Before there was the Millbrook Times, there was the Millbrook Reporter which published every Thursday in the late 1800’s.
In 1905 it merged with an Omemee publication and for a few years operated as the Millbrook and Omemee Reporter, but was simplified again to the Millbrook Reporter under the ownership of the late Jack Barringer who owned the paper from 1937 to 1959.
Terry Stephens is a Peterborough resident with many fond memories of visits to Millbrook during his youth to visit his grandfather Jack and grandmother Minnie, and shared storied artifacts from his grandfather’s publishing days that shed light on the local publication.
Barringer had been a printer with the Peterborough Examiner when he decided to go into publishing, purchasing the Millbrook paper in partnership with his brother Walter. According to an article published shortly after his death in 1976, Minnie was not keen on the move, fearing they would be too isolated living in such a small town. Jack felt differently. He saw the charm of this bustling community which at the time boasted a train station on the Port Hope line. The business suited him well, and he continued to run the paper on his own after the early passing of his brother for twenty-two years.
Barringer set up shop on King St. in the former location of Turner’s Drugstore that was more recently occupied by Madison’s restaurant. The Barringers moved into the generous upstairs apartment that had previously housed a hospital. They were close to the action, and that was helpful for the popular publisher.
The most anticipated column of Barringer’s day appeared on the front page and was simply called “Seen on King Street”. To write the column, the publisher literally stepped out of his office and observed. No dramatic activity was required to become a topic in that column; in it were descriptions of social events such as corn roasts, visitors to the community, vacations to far flung destinations by local residents, and even mundane street light repair work on the street. People were eager to see themselves and the good-natured publisher often took pokes at friends and neighbours. He described seeing a lady carrying a small dish in her hand one afternoon, surmising she was taking up a collection for the poor. He explained the error in his thinking, saying”… when we received nothing from her later on, we knew this wasn’t the case.”
The paper also boasted an impressive ratio of ads to articles. In a 1953 specimen, Gerry Todd is promoting a new Clipper Combine from Massey-Harris described as a one-man machine for small farms. Cars are offered by A. Tinney and son while Gordon Trick is offering accident insurance to farmers and also seems to own the local food market. Ads for entertainment abound, from cinemas and Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre and for the more serious minded Guaranteed Investment Certificates were offered by Victoria and Grey Trust paying 3% per year.
In addition to publishing the paper, Barringer provided printing services throughout the community, producing posters, tickets and even books for other local customers.
With an annual price of $1.50, the subscription list peaked with more than 1,000 customers. Barringer eventually sold the paper to Harvey Armstrong in 1959 but the paper closed after a few short years. When asked about that event in his later years, he seemed to regret the loss for the community, saying it would be difficult to start a local paper again “because the people of Millbrook have just been too long without it.” We are glad to have proven Barringer wrong in that prognostication. KG
