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{{Short description|Canadian newspaper}}
[[File:Cowichan Leader Newspaper, 1905.png|thumb|Cowichan Leader newspaper, front page, 1905 December 23]]
[[File:Cowichan Leader Newspaper, 1905.png|thumb|Cowichan Leader newspaper, front page, 1905 December 23]]


The '''''Cowichan Leader''''' was a Canadian newspaper published weekly in [[Duncan, British Columbia|Duncan]], on [[Vancouver Island]] in [[British Columbia]], for 110 years until its closing in April 2015. The paper not only served Duncan, but also the neighbouring [[Cowichan Valley]] communities of [[Chemainus]], [[Cobble Hill, British Columbia|Cobble Hill]], [[Crofton, British Columbia|Crofton]], [[Ladysmith, British Columbia|Ladysmith]], [[Youbou, British Columbia|Youbou]], [[Honeymoon Bay, British Columbia|Honeymoon Bay]], [[Lake Cowichan]], and [[Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia|Shawnigan Lake]]. The paper's closure occurred under the ownership of [[Black Press]].
The '''''Cowichan Leader''''' was a Canadian newspaper published weekly in [[Duncan, British Columbia|Duncan]], on [[Vancouver Island]] in [[British Columbia]], for 110 years until it ceased publication in April 2015. The paper not only served Duncan, but also the neighbouring [[Cowichan Valley]] communities of [[Chemainus]], [[Cobble Hill, British Columbia|Cobble Hill]], [[Crofton, British Columbia|Crofton]], [[Ladysmith, British Columbia|Ladysmith]], [[Youbou, British Columbia|Youbou]], [[Honeymoon Bay, British Columbia|Honeymoon Bay]], [[Lake Cowichan]], and [[Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia|Shawnigan Lake]]. The paper's closure occurred under the ownership of [[Black Press]].


The ''Cowichan Leader'' was founded by Harry Smith in 1905, with the first issue appearing on April 28th. Initial subscription rates were set at $2.00 per year, or $1.25 per half year. Prior to starting the ''Cowichan Leader'', Smith also produced Duncan's very first newspaper, the ''Duncan Enterprise'', in 1900 when he found no newspaper existed in the settlement in which to advertise his general store, Duncan's Emporium.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Small City in a Big Valley: The Story of Duncan|last=Henry|first=Tom|publisher=Harbour Publishing|year=1999|isbn=1550172123|location=Madeira Park, BC|pages=44}}</ref> This early four page paper debuted on January 21, 1900, but only lasted a year before it ceased, and was eventually replaced by the ''Leader'' in 1905.
The ''Cowichan Leader'' was founded by Harry Smith in 1905, with the first issue appearing on April 28. Initial subscription rates were set at $2.00 per year, or $1.25 per half year. Prior to starting the ''Cowichan Leader'', Smith also produced Duncan's very first newspaper, the ''Duncan's Enterprise'', in 1900 when he found no newspaper existed in the settlement in which to advertise his general store, Duncan's Emporium.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Small City in a Big Valley: The Story of Duncan|last=Henry|first=Tom|publisher=Harbour Publishing|year=1999|isbn=1550172123|location=Madeira Park, BC|pages=44}}</ref> This early four page paper debuted on January 21, 1900, quickly changed its name to the ''Weekly Enterprise'',<ref>{{Cite book|last=Norcorss|first=Elizabeth Blanche|title=The Warm Land|publisher=Elizabeth Blanche Norcross|year=1959|location=Duncan, B.C.|pages=55}}</ref> but only lasted a year before it ceased, and was eventually replaced by the ''Leader'' in 1905. In January of 1908, another weekly Cowichan Valley newspaper, ''The Echo'', was started by Ormond T. Smythe and A. Hope Herd, but by May 28, 1908, Smythe announced ''The Echo''<nowiki/>'s amalgamation with ''The Cowichan Leader''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Norcross|first=Elizabeth Blanche|title=The Warm Land|publisher=Elizabeth Blanche Norcross|year=1959|location=Duncan|pages=59}}</ref>


