Too many memories for one editor to hold

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This article was published 05/05/2022 (1483 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MINNEDOSA — Darryl Holyk can’t remember a time when the Minnedosa Tribune wasn’t a part of his life — be it as a reader, editor, publisher or owner. But now he is moving on to a new chapter as the final edition under his ownership was delivered April 29.

Starting May 6, the first edition of the longest-running weekly newspaper west of Ontario will be delivered and published by Nesbitt Publishing, owners of Crossroads This Week and the South Mountain Press. The Minnedosa Tribune will continue under the new ownership, following Holyk’s sale.

Before the last edition was published under Holyk, he said more than 20 years in the business has been a heck of a ride.

“I’ve always loved the Tribune, even as a kid. For some strange reason, I always remember when mom and dad would come home with the mail, I always looked through the Minnedosa Tribune,” Holyk said.

“I love history and at the time, Bob Mummery was the publisher and almost every week he had a history story in the Tribune and that was my favourite. I used to save the old Tribunes. I just never thought of it as a career.”

The idea of selling the paper had been in the works since last October after the feasibility of its future under his ownership was wearing thin revenue-wise. Holyk said it got to the point where there was nothing else left to cut, working with a staff of three people in total.

“I was really struggling with the fact of closing the Tribune,” he said.

“I did not want to be that guy that closed the oldest weekly this side of Ontario. I reached out to Ryan Nesbitt to see if he might be interested and thankfully, he was. Luckily, the Tribune is going to live on.”

Nesbitt, the publisher of Crossroads This Week and the South Mountain Press, said it is an honour to carry on the legacy of the 139-year-old newspaper. He would like to see how the paper that serves the valley community can become even better for those who subscribe or purchase a copy.

“We’re going to see how we can update the paper to make it the perfect combination of paying tribute to the past but also being really relevant to today’s day and age, keeping a real local focus that has always been the history of newspapers,” Nesbitt said.

Holyk admitted before his start at the Tribune, his goal toward the end of high school was to start a country music career.

“My goal in life was to be the next Garth Brooks or George Strait,” Holyk said.

“My plan was after high school, pack up and move to Nashville and try the country music thing. In rural Manitoba, you can’t go hang out with some superstar and go on tour. [My mom and I thought], what are we going to do?”

By the end of Grade 12, Holyk had a chance to do a co-op work experience and his mother suggested to make a call with the Tribune inspired by her son’s love of writing.

After job shadowing at the newspaper, he gained a great appreciation for the work that is put in behind the scenes in writing and issuing a paper to the public. Still, he hadn’t surrendered his dream of chasing the music idols he grew up listening to on the radio.

“Fast-forward a few years to 2001 and I was in the process of getting my visa and stuff to move to Nashville. I was writing songs, working towards that.”

As he was getting ready to move, Holyk was working at a gas station in Minnedosa. While on the job pumping gas, he was approached by Mummery, the publisher of the Tribune at the time, and asked if he would like to join the paper as a reporter, based on the good impression he left working as a Grade 12 student.

By May 2001, he accepted Mummery’s offer to join as a reporter and was fortunate enough to still be able to pursue a music career on the side.

Holyk, who still plays piano and acoustic guitar, recorded five albums over the next decade, travelling down to Nashville on numerous occasions.

In between recording sessions, his time as a reporter never felt like a job. It was always a source of enjoyment going out, meeting people and attending events.

“Of course, now 20 years later when you’ve covered the credit union general meeting for 20 years, it’s not so exciting anymore. You know what’s going to happen,” he said as he laughed.

A few years later following Mummery and his wife Joyce’s retirement in 2006, Holyk had entertained the idea of owning the newspaper. He never expected that idea would come to fruition, which was a scary thought for a reporter only in his 20s.

“I had no idea he was retiring at the time, and [Mummery] said: ‘Were you serious about that?’” Holyk said.

“[I thought], ‘am I ready to buy a newspaper and own a business and take this on?’ But I took the leap.”

Between 2006 and 2008, Mummery’s daughter Jennifer ran the newspaper until Holyk became the owner and publisher on Sept. 1, 2008. During that time, it gave him a chance to learn the business side of running the weekly newspaper and gave him a glimpse of what to expect in the future.

Holyk is sad to see the paper change hands before its 140th anniversary next year, but is grateful to have been the caretaker of the weekly print in a building that has been a pillar of the community.

The original Tribune office was a log building located where it stands today. The front portion of the second office burned down and the present-day structure traces back to the mid-1940s, while the back part of the building has survived since its inception in 1883.

“Being a history buff, that is one of the most important things to me, and I’ve always been proud to be a part of the Tribune,” he said.

“We’ve got generations of subscribers, people today, their parents were subscribers, grandparents, great-grandparents. I hope that trend continues on with the younger generation. The Minnedosa Tribune reports Minnedosa’s history.”

Tribune reporter Karen Mitchell agreed to join Nesbitt Publishing to continue covering the town, but the historic office will be put up for sale by Holyk.

“It’s great to keep journalism alive in that town. Minnedosa is such a vibrant community,” Nesbitt said.

“They seem so forward-thinking from the outside. It’s exciting to become a part of that.”

The Minnedosa Tribune will continue to print out of Struth Publishing in Killarney, where Nesbitt’s other two publications are printed.

He said while weekly and daily newspapers struggle with getting information out first in a digital media age, it’s the kind of storytelling written from deep local connections that make small-town writers the champions of their communities — something social media can never replicate.

“I hope it’s exciting for the community to have some new life breathed into the paper,” he said. “A strong newspaper is the sign of a strong town.”

For Holyk, the new chapter in his life will give him the opportunity to step back and appreciate what he missed during the daily hustle of running a print publication.

He entertained the idea of getting back into songwriting and potentially recording another album, this time a compilation of his favourite country recordings before he looks for his next writing gig or career.

“It’s bittersweet for sure. I’ve spent half of my life here.”

After witnessing several papers in western Manitoba close prior to and during the pandemic, Holyk is encouraging people to support their local paper, which he believes is a staple in every community.

“I’m very comfortable. I know I’m handing it off to somebody who cares about local news and understands the importance of local news in a community,” he said.

“I’m walking away with a lot of good memories.”

» jbernacki@brandonsun.com

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