History

Caribou Publishing is all about history.

We are proudly carrying the banner for four legacy weekly newspapers in East Central Alberta. These historic publications have extensively documented the communities they serve for generations. With a combination of both digital and print, we are proud to carry that legacy.

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The Community Press

Founded in 1908 in Sedgewick (Flagstaff County), Alberta by proprietor A.J. Honey
Longest tenured ownership: Two generations of Eastlys from 1915 – 1969 (54 years)
Current Ownership: Anderson family since 1986.
Current Publisher: Eric Anderson
Current Editor: Leslie Cholowsky

Other facts about 1908:

• Henri Farman becomes the first person to fly an observed circuit of more than 1km, winning the Grand Prix d’Aviation
• At Masjed Soleyman in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made
• A giant fireball, most likely caused by the air burst of a large meteoroid or comet flattens 80 million trees near the Stony Tunguska River in Yeniseysk Governorate, Russia, in the largest impact event in recorded history
• Ford Motor Company builds its first Model T car, which Henry Ford himself first tests on a hunting trip to Wisconsin and northern Michigan. Later in the year, Ford introduces the Model T car at a cost of $825
• Albert Einstein presents his quantum theory of light
• Earthquake strikes Messina in Italy, killing nearly 80,000 people
• 1st American horror movie “Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde” premieres in Chicago
• Canadian champion Tommy Burns KOs Irish challenger Jem Roche in 1:28s of the 1st round at the Theatre Royal, Dublin; then quickest world heavyweight boxing title fight
• The Chicago Cubs beat the Detroit Tigers 4-1 in the World Series
• During the Challenge Cup Era of the Stanley Cup, the Montreal Wanderers defended their 1907 Stanley Cup four times in 1908, defeating Ottawa, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Edmonton
• The British Olympic Association prepared for the Olympics with just two years notice. The 1908 Games were first scheduled to be held in Rome, though the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 1906 required the Games to move from Rome to London
• Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s Liberal Party of Canada was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term with a majority government. This was the first election in which Alberta and Saskatchewan voted as provinces
• William H. Taft elected president of the United States in 1908, replacing incumbent Theodore Roosevelt.
• King Edward VII reigned as ruler of the United Kingdom while Herbert Henry Asquith served as British Prime Minister.
• Birth year of Lyndon B. Johnson, Baby Face Nelson, Ethel Merman, Bette Davis, James Stewart among others

The Weekly Review

The Viking News was founded in 1913 in Viking (Beaver County), Alberta by proprietor John. W. Johnston.
The Weekly Review was founded in 1978 in Viking (Beaver County), Alberta, by a partnership of Lane Carrington, Dick Morris, and Monte Keith.
The Two newspapers fully merged in 1979, combining full historical publishing rights and back issues into a single entity.
Current Ownership: Anderson family since 1993.
Current Publisher: Eric Anderson
Current Editor: Patricia Harcourt

Other facts about 1913:

• China’s National Assembly opens in Peking, the first free democratic parliament in Chinese history
• Treaty of London signed by the Great Powers, the Ottoman Empire and the victorious Balkan League (Serbia, Greece, Kingdom of Bulgaria, and Montenegro) bringing an end to the First Balkan War
• Mahatma Gandhi arrested for leading Indian miners’ march in South Africa
• US Post office begins parcel post deliveries
• “Mona Lisa” recovered two years after it was stolen from the Louvre Museum
• Charlie Chaplin begins his film career at Keystone for $150 a week
• World Heavyweight Boxing champion Jack Johnson continues his 2,291 day reign through 1913
• The Philadelphia Athletics win the World Series, defeating the New York Giants 4-1
• During the Challenge Cup era of the Stanley Cup, the Quebec Bulldogs successfully defended their 1912 championship in 1913, defeating the Sydney Millionaires
• Wimbledon was won by Tony Wilding (mens) and Dorothea Chambers (ladies)
• Canada’s Prime Minister was Robert Laird Borden
• The President of the United States was Woodrow Wilson
• King George V ruled the United Kingdom while Herbert Henry Asquith served as Britain’s Prime Minister.
• Birth year of Rosa Parks, Gerald Ford, Loretta Young, Richard Nixon, Trevor Howard, Muddy Waters, Vince Lombardi, Jesse Owens, among others

Other facts about 1978:

• Sweden becomes the first nation in the world to ban aerosol sprays, due to their harmful effect on the earth’s ozone layer
• 25,000 die in 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Tabar, Iran
• Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla elected Pope John Paul II
• In Jonestown, Guyana, 918 members of the Peoples Temple are murdered or commit suicide under the guise of cult leader Jim Jones
• Film “Grease” opens, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, based on the 1971 musical
• “Halloween”, directed by John Carpenter, starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut, is released
• Bee Gees’ album “Saturday Night Fever” goes #1 on the Billboard Charts for 24 weeks
• The Commonwealth Games was held in Edmonton
• Leon Sprinks defeated Muhammad Ali, ending Ali’s 2nd reign of 1,204 days to become the undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion
• The Washington Bullets defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4-3 to win the NBA Championship
• The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Denver Broncos 27-10 in Super Bowl XII
• The New York Yankees won the World Series, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2. Bucky Dent was named MVP
• The Montreal Canadiens win their third consecutive Stanley Cup, defeating the Boston Bruins with a 4-2 series victory. Larry Robinson was awarded the Conn Smythe as MVP
• Wimbledon was won by Bjorn Borg (men’s) and Martina Navratilova (ladies)
• Pierre Trudeau was the Prime Minister of Canada
• Jimmy Carter was the President of the United States
• Queen Elizabeth II reigned over the United Kingdom while James Callaghan served as British Prime Minister
• Birth year of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Usher, Katherine Heigl, John Legend, Nelly Furtado, Kobe Bryant, Manny Pacquiao, CM Punk, among others

The Tofield Mercury

The Tofield Mercury was founded in Tofield (Beaver County), Alberta in 1918 by proprietor William Worton.
Longest tenured ownership: William Worton 1918-1951 (33 years)
Current Ownership: Anderson family since 1999
Current Publisher & Editor: Kerry Anderson

Other facts about 1918:

• Fearing foreign invasion, Vladimir Lenin shifts revolutionary Russia’s capital from Petrograd (St. Petersburg) to Moscow
• German World War I fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen aka “The Red Baron”, is shot down and killed over Vaux sur Somme in France. Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown is credited with the kill
• The Romanov Russian royal family and several of their retainers are executed by a Bolshevik firing squad in the basement of Ipatiev House, in Yekaterinburg, Siberia
• Spanish flu kills 21,000 people in the US in a single week
• WWI Armistice signed by the Allies and Germany comes into effect and World War I hostilities end at 11am, “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month”
• Musical “Sometime” with Mae West premieres in NYC
• The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government an imprisonable offense
• Jess Willard continued his 1,551 day world heavyweight boxing championship reign
• Toronto defeated the Vancouver Millionaires 3-2 in a best-of-five series to win the Stanley Cup
• For the fourth year, Wimbledon was not organized due to the Great War
• Robert Laird Borden served as Canadian Prime Minister during WWI while Woodrow Wilson served as President of the United States
• King George V reigned over the United Kingdom while David Lloyd George was re-elected as British Prime Minister, playing a prominent role in the Versailles Peace Settlement
• Birth year of Nelson Mandela, William Holden, Jack Paar, Rita Hayworth, Leonard Bernstein, Ted Williams, Betty Ford, among others

 

The Lamont Leader

The Lamont Leader was founded in Lamont, Alberta in 2005 by proprietor Kerry Anderson
Current Publisher & Editor: Kerry Anderson

Other facts about 2005:

• Kyoto Protocol comes into force following its ratification by Russia, committing industrialized nations to limit and reduce greenhouse gases
• Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of the country
• A terrorist bomb blast strikes London’s public transport system during the morning rush hour, killing 52 and injuring 700
• Hurricane Katrina makes its second and third landfall as a Category 3 hurricane, devastating much of the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, killing more than 1,836 people and causing over $115 billion in damage
• Angela Merkel becomes the first female Chancellor of Germany
• Canada introduces the Civil Marriage Act, making Canada the fourth country to sanction same-sex marriage
• YouTube’s co-founder Jawed Karim uploads the first video to YouTube, “Me at the zoo” showing him in front of two elephants at the San Diego Zoo. It currently has over 330 million views
• Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI
• BTK killer Dennis Rader is sentenced to 175 years in prison
• Million Dollar Baby wins best Picture at the Academy Awards with Hilary Swank and Director Clint Eastwood also winning individual oscars
• Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together” charts at number 1 on the Billboard Charts for 14 weeks
• The San Antonio Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons 4-3 in the finals to capture the NBA Championship. Tim Duncan was named MVP
• The Chicago White Sox win the World Series with a 4-0 sweep over the Houston Astros
• The New England Patriots won their second straight Super Bowl, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21
• For the first time since 1919, the Stanley Cup was not awarded due to the full season NHL Lockout
• The Wimbledon champions were Roger Federer (men’s) and Venus Williams (ladies)
• John Cena became WWE Champion for the 1st time
• Hasim Rahman defeats Monte Barrett to become interim heavyweight boxing champion of the world after Vitali Klitschko could not defend his title. Rahman’s reign became official after Klitschko retired
• Paul Martin was the Canadian Prime Minister
• George W. Bush was the President of the United States
• Queen Elizabeth II ruled the United Kingdom while Tony Blair served as British Prime Minister
• Birth year of IShowSpeed, Ruby Rose Turner, Honey Boo Boo, Connor Bedard, Dafne Keen