The ''Cowichan Leader'' was originally produced on the top floor of Smith's Emporium building on the northeast corner of Station and Craig Streets in downtown Duncan. Throughout the years, the paper's office moved several times, but spent a significant number of years at 151 Craig Street. In 1929, the existing structure on Craig Street was demolished and a new [[Art Deco]] style building was designed and built by Vancouver Island architect Douglas James. The building was designed to be as fireproof as possible with 8 inch thick reinforced concrete walls, floors uninterrupted by posts, and a roof supported by huge beams of Douglas fir. The exterior was finished with California stucco, a first in the district.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Historic Heart of the Cowichan Valley: A Walking Tour of Downtown Duncan.|last=Gagnon|first=Kathryn|publisher=Cowichan Valley Museum & Archives|year=2015|isbn=|location=|pages=44}}</ref>
The ''Cowichan Leader'' was originally produced on the top floor of Smith's Emporium building on the northeast corner of Station and Craig Streets in downtown Duncan. Throughout the years, the paper's office moved several times, but spent a significant number of years at 151 Craig Street. In 1929, the existing structure on Craig Street was demolished and a new [[Art Deco]] style building was designed and built by Vancouver Island architect Douglas James. The building was designed to be as fireproof as possible with 8 inch thick reinforced concrete walls, floors uninterrupted by posts, and a roof supported by huge beams of Douglas fir. The exterior was finished with California stucco, a first in the district.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Historic Heart of the Cowichan Valley: A Walking Tour of Downtown Duncan.|last=Gagnon|first=Kathryn|publisher=Cowichan Valley Museum & Archives|year=2015|pages=44}}</ref>


Notable contributors to the ''Cowichan Leader'' include [[Beryl Mildred Cryer]], who with her sister, Maithal Ross, submitted 15 articles between December 15, 1927 and November 28, 1928, written in the style of the ''[[The Province|Vancouver Province]]''<nowiki/>'s "Legends of the Capilanos" articles by [[E. Pauline Johnson]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=Two Houses Half-Buried in Sand: Oral Traditions of the Hul'q'umi'num Coast Salish of Kuper Island and Vancouver Island|last=Cryer|first=Beryl Mildred|publisher=Talonbooks|year=2007|isbn=9780889225558|editor-last=Arnett|editor-first=Chris|location=Vancouver, BC|pages=32}}</ref> The sisters, from the Halhed family of [[Chemainus]], wrote under the pseudonym CRYOSS, and their articles, "Legends of the Cowichans" were interpretations of origin stories from the [[Halkomelem|Hul'q'umi'num]]', a [[Coast Salish]] people of the [[Pacific Northwest]] Coast, as told to them by their neighbour, Mary Rice of the [[Penelakut]] First Nation.
Notable contributors to the ''Cowichan Leader'' include [[Beryl Mildred Cryer]], who with her sister, Maithal Ross, submitted 15 articles between December 15, 1927, and November 28, 1928, written in the style of the ''[[The Province|Vancouver Province]]''<nowiki/>'s "Legends of the Capilanos" articles by [[E. Pauline Johnson]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=Two Houses Half-Buried in Sand: Oral Traditions of the Hul'q'umi'num Coast Salish of Kuper Island and Vancouver Island|last=Cryer|first=Beryl Mildred|publisher=Talonbooks|year=2007|isbn=9780889225558|editor-last=Arnett|editor-first=Chris|location=Vancouver, BC|pages=32}}</ref> The sisters, from the Halhed family of [[Chemainus]], wrote under the pseudonym CRYOSS, and their articles, "Legends of the Cowichans" were interpretations of origin stories from the [[Halkomelem|Hul'q'umi'num]]', a [[Coast Salish]] people of the [[Pacific Northwest]] Coast, as told to them by their neighbour, [[Mary Rice (Penelakut Elder)|Mary Rice]] of the [[Penelakut]] First Nation.


