Fundo F 05 - Carl A. Mantz fonds

Born to Frederick Mantz and Esther Hicks on 17 May 1908 in London, Ontario, Carl Alfred Mantz was a newspaper composer, journalist, and publisher of the Whitby Weekly News in Whitby, ON. From 1914 until 1946, Mantz was employed by various newspapers in a number of different jobs in his hometown of London and in Whitby, where he served as the foreman in the composing room at the Times-Gazette. In 1934, Carl Mantz married Elizabeth Grace Gibson, a skilled tailor and crafts-maker who later assisted in the writing and editing of the Whitby Weekly News. The couple moved to Whitby in 1941. In the same year, Mantz enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and served overseas during the Second World War as a radar officer until his honourable release in 1945.
In 1955, Mantz started the Whitby Weekly News, the Town’s only local newspaper since the purchase of the Whitby Times Gazette by the Oshawa Times. He served as its editor, publisher, and general manager for 12 years until the paper was purchased by Inland Publishing Company in 1967 and amalgamated with the Ajax Advertiser to become the News-Advertiser. In 1981, Inland Publishing merged with Metrospan Community Newspapers to form Metroland Media, the company now responsible for publishing the Ajax-Pickering News Advertiser.
Mantz was an active member of the Whitby community; he founded the Whitby Yacht Club in 1967, promoted the establishment of the Whitby General Hospital, and later served on its steering committee as well as numerous civic committees, including the Rotary, YMCA, and Kinsmen clubs of Whitby, the Harbour Development Board, and the Whitby Minor Hockey Association. In addition, Mantz was responsible for initiating a number of projects aimed at benefiting senior citizens in Whitby. For his efforts and contributions to the Town of Whitby, Carl Mantz received the Peter Perry Award for outstanding citizenship in 1975.
Mantz died in Whitby on 4 January, 1989, and is buried at Woodland Cemetery in London.