B.C.’s oldest weekly newspaper turned 125 years old last weekend.
Speaking on NL Newsday, editor of the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal Barbara Roden, who is also the mayor of Ashcroft, says the paper was called the B.C. Mining Journal in 1895, when it was started by American newcomer Dr. Frank Stewart Reynolds.
“There had been a paper reporting on mining news in Barkerville for 10 years, from I think 1865 to 1875, and it folded. And (Reynolds) came up to Quesnelle in 1894, and he saw the possibility for a mining journal. Because even though the gold rush that started in 1858 had largely panned out by then, there was a lot of other mining activity going on in the province, and he felt that it was important to report on this.
“So he wanted to not only report on the mining news that was going on, but also boost the region, to get more people to come here.”
Roden says since its first issue on May 9th, 1895, the Journal has never missed a weekly publication; remarkably, that even includes after most of downtown Ashcroft burned down in July of 1916.
“The Journal, two days after the fire that destroyed most of the business district of Ashcroft, it put out an issue right on schedule, with the front-page story ‘Business District Destroyed; $500,000 worth of damage.’ So even in a tragedy and a disaster like that, the Journal was able to react quickly and not miss a beat.”
She says there were no style guides for newspapers back then. “The pages are just this most amazing jumble of things. I find it really fun to look through them.”
She used one issue from April 20, 1912 as an example. “You’ve got a story about the sinking of The Titanic, and then below it there’s something about the baseball tournament coming up, and to make sure everyone comes to practice tomorrow.”
While much has changed since 1895, Roden says when the paper started in the booming railway town of Ashcroft, there was concern that there would be enough advertisers to pay the bills.
“So even in 1895, that was a factor. And in the first few issues, because ads were so expensive to build – you had to grave it onto a plate – the ads didn’t change issue to issue. You had to make sure that your shirts were going to be on sale for 50 cents each for a long time, because those were the ads that were going to run.”
Roden says copies of all issues of the Journal that have ever circulated are in the company’s possession, except for one.
Just two years ago, when the Ashcroft Volunteer Fire Department was moving into the former newspaper building, bags were found on the top floor which had almost every issue of the BC Mining Journal; all but the first one.
“The only access to the top floor is exterior. You have to put a ladder up against the building, climb up, peel some plywood off the door and climb in. There’s never been a staircase. And they said ‘well it’ll be a great ladder exercise.’ So they brought all these bags down, and lo and behold, there was almost every issue of the newspaper going back to the second issue. So we now have almost a complete run.”
Roden says there may be a copy of the first issue in a museum, but she says it’s believed a framed copy of that issue has been destroyed over the years.
(Photo: Facebook, Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal)
