Skip to content

Happy 90th to us

Nineteen hundred and twenty-seven was an important year in history. Warner Brothers Film studio released the Jazz Singer, the first feature-length motion picture that not only had a synchronized music score, but speech.

Nineteen hundred and twenty-seven was an important year in history.

Warner Brothers Film studio released the Jazz Singer, the first feature-length motion picture that not only had a synchronized music score, but speech. It also marked the passing of Canada’s first old-age pension act and the introduction of Ford’s Model AA truck model, Charles Lindberg entered the record books with his first solo flight across the Atlantic and Canada celebrated its Diamond Jubilee, cumulating on Dominion Day at Parliament Hill which was broadcast live for the first time on CBC’s first truly national radio telecast.

However, for local residents perhaps the most important thing is that Barrhead officially came into being, incorporating as a village on Nov. 14, 1927.

Yes, that’s right Barrhead is 90 years-old and so is the Barrhead Leader.

Although at the time we were actually called the News.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any actual physical records of our first year, but thanks to the Barrhead and District Historical Society and the museum we were able to page through editions from 1928.

That year the News was a broadsheet, with pages of a similar size to the Globe and Mail. The majority of the issues were eight to 12 pages, with local news being relegated to the front page, while the inside pages were devoted to national and world news. Each issue also included a Sunday school column and while it included pictures, none were taken locally.

As for what type of local news, the sole staff member, editor Mrs. C.N. Bateman considered to be news worthy, let us say it was more of a personal nature.

Instead of covering, village council, how the local hockey team did or features on locals, most of the stories, if you could call them that, focused on what individuals were doing.

For example in the Jan. 10 issue, Bateman wrote, “Mr. Pat Lucas was having some trouble with his hay lately. It does not want to stay on top of the rack, and on two or three occasions has slipped off. Mr. Noel Parsons has returned from his trip to Innisfail and did not stay as long as expected.”

And while we might not agree with what Mrs. Bateman considered news worthy, we are confident that her intention is the same as ours today and that is to put out the best product we can for the benefit of the community.

What will that look like in another 90 years, nobody knows, but all we can say is that we as a staff are proud to be able to continue and build on what previous generations have accomplished.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks