Listowel Banner
Description
- Creators
- Hacking, Joseph H., Publisher
- Hay, Thomas E., Publisher
- Tilt, Isaac, Publisher
- Davidson, George S., Publisher
- Elliott, Robert, Publisher
- Ferguson, Robert, Publisher
- Climie, William, Publisher
- Kay, Thomas H., Publisher
- Smith, Arthur Harvey, Publisher
- Blatchford, C. B., Publisher
- Hudson, E. S., Publisher
- Listowel Publishers, Owner
- Tatham, C. O., Publisher
- Bamford, Beverley L. H., Publisher
- Tatham, George M., Publisher
- Listowel Publishers Limited, Owner
- Wenger Brothers Limited, Owner
- Wenger, Robert, Publisher
- Wenger Publications, Owner
- NCC Publishing Limited, Owner
- W. Eedy Publications Limited, Owner
- Metroland Media, Owner
- Midwestern Newspapers Corporation, Owner
- Media Type
- Publication
- Text
- Newspaper
- Item Type
- Newspapers
- Description
- The Listowel Banner was founded by Thomas E. Hay and Joseph H. Hacking. The Banner office was opened in 1885, but due to a delay in type set, the first issue of the paper was published February 13th 1866. The following year Hay left and paper and Hacking recruited Isaac Tilt to be his co-publisher. The pair published the paper together until 1870, when Tilt left and Hacking was running it on his own. In 1872, Hacking sold the paper to a Banner employee of six years, George S. Davidson. Two years later, in 1874, Davidson sold the paper to one of the Banner’s mechanical employees, Robert Elliott. As owner, Elliot decided to remain in the back of the print shop. He took on a partner, Robert Ferguson, a school teacher from Seaforth, to help him run the paper. Somewhere between 1874 and 1888, Ferguson took sole possession of the paper.
In 1888, the paper was sold to William Climie who changed from a four to eight page issues. By taking over the Banner, he became known as “Banner Bill”. After 21 years as published and proprietor, Climie sold the paper to his office manager Thomas H. Kay in 1909. Kay sold to Arthur Harvey Smith in 1911, and on April 17th 1913 he sold it to C. B. Blatchford. While under his ownership, the paper went through several changes. Within this first few weeks of his arrival, advertisements disappeared off the front page and stories were no longer confined to single columns but received two, three or more columns. His main stories also carried “hangers”, a three or four line drop headings in black but smaller type under the main heading. This style was widely popular but is no longer used today.
After holding on to the Banner for just over a decade, Blatchford sold the paper to E. S. Hudson on March 24th 1924. In October 1944, the paper was sold to Listowel Publishers, run by C. O. Tatham. The publishing company had also purchased the Listowel Standard and amalgamated the two Listowel papers under the Banner name. B. L. H. Bamford, editor and publisher of the Standard, stayed on as editor of the new Listowel Banner.
Bamford remained publisher of the Banner until he retired in 1950 and C. O. Tatham’s son George M. took over his position. In 1961, Listowel Publishers became Listowel Publishers Limited and George replaced this father as president.
In 1968, Wenger Brothers Limited purchased the paper. They were already publishers of the Wingham Advance Times, and it was noted that both newspapers would continue to operate as separate entities and the Banner would still operate and publish in Listowel. The current publisher, George Tatham, left and Robert Wenger was appointed as the new manager of the Banner.
In 1989, The Banner, along with other Wenger Publications, was purchased by Halifax based NCC Publishing Limited. The company owned several newspaper and broadcasting stations. Five years later, on January 12th 1994, a St. Marys company, J. W. Eedy Publications Limited, purchased the Banner along with the Wingham Advance Times and The Mount Forest Confederate.
In 1999, Metroland Printing, Publishing, and Distributing Limited purchased the Banner and all other W. Eedy Publications Limited publications.
On July 26th 2019, Midwestern Newspapers Corporation purchased the Listowel Banner along with the Independent Plus, Walkerton Herald Times, and the Wingham Advance. As of 2024, they are still the current owners. - Publisher
- Midwestern Newspapers Corporation
- Place of Publication
- Listowel
- Language of Item
- English
- Geographic Coverage
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Ontario, Canada
Latitude: 43.7334 Longitude: -80.94973
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- Location of Original
- Originals and microfilm of the Listowel Banner 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
