On the 50th anniversary of the Glebe Report

By Elaine Marlin

Looking back over the Glebe Report’s history, what strikes me most is the generosity and commitment of thousands of volunteers: writers, photographers, illustrators, production team members of many specialties, ad and business managers, deliverers, board members and editors. Some have been professional journalists, some first-timers, most contributing their talents gratis.

Many fledgling community papers were starting up little 8-page publications at the time the Glebe Report produced its first issue. All part of the “Volkswagen” press. But this particular newspaper is among the few that have flourished for half a century. It has gone on to become the paper of record for our community, (online at glebereport.ca with an almost complete archive as well as in print), the chief source of local news and a beautiful publication to look at as well. I think all of this success is directly attributable

Fond memories and future thoughts

By Inez Berg

It was long ago, before the Internet, email, Facebook, the Twitterverse. the Whateverse even. In the mid-'70s, I was a new mom, new to the Glebe. Marnie Johnstone, then Glebe Report editor, invited me to join their production team and write articles. Thus began an adventure in community building that informs me still.

I met staff and volunteers, mostly women, at the paper’s small office in the Glebe Community Centre off the northeast corner of the Main Hall. Here submissions were typed (yes! on Selectric typewriters), proofread, then “cut and pasted” onto waxed pages. The finished product was sent by bus to press in Renfrew. Days later, 7,000 bundled Glebe Reports came back, and volunteer carriers delivered them to all Glebe homes and businesses. Two weeks later, we started again.

Open office windows caught summer breezes to cool us. In winter, we endured the ominous offbeat symphony of clanking radiators. A laughable part of our esprit de corps during the day, this proved unnerving when working alone after dark. One memorable night, the clanking paused, a tuneless whistle commenced, then new clanking and dragging! Dousing the light I waited, terrified. Finally, mustering the courage, I peeked through the mail slot. There was the caretaker serenading himself as he dragged metal chairs into the Main Hall.

Equally unnerving was the mumbling of “the Pink Man,” a tall, elderly, raw-boned veteran. He roamed Glebe streets and would slip into the centre to hide and shelter overnight. Eventually, a new alarm system prevented both his and real nefarious entries.

Our office moved upstairs, above the to the generous community spirit that has shaped it.

Knowing what is going on at the local level has knitted this diverse community together. Where else could you find out what we are saving, protesting or promoting this month? Where else can you encounter such civil discourse from people of opposing views? Where else could you access the latest news on community associations, recreation, businesses, schools, proposed developments and local politics?

As a former editor, contributor and board member, this is my message to those who haven’t been involved yet. Try it. Those of us who have will tell you that, despite some hard work, it has been both rewarding and fun to be part of such a creative endeavour!

Elaine Marlin was editor of the Glebe Report from January 2003 to May and then August 2005.

Main Hall, to a long, narrow room that perfectly housed our workstations and production team. Computers and word processing were now used. I became editor in 1987 and very much enjoyed all my co-workers and the many interactions with our community, GCC and The Pantry staff. As my family grew, so did my activities. Working in the Glebe Co-op Playgroup, joining school councils, the Glebe Community Association and GNAG deepened my knowledge of healthy community. I understood and promoted the critical role that the Glebe Report – our homegrown newspaper –played in providing equal opportunity for our public to communicate and share. In 1997, I resigned as editor to run for City Council. I won and served as Capital Ward City councillor until the end of 2000. As corporate “community papers” proliferated, I fought to retain city support for the real ones.

The Glebe’s biggest challenge when I was Glebe Report editor and city councillor was Lansdowne Park redevelopment. My success mandating open public consultation was curtailed in 2000 when Ottawa and regional councils voted to hand Lansdowne Park over to the region, critically diluting any future Glebe influence on its development. All communities in amalgamated Ottawa now suffer the same diluted ability to manage change locally. They struggle to learn of city-approved development in their areas, to have a place at the decision-making table and get access to city proceedings. Can community newspapers

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