In 1971, a competing Cowichan Valley newspaper, the ''Pictorial'' (1966-2008) bought the ''Cowichan Leader'', but the two newspapers remained separate and distinct.<ref name=affleck>{{Cite book|title=Paper Trails: A History of British Columbia & Yukon Community Newspapers.|last=Affleck|first=George Allan|publisher=Arch Communications / BCYCNA|year=1999|isbn=0968432204|location=Vancouver, BC|pages=15|chapter=Duncan News Leader}}</ref> The ''Leader'', a [[broadsheet]] sized publication, was known as a traditional, more conservative paper, while the ''Pictorial'' was a weekend [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]] with advertisements, jokes, and cartoons.<ref name=mckinley>{{Cite news|url=|title=A new Leader emerges in Cowichan|last=McKinley|first=John|date=2008-09-10|work=Cowichan News Leader Pictorial|access-date=|page=6}}</ref>
In 1971, a competing Cowichan Valley newspaper, the ''Pictorial'' (1966-2008) bought the ''Cowichan Leader'', but the two newspapers remained separate and distinct.<ref name=affleck>{{Cite book|title=Paper Trails: A History of British Columbia & Yukon Community Newspapers.|last=Affleck|first=George Allan|publisher=Arch Communications / BCYCNA|year=1999|isbn=0968432204|location=Vancouver, BC|pages=15|chapter=Duncan News Leader}}</ref> The ''Leader'', a [[broadsheet]] sized publication, was known as a traditional, more conservative paper, while the ''Pictorial'' was a weekend [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]] with advertisements, jokes, and cartoons.<ref name=mckinley>{{Cite news|title=A new Leader emerges in Cowichan|last=McKinley|first=John|date=2008-09-10|work=Cowichan News Leader Pictorial|page=6}}</ref>


In 1975, the ''Leader'' had a circulation of 10,000, with subscription rates set at $15 per year.<ref name=affleck/> In the mid-1980s, when Black Press bought both the ''Leader'' and the ''Pictorial'', the ''Cowichan Leader'' (1905-1985)<ref>{{Cite news|title=Cowichan Leader.|last=|first=|date=1905|work=Cowichan Leader.|language=English|oclc = 1032971315}}</ref> was merged with another acquisition, the ''Cowichan News'' (1976-1985),<ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Cowichan News|last=|first=|date=1976|work=Cowichan News|access-date=|oclc=1080285789}}</ref> to form the ''Cowichan News Leader'' (1985-1994).<ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Cowichan News Leader|last=|first=|date=1985|work=Cowichan News Leader|access-date=|oclc=1033013190}}</ref> After this merger, the ''Leader'' relocated to James Street, where it operated for 17 years until the building was destroyed by fire in March of 2003.<ref>{{Cite news|url=|title='Suspicous' fire razes newspaper office building|last=Martens|first=Christina|date=2003-03-26|work=Cowichan Valley Citizen|access-date=|page=8}}</ref> Despite having to suddenly move to a temporary location, not a single edition of the paper was missed.
In 1975, the ''Leader'' had a circulation of 10,000, with subscription rates set at $15 per year.<ref name=affleck/> In the mid-1980s, when Black Press bought both the ''Leader'' and the ''Pictorial'', the ''Cowichan Leader'' (1905-1985)<ref>{{Cite news|title=Cowichan Leader.|date=1905|work=Cowichan Leader.|language=en|oclc = 1032971315}}</ref> was merged with another acquisition, the ''Cowichan News'' (1976-1985),<ref>{{Cite news|title=Cowichan News|date=1976|work=Cowichan News|oclc=1080285789}}</ref> to form the ''Cowichan News Leader'' (1985-1994).<ref>{{Cite news|title=Cowichan News Leader|date=1985|work=Cowichan News Leader|oclc=1033013190}}</ref> After this merger, the ''Leader'' relocated to James Street, where it operated for 17 years until the building was destroyed by fire in March of 2003.<ref>{{Cite news|title='Suspicious' fire razes newspaper office building|last=Martens|first=Christina|date=2003-03-26|work=Cowichan Valley Citizen|page=8}}</ref> Despite having to suddenly move to a temporary location, not a single edition of the paper was missed.


