Newspapers in Grey County

History of the Flesherton Advance Newspaper

The first issue of the Flesherton Advance was published on June 1, 1881 by A.R. Fawcett, originally of Kimberley. The newspaper office was located at 26 Sydenham St. in Flesherton. On July 1, 1888, the newspaper was purchased by Willard Hadley Thurston (also originally from Kimberley) who published from the same location until approximately 1900 when he moved it to the corner of Collingwood and Peter Street. Thurston passed on the editorship of the paper to his youngest son, Frank, on August 1, 1938.Research by local historian Elizabeth Meyers reveals some unusual facts about the newspapers of the Grey Highlands municipality. The community of Flesherton, for example, has been home to only one newspaper, the Flesherton Advance. The Markdale Standard is notable as one of the top three longest running publications in Grey County. The print copies of these papers are held in local archives but have been transferred to microfilm that is available for public viewing at local libraries. To make these papers more accessible, the Grey Highlands Public Library has reproduced the Markdale Standard and Flesherton Advance from their earliest copies to approximately 1950 for online browsing.

On September 1, 1961, the Advance was purchased by Royden Johnston, who published it for four years until selling the paper to Godfrey Clark in 1965. Clark re-enlisted Frank Thurston as editor of the paper for two years. In 1968 Walter Walls, owner and editor of the Dundalk Herald purchased the paper. Walls continued to publish the Flesherton Advance in conjunction with the Dundalk Herald from his offices in Dundalk, an arrangement maintained by Matt Walls, the present editor of the two papers. 
                                              Adapted from Split Rail Country: A History of Artemesia Township

The copies of the Flesherton Advance that still exist are severely damaged and were in this state before being microfilmed. The digital copies reflect the artefact and show the results of fire and water damage, mishandling and half a century's wear and tear. By making the papers available online, the deterioration process is slowed somewhat. The GHPL Project team has endeavoured to provide the most complete and legible collection possible from the original material and will continue to upgrade and fill gaps in the collection over time.