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PAGE 4, TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 1981, WHITBY FREE PRESS w h itb y ( ublîshedeNery desd. by%[..M. Publishing and Photography Inc. Phone 669-6111 Th'e Free Press Buildini Voice of the County Town Michael lan Burgess, Publisher . Managing Editor 1:11 Hrock Street North, The only Whitby newspaper independentiy owned and operated by Whithv residents for Whitbv residents. P.O. Box 206. Whitby. O Michael J. Knoll Community Editor Marjorie A. Burgess Production Manager Karen Thompson Advertising Manager Maihng Permit No 480 Member of th. Whitby Chamber of Commerce g. nt. It's been a great 10 years! Ten years ago today the first Issue of the Whitby Free Press hit the streets of Whitby, and few people held out any hope that It would survive. Af- ter all, many would-be newspaper entrepreneurs had suffered bitter defeat in this town before. Only weeks prior the Argosy had closed up shop and the Whitby World would soon follow. The Free Press struggled vallantly, perhaps even at times acting more out of desperation, until radical change came in 1973 when the Burgesses came into the picture. The Burgesses, Michael lan and Marjorie, tackled the challenge and turned what was then little more than a one-man operation, one full-time and one part-time employee, into the serious newspaper business It is today. The employees have increased from one and a half to seventeen, not to mention approximately 100 carriers. The originally rented premises of 600 square feet has grown to a purchased 5,000 square foot building with additional commercial property set aside for future expansion. The newspaper itself has grown both In size and we hope quality. Its popularity -has caused It to be circulated not only throughout Whitby, but the neighbouring areas as well. In fact the newspaper Is read each week as far west as Victoria, B.C., in the United States and even over- seas in such places as England. An extensive market survey conducted recently in Whitby for the purpose of establishing the ac- ceptability of our then proposed voluntary pay system revealed some very enlightening statistics. Thanks to you faithful supporters the Whitby Free Press is the best read newspaper in Whitby by a whopping 15 per cent margin. It's also interesting to note that 10 per cent of Whitby residents read ONLY the Whitby Free Press and don't read ANY other newspaper on a regular basis. The rest of the market research also came back positive ... over 88 per cent of the residents polled not only enjoyed reading the Free Press, but were happy with the content, and an un- precedented over 70 per cent said they were willing to pay to receive the Free Press. We at the Free Press are extremely grateful for the confidence and support you the readers and advertisers have given us over the last ten years. We have worked hard and continue to work hard to earn the confidence you have entrusted us with. As fellow Whitby residentswe have tried to con- tribute to Whitby not just through the newspaper, but through our personal involvement as well. It has not been easy. The competition in the area consists of some of the largest corporate empires in this country. This kind of competition Is of such magnitude that they can write out a chequefor 13.5 million dollars as Torstar did Just. recently to acquire the Inland newspaper chain. And we don't have enough room in this whole newspaper to tell you of the magnitude of the Thompson operation. Never-the-less, this littie locally owned enter- prise has survived ten years despite almost Im- possible odds, and we honestly belleve the credit for our survival goes to our local readers and ad- vertisers without whom we surely could not con- tinue. The 'little guys' in this town have to be thanked for helping the 'little guys' at this 'little paper'. We'd love to borrow that Toronto newspaper's saying 'the littie paper that grew', but unfor- tunately they thought of It before us, and anyway they started off with the backing of millions of dollars and if THAT is 'little' we were never (and still are not) as big as they were when they were 'little'. Thanks for your loyalty! We will continue working hard to try and give you an honest, up front, in touch newspaper......Whitby's newspaper, the kind of newspaper ail of us can be proud to cal1 our very own. Reader complains about our restaurant reviews EDITOR'S NOTE: The following Is a letter to Barry Murkar, the writer of the Whitby Free Press' weekly "Your Dining Pleasure" and "Entertain- ment" columns. The writer, Mr. R. Stimming of Whit- by, has complained that the Le Chalet, Great Wall and Coach House restaurants have appeared, with favorable write-ups over the last 12 editions of the newspaper. It should be pointed Dear Sir: Your publicity about our Brooklin Spring Fair was really great! Your paper and staff gets a big thank-you from ail cf us of the Brooklin Spring Fair Association. Your paper, in no small way, was responsible for making this year's fair the best atten- ded agricultural fair In the Durham out that these three write-ups are pald advertisements and will continue to run In the newspaper as long as the client desires them to. Mr. Stimming also seems to be doubtful as to whether Mr. Murkar v i s i t s each restaurant that is reviewed. We can assure our readers that this is, indeed, the case. We would also like to state for the record that If an eating establish- ment was judged to be of poor quality, Region. This year's attendance of 25,000 was well above last year's record attendance of 20,000 even though children were admitted free for the first time this year. All sur- plus funds will go into making next year's fair even bigger and better. Sincerely, Don Wick, Director. we would report It. We do our best to give an "honest write-up" of each restaurant visited. Dear Sir: Being a regular reader of the Whit- by Free Press and having resided here for nine years, I know a lot of eating spots in this fair city. Some I have sampled others not, but am willing to try. I always con- suit your write-ups of local dining spots, and of lately have come to the conclusion that there must be only three eating establishments in town that are any "good." You have repeatedly (at least 12 editions In a row ...I've lost count) only mentioned three Le Chalet, Great Wall and Coach House. The write-up on each sounds Iden- tical from issue to Issue. Perhaps a change of eating habits Is In order. I know other restaurants are just as good, but never get a write-up eg. Anthony's, Carrat- to, Ali Baba, Golden Continued on page 15 Spring Fair says thanks Glo;?y c)! 5EtfJD A TICK ET. 6EÀý1\,Jv CPPD! A@w..Wqý ý --Nounou qq ----------- -