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Story Back Table of ContentsWhen J.A. Osborne could not find housing in the village of Koochiching,
he moved across to Fort Frances and when he heard that the Canadian Northern
Railway was to be was to be built through Fort Frances, he moved his newspaper,
the Rainy Lake Herald and Koochiching Advertiser across the river and renamed
it the Fort Frances Times, adding "And Rainy Lake Herald" for
good measure. So it has been to this day, the second oldest busines in Fort
Frances. The Canadian Bank of Commerce preceeded it, but both were here
when the town was incorporated in 1903.
This, or course, was not the first newspaper in this area. The Alberton
Star, a small eight by 11 1/2 inch newspaper, was published here by W.B.
Lytle. When the Dominion government changed in 1978 and work was stopped
on the canal, Mr. Lytle place his printing press, his type, and his belongings
in a canoe and set off for Rat Portage. He was here for less than two years.
James Alexander Osborne began his newspaper career in 1882 in Winnipeg,
took over the management of the Brandon Sun until it changed ownership and
then moved to Rat Portage where he became aquainted with and later worked
for J.P. Eargney and Fred Bowman, publishers of the Rat Portage Miner. In
January, 1896, Mr. Osborne purchased a Rainy Lake newpaper from Mr. Bowman.
There is some confusion as to the name of the newspaper in Mr Osborne's
own account.
To reach Rainy Lake City, the new gold mining camp on Black Bay of Rainy
Lake, Mr. Osborne traveled to Winnipeg, on to St. Paul, Minn., and then
by team over the ice and snow to Rainy Lake City where "I viewed my
newspaper property - The Rainy Lake Journal"
Assisted by a young man as printer's devil, printer and pressman, Mr Osborne
began putting out his newspaper, assisted financilly by bumerous government
land notices at $8 each and homestead notices at $5 each. We "had as
many as 20 or 30 com ein by mail with cheques attached."
In spring, when the little community ran short of provisions, we lived for
three weeks on cornmeal and jackfish", Mr. Osborne has written. When
the lake broke up, Mr. Osborne and a companion paddled 14 miles to Fort
Frances and when the first boat arrived from Rat Portage, "It had one
bag of flour and a couple hundred barrels of beer." Mr. Osborne managed
to secure more cornmeal, a dozen eggs and a few canned goods before paddling
back home.
When the little American gold mine closed down, Mr. Osborne barged his paper
and plan in 1898 to the Village of Kochiching, wherehe published it under
the name of the Rainy Lake Herald, the first to be published in what is
now International Falls.
When Mr. Osborne managed to secure a house in Fort Frances, at 314 First
St. E. he brought his family down from Rat Portage aboard the Edna Brydges.
He then travelled back and forth each day between Fort Frances and Koochiching
by canoe in the summer and on the ice during the winter months.
With the building of the CNR, Mr. Osborne again moved his plant, this time
across the river from Koochiching to Fort Frances in orer to "on the
spot" when the railroad arrived. "I worked very hard to build
up the papers circulation and also to boost the town and the district,"
he was to write later.
In addition, Mr. Osborne took an active role in community affairs, serving
as mayor in 1905, when plans for building the town hall were started, and
six one-year terms as councillor. he also was active in both federal and
provincial politics.
Mr. Osborne also established Rainy River's first newspaper, the Gazette
as well as a store, book and office supplystore in 1900. Then, while still
operatinghisnewspapersat Fort Frances and Rainy River he published the Barndon
Daily Sun at the insistance of Sir Clifton Sifton whom Mr. Osborne earlier
had helped elect to parliament. After three years at Brandon, Mr. Osborne
sold out and returned to Fort Frances.
An earlier fire at Rainy River and then a fire caused by lightning in1911
which wiped out his Fort Frances plant, valued at over $25,000 ; the erection
in 1912 of his second plant at 288 Scott St. which included a book store;
his work helping to recruit 141st Battalion in which he served with the
rank of Captain; and his work on the town council brought about a breakdown
in health late in 1916 which brought an end to Mr. Osborne's newspaper career
in Fort Frances.
In January, 1917, Mr. Osborne sold the Gazette and formed a syndicate of
five local men to purchase the Fort Frances Times. in February, he left
fot the state of Virginia, where his grandmother Osborne had been born and
lived. After publishing a number of newspapers in the southern states, Mr.
Osborne was invited in December 1929 to restore the old Virginia Gazette
in colonial Williamsburg, then being restored by John D. Rockfeller, Jr.
it had been the first paper in the new colony, established in 1736. Mr.
Osborne continued as editor until 1947 when he was succeeded by his daughter.
he died on July 29, 1948.
Mr. Osborne never returned to Fort Frances and, according to local friends
who visted him in the South, he was sorely disappointed thathe had recieved
no recognition for his community efforts from the townspeple prior to his
departure.
On February 1, 1917, when thenew owners took over, the Bazaar, Bok and Stationary
store was sold to A.D.Bruce listed as a fully qulified druggist. Then in
the fall, the Bazaar, City Drug and Stationary was being advertised as being
"next to the post office" which would put it in todays Prince
Albert Hotel restaurant.
After aquiring the Times, the new owners then merged it with the Fort Frances
Standard, published with an eight by 11 1/2 inch page size. The Riany Lake
Press was published by W.B. Cameron here around 1903.
