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Sunday, 1st August 2010

 
120th Anniversary
Stronger than ever
120 years of the Kirkintilloch Herald
Stronger than ever
How it all began: The first edition
Famous faces over the years
19th century education
New Civic Mansion House: The Town Hall
More prosperous times for locals
Brothers who left their mark on Kirkintilloch
Communities rocked by pit disaster
Gustav drops in on surprised villagers
Two world wars in 30 yrs:
World War I
Two world wars in 30 yrs:
World War II
Town’s “Last Orders” lasts 48 years
Ten young Irish potato pickers die in a horrific fire
major double blow for local transport
Final word goes to the towns first Lady Provost
Here’s to the next 120 . . !
EXACTLY 120 years ago Kirkintilloch businessman Donald MacLeod would have been drawing up plans for his biggest ever project, the launch of a newspaper to serve the town and its surrounding communities.

MacLeod had started a successful printing company five years earlier, producing shop posters, leaflets and tickets, but his burning ambition was to be a newspaper proprietor.

His dream was realised in July 1883 when the first edition of the Kirkintilloch Herald rolled out of MacLeod's premises in the Cowgate.


Christine Miller of the William Patrick Library in Kirkintilloch is pictured holding up the first edition of the Kirkintilloch Herald from July 1883.
The first issue - four broadsheet pages costing an old halfpenny, was by all accounts well received by the locals, who as well as being able to read reports of the activities of various clubs and societies, were also treated to the first instalment of a serial story.

Unfortunately for the good burghers of Kirkintilloch, they had rather a long wait for the next issue and probably never did get to find out how the intriguing tale of the Waggoner's Daughter turned out.

The stress and strain of producing his newspaper was all a bit too much for Donald MacLeod. No sooner was the Herald's maiden issue on the streets than its exhausted proprietor took seriously ill. It was at least three years before one of his sons felt up to task of reviving the Kirkintilloch Herald.

The Herald quickly got over the early setback of its publisher's illness and was soon going from strength to strength - a success story which the newspaper has continued into its third century of publication. That success has been built on the continued loyalty of readers and advertisers, who see the Herald as playing a pivotal role in their community.

Over the years the Herald has highlighted the hopes, achievements and problems of people in schools, factories, churches, pubs and clubs, housing estates and businesses. It has offered a platform for local comment, opinion and debate which simply does not exist anywhere else.

RALLYING

The Herald, like many other local newspapers, also has a proud tradition of campaigning to preserve and improve the quality of life in its circulation area, correcting injustices and holding decision-makers to account.

Our outspoken campaign against the rundown of general hospital facilities at Stobhill, dating back to the 1980s, has been praised in some quarters and vilified in others.

We have been proud to flag up the threat to the community and provide a rallying point for all the dedicated individuals who were prepared to put their names to the newspaper's 43,000-signature petition to the Scottish Parliament.

On many occasions the Herald has shared in the sorrow felt in a town struck by tragedy. During the 20th century the paper mourned with its readers the loss of local boys who fell in two world wars, and shared in the grief of the mining disasters at Cadder and Auchengeich.

We believe that Donald MacLeod would have been proud to see the newspaper he established continue to serve its growing readership way beyond his lifetime. He would have been amazed to see it routinely produce 36-40 page issues, and we are sure he would agree it still offers its readers value for money.

It is some 30 years since the former D. MacLeod Ltd became part of the Johnston Newspaper Group - one of the country's biggest weekly newspaper publishers with titles across the UK. The Kirkintilloch Herald was one of the first titles acquired by its parent company which also owns The Falkirk Herald, Cumbernauld News, the Motherwell Times, Milngavie and Bearsden Herald, Lanark and Carluke Gazette, and the St Andrews Citizen to name but a few.

The technology has, of course, changed since the Herald's first editorial team filled their inkwells and jotted down screeds of copy which was laboriously hand-set, character by character, by skilled compositors.
Now copy is input directly to the computer system by reporters and sub-editors. What used to be described as making little marks on pieces of paper to make all the difference between a lively and dreary read, is now performed at a keyboard and monitor.
EDITIONS
This same electronic wizardry means completed pages can be transferred down fibre-optic lines to our printing centre in Falkirk, and allows for a cleaner, sharper quality of pictures and type than editorial and production staff of previous generations could ever have imagined.
Moving with the times has also meant the newspaper diversifying to reflect changes in its circulation area. The growth in local populations means different areas have their own strong identities and the Herald recognises this with separate editions covering Kirkintilloch, Bishopbriggs and that part of the former Strathkelvin District Council area which now comes under the umbrella of North Lanarkshire Council. We have also in recent years extended our circulation area into Springburn, where the Kirkintilloch Herald Series appears in yet another edition.
Some 40-50 individuals, from advertising counter staff through to writers and photographers, caseroom workers, printers and delivery drivers, are regularly involved in producing the Herald.
WEBSITE
Many copies are kept as treasured mementos of family events, both happy and sad, announced in either our intimation or editorial columns - births, deaths and marriages, graduations, prizes at school, sports trophies and any number of other individual triumphs and achievements. Some are sent to relatives abroad. There cannot be many countries in the world where someone has not received the Herald.
For those who have moved away from the area, the Herald’s website at www.kirkintillochtoday.co.uk keeps them informed of what’s happening back home.
And caring volunteers from the Strathkelvin Talking Newspaper Association also record the newspaper onto cassette tapes, to ensure that the blind and disabled need not miss out on their local news.
Although the area in which we live and work is steeped in history going back many thousands of years, this special pull-out gives a flavour of just some of the many and varied events and characters featured in the Herald over our 120 years. View older pages
 
 

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