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Carruthers Printing A community cornerstone By Mike Williscraft
F
or a retired fellow, Ivan Carruthers is one busy man. Although he retired nearly two decades ago, Carruthers is still an active, connected cog in the West Lincoln community. It was a long time ago when he broke into the community newspaper business with then-publisher of the Smithville Review George Adams at age 17 as a part-time employee. Then, in 1954, he became the youngest community newspaper publisher in Canada at age 23 when he bought the paper from Adams. Carruthers said he may have gone into carpentry had Adams not given him his big break. Although he had been pressed into leaving high school to earn money to help his family of 12 – his father had died and his brother was killed in WW II – Carruthers had been bitten by the newspaper bug. He loved his job and he greatly appreciated the opportunity afforded him by Adams, whom he looked upon as a father figure. While it is a major component, Smithville Review is only part of Carruthers’ business story. The commercial printing division of the company was always, and still is today, a vitally important piece of Carruthers Printing. The company, which celebrated its 60th anniversary Aug. 22 at its College Street office, has continued to put its stamp on the community both through its quality work as well as its dedicated staff.
14 clubwest.ca | September/October 2014
Carruthers, who has been long-retired, is currently the president of the West Lincoln Chamber of Commerce....for the fourth time. His stepson Steve Ecker and his wife Mary have grown the print-end of the business extensively in recent years. Steve also provided the germ of the idea and hosted the first discussion for what would become one of the biggest community events in any smalltown, Poultryfest. Along the way, great people and some
truly remarkable stories have dotted their path. Carruthers is an encyclopedia of West Lincoln history on all fronts, from politics to sports to the business landscape of Smithville. Back in the day, it was handset type, lithography, not metal and hand-fed presses. Smithville Review cost three cents over the counter, and some of their store drops were just 2-3 copies here and there.
Ivan Carruthers, with a Corona typewriter; Steve Ecker leans on an old friend, his Heidelberg press, and; Mary Lynne Ecker with a box of wood type.