While mention is not made, it is believed that is was at this time that
the office and plant of the Times was moved to 109-11 Church St. in the
Williams block. On March 15, 1917, C.D. Lang, one of its most gifted writers,
became editor, writing humourously under the name Laura E.H. Cole. In the
fall he was succeeded by George Watson of International Falls and then Thomas
Gowans of Brockvill who stayed for eight weeks.
On November 7, when The Times announced "Peace Declared", it also
announced a change in ownership when W.H. Elliott, one of the original five
shareholders of the Fort Frances Publishing Co., took over complete control
as editor and publisher.
Mr. Elliot, with political ambitions, was elected to the Ontario legislature
in 1929, succeeding J.A.Mathieu. The Times, forced into bankruptcy, found
Herbert Williams serving as editor pro term and announcing on February 15,
1934, that in the "past thee years, every business had required the
fulltime and guiding hand of experience to lead it through the tying period
of depression."
Then on April 19, 1934, two experienced newspapermen from Yorkton, Sask.,
arrived in Fort Frances to take over the newspaper and plant. Thye were
R.H Larson, who asumed the title of managing editor, and J.A. Cumming as
editor. Mr. Larson was an experienceed advertising manager, while Mr. Cumming
was a skilled printing craftsmen. They immediatly institued economies to
reduce costs by confining the plant to 111 Church St.; they revitalized
and completly changed the character of the newspaper by emphasizing a more
comprehensive news coverage at the same time workign to boost circulation
and advertising. in this the were successful and, in addition, they began
to do more and better job printing with the installation if more up-to-date
equipment. The first of three Original Heidelberg job presses was installed
on May 25, 1950. Necessary additions were added to the buiding itself with
the most important coming on February 26, 1964, when the Goss Cox-O-Type
automatic roll-fed newspaper pres with a Cox-O-Colour attachment, was placed
in operation. The Huber-Hodgman flatbed, cylinder press and folder, which
Mr. Osborne had proudly announced in 1912 "turns out the superior class
of printing produced at the Times ofice,: was scrapped. the Times, however,
was still printing from type or "hot metal", as printers say,
and the new linotype was producing lead slugs from a punched tape; a photoengraving
machine to transfer images from photgraphs to plastic plates for printing,
was also added; an automatic machine to turn out rules and borers, as well
as a type-casting machine to produce a wide variety of type faces on a single
slug were added as the owners sought to produce a better newspaper and better
job printing.
After 68 years, the publication day was advance from a Thursday to a Wednesday.
Weekly newspapers, for many many years, were published on Thursdays because
Saturday was THE shopping day when the pioneer families took time off to
visit the nearest stores which remained open at least until midnight. Then
on March 23, 1963, the first issue of the Fort Frances Times on a Wednesdy
was published. the announcement said: "The change in the publication
date has been made at the request of a number of Fort Frances advertisers.
It is felt that the change willbe benficial to all concerned, subscribers
as well as adverisers." Shopping habits were changing and Friday had
replaced Saturday as the evenig when mother and father and the family could
get out together to do the family shopping.
When the Daily Journal in International Falls installed an offset newspaper
press, Times management, noting improvements in reproduction, installed
the neccessary photgraphic type-setting machinery. Starting on September
1, 1971, the Times began new offset method of printing making use of the
Daily Journal's Press. When the "bugs" were ironed out, the Times
in July 1974, acquired it's own two-unit Cottrell Model V-15A offset press
whcih could print up to 15,000 eight-page papers an hour and produce a better,
cleaner-appearing, better-appearing newspaper than in the past. The Gos
Cox-O-Type was sold to Lloyd Hoffman and part of it went into a portable
sawmill. Much of the other "hot metal" equipment was not being
used.
A change in ownership of teh Fort Frances Time took place on November 15,
1971, whe Mr. Larson sold his share to Robert A. Cumming who had succeeded
his father as a partner in the business. Mr. Larson, who remained as president
of the Fort Frances Times Ltd., relinquished his shares a year after the
unexpected death of his only surviving son Sherwood, who had managed Creighton
and Sherlock Limited, a Times subsidary in Port Arthur which specialized
in creative printing.
Then in September 1976, came the biggest change in the fort Frances Times
when it moved back as neighbour to the orginal Times building in Fort Frances,
which stood between the present building and Weston Grocers.
The original Riverside Garage, 116 First St. E., later occupied by Canadian
Tire, was purchased from Western Grocers in 1976 and remodeled into an eficient
newspaper plant with large airy business, editorial cirulation and advertising
offices; a streamlined composing room; two darkrooms, one for editorial
use and the other for developing offset platemakeing films; an adjoining
platemakeing department; a large job pressroom with its own paper storage
convenient to First St. Deliver; a newspaper pressroom with ample paper
storage, a three-unit Cottrell press which can print 12 pages at a time
with an automatic folder and counter; plus mailing equipment. A convenient
room for carriers adjoins the circulation department in the business office.
To meet the competetion of teh Daily Reminder established by Herb Houck,
Mr. Elliot began publishing the Daily Bulletin on October 6, 1931, which
continues to this day. the format remais the same but what, at first, was
at times a one page 5-col. by 15-inch newspaper, printed on one side, has
grown so that it varies between four and 12 pages, carrying an assortment
of news, local and national advertising. Its very smallness makes it an
attractive advertising medium, and, at the same time, is very readable.
Thus, from Rainy Lake City to Fort Frances, the Fort Frances Times travelled
in time to greet the CNR and to announce incorporation of the municipality
of the Town of Fort Frances, but, unfortunately due to the fire of 1911,
one has to take the Times word for it -- there are no known papers of that
time inexistance. The present files go back to World War I days.
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