Garnet Clay Porter (May 27, 1866 – March 6, 1945) was an American-born journalist and newspaper editor in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada. He was also known as "the Colonel". He was born in

Russellville, Kentucky Russellville is a home rule-class city in Logan County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 6,960 at the time of the 2010 census. History Local historian Alex C. Finley has claimed the area was firs ...

. Before coming to Canada, he was a legal counsel, Kentucky outlaw, soldier of fortune and

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

prospector. Porter also served with

Teddy Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...

. He was named a colonel and aide to the governor in Kentucky after backing the right candidate for state governor while he was a newspaper editor. Porter came to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

in 1900 and worked as a reporter for ''

The Toronto World ''The Toronto World'' was a newspaper based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It existed between 1880 and 1921, and a Sunday edition operated from 1891 to 1924. Founded by William Findlay "Billy" Maclean, it was popular among Toronto's working class a ...

'' until 1904, when he became editor-in-chief for the ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

''. In 1906, he joined the staff of the ''

Winnipeg Telegram The ''Winnipeg Telegram'' was a daily newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba which was published from June 9, 1898, to October 16, 1920. The paper originated as the ''Daily Nor'Wester'', which was founded in 1894 by William Luxton who also founded the W ...

'', where he was news editor, then managing editor and finally editor-in-chief. His daughter, identified as “Miss Porter” in ''(CP)'' ''The Story of

The Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...

'' (Ryerson Press, 1948) by M.E. Nichols ( Mark Nichols) was hired as a stenographer in 1907 at a rate of $5 a week. While editor at the Telegram, Porter wrote a story calling bank-robber Jack Krafchenko a crook. The next day, Krafchenko, armed with a Luger, confronted Porter in his office. Porter was able to distract Krafchenko and pull out his own gun. He then made Krafchenko drop his weapon and leave the office. In 1916, Porter left the Telegram to start his own news service. He also worked as a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

reporter for various newspapers, including the '' Vancouver Daily Province'', ''

Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the dominan ...

'' and ''

Toronto Evening Telegram ''The Toronto Evening Telegram'' was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at the federal and the provincial levels. The paper competed with ...

''. In 1920, when the Telegram merged with the rival ''

Winnipeg Tribune ''The Winnipeg Tribune'' was a metropolitan daily newspaper serving Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from January 28, 1890 to August 27, 1980. The paper was founded by R.L. Richardson and D.L. McIntyre who acquired the press and premises of the old '' ...

'', Porter began working for the Tribune. Later in life, he continued to write a column for the Saturday Tribune called "The Old-Timer Talks" and also wrote crime stories for detective magazines. Porter died in his sleep at home in Winnipeg at the age of 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Garnet 1866 births 1945 deaths Canadian newspaper editors Canadian male journalists Canadian newspaper reporters and correspondents People from Russellville, Kentucky American emigrants to Canada