About Us

The Algoma News Review was established in Wawa, Ontario in 1964 by Mr. Roy Brocklebank under the parent company, Wawa Print & Litho which was responsible for publication of the paper and offered commercial printing services. The paper was distributed free of charge and normally ran with six to eight pages per week. All commercial printing was produced using the letterpress method.

In 1969, Mr. Brocklebank turned the business over to his son Dennis Brocklebank.

In 1972, W. Robert (Bob) Avis, having 23 years experience in the printing trade, started working for the paper. When Mr. Avis began working for The Algoma News Review, the paper and all commercial printing was still being produced by the obsolete letterpress method. Slowly, Mr. Avis was able to convince Mr. Brocklebank to switch his printing methods over to offset printing, since the company owned a small offset press that was never used due to Mr. Brocklebank’s lack of knowledge. This increased commercial printing business a great deal since the offset printing method was much faster and more flexible for the kinds of jobs it did. In 1974, the purchase of a larger offset press with an accompanying platemaker, increased the printing abilities and capacity of the business even more. Printing of The Algoma News Review, on sight, was now possible.

Being the only person able and qualified to operate the new offset press system, Mr. Avis became indispensable. Growth of the newspaper became quite consistent and soon averaged 16 to 20 pages per week. Commercial printing business also grew by leaps and bounds.

In 1976, Mr. Avis purchased the business along with all of the equipment. In 1978, the business incorporated and the company name changed to Wawa Print & Litho Inc.

Mr. Avis kept up with the production end of the business, opened a stationery store and edited and published the weekly editions of The Algoma News Review as well. In 1980, Mr. Avis married his wife Gloria who worked in the administrative end of the business until she became too ill to work anymore.

The newspaper’s area of coverage includes, Michipicoten Harbour, The Mission, Hawk Junction, White River, and Wawa. Mr. Avis was successful in making The Algoma News Review a mainstay of Wawa, White River and the Michipicoten area. The newspaper became an icon of the area because of its focus on the local news and businesses.

In 2006, Mr. Avis hired a new typesetter, Tammy Landry. Over the next year, Mr. Avis expressed his desire to retire from the business and took Ms. Landry under his wing, teaching her the makings of a successful newspaper, stationary store and printing business. In 2007, Mr. Avis retired and sold Wawa Print & Litho Inc. to Tammy Landry. Fortunately, Bob Avis stayed on with the company for another six months after the sale, to train a new pressman, act as an advisor and help Ms. Landry to adjust to the new demands ahead of her. He currently does some freelance writing for the paper along with a weekly column entitled ‘Nuts ‘N Bolts’.

With the focus on the continued success of the newspaper and expansion of product and services offered, Ms. Landry reached out to the readers and customers for their feedback.

The purpose of this website is to take The Algoma News to the next level and complement it with an electronic version. This website will serve as an extension of the print version of the newspaper and allow the area of coverage to expand over the entire Algoma region as well as Wawa, White River, The Mission, and Michipicoten Harbour local news.

Wawa Print & Litho Inc. consists of a stationary store, carrying a variety of office supplies, and school supplies, offers printing service and publishes the weekly edition of The Algoma News Review. Located in Wawa, Ontario at 33 Ste. Marie Street, the business serves many communities in northern Ontario. Business hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.