On Monday 11 May 2020, Grocott’s Mail turns 150 and we’re quietly and respectfully honouring this milestone. Here is our new-look email newspaper, and some news about what we’ve been doing over the past few weeks.
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Makhanda currently has no confirmed active positive Covid-19 cases – this was confirmed last week by the Mayor who is head of the local C19 joint operations committee. Experts say the health crisis will hit us later in the year.
Right now, what’s been laid bare are the narrow margins on which most local businesses operate, the fragile handhold on economic survival for most of our residents, and how closely these two are linked.
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of our town, including our own operations. Against this background, we’ve decided that the most appropriate way to honour the Grocott’s Mail legacy is to quietly celebrate the lives of the people whose stories we’ve shared over the past 150 years.
First, a new series by former editor Steven Lang starting on Friday highlights significant moments in the history of our town and its people over a century and a half, as told through Grocott’s Mail.
Second, and even more important, we would love to hear what Grocott’s Mail has meant to you over the years.
Did we publish your wedding photo? Record your first big sporting achievement? Was it through Grocott’s Mail that you shared with the community the sad loss of a family member? Or got your matric results?
We want to hear and share your stories. Please email your Grocott’s Mail memory – the good, the bad and the beautiful – to editor@grocotts.co.za with MY GROCOTT’S in the subject line. Please include your phone number.
Former owner of Grocott’s Mail Jeff Grocott, whose family founded the newspaper in 1870, wrote to us today to wish us well.
“Today 11 May we celebrate Grocotts Mail’s 150th birthday. The first edition (free) was published 11 May 1870.
“My late uncle Hugh Grocott’s favourite quotation concerning Grocott’s Mail was: ‘Looking back with pride – looking ahead with confidence’.
Today we look back with respect on the legacy of South Africa’s oldest independent newspaper, and we look forward with hope and courage in uncertain times.
Grocott’s Mail Team 2020
LET’S STAY IN TOUCH
We hope you enjoy the new format of our email edition. If you’re not already a subscriber, please click on SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER (top right on this page) and you’ll receive it in your inbox every Friday.
TUNE IN FRIDAYS 1.15pm
Grocott’s Mail and RMR89.7 have partnered to keep the community in touch and informed under lockdown and beyond. Tune in to RMR 89.7 or livestream via Iono.fm/s/70 or https://www.rhodesmusicradio.co.za/
WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING UNDER THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN
Our past four print editions have been dedicated to getting essential Covid-19 information to the community through the newspaper, as well as reading and educational material for young children. We’ve done this in partnership with Rhodes University Community Engagement, Rhodes University’s DSI/NRF Chair in Biotechnology Innovation & Engagement, as well as the University’s Biotechnology, Pharmacy, Journalism & Media Studies, Communications and Advancement and Centre for Social Development. Other partners include Lebone Centre, the Numeracy Chair and Psychology Department, as well as government entities and role models in our community.
We include the special lockdown editions here – please download and share them freely.
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