A handbook for Record correspondents
Lennoxville resident Allan Rowell happened upon this booklet from the 1960s with instructions for Record correspondents. The booklet mentions the do’s and dont’s of sending information to the paper, as well as daily deadlines (11 a.m. at the time unless there was a major breaking story).
So why was it kicking around in Rowell’s house?
Well, for 74 years, Rowell’s grandmother, Mrs. Nellie George Parsons worked as a correspondent for the CONT’D
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Sherbrooke Record and contributed her time to covering the Bury area, where she lived all her life.
Her first submission was in 1900, at the young age of fifteen years old. Parsons continued to contribute to the paper, and the Bury area, throughout the rest of her life.
The first piece she wrote for the paper was her grandfather’s obituary and her focus remained in that area for a while before branching out in other directions with her writing.
As we searched through our archives, we came across various pieces written by Nellie and her love for the history of the area never failed to shine through. History always seemed to find a place in her pieces of writing.
Amongst the things she covered included the closing of the Bury School board after being present in the area for over a century and the history of the “hop raising” industry in Bury. She did not fail to take into consideration the history of settlement to the Bury area and even covered the reunion of the descendants of one of the first families to settle there, the Parsons family.
What’s so very special is the fact that her daughter, Mrs. Herbert Rowell, and her grandson, Allan Rowell, would follow in her footsteps and continue as correspondents for the newspaper.
I guess journalism runs in the family!