The Family Herald

There were few magazines or newspapers to be found in rural Newfoundland in the 1940’s, yet there was one weekly publication that was almost a household word throughout much of the island and that was The Family Herald. Why a magazine designed mainly for farmers and published in rural Quebec should become so popular among the fishermen of outport Newfoundland remains a mystery, but for almost a hundred years it was eagerly awaited when the government coastal boat made it’s bi-weekly visit to each tiny settlement. Perhaps it was, as some have suggested simply good journalism, or maybe it was just that people were starved for something to read other than the family Bible.

How long it was a scholarly mainstay in our family can be seen from the fact that my father cut his literary teeth on it in the 1880’s and I as his youngest child was basking in the contents of its “Children Page” some sixty years later. The paper seemed to have something for everyone from the aforementioned Children’s page, to “Old Favorites“, one devoted to the music and words of old, often out of print songs to “The Quiet Time,” a reflection usually reserved for Sunday reading. In addition there was a story told in a series over several issues and a cartoon entitled Juniper Junction. While news for farmers was its main function, it also contained other Canadian and world news. While I stand to be corrected on this, I believe the subscription rate in 1950 was $1.00 per year. The paper’s main revenue came from advertisements for among other things, flower and vegetable seeds and Princess Pat Hair Nets!