Leaside Life is marking its 10th birthday with the issue you’re reading now. Founded by newspaper veterans Harry and Ruth Goldhar, who had previously published The Town Crier group of papers, Leaside Life was a return to publishing after they sold The Town Crier in 1996.
As columnist Allan Williams wrote in March 2017: “By 2011 or so both Goldhars thought it might be time to start up another local paper in Leaside. ‘It had been a while,’ says Harry, ‘and I didn’t think it would be that hard, although we wondered if it would work. From the beginning we thought of it as a community project. We were fortunate to get people who were willing to write for it. …The idea was not only to present news but to present different opinions from the community.’”
Some of the original Leaside Lifers are still with the publication, notably publisher Lorna Krawchuk and Leaside Residents Association co-president Carol Burtin Fripp from the time the association was known as the Leaside Property Owners’ Association.
At five years as editor of Leaside Life, I am still a relative newbie. But I continue to take the direction seriously of making our content local, local, local. We are always on the lookout for stories that will resonate with you, our readers.
So, this holiday season, as you’re raising a glass and maybe even opening presents you’ve bought from some of Leaside’s first-rate shops, take a moment to add a toast to Leaside Life. Happy holidays from all of us!
