PUBLICATIONS
BELL ISLAND NEWSPAPERS
BELL ISLAND NEWSPAPERS
THE WABANA DRUGGIST
November 1910 - c.1913
by Gail Hussey-Weir
April 5, 2025
November 1910 - c.1913
by Gail Hussey-Weir
April 5, 2025
In November 1910, three years after he arrived at Bell Island, druggist Louis Lawton began editing and publishing The Wabana Druggist, a monthly magazine of local news. In his "Newspaper History of Bell Island," Addison Bown mentioned The Wabana Druggist on at least four occasions, from 1910 to 1912, as documented below. No known copies of the publication exist today and it is not known when Lawton ceased publication, but he may have stopped when The Bell Island Miner, Bell Island's first weekly newspaper, began publication in March 1913.
From Bown:
"Bell Island's first periodical, The Wabana Druggist, made its appearance in November 1910. It was printed monthly by Robinson and Company, publishers of The Daily News, at their old office on the corner of Bell and Duckworth Streets. The editor was L.J. Lawton, proprietor of the Wabana Drug Store [which was located on The Green at the time], and it was distributed free to local homes [on Bell Island]. It contained all the news items of the Island, and its editorials were mainly directed at securing local improvements, such as better roads, sanitary conditions, etc., not to mention the ferry service. To its credit, it must be said that during its career, the little magazine, which measured 12 inches by 20 inches, was instrumental in securing many improvements for the Island." [Source: Bown, 1910, p. 34]
In March 1911, "The Wabana Druggist was asking: what happened to the petition from the residents of Bell Island asking for local government which had been presented to the government the year before. Our first local newspaper reported that the Island had seven churches, six schools, three hotels and 30 stores."
In March 1912, "The Wabana Druggist advocated that a light be placed at the eastern end of the Island for the guidance of shipping, but 30 years were to pass before it became a reality."
"On May 1, 1912, "the Postmaster General called for tenders for the erection of a postal telegraph building at The Mines [what would become the Town Square area]. The Wabana Druggist protested that the specifications were too small and it would be outgrown in a few years."
From Bown:
"Bell Island's first periodical, The Wabana Druggist, made its appearance in November 1910. It was printed monthly by Robinson and Company, publishers of The Daily News, at their old office on the corner of Bell and Duckworth Streets. The editor was L.J. Lawton, proprietor of the Wabana Drug Store [which was located on The Green at the time], and it was distributed free to local homes [on Bell Island]. It contained all the news items of the Island, and its editorials were mainly directed at securing local improvements, such as better roads, sanitary conditions, etc., not to mention the ferry service. To its credit, it must be said that during its career, the little magazine, which measured 12 inches by 20 inches, was instrumental in securing many improvements for the Island." [Source: Bown, 1910, p. 34]
In March 1911, "The Wabana Druggist was asking: what happened to the petition from the residents of Bell Island asking for local government which had been presented to the government the year before. Our first local newspaper reported that the Island had seven churches, six schools, three hotels and 30 stores."
In March 1912, "The Wabana Druggist advocated that a light be placed at the eastern end of the Island for the guidance of shipping, but 30 years were to pass before it became a reality."
"On May 1, 1912, "the Postmaster General called for tenders for the erection of a postal telegraph building at The Mines [what would become the Town Square area]. The Wabana Druggist protested that the specifications were too small and it would be outgrown in a few years."