In September 2008, Black Press consolidated the ''Cowichan News Leader'' and the ''Pictorial'' into the ''Cowichan News Leader Pictorial'',<ref name=mckinley/> and the paper ceased publication entirely in 2015. The closure established the ''Cowichan Valley Citizen'', a competing paper purchased by Black Press during 2014 labour action by ''Cowichan News Leader'' ''Pictorial'' staff, as the only regional paper for a time.
In September 2008, Black Press consolidated the ''Cowichan News Leader'' and the ''Pictorial'' into the ''Cowichan News Leader Pictorial'',<ref name=mckinley/> and the paper ceased publication entirely in 2015. The closure established the ''Cowichan Valley Citizen'', a competing paper purchased by Black Press during 2014 labour action by ''Cowichan News Leader'' ''Pictorial'' staff, as the only regional paper for a time.
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== Reference List ==
== Reference List ==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
== External Links ==
== External links ==
* ''[https://viurrspace.ca/handle/10613/6680 Cowichan Leader]'' - Open Access digital archive, 1905 to ninety years ago.
* ''[https://viurrspace.ca/handle/10613/6680 Cowichan Leader]'' - Open Access digital archive, 1905 to ninety years ago.


[[Category:Defunct newspapers of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Defunct newspapers published in British Columbia]]
[[Category:Publications established in 1905]]
[[Category:Newspapers established in 1905]]
[[Category:1905 establishments in Canada]]
[[Category:1905 establishments in Canada]]
[[Category:Publications disestablished in 2015]]
[[Category:Publications disestablished in 2015]]

Latest revision as of 18:39, 18 September 2023

Cowichan Leader newspaper, front page, 1905 December 23

The Cowichan Leader was a Canadian newspaper published weekly in Duncan, on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, for 110 years until it ceased publication in April 2015. The paper not only served Duncan, but also the neighbouring Cowichan Valley communities of Chemainus, Cobble Hill, Crofton, Ladysmith, Youbou, Honeymoon Bay, Lake Cowichan, and Shawnigan Lake. The paper's closure occurred under the ownership of Black Press.

The Cowichan Leader was founded by Harry Smith in 1905, with the first issue appearing on April 28. Initial subscription rates were set at $2.00 per year, or $1.25 per half year. Prior to starting the Cowichan Leader, Smith also produced Duncan's very first newspaper, the Duncan's Enterprise, in 1900 when he found no newspaper existed in the settlement in which to advertise his general store, Duncan's Emporium.[1] This early four page paper debuted on January 21, 1900, quickly changed its name to the Weekly Enterprise,[2] but only lasted a year before it ceased, and was eventually replaced by the Leader in 1905. In January of 1908, another weekly Cowichan Valley newspaper, The Echo, was started by Ormond T. Smythe and A. Hope Herd, but by May 28, 1908, Smythe announced The Echo's amalgamation with The Cowichan Leader.[3]

The Cowichan Leader was originally produced on the top floor of Smith's Emporium building on the northeast corner of Station and Craig Streets in downtown Duncan. Throughout the years, the paper's office moved several times, but spent a significant number of years at 151 Craig Street. In 1929, the existing structure on Craig Street was demolished and a new Art Deco style building was designed and built by Vancouver Island architect Douglas James. The building was designed to be as fireproof as possible with 8 inch thick reinforced concrete walls, floors uninterrupted by posts, and a roof supported by huge beams of Douglas fir. The exterior was finished with California stucco, a first in the district.[4]

Notable contributors to the Cowichan Leader include Beryl Mildred Cryer, who with her sister, Maithal Ross, submitted 15 articles between December 15, 1927, and November 28, 1928, written in the style of the Vancouver Province's "Legends of the Capilanos" articles by E. Pauline Johnson[5] The sisters, from the Halhed family of Chemainus, wrote under the pseudonym CRYOSS, and their articles, "Legends of the Cowichans" were interpretations of origin stories from the Hul'q'umi'num', a Coast Salish people of the Pacific Northwest Coast, as told to them by their neighbour, Mary Rice of the Penelakut First Nation.

