The Gander started in 1987 as a leaflet to provide details of the eighteen candidates standing in Parish Council elections that autumn. From the very beginning the intention was to be fair to everyone and represent the people of the whole village. There may be less voting going on today, but we still aim to cover all the issues concerning Goxhill right now and encourage residents to get involved.
Back in 1987, once it was clear a village newsletter was a good idea for Goxhill, the leadership team’s first task was to find a name for the publication. Numerous ideas were suggested, but eventually ‘THE GANDER’ was chosen at the suggestion of Alan Gould, based on his entirely erroneous belief that the word ‘Goxhill’ had evolved from an earlier name of ‘Goose Hill’. Only later was it pointed out that one early Saxon name for this village had been ‘Gouzle’, but by then the paper had been named ‘THE GANDER’.
A number of cardinal principles were laid down at that time for THE GANDER. It was to be a quarterly newsletter; it would be delivered free to every dwelling in the parish; it would be financed by the advertisements it carried; it would be open for any resident or voluntary group to participate in; it would be owned by the village’s residents; it would be free and independent of any financial, political or statutory bodies and it would hold Annual General Meetings. These principles hold to this day.
The first editor of The Gander was Laurence Boxer, with Carol Thornton the advertising manager and Alan Gould, Group Secretary. Michael O’Leary followed shortly after to begin his long and reliable contribution as Treasurer. Ten A4 pages were typed on to duplicator wax skins and 600 copies were rolled off on Alan’s ancient Roneo duplicator.
Now, with Mike Gathercole co-ordinating, Adam Ellis as editor, and John Noton the treasurer, the newsletter relies on much more computer expertise and printing is done professionally by Newton’s of Barton-upon-Humber. Every three months 1,100 copies are published and delivered free by a dedicated team of volunteers; it is a reliable gauge of opinion and a first stop for any villager wanting a phone number or the latest information about the village.
With the addition of this website, we hope to come even closer to the ideals long championed by those involved with the Gander for the last 20-plus years. We hope Goxhill residents past, present and
future will use us to learn and teach more about this corner of North Lincolnshire we call home.
Whatever changes come our way in the next few years we will be here, on paper and online - and we’d love to hear from you.
Back in 1987, once it was clear a village newsletter was a good idea for Goxhill, the leadership team’s first task was to find a name for the publication. Numerous ideas were suggested, but eventually ‘THE GANDER’ was chosen at the suggestion of Alan Gould, based on his entirely erroneous belief that the word ‘Goxhill’ had evolved from an earlier name of ‘Goose Hill’. Only later was it pointed out that one early Saxon name for this village had been ‘Gouzle’, but by then the paper had been named ‘THE GANDER’.
A number of cardinal principles were laid down at that time for THE GANDER. It was to be a quarterly newsletter; it would be delivered free to every dwelling in the parish; it would be financed by the advertisements it carried; it would be open for any resident or voluntary group to participate in; it would be owned by the village’s residents; it would be free and independent of any financial, political or statutory bodies and it would hold Annual General Meetings. These principles hold to this day.
The first editor of The Gander was Laurence Boxer, with Carol Thornton the advertising manager and Alan Gould, Group Secretary. Michael O’Leary followed shortly after to begin his long and reliable contribution as Treasurer. Ten A4 pages were typed on to duplicator wax skins and 600 copies were rolled off on Alan’s ancient Roneo duplicator.
Now, with Mike Gathercole co-ordinating, Adam Ellis as editor, and John Noton the treasurer, the newsletter relies on much more computer expertise and printing is done professionally by Newton’s of Barton-upon-Humber. Every three months 1,100 copies are published and delivered free by a dedicated team of volunteers; it is a reliable gauge of opinion and a first stop for any villager wanting a phone number or the latest information about the village.
With the addition of this website, we hope to come even closer to the ideals long championed by those involved with the Gander for the last 20-plus years. We hope Goxhill residents past, present and
future will use us to learn and teach more about this corner of North Lincolnshire we call home.
Whatever changes come our way in the next few years we will be here, on paper and online - and we’d love to hear from you.
info@goxhillgander.com