July 27, 2017
Alison spoke about Dad and his involvement with the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspaper Association
I
did not realize until doing research for today that Barry’s father, W. C.
Needham, first purchased the Wynyard Advance in 1933. When his father was
forced to give up working in 1946 due to ill health, the publisher duties were
given to Ken Miller until 1948 when Barry returned from World War II.
Ownership
of the Advance remained in the Needham family until 1977, when Barry sold to
Norm Park. Although Barry agreed to continue working for the transition period,
he remained for the next 20 years - the business tends to suck you in like
that.
Four
years after Barry resumed publisher duties, my dad purchased the Wadena News in
1952 and the two became fast friends. They were both active in the Saskatchewan
Weekly Newspapers Association; Barry was elected president from 1961-1963 and
was also awarded a lifetime membership.
Many
of my memories are from the days when, as young families, we attended both
provincial and national conventions. It was big deal then. There were
activities for spouses and families while the publishers went to meetings, then
we met in the evening for a beautiful banquet to celebrate the best in the
industry. It was part of our summer holidays and we looked forward to staying
in a nice hotel, riding the magical train at Storyland Valley Zoo, or learning
what happens at the IPSCO steel plant in Regina.
Both
Barry and my dad were publishers in a time when the work was heavy, mechanical,
and dirty, and they came home with ink-stained hands. It was truly a skill to
be able to command a product of pride from a letterpress. Then the industry had
moved from setting everything from the newspaper pages to letterheads, ribbons
and napkins in hot lead in the 60s and 70s, to offset printing, cut-and-paste,
and the development of negatives, that were sent off to press . It was always a
mad rush to get those pages ready to meet the bus that took them off to
the press. The darkroom was developed
and publishers could create their own local photographs versus using ones that
were provided with news releases.
I
agree with the Needham siblings, it was always work, work, work. And all of us
worked at the newspaper at some time or another; may be we were just cheap
labour, but I think it was more about the lessons that we could learn. But both
men, and our mothers, embodied the spirit of the communities they served, in their
newspapers and in the work they did in their communities, because that’s just
what you did. Perhaps the fact that they lived what they believed was more of
an example for their children than actually being at home.
It
was a time where a gentleman’s agreement and handshake meant something; and if
someone had a beef, they would actually have the audacity to air it
face-to-face or on the telephone that hung on the wall, or even write a letter
to the editor - unlike how it is done now where we appear to commanded by our
cell phones.
It
was my mom who me told about the long-standing joke between Barry and my dad:
Dad always wanted the advertising Barry had in the Wynyard Advance, and Barry
always wanted the news Dad had in the Wadena News. But they respected each
other’s territories, as it was a line that was not crossed.
It
was actually Barry whom I first called when my brother Bruce and I considered
purchasing the Wadena News. He was honest in saying that he had been away from
it for a while and pointed me toward the association for more information - and
I have been on the board almost ever since - as the business tends to suck you
in like that.
Occasionally,
he would arrive at the back door of the news office unannounced, looking for
more onion skin or carbon paper for his typewriter, because he was working on
yet another project. He was always good for an interesting conversation, or a
great story, as he was always exploring and learning new things. Even in
business, he was always trying to improve it. I admired him for continuing to
be curious about things instead of just growing old.
Just
three years ago, he arrived from Wynyard for my mom’s funeral, came to the
service, paid his respects then drove himself back home.
I
considered him almost as a second father; I have been honoured to know both
Martha and Barry, and his family, and as a veteran for me, he holds no higher
esteem.
