2 July 1887 introduced Prince Edward Island to first newspaper bearing The Guardian name
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| The first Island Guardian (and Christian Chronicle) from July 2, 1887 |
By Gary MacDougall
The Guardian
It turns out that Rev. William R. Frame's hunch was a good one.
He believed Prince Edward Islanders would welcome a newspaper that was dedicated to covering important public issues in an unbiased and independent manner.
That was Frame’s promise on July 2, 1887, when he launched his paper. If longevity is any measure of success, then the fact The Guardian is still around today is proof the good reverend’s idea was a great one.
That 1887 newspaper contained a pledge of service to the public, and a desire that the newspaper would become not only a welcome visitor in every P.E.I. home, but also a “necessary” one.
“We need scarcely state that The Island Guardian will continue to discuss all public questions from a perfectly independed (sic) standpoint, and unbiased by the views of this or that political party,” the message said.
Surely Rev. Frame would be proud to know that The Guardian has consistently rolled off the presses and into the eager reach of Prince Edward Islanders since his first paper of 1887 — 125 years ago plus one day.
He would be less proud of some of the colourful language bandied about in newsrooms over the decades during times of heated debate or deadline pressure, or the flashes of anger that resulted in typewriters being thrown out windows and down stairwells.
But in spite of the odd breakdown in social graces, Frame’s founding principles are alive and well — The Guardian remains committed to covering stories and issues that are important to Islanders.
The early Guardian was extremely pro-temperance, as alcohol was seen as a great evil. Of course, that is an opinion many people hold today, as witnessed by criticism of government’s recent decision to extend the hours that alcohol can be sold.
In fact, many of the issues that are contained in today’s Guardians are similar to ones carried through the many years, issues such as education, health, transportation and job creation. For example, the fixed link debate went on for about 100 years.
The roots of The Guardian go back beyond July 2, 1887.
Early in the 1870s, a Presbyterian minister, the Rev. Stephen G. Lawson, entered the field of Prince Edward Island journalism. For a number of years he published The Presbyterian. The name of the paper was later changed to that of The Protestant Union.
In spite of the name changes, Lawson’s newspapers proved financially unsuccessful and he surrendered it to Frame, also a Presbyterian clergyman.
One of Frame’s first moves was to change the paper’s name, most likely in an attempt to broaden its appeal.
While he was keen to change the name, he was careful in doing so. For a short while he called it The Island Guardian and Christian Chronicle.
It’s quite likely he didn’t want to annoy any of his old subscribers, some of whom may have thought The Presbyterian was a fine name. It’s unlikely many of those subscribers came from Roman Catholic homes, or the homes of any other religious denomination for that matter, so making the name more inclusive was a wise business decision.
In addition to changing the name, Frame made a point of avoiding the extremes in politics that his predecessor had followed. His new direction proved to be a recipe for success and the paper’s popularity grew.
Unfortunately, Rev. Frame didn’t live to see any long-term success. He died on June 30, 1888, less than a year after the launch of his newspaper.
Upon his death, John L. MacKinnon, an experienced journalist, took charge of The Guardian as general manager and editor. A year later he turned the paper over to Benjamin D. Higgs, a brother of E.T. Higgs, who operated a prominent insurance business, Higgs and Company Ltd., for many years.
Benjamin D. Higgs was described as a young and ardent journalist and under his management the newspaper flourished, so much so that on Jan. 27, 1891, it underwent a major change — going from a weekly to a daily publication.
An important change in leadership came in February of 1896 when J.E.B. McCready, formerly of Saint John and who had been an outstanding member of the Press Gallery at Ottawa, took editorial charge. This occurred after Higgs became ill. McCready’s efforts strengthened The Guardian as the third daily newspaper then operating in Charlottetown.
Its competitors, The Examiner and The Patriot, were partisan champions of the Conservative and Liberal causes respectively.
Following Higgs’ death, J.P. Hood acquired a controlling interest in The Guardian Company and continued it for a number of years.
Meanwhile, The Examiner was losing ground and the Conservatives, rejuvenated by a provincial election victory, were looking for stronger press support. They bought The Guardian from Mr. Hood and engaged James Robertson Burnett as editor and manager on Dec. 31, 1912.
That marked the beginning of a long association between the Burnett name and The Guardian. In fact, from December of 1912 until December of 1976, a Burnett, or in some cases five Burnetts, were working at the newspaper.
Trained as a journalist in Scotland and British Guiana, Burnett brought improved business methods to The Guardian and greatly increased its circulation. With him as associate editors were McCready and D.K. Currie.
By this time the paper was owned largely by one leading Conservative, Sir Charles Dalton, founder of the silver fox industry and later lieutenant-governor of the province.
In the early 1920s, the Dalton interests were sold to W. Chester S. McLure (then a Conservative MLA and later MP for Queens) and Lt.-Col. D.A. MacKinnon, DSO. The only other stockholder was Burnett.
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| The Guardian building on fire April 28, 1923. Photo special to The Guardian, Paro Acc 2320/3057 Photographer M. Mallett Charlottetown Camera Club |
On April 28, 1923, a fire destroyed The Guardian plant and building, then on the corner of Kent and Great George Streets. For some time the paper was issued from Mr. Burnett’s residence on Kent Street and printed on the press of the rival newspaper, The Patriot.
