissions and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Contact
- Stratford-Perth ArchivesEmail:archives@perthcounty.ca
Website:
Agency street/mail address:4273 Line 34
Stratford, ON N5A 6S6
519-271-0531 ext. 259
