“Community newspapers are repositories for local information and history; The New Tanner was a bastion for that. And now it's gone.” - John Mark Rowe, Halton Hills historian.
The last edition The New Tanner rolled off the presses on March 19, 2020. At the time, we don't think anyone realized this would be the last word from the Tyler family publication.
(The New Tanner's logo designed by Alexis Brown)
After all, the paper had deep roots and had been dutifully serving the communities of Acton, Rockwood and the surrounding areas once a week for the past 22 years. In all that time, it had only missed one edition - during the ice storm of 2013.
This writer was one of the reporters working for The New Tanner located at 373 Queen Street, and we were all aware community newspapers had been steadily closing and losing ad revenue to the free social media platforms. Yet, The New Tanner was still maintaining its 10,000 copy circulation, and could proudly claim each edition was read.
(The New Tanner's Office - Acton UP Photo)
Iain Brennan started working full-time for the New Tanner as an ad compositor in 2013. “Even when I started, the writing was on the wall about the newspaper industry. We watched larger papers close and still motored on. When COVID-19 hit, I was hopeful that if it was only the two weeks that we would be back – but, as the time passed, it became more obvious that we wouldn't be able to start up again.”
In a letter to carriers and other effected parties, The New Tanner manager, Angela Tyler explained the decision to cease operations. “Print media has had its struggles for some time. COVID wasn't necessarily the biggest factor - there are a lot of factors. Home delivery is a huge issue. One of the primary reasons we stopped printing back in March, was the large number of our newspapers that are delivered by seniors and children. Even though our COVID numbers are low, this concern hasn’t changed, as they are still in a high-risk category. It would be a lie to solely blame COVID-19 for us choosing not to resume publishing. The reality is this has been something we have struggled with for a while now.”
Newspaper journalism has a long and storied history in Acton and Halton Hills. The Acton Free Press had a distinguished run from 1875-1984. George Arlof Dills had the first linotype machine in the County installed in the print shop at 54 Mill Street East, ending the laborious job of hand-setting type. Notably, future Editor and co-founder of The New Tanner, Hartley Coles, began his career as a printer, apprenticing with the Dills in the 1940s.
The Acton Free Press' sojourn in Town ended a few years after the Dills family sold it and some other titles to Inland Publishing in 1978. The offices and print shop were eventually moved to Georgetown where it was eventually merged with the Independent.
Next came the Acton Tanner, namesake and predecessor of The New Tanner, founded in 1992 by native son and publisher Paul Nolan who also, at one time, worked at the Acton Free Press. Unfortunately, the publication eventually succumbed to financial difficulties and shut down in 1997. A telling quote by Nolan appeared in the first anniversary issue of his Acton Tanner, May 26, 1993: “It’s never easy. It’s never over. There is no finish line. You’re only as good as your last issue.”
According to Angela Tyler, The New Tanner was born in 1998, after a propitious meeting in a doctor's office between Hartley Coles, who by then had worked as an Editor for several publications, and Ted Tyler, the president of Tyler Transport.
(Ted Tyler - Ann Vanderlaan Adema photo)
Angela Tyler recalls, “Hartley told my dad, 'This town needs a newspaper and I can make it happen. If you back me, we can put news back in the community.”’
The first issue of The New Tanner appeared on January 29, 1998. “These were exciting times and the new start was warmly welcomed”, according to Tyler. “If people hadn't received their paper by 6 or 7 p.m. our phone would be ringing.”
Tyler was in The New Tanner offices when the Beardmore fire broke on in May of 1998. “I happened to have a camera and was sent down to cover the fire. That's kind of what the old days of reporting felt like, you just grabbed your camera and ran. It was a sad day because our history was going up in flames, even though the plant had been closed for some years. An off-duty policeman from Acton saw me and took me down Hwy 25 and in the back way to the property. I was able to get some terrific shots of what was going on that day.”
Tyler started writing a regular column soon after. “Hartley needed some fill and it started out as a monthly thing and became weekly,” she said. “I learned a lot from Hartley: people want to see kids, pets and grandparents, he used to say. Hartley loved the newspaper business and the smell of the ink, and he had this intense drive to capture a story.
“You just don't get that now. That adrenaline rush when you're running back to get the story in on time, it's literally 'hold the presses' which happened a few times. It's got to be in this week, next week is too late.”
Tyler also recalls covering a truck-train crash on November 11, 1999, when an Amtrak train derailed between the Third and Fourth Line, near the Dufferin Quarry. “It was a tragedy unfortunately because someone was killed, but it was unique because my sister Tracey was covering it for The Toronto Star, and both our stories were published on the same day.”
“During my time at The New Tanner, the big stories stand out: Hidden Quarry, several elections, the mysterious arson fires, the ice storm, etc. But the human interest stories are the ones made me feel the warmest. I wrote a piece about this young fellow Ryan who had his bike stolen while he was picking up refuse in a ditch on Wallace St. As we fully expected, several of our readers called up and offered bikes so Ryan wouldn't have to walk to school, ” staff shared.
Most important perhaps is the role that community papers play in keeping an eye on local governments and reporting on their activities. Vivien Fleisher was hired as a reporter in 2015 and became the paper's municipal politics specialist covering both Halton Hills Town Council and Guelph/Eramosa Town Council.
“I got to learn the ‘secret language’ of council meetings - which was a real highlight for me,” she said. “I gained a huge appreciation of politics at the local level. I feel especially strongly now that understanding what’s going on in your community is essential, and it’s a real loss that we are no longer able to provide the community with that reporting, even if the meetings are available on line.”
(The New Tanners last meeting. L-R, Trish Bell, Dawn Brown, Harry Rudolfs, Vivien Fleisher, Alex Hilson, Iain Brennan - Samantha Shein photo)
Dawn Brown was hired as a reporter in 2014 and assumed the role of Editor in 2017. “As someone who wasn’t born and raised in Acton, writing for the newspaper gave me an insight into the heritage, traditions and the sense of community in this town that I’m not sure I would have experienced otherwise.” she said.
“I’ve written a lot of stories over the past six years, and some were a joy to write. Back in 2015, I wrote a few articles about Acton High School’s GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) and all the work they were doing for the LGBTQ community. I was so moved to see these young people working to educate not only their peers, but teachers, parents, members of the Board, and even helping other schools establish their own GSAs.”
Trish Bell was hired to write an opinion column to fill the void after the passing of Mike O’Leary. Her columns garnered a lot of Letters to the Editor and often raised eyebrows. She was never afraid to take a contrary stance.
“I am sad to see the paper end for many reasons, not just because I finally found a job I enjoyed and wasn’t half bad at (although that still amazes me), but because a paper is a core part of a community. It doesn’t just relay the news, it tells us how our little chunk of the world is thinking, feeling and moving. It’s where we learn of our neighbours’ passing and ensure we can show how much they meant to us,” said Bell.
“I hope somebody wants to carry on with it” added Tyler. “Not everybody is on social media, and if you are on the internet, you don't necessarily want to go to Facebook or Twitter. But there are large obstacles to bring a free paper to people, it's a struggle. Free newspapers are a dying thing.”
Lastly, Tyler would like people to know that closing the paper was a family decision. “ It was sad, but the final decision had to be made. I'm just hoping people will understand and be supportive of it.”
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