Thanks For All The Warm-Hearted Words Over The Loss Of The Old Newspaper Building

A Few Last Words on this By Doug Draper, a former St. Catharines Standard reporter 

Posted December 12^th, 2025 on Niagara At Large

A St. Catharines Standard Christmas card from the times when the Burgoyne family still owned the newspaper that the family founded in the late 1800s.

I knew I was full of emotion about it, but I never thought I would hear from so many people across the Niagara region who wanted to share their feelings for the place where I once did what I thought was some of my best reporting of the news, especially on issues that had to do with the quality of our environment..

As recently as this December 12^th, I had at least half a dozen people email me or stop me on the street or in a store to say that they thought of me and so many of the others thatI  once worked there with when they heard that the building that once housed The St. Catharines Standard was gutted this past December weekend by fire.

What was clear to me was that each and every person that reached out was not as upset about the building as they were about the loss of a daily newspaper  that was once owned by a local family who cared enough about the community to staff it with  the resources necessary to do high-quality work. 

One of the people who reached out, Guy Demers, once worked there too and was kind enough to send me the following photo of the newsroom in 1991 when the Burgoyne family still owned The Standard and when we were still flying high as a paper serving the community –

Then, to get out of my car on William Street in St. Catharines’ downtown this past Monday, December 8^th to the sight of this (see the following photo), with nothing but burned out rubble that had tumbled below the second floor where that newsroom  was located was quite a jarring sight.

Here it is. Wow! –

Photo by Doug Draper

For this former Standard reporter, there were a lot of ghost there that I am sure I will have dreams about, time and time again.

Enough of  this though. They used to end a story in the newspaper world with -30- and that is where I will leave it as they move to tear whatever is left of that building down.

• Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Once upon a time at The St. Catharines Standard during its Burgoyne family days.
Stored in the basement of the now gutted Standard building.

For a related story Niagara At Large posted on this, click on – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2025/12/08/what-was-left-of-the-grand-old-st-catharines-standard-has-gone-up-in-flames/

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