Then the Temperance Hall — a stately-old building on the corner of Prince and Grafton Streets — was acquired. The interior was completely remodeled and the paper continued to be published there until 1956, when it moved into its present location at 165 Prince Street.
In the mid to late 1940s, McLure and Col. MacKinnon sold out to Burnett and his sons, Ian, Bill, James (Lyn) and George (Chick), who were associated with him in the business. On Burnett’s death, June 12, 1952, Ian became editor and publisher, with his brothers in executive positions in other departments.
One of J.R. Burnett’s best decisions was hiring Frank Walker, who came to the newspaper after witnessing the horrors of the First World War while serving as a stretcher bearer.
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9 January 1956 Guardian newspaper boys received their last copies of the paper from the old building on Saturday morning. Bill Garnhum (left) and Ronnie Shepherd (right) are seen distributing the papers to the boys. (Photo by W. Taylor)
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His newspaper career spanned nearly half a century and he was particularly well known for his coverage of the P.E.I. legislature. For many years Walker was referred to as “Mr. Hansard” because of his accuracy and the objectivity of his reports.
Walker retired in October of 1969, two months short of his 76th birthday. He died in November of 1977.
The man who hired him, J.R. Burnett, was a much-loved figure in Charlottetown and very active in the community.
“In my boyhood my mother destined me for the ministry and my father for the banking profession,” Mr. Burnett recalled once in an interview. “I disappointed both by deciding upon a newspaper career and I have not lived to regret the choice.”
His fifth son, Niall, never got to join his father in the newspaper business. He was killed in 1941 while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force in England. It must have been a worrying time for Burnett and his wife since at the time they still had three other sons active in the service and one in the reserve.
The Burnetts tried something Rev. Frame would have had a hard time imagining — dropping newspapers from the sky.
In response to the ongoing challenge of getting the same-day delivery of newspapers to western Prince County, the Burnetts tried flying them there.
A plane piloted by an ex-RCAF pilot, Paul Sharpe, “bombed” 16 post offices west of Summerside. The papers, wrapped in potato bags, were picked up and rushed to mail drivers at post offices, enabling subscribers there to read the paper early in the morning just like Charlottetown area readers.
The Burnetts relinquished their financial interests to Thomson Newspapers Ltd. in December 1953, and The Guardian became the first member of Lord Roy Thomson’s group of papers in the Atlantic provinces.
One of Burnett's sons, Ian, was publisher for a few years after the paper was sold to the Thomson chain.
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| Members of Premier Alex B. Campbell's cabinet meet in Charlottetown in 1971. Photo special to The Guardian, PARO ACC #2279-1 |
He was succeeded by William J. Hancox, a native of Toronto who came to P.E.I. after working at a newspaper in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
Hancox served as publisher from 1959 until 1979. He was a strong supporter of the arts and helped launch one of P.E.I.'s biggest annual events, the Gold Cup Parade. He was also an enthusiastic supporter of the Gold Cup and Saucer Race.
A P.E.I. native, Stewart Vickerson, succeeded Hancox. He had worked his way up to the publisher's office from a very entry-level position.
Names like Burton Lewis, Wallace Ward, Pius Callaghan and Walter MacIntyre served as editors during the Thomson era.
One evening Callaghan had to order an inebriated man out of the newsroom after he arrived on the second floor of the building with his billy goat, which was wearing a straw hat.
The goat was asked to follow his master out after it relieved itself on the floor.
It was likely the first goat to visit the newsroom, but over the years a colourful collection of four and two-legged creatures has come and gone. If only the walls could talk.
The 1990s brought a flurry of ownership changes to The Guardian as the Canadian newspaper industry experienced great upheaval.
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| April 21, 1995 Guardian covered the bombing at the provincial legislature. |
In 1996 the Thomson chain sold the newspaper to Southam. Not long later it came under the control of the Hollinger chain. At the time, Southam and Hollinger were controlled by media baron Conrad Black.
From Black, The Guardian was sold to a prominent Canadian media family, the Aspers of Winnipeg, who operated a large number of newspapers under the name Canwest.
The paper’s current owner is TC Media, which purchased The Guardian in 2002. The current publisher is Don Brander, a native of Kensington. His first job at The Guardian was delivering newspapers as a paperboy.
With rare exception, none of the ownership changes resulted in any changes in The Guardian’s editorial content or direction. That was always left in local hands. And local control over editorial decisions remains a priority of TC Media.
For that matter, most Islanders neither know nor care who owns The Guardian. After 125 years the newspaper has become an important piece of the quilt that helps keep the Island safe and snug. Today’s owners are simply the latest in a long list of caretakers.
The newspaper landscape has changed greatly in the past 125 years. The new digital world means the paper must now exist in print and in the multimedia online world.
But the more things change the more they stay the same in terms of the paper’s main tenet — to remain relevant in the hearts and minds of Islanders by covering events in a fair and accurate manner.
One thing in The Guardian’s favour is something that has been around since 1887 — the natural curiosity Islanders have towards what’s going on around them and their neighbours.
Island poet Milton Acorn said it best in his poem I, Milton Acorn: “The Island’s small...every opinion counts.”
Gary MacDougall is managing editor of The Guardian. This history was compiled from his research into newspaper archival material, with the help of the Public Archives of P.E.I. It takes many hands to produce a newspaper, just as it takes many to produce the history of one.
