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PAGE 2, WEDNESDAY, J UNE il, 19 80, "OUR FISTORICAL HERITAGE' , VHITBY FREE PRESS Whitby' s newspapers: from Freeman to Free Press By EUGENE HENRY Whitby had a newspaper before it was incorporated as a town in 1855. The Freeman was published as a weekly in 1850, fîve years before the big event we are celebrating with this special issue of the Free Press, at mid-year of 1980. Unfortunately it had a short life because a J.S. Spro wle bought it and renamed the paper The Reporter. Like most l9th century Canadian newspaper it was a four page affair with two pages devoted to news and two to advertising. John Ham Perry, son of Peter Perry bought The Reporter in partnership with a newspaperman from Brooklin in July of 188. They in turn gave the repor- ter a new name. They called it The Ontario Reporter with a view no doubt of securing new subscribers in the new County of Ontario. There were two other short-lived Whitby newspapers that were published during the M80s both of tbem failed in the depression of 1857. The first was the Commonwealth founded by the notorious Chester Praper and another named The Watchman star- ted by a successful local con- tracter Col. James Wallace. He had no special expertise in the newspaper business and used his journal to feud with regionai politicians, establishment figures and to support those who gave him the contract to build the old Ontario County Court House building. Such partisan behaviour was the rule rather than the exception in the newspaper world of central Canada in those days. It was in 1856, however, that Whitby got itself a real, honest to-god newspaper. The Whitby Chronicle. It was started by a bulky, bearded, erudite Irishman by the name of William Higgins and he provided this whole area with responsible, interesting, journalism until he sold the paper in 1883. It was for certain Whitby's longest lastlng newspaper and perhaps its best. It is the writers view that William Higgins, publisher of the Chronicle is the most unappreciated and under- valued figure in the town's history. The Chronicle was a financial success an unusual phenomenon of the trade at the time, because nearly al of them were subsidized directly or indirectly by politicians seeking office or governments expressing their thanks for support in the past. Publisher Higgins boasted at one point that the Chronicle's circulation in the Whitby area (Ontario -,County) was equal to that of bined. In 1861, David Beach published a reform journal called The Whitby Press. It failed for lack of support. Then in 1862, a former editor of the Canadian Post in Beaverton, established the Gazette. It enjoyed county government support. It was the Chronicles 's rival for over 50 years. So , the Town of Whitby had two good papers for a long time. In this connection we must be mindful of the fact that al this transpired in the days before radio, television, the automobile and the movies. It is to be observed, however, that the papers had real readers with an on- going passion for politics. In passing it is relevant to remark that polities and papers were inextremely mixed in the 185's and later in the 19th century. The end of "an era came when William Higgins sold the Whitby Chronicle to J. S. Robertson and his brother in 1883. They not only acquired a going concern in the newspaper but the Chronicle building as well. It is stili there, next to the Royal Hotel on the east side of Brock Street. It is Cedriks Chronicle. Mr. Goodfellow's son Graydon entered the picture and they moved into prlnting as a supplement to their publishing business.- Goodfellow, Sr. died in 1920 and soon after, Graydon made a deal with the Oshawa Times to publish the family paper. Ail this was preliminary to mergiflg with the Oshawa Times in 1942, during WorldWarlIl. It was at this point in time that Whitby lost its own local newspaper. The Oshawa Times kept an office here for several years closing it in 1966. The paper was an un- satisfactory substitute for a journal with Whitby neigh- borhood news, Whitby sports and reporting of local political affairs frorn a Whitby perspective. It can be said, however, that Whitby businessmen, prominent citizens and political people continually called for a Whitby based paper. They got spotty resuits. About 1950, the In- dependant was established and then there was the Weekly News. The News featured sport stories and reports on industrial development in the post World War Hl years. The In- Pining Hall now. lI 1886, the Chronicle was sold to Samuel Grahamn and his partner A.G. Henderson. Thy changed the format' of the paper to an eight page tabloid. The Gazette and Chronicle were bitter rivais for many years and local merchants had their favourite paper for advertising. This daily competition was probably hard to stand in the press rooms of the paper. It was however, good for the com- munity. The readers get both sides of an issue and the writing was more vital, ex- citing and interesting. lI 1903, some Whitby mer- chants brougbt Charles Goodfellow from Midland and he started the Keystone. He said that he and his paper were independant in politics. This quality may be a virtue today for some, but back in those days, readers seemed to like even demand partisan writing. In two paper towns they got it. Whitby was a town with 2,000 population. It soon became clear that it could not support three newspapers. Mr. Good- fellow came up with enough money to buy out his two competitors. He bought both the Gazette and the Chronicle. He merged them and Whitby had a greatly strengthened local newspaper, the Gazette and dependant had a life of a few months. The News iasted for several years. In 1967, the Inland Publishing Co. entered the local newspaper picture in a big way. They bought out the Whitby News, the PickeringNews and the Ajax Advertiser. In this way the News Ad- vertiser was formed and a paper by the name of the whitby Argosy appeared. Again, the Argosy did not survive for very long and it was soon replaced by a publication named the Whit- by World. The World, which published on a weekly basis for about a year was bought out by another group f newspaper people who for- med the Whitby Free Press, in June, 1971. A few years later, MBM Publishing and Photography, Inc. bought the rights to the Free Press. MBM president Michael Burgess stil owns and runs the Free Press as publisher and managing editor. From the tune the merger between the Gazette and Chronicle and the Oshawa Times <altogether it was know then as the Reformer), until the firm establishment of the Free Press uncTer Burgess's muidance, Whitby did not hiave a newspaper of its own that was secure CONT DONPG. 6