Fewer pages, cut-and-paste and blown deadlines

Marion Robertson reflects on her time as editor of the Manor Park Newsletter

By Manor Park Chronicle

An aerial view of a burgeoning Manor Park in the 1950s. Our (Sharleen's!) best guess is that today's Anthony Vincent Park is top left centre, followed by (in descending order) Bedford Cres. intersecting Farnham Cres. followed by Dunvegan Rd.and a strip of Birch Ave. at the very bottom. Photo from Canada Yearbook

In 1979, I became editor of the Manor Park Newsletter, as it was then called. I had worked on the paper with the editor, Martha Ippersiel, and eventually took over the job from her.

It was a much smaller newsletter in those days, about 10 pages.

This was way before personal computers were the norm. The person writing the article would type it out on paper and hand deliver it to me.

As one would expect, there were always a couple of articles that never arrived before the deadline. That was a big nuisance. In those days, we did the lay-out by manually cutting with an X-Acto knife and pasting everything. I remember complaining to my husband that it was too bad the contributors were volunteers. If they were paid employees, I would have fired them when they submitted their articles late. Instead, a gentle nudge was given, and fingers crossed that they would arrive on time.

Neighbourhood connections

I also drew and designed some of the ads for the newsletter. Friends like Chriss Gill and Drummond Lister would photograph events and send me the actual print of the photo, which was pasted onto the lay-out paper. I usually had one person who would help me with the layout.

I was an editor for just two years and it was enjoyable in that I connected with lots of Manor Park residents whom I didn’t know, so broadening friendships was nice.

It was good to be able to inform Manor Park residents of the activities and events that were happening in our community, as in those days there was no Internet, so information was not so readily available.

I still maintain a connection with the paper, as I continue to deliver the Manor Park Chronicle to the houses on my street.

Marion Robertson was editor from October 1978 to May 1980. She remains active with the Chronicle as a delivery volunteer.

You can also read former editor Jim Kenward’s reminiscences here.

An aerial view of a burgeoning Manor Park in the 1950s. Our (Sharleen's!) best guess is that today's Anthony Vincent Park is top left centre, followed by (in descending order) Bedford Cres. intersecting Farnham Cres. followed by Dunvegan Rd.and a strip of Birch Ave. at the very bottom. Photo from Canada Yearbook
An aerial view of a burgeoning Manor Park in the 1950s. Our (Sharleen’s!) best guess is that today’s Anthony Vincent Park is top left centre, followed by (in descending order) Bedford Cres. intersecting Farnham Cres. followed by Dunvegan Rd.and a strip of Birch Ave. at the very bottom. Photo from Canada Yearbook