Goldie Oldies Donated: Greenstone Historical Society Acquires Photos
Goldie bros – From L to R, Gordon Goldie, Doug Goldie, and unidentified man. Do you know who the man is? Is it George Hendry? Submitted photo
By Edgar J. Lavoie for Greenstone Historical Society
Derek and Bonne McIlveen display the items the Goldie family has donated to Greenstone Historical Society. Submitted photo
GREENSTONE, ON – Remember when the Times Star sold for 5 cents? Few people in Greenstone can, but in 1946, when the Goldie brothers and Hendry acquired the The Times-Star newspaper, that was the price!
Gordon and Douglas Goldie and George Hendry bought the paper from Walter Brebner. On July 21, the daughter of Doug Goldie dropped off some memorabilia to Greenstone Historical Society (GHS).
Derek and Bonnie (née Goldie) McIlveen had difficulty recalling their last visit to Geraldton. It may have been 45 years ago. When Bonnie’s father, Doug Goldie, passed, he left some treasures to his wife, and now Bonnie’s mother has, through Bonnie and Derek, dropped them off in Geraldton.
Edgar Lavoie, President of GHS, accepted them. One is an album chockfull of historic photos, most of which Lavoie has never seen before. Another is a bound volume with several copies of old Times Stars.
Back in ’46 Gordon Goldie acted as editor, Doug Goldie as advertising manager, and George M. Hendry as business manager. The paper was composed and printed on an antiquated linotype machine nicknamed Lizzie. Lizzie was subject to frequent breakdowns.
The Times-Star served the whole of present-day Greenstone. The stories must have been phenomenal for a community newspaper because in a matter of months, it had won second-prize in a contest sponsored by Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association. The original certificate of achievement has been preserved in the Goldie album.
Lavoie said, “The history of Geraldton is still being written because it is still being discovered, thanks to people like Mrs. Goldie and Derek and Bonnie McIlveen.”
Greenstone Historical Society is still looking for a permanent home for its artifacts and documents.
A Soap Box Derby on Geraldton’s Main Street, probably during the Tenth Anniversary Celebrations of the Incorporation of the Town in 1947. View looking north past Rexall Drugs, Geraldton Tea Room, and St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on the right, and Chapples Store on the left. Note the marquees in the background. Submitted photo
