Allison Hanes: The Gazette’s print edition comes home to Hudson on Saturdays

Saturday used to be the quietest day of the week at Hudson Hardware, a building-supply store west of Montreal, where staff are on a first-name basis with local contractors and customers are welcome to bring their dogs.

But lately, people have been lined up outside when the store opens at 8 a.m. Saturdays. Since August, Hudson Hardware has been selling a rare and precious commodity in these parts: printed copies of The Gazette.

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After home delivery ended off-island almost two years ago, Hudsonites went online to read The Gazette. But for many, it just wasn’t the same — especially on lazy weekend mornings.

Hudson Hardware owner Ken Crombie sensed this void and saw an opportunity.

“We’ve always deemed ourselves customer-oriented, but more to the community,” said Crombie, who is the third generation of his family to run the business. “If the community is missing something, we always try to see if we can provide something to the community.”

He was also motivated by his wife’s passion for newspapers.

“My wife is a massive proponent of reading the old way, meaning touching paper, smelling paper, holding paper,” he said. “It started with that and moved to an inquiry to the general public to see if there was an appetite for it. And we started to hear people were crossing the bridge to go get it on their own.”

So over the summer, Crombie made a few calls about the possibility of selling the Saturday edition at his store. The main obstacle was physically transporting The Gazette off the island of Montreal and to the wider Vaudreuil-Soulanges region.

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“I said the logistics are on me and I would take care of it,” Crombie said. “Once we got past that, they wanted to provide us with about five copies a week.”

Crombie was pretty sure he’d need more.

During the first weekend, in early August, he settled for 15 papers, with customers signing up in advance. But things snowballed over the summer, as news of The Gazette’s homecoming spread by word of mouth, increasing demand week by week. This Saturday, the number hit 115. That not only makes Hudson Hardware the only place the paper is available in the Vaudreuil region west of Montreal, where there is a sizeable English-speaking population, but the largest single regular retailer of The Gazette anywhere in the Montreal area.

Now there’s a new twist on an old tradition in the town of about 5,000, where Gazette newspaper boxes still grace lawns. First thing Saturdays, residents head to “the hardware,” as locals affectionately call it (although the sign says Centre de rénovation Castle). They step up to the counter in the centre of the barn-like building, have their name ticked off a checklist and are handed their papers (there are also 32 Globe and Mails to satisfy customer demand, as well as copies of The 1019 Report every two weeks). They might buy some birdseed for the feeder, grab supplies for their household projects — and chitchat with staff or fellow patrons.

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“It used to be pretty quiet in the mornings. Now people are coming earlier and earlier to pick up their paper, so they can start their day and have their coffee with it,” said customer service associate Lily Sargent, who keeps track of everyone who wants The Gazette. “People have been so, so happy that they have a chance to get it here.”

Denis Lauzon is the lynchpin of the newspaper distribution operation. He has worked at Hudson Hardware for six years and lives in the West Island. He’s the guy who picks up the increasingly large stack of newspapers at 5 a.m. Saturdays.

“It’s just on my way, so why not do a good deed for the community?” he said. “I love working with people here and the customers. It’s just an added pleasure to bring it. I see that everybody’s very happy about it.”

Lauzon added, laughing: “They told me upstairs that I can’t quit.”

Hudsonite Bill Bredt said he’s glad he is now spending his Saturday mornings reading the paper instead of “cursing and swearing” in traffic driving to the West Island to go buy one.

“I think it’s a smart business move as well as a good community move,” Bredt said. “It’s like he’s doing us all a big favour.”

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Indeed, the story of the paper’s homecoming speaks to the power of can-do spirit, unshakeable loyalty, the appetite for local news and an enduring love of newsprint.

As The Gazette approaches its 250th birthday in an increasingly digital media landscape, editor-in-chief Lenie Lucci said the attachment is “heartening.”

“This kind of community support is not only what ensures the future of local journalism, but demonstrates a real desire to make the larger democratic process work,” she said. “Our Hudson readers not only deserve reliable and trusted journalism but they should also be represented by it. I’m optimistic that this is only the start of our renewed connection with the community.”

Some readers were going to great lengths to get The Gazette during its absence, braving inclement weather and suffering through detours to the Island of Montreal if the dreaded Île-Aux-Tourtes Bridge was closed.

Jen Goldfinch said reading The Gazette has always been a part of her life.

“It’s a family thing: my father was a lifelong subscriber; my mother, as well,” she said. “It was just in our DNA to read the newspaper.”

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When home delivery ended, Goldfinch found other avid readers on Facebook who took matters into their own hands. For two years, she said, six households, mostly perfect strangers, took turns going to a pharmacy in Kirkland to buy copies, then bringing it to each other and bonding over their shared love of the printed Gazette.

“It was never a case of ‘the bridge is closed, we can’t do it.’ We just gave ourselves the time,” Golfinch said. “All of us were so committed and because it was just every six or seven weeks, you sat in traffic and listened to your podcast or CJAD or your music and you just took the time and did it because everyone was counting on you. We also knew how much joy the newspaper brought everybody.”

It’s almost “bittersweet” that the weekly ritual has ended, she said, “but we’re delighted it’s available in Hudson. … This just brings more accessibility to more people to enjoy the newspaper.”

Nancy Donnelly was one of the first to sign up when she heard The Gazette was coming to Hudson Hardware.

“I love having the paper,” she said. “There are parts of it you wouldn’t see unless you have it right there in front of you.”

Amanda Olliver, the inspiration for her husband’s new venture, said there’s no replacement for what she stumbles across by spreading out the different sections.

“I find stories and perspectives that no algorithm was going to surface for me,” she said. “I think newspapers speak to our curiosity — and we need to be curious in life. … Having the paper again, especially after a break without it, only reinforces the gap that emerges when we don’t have a broad range of insights to tap into.”

George Cockburn, who loves the crosswords and the columnists, said people in Hudson are grateful The Gazette is once more so close at hand.

“It means a lot. My wife and I are old-fashioned. I really like the feel of a paper in my hands,” Cockburn said. “I really thank Kenny from the hardware for initiating this.”

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