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UllUmitlliiMLitlLlIt!!*WESTERN CANADIAN EDITORS £— £A Series of Articles Describing their Lives, their Alms and their Influence.J. J. HEASLIP63irYimrnmmrnirmmMR. J. d. HEASLIPLate Editor and Proprietor of the Alameda DispatchMr. J. J. Henslip, whc has recently disposed of his newspaper, the Alameda Dispatch, and retired, temporarily at least, from active newspaper work, is a striking example of the successful western publisher. He belongs to that rare class of men who enter the journalistic field late in athen considered the advisability c removing nearer to some point wher was offered facilities for the shinmen of grain. He accordingly took an other homestead, which was at tha time permissible, and remained ii the country for the three years ne cessary for the completion of th regulation duties. Although receiv ing assurances of a railway fron year to year, the road was not com pleted to Oxbow until the fall o 1891, and did not reach Alameda un til the year following.Abandoning work on the farm, Mr Heaslip opened a lumber yard ir Oxbow in 1891, and in i892 estab lished a hardware and implement husiness in Alameda. The first ship ment of freight to be forwarded west of Oxbow was consigned to Mr Heaslip and consisted of two carloadc of lumber. With this material he erected the first building in Alameda, which is now occupied by Messrs. Cook Deyell, hardware merchants.Shortly after becoming established in Alameda Mr. Heaslip sdld his lumber business in Oxbow, and after a successful career, in both the hardware and implement business, these were also disposed of, and a private bank opened.It was in July, 1893, that Mr. Heaslip entered the field of journalism, and acquired the Alameda Dispatch. In the same manner in which he had thrown his talents and energies into the previous enterprises with which 're had been connected, Mr. Heaslip at once entered with zest into the work of producing a newspaper that would reflect in the truest sense the growing importance of the town and district it served. In typographical finish and mechanical make-up the Dir patch was brought to the highest point of excellence. The publisher was prompt in the introduction of improved methods and devices. The newspaper office was thoroughly equipped with machinery of the most modern pattern-, which included a type-setting machine and high grade presses. This resulted in the production of a paper that was neat andbusiness career, and without previoustraining are enabled, through a combination of latent literary ability and keen business insight, to conduct a newspaper with every degree of success.The subject of this sketch is a native of Ontario, his birthplace being near the town of Peterboro. His early education was secured at the public school of his native town, and was later supplemented by a course in a business college at Toronto. Commencing life as a farmer, Mr. Heaslip was attracted by the glowing possibilities that awaited the settler in the west, and in 1881 he made his first trip to the prairie province. At that time Portage la Prairie was the. railway terminus, and leaving the train at this point, he travelled through several districts to obtain an accurate idea of the quality of the land and to secure information about the country before returning east. The following spring (1882) he decided to move to the west, and coming out with a party of lifteen settlers, he reached Brandon on the 16th of April, 1882. After leaving Brandon the party travelled by ox team, the objective point being adjacent to the confluence of the Moose Creek and Souris River. After a leisurely trip made for the purpose of looking over tiie country, Mr. Heaslip finally settled at a point four miles west of the present town of Alamedu. It was the life of the pioneer in those clays, for there were no other settlers •within a radius of 100 miles and the nearest postoffice was Brandon. In the latter part of 1882 the railway was extended to Moosom'in, which was the wheat market for the next ten years. Of the original party who came west with Mr. Heaslip, only three or four returned to the east. The rest remained and are now prosperous residents of the district. But one death, and that recently, hn.- occurred to diminish the number.Land in this district was not in the market in the year 1882. and in order to make homestead entries the settlers had to go to Regina. Mr. Heaslip returned to Ontario for the winter, came back the following spring, and continued to reside in the country until he had completed his homestead duties and acquired his patent. Owing to the great distance from a railway, Mr. Heasliptidy in style of print and appearance.While Mr. Heaslip is a Conservative i* politics, the Dispatch has been oonducted on strictly independent lines, although never neutral.Mr. Heaslip has been a notary public and justice of the peace for fifteen years, and for the past three years has seived at the head of municipal affairs. He is president of the Crown Lumber Coal company, with yards at Alameda and Frobisher, and also conducts a private bank, where a general banking business is transacted.With characteristic enterprise, Mr. Heaslip installed the telephone system in Alameda, which gives a satisfactory service and now has connections with the leading business and private residences in town. He also installed the first acetylene plant in Alameda.Mr. Heaslip has always taken a keen interest in all healthy, manly sports. He is an enthusiastic patron of hockey and lacrosse, and a large shareholder in the local skating rink. Last summer he purchased a motor car, and motoring forms his chief diversion during the summer months. He has become familiarized with the mechanical parts of the machine to a detail, and is thoroughly conversant with the principles underlying propulsion.Mr. Heaslip is a firm believer in keeping in close touch with every detail of the numerous enterprises under his control, and this no doubt is largely responsible for the success that has invariably attended his business dealings. Every department of his business is conducted on a system. He is withal courteous and affable in deportment, graceful in manner and has an enviable reputation for being thoroughly honorable in all his dealings. Convincing in argument, optimistic in view, Mr. Heaslip is an entertaining conversationalist. He can discuss with freedom and ease a wide range of subjects, and is particularly well informed on the various matters pertaining to municipal work. In the jaf Lin vvMiUifnt'iAna KnmnniNo 'lireYourmidst of his multifarious business duties he finds time to spend three or four hours daily in his library, and is consequently very widely read, and keeps in close touch with the lending questions of the day.It is but natural to assume that Mr. Heaslip has a splendid residence. His home is a large stone building, the largest in fact in the district, l and is beautifully enclosed.In religion Mr. Heaslip is a Presbyterian, is an elder in the church and one of its warmest supporters.
Newspaper Details
Vancouver Mt Pleasant Advocate
Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
Sat, Aug 24, 1907
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Shannon T.
USA 05 Apr 2019
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