The Bradford Witness and South Simcoe News One hundred years ago, in 1865, the first issue of The South Simcoe News was published in Bradford and that is the centennial anniversary being marked by this issue of The Bradford Witness and South Simcoe News, but newspaper life in this town began before 1865. Two years before the village of Bradford was incorporated, The Bradford Chronicle was established by a Mr. Goldie, a man who is believed to have been the establisher of several newspapers and who established the newspaper of which the father of the present editor of The Witness and South Simcoe News, was editor for more than fifty years. Mr. Goldie appears to have established newspapers, and sold them within a very few years, moving on to start another. After a few years of publishing The Chronicle in Bradford, Mr. Goldie sold his newspaper to Mr. W. B. Donaldson who changed the name of the paper to The South Simcoe Times. The next change of ownership was in 1865 when the owners were Messrs. Porter and Broughton, who again changed the name, bringing into business The South Simcoe News, and the anniversary being marked this year. In 1879 Bradford became a two newspaper village, giving each of the old political parties, the Grits and the Tories, newspaper representation. In that year Mr. E. Garrett established The Bradford Witness. By 1892 it would appear that the impracticality of endeavouring to publish two newspapers here brought about amalgamation and Bradford again became a one newspaper village, with Mr. Garrett, who continued as publisher, giving his newspaper the name of the two amalgamated newspapers, The Bradford Witness and South Simcoe News. After Mr. Garrett's time, as nearly as can be learned, there was a period during which managing editors handled the publication of the newspaper, the late Mr. T.A. Pratt being one of these, and then in 1916, the late Mr. O. M. Seim became owner. Mr. Seim publisher the paper until 1931, when the present owners and publishers, Mr. and Mrs. Stewart S. McKenzie, purchased the business. During the past thirty-four years the population tripled giving Bradford town status, and its newspaper business has more than kept pace with the town's growth. The long used equipment at the time of purchase in 1931 has all been replaced by new; the four-page home news, with the balance "ready print" has long been replaced by an all home print newspaper, varying in size from eight to twelve pages, and having a circulation which tightly covers four times the area of circulation in 1931.
