Aylmer Express - Aylmer
The Aylmer Express was founded in 1880 by T.W. Michael as a weekly newspaper and small print shop. The newspaper was the core business, while the print shop was very modest, printing stationery, posters and handbills. The newspaper was sold to David H. Price and then Tom Barnecott and his partner C.B. Monteith.
Arthur Hueston bought The Aylmer Express in 1947 from Tom Barnecott. Since that time three Hueston generations have worked at The Aylmer Express and continue to strive for excellence in service and quality in both newspaper and commercial print fields.
As a four-generation newspaper family, the Huestons believe the local newspaper is the heart of a community. The Aylmer Express continues to publish the weekly newspaper , one of the oldest continuous operations in the country.
In the early 1980s Arthur, son John and his wife Karen decided to expand the commercial print division of the business with the intent of creating local jobs. They focused on a top-notch staff and modern equipment to give the best possible service and product to the customer. Since then, the staff has quadrupled and The Aylmer Express boasts being the premier provider of commercial print materials in Southwestern Ontario. Their world-class printed goods are distributed anywhere from the shop-owner down the street to major Canadian and international businesses.
The quilt block, “Spiderweb”, is a fitting choice for two reasons. One, the spiderweb is a connector and a conducter , much like a community newspaper. A local paper is essential to a settlement’s growth. Two, in bygone days when money was scarce and all the material was used for quilt squares, the scraps of material were not wasted. They were too small to sew together and therefore were placed on newspaper and sewn together using the newspaper as ‘support’ for the material… indeed a fitting selection.