In 1971, a competing Cowichan Valley newspaper, the Pictorial (1966-2008) bought the Cowichan Leader, but the two newspapers remained separate and distinct.[6] The Leader, a broadsheet sized publication, was known as a traditional, more conservative paper, while the Pictorial was a weekend tabloid with advertisements, jokes, and cartoons.[7]

In 1975, the Leader had a circulation of 10,000, with subscription rates set at $15 per year.[6] In the mid-1980s, when Black Press bought both the Leader and the Pictorial, the Cowichan Leader (1905-1985)[8] was merged with another acquisition, the Cowichan News (1976-1985),[9] to form the Cowichan News Leader (1985-1994).[10] After this merger, the Leader relocated to James Street, where it operated for 17 years until the building was destroyed by fire in March of 2003.[11] Despite having to suddenly move to a temporary location, not a single edition of the paper was missed.

In September 2008, Black Press consolidated the Cowichan News Leader and the Pictorial into the Cowichan News Leader Pictorial,[7] and the paper ceased publication entirely in 2015. The closure established the Cowichan Valley Citizen, a competing paper purchased by Black Press during 2014 labour action by Cowichan News Leader Pictorial staff, as the only regional paper for a time.

Together, these various community papers reflect aspects of life in the Cowichan Valley throughout the intensive settlement and industrial development of the twentieth century, representing a rich body of community stories that support insight into social and political life, economic activity, and relations between the settlers who came to stay and the Cowichan people who are Indigenous to the Valley.

In 2018, the library of Vancouver Island University (VIU) undertook a project to digitize and provide an Open Access digital archive of early issues of the Cowichan Leader to ensure preservation of content of regional significance, as well as to provide access for citizens and scholars.[12] Microform for the Cowichan papers is also held by the VIU Library, by the BC Archives, and by the Cowichan Valley Museum Archives.

Editors

[edit]
  • Harry Smith, 1905-1907
  • Martin M. Smith, 1907-1908
  • Ormond T. Smythe, 1908-1910
  • Louis J. Seymour, 1910
  • Frank Arthur Brettingham, 1910-1911
  • Edwyn Harry Lukin Johnston, 1911-1914
  • Hugh George Egioke Savage, 1914-1957
  • Brian LePine, ??-2000
  • John McKinley, 2000-2015

Reference List

[edit]
  1. ^ Henry, Tom (1999). Small City in a Big Valley: The Story of Duncan. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. p. 44. ISBN 1550172123.
  2. ^ Norcorss, Elizabeth Blanche (1959). The Warm Land. Duncan, B.C.: Elizabeth Blanche Norcross. p. 55.
  3. ^ Norcross, Elizabeth Blanche (1959). The Warm Land. Duncan: Elizabeth Blanche Norcross. p. 59.
  4. ^ Gagnon, Kathryn (2015). Historic Heart of the Cowichan Valley: A Walking Tour of Downtown Duncan. Cowichan Valley Museum & Archives. p. 44.
  5. ^ Cryer, Beryl Mildred (2007). Arnett, Chris (ed.). Two Houses Half-Buried in Sand: Oral Traditions of the Hul'q'umi'num Coast Salish of Kuper Island and Vancouver Island. Vancouver, BC: Talonbooks. p. 32. ISBN 9780889225558.
  6. ^ a b Affleck, George Allan (1999). "Duncan News Leader". Paper Trails: A History of British Columbia & Yukon Community Newspapers. Vancouver, BC: Arch Communications / BCYCNA. p. 15. ISBN 0968432204.
  7. ^ a b McKinley, John (2008-09-10). "A new Leader emerges in Cowichan". Cowichan News Leader Pictorial. p. 6.
  8. ^ "Cowichan Leader". Cowichan Leader. 1905. OCLC 1032971315.
  9. ^ "Cowichan News". Cowichan News. 1976. OCLC 1080285789.
  10. ^ "Cowichan News Leader". Cowichan News Leader. 1985. OCLC 1033013190.
  11. ^ Martens, Christina (2003-03-26). "'Suspicious' fire razes newspaper office building". Cowichan Valley Citizen. p. 8.
  12. ^ LaPlante, Rae-Anne (2018-10-22). "VIU taking lead in digitizing old newspapers to preserve history". Cowichan Valley Citizen. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
[edit]
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