Maryboro Lodge Personality: E.D. Hand

Edward Deanes Hand emigrated from England to Canada around 1850. About 1854 or 1855, he founded the Lindsay Advocate newspaper (a name since revived by publisher Roderick Benns). Then as now, newspapers tended to assume a political stance, and Hand was a liberal. In 1861, the Canadian Post moved from Beaverton to Lindsay (it later became the Lindsay Daily Post) and became the most successful outlet in the community. By 1868, Hand’s Advocate was out of business.

Hand moved to Fenelon Falls in 1868, opening a grocery and shoe store. The next year, he headed to Bobcaygeon, founding the Independent, which was first printed in 1870. Two years later, he sold this newspaper to Charles Stewart, saying that he had been offered a bonus to start the Fenelon Falls Gazette. He later recalled that the first issue of the Gazette was published in the bar room of the Clifton House Hotel in February 1873.

The Fenelon Falls Gazette was the voice that shared the moments and events of the community. The Gazette continued to be liberal or “Reform” in editorial stance. As he took on Tories, he attracted some controversy and admirers, depending on his readers’ political views. Looking back on the Gazette, the record of what one man managed to investigate, record and print is remarkable.

The Gazette office moved to the corner of Francis and May Streets in 1875, then burned in May 1880—unfortunately for historians, all back issues were lost. The new office would continue to serve the business into the 1960s. It later moved to Colborne Street, near the Bank of Montreal. E.D. Hand operated the Gazette until he retired at age 84 in August 1915, selling the business to J.J. Lee.