Journey back in time to the bygone era of "printer's devils" and
uncover how their influence shaped the establishment of BC's Smelter
City.
The grisly murder of a nurse, a crippling 1917 strike, death on the
wartime battlefield, the 1918-19 flu pandemic--these are just some of
the historic events covered in the early days of the Trail News. In
Printer's Devils, historian Ron Verzuh offers both a study of pioneer
journalism and a social history of the smelter city of Trail as it grew
into a small but prosperous community. He traces the stories of
residents and their evolving attitudes, pastimes, and opinions as they
respond in times of economic crisis, war, labour strife, and
life-threatening disease against the backdrop of one of Canada's pioneer
industrial centres. Beneath these stories is a revealing exploration
into the lives of six Trail News editors--Trail's printer's devils--in
which we see firsthand how their editorial choices were honed by their
education, business priorities, and experience as printers in the early
days of newspaper publishing in the region. Delving back through layers
of history, Printer's Devils: The Feisty Pioneer Newspaper That Shaped
the History of British Columbia's Smelter City is a tribute to the
lasting impact of journalism in Canadian society, as chronicled in one
single-industry town.
