The Tilbury Times

The Tilbury Times began in 1884 with W. A. Shaw, the son of an early Tilbury pioneer. The origins of the Times were described in the Comber Herald, Feb. 02, 1938:

William Ashton Shaw was born at
Lloydtown, York County, 77 years
ago, son of the late Pringle Shaw and
Mrs. Shaw (formerly Sarah Ashton).
He learned the printing trade at
Parkhill, where his father held a
position as school teacher.
In 1884 he established The Tilbury
Times, which he had published con-
tinuously ever since.

One of Shaw's few absences from the Times occurred in 1923 when he disappeared for 8 weeks, sparking widespread concerns about the state of his health until he surfaced in St. Louis, Missouri, attributing the episode to memory loss.

T.C. Odette, the Mayor of Tilbury, purchased the Tilbury Times a few months after Shaw's death (The Comber Herald, March 17, 1938, p. 4). Mac McConnell would take over the Times in 1962, after several years as editor and general manager ( The Kingsville Reporter, April 25, 1989, p. 4). Mac's son, Terry, would carry on the McConnell connection to the Times for another 2 decades after his father retired in 1980. Postmedia would acquire the Tilbury Times and close it in 2020. As of 2022, the Times has been revived as an online publication.

Essay prepared by Art Rhyno