A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST 150 YEARS

It's been 150 years since theveryfirstRenfrewMercury hit the streets. Here's a look back.

• June 30, 1871, Albert Smallfield,anEnglishman with a family background in journalism, put out issue number 1 of the Renfrew Mercury. It was a sheet of four pages.

• Early in 1876, the Smallfields moved the Mercury and job printing business to a new office in the rear of Halpenny's Block, a two-minute walk from the post office, and installed a better press.

• Jan. 25, 1888, saw a disastrousfire.Thefirecompany rushed to the scene with their little hand-held pumper but there wasn't enough water in those times before municipal waterworks.

Town historian Harry HinchleyrecountedinThe Story of Renfrew: "So instead of using water the willing volunteers had to resort to throwing snow at thefoundationsofthepower printing press. They did such a good job because the press, along with the steam engine that drove it, were later able to be repaired."

BeforetheendofFebruary 1888, the Smallfields had their presses running in temporary space over

Gemmill Bros. store on mainstreetandwereagain printing in Renfrew. By falltheyputupanewbrick building, just north of the post office, where Ottawa ValleyCoffeestandstoday.

• On Jan. 2, 1891, the Mercury published issue number 1,000. The editor mentioned that when the paper was founded 20 years earlier, people predicted it would last no longer than a few months.

The special edition was printed using the technological advances of the time. Part of the paper was composed on the Thorne typesetting machine, which placed individual