The owner of a newspaper in a small prairie town was often its only employee - acting simultaneously as publisher, editor, typesetter, advertisement and subscription solicitor and reporter.
In 1909, W. Parke Evans established the Strathmore Standard using machinery that included a seven-ton Wharfedale press, which had been built in Edinburgh, Scotland in c.1870. The press had formerly been used in production of the Calgary Herald, Edmonton Bulletin or Journal and the Gleichen Call. After 1926, the newspaper had several owners and names. In 1970, the building and equipment were sold to Heritage Park for $5,800. Ron Newsom, former editor of the Bashaw Star, restored the equipment and, using old parts donated by several Alberta newspapers, turned the Standard into a functioning example of a typical pre-1915 prairie newspaper plant and office.
