A weekly editor has retired after 38 years with the same newspaper, ending a family connection dating back to the 1920s.

Peter Butler first joined the Goole Times in 1972 when his father, Ernest, was the editor.

Ernest’s own links with the paper date back to 1926 when he became a trainee reporter with the independently-owned title.

Now Peter has bowed out after 20 years in the chair, with his deputy Jane Rogers taking over as the paper’s first female editor.

Said Peter: “From an early age newspapers have been in my blood.

“My father sometimes took me to the print works behind the Goole Times on a Thursday evening to watch the paper being printed – it used to come out on a Friday in those days – and the noise of the printing press and the smell of the paper and ink were so vivid that they have always been a part of me.”

“When I was junior reporter all stories were written up on a typewriter, with a carbon copy. They were then subbed in pencil by the editor, who then wrote a headline.

“These days, journalists can type their copy directly onto a page, although at the Goole Times we retain the safety net of ensuring that all stories are checked by the editor or deputy editor before they are published.

Peter, who retired yesterday, now intends to pursue his interest in the restoration of pre-war cars and also to travel with his wife, Sylvia, in their motorhome.

Meanwhile Jane, who has been at the paper for 11 years, becomes not only the newspaper’s first woman editor in 157 years, but its youngest at 31.

She said: “I am very proud to be taking over from Peter Butler as the editor of the Goole Times. I hope to do him proud as I continue to lead the paper he was worked so hard to build and maintain.

“I am Goole born and bred so I know the area, the people and the day-to-day issues that affect the town.”

Comments

Phil Smith (27/04/2010 09:30:09)
All the best for a happy retirement, Pete.

Mr Hobbs (27/04/2010 11:17:59)
Congratulations to Peter. But some confusion in the story, with the Goole and Howden Chronicle? The Goole Times (before its merger with the Chronicle) had a female editor in the 1980s, Jackie Newton, surely?