Obituary: Publisher-columnist Barbara Martindale was the ‘face’ of Caledonia

Former newspaper publisher-columnist and chamber of commerce president Barbara Martindale is being remembered as the face' of Caledonia.

She was part of the town fabric for more than six decades, first gaining attention as a teenager when she wrote a column for the town paper - The Caledonia Grand River Sachem - telling youth about goings-on in town.

She later married into the family that ran the paper, served as publisher and carried on writing a column, this one touching on the history of the town. Along the way she wrote two history books while writing For What it's Worth.'

She served as president of the chamber of commerce, and went to work for the chamber in 1996 as its executive director. She stepped down from that post in early March.

Martindale died March 19 at the Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice at the age of 80.

Barb was a lovely woman," Cheryl Beemer, a retired nurse and former county council candidate, said on social media. In many ways, she was the face of Caledonia. Always so enthusiastic about everything going on in town. When I was in need of information or a contact in town, Barb was my go to person. A wealth of knowledge about Haldimand County, past and present."

Her nephew is Haldimand Mayor Ken Hewitt, who is running for the Progressive Conservatives in the June 2 election. He called her a role model.

She's certainly going to be missed," he told The Sachem. She was always the sober second thought. It wouldn't matter what the conflict was, or what the issue was, she was always the voice of reason."

Martindale wrote her column, on and off, for about four decades, until 2019. She wrote obits, but also about the the first Caledonia fair in 1873, the Caledonia Candy Company, the building of the nine-span bridge over the Grand River, nicknames for parts of Caledonia - New York and Brooklyn - and about the farm south of town where actor Boris Karloff worked as a labourer in 1910.

Her books were Bridging The Past" (1987) and Caledonia Along The Grand River" (1995).

To say she enjoyed working at the paper might be an understatement.

You get to know what your community is like and you know what they want to read," she told The Spec in 1984 when she left the paper for politics (she returned a few years later). People say that this newspaper helped raise their kids."

Martindale was born July 30, 1941 to farmers Murray and Pat Hewitt. She was raised on a farm in Seneca Township.

She attended Caledonia High School and settled in the town in 1960 after marrying Chester Martindale, whose father, Harrison, and uncle, Arrell, bought the Sachem (now the Haldimand Sachem) in 1945. The paper was founded in 1856.

Arrell retired in 1972 and her husband joined his father as co-publisher. She stayed home to raise the couple's children but returned to the paper in the early 1970s.

Tragedy struck in 1980 when Chester was struck and killed by a car. Martindale took over her husband's role as co-publisher and bought her father-in-law out a year later.

She sold the Sachem in 1982 to the Tillsonburg-based Otter newspaper chain. I didn't feel I was able to put the time into it that was needed," she told The Spec in 1996. And I needed a career change at that time."

Martindale ran for the PCs in the 1985 provincial election against Liberal incumbent Gord Miller. She garnered 9,863 votes, but Miller (who died last year) received 17,456.

Martindale was a member of St. Paul's Anglican Church and the Caledonia Community Foundation. She served as chair of the Ruthven Park Management Committee and was president of the Hamilton branch of the Media Club of Canada and the Toronto Women's Advertising Club.

She received a Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002, and a Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, for her community work.

Martindale is the second area publisher to die in recent months. Stan Morris, longtime publisher-reporter-photographer at The Port Dover Maple Leaf, died Dec. 21 at 90.

Martindale is survived by her children, Tony, Perry and Patti, six grandchildren and her brother, Ron.

Daniel Nolan can be reached at dannolanwrites@gmail.com