Our committment to you

My grandfather James Cumming and his partner Russ Larson arrived in Fort Frances during the depression, buying the Fort Frances Times. The paper had been in trouble.
The town was in trouble. The mill did not have full orders and was shuttered as much as it was operational. The two partners found hope in Fort Frances and moved their families from Saskatchewan and began publishing the paper.
Russ as he was known was a salesman. He began his day by travelling the roads of the district having people sign up to receive a years subscription for $2.00. Jim as he was known was the publisher and typesetter.
The two made a commitment to the people of Fort Frances and the district. It was a simple commitment. They committed to using the newspaper as a vehicle to promote the health and vitality of the communities. The paper would tell the stories of the people, their businesses, their hopes and their successes. It would also report the sadness and failures.
In most years through to the 1950’s a single reporter supported the editor. But that didn’t mean that the news wasn’t covered. The Times relied on people like Mike Kosowick who operated Johnny Cannuck’s at LaVallee, Lillian Kellar from Devlin, Mary Bottenfield from Barwick, Gladys Smith from Stratton, to write the stories of people and their families.
Those district correspondents told the stories of people home from leave during the war, and the family celebrations at the end of the war. Lillian Kellar told the stories of the Dance fire and its survivors.
After Mike Kosowick moved to Fort Frances, he continued to write and was the correspondent for the Rotary Club promoting the club’s activities. His last memorable writing was following the “72 Team Canada to Moscow and telling their story to the district and his impression of Russia.
Our correspondents told of family home for the holidays, births, engagements, weddings and funerals. We learned when community suppers were being held and who attended. They told us about crops and harvests.
4-H members told us about gardens, potatoes, cattle raising, and home making skills.
From their correspondents, Russ and Jim shared the stories of families in the newspapers.
In many ways today is very similar to 1934. We continue to rely on our correspondents; Dave Ogilvie in Emo, Robin McCormick in Devlin, Rick Neilson from Barwick, and Jack Elliott in Rainy River. They continue to tell the important stories of the district.
Even though our correspondents and reporters are out and through the community, they cannot be in all places at the same time. The newspaper looks to others as well to share the stories.
We seek the help of teachers to take and submit photos of school activities. We look to families to take pictures of Christmas concerts.
We look to coaches and parents in youth hockey and soccer to bring us the scores and stories of their children’s games. We look to leaders in youth groups to tell the stories of their organizations.
The Fort Frances Times and the Rainy River Record are the records of families in the district. We look to continue to be the recorder of stories of families throughout the district.

–Jim Cumming,
Publisher