Board of Directors
Ron Schroder - Chairman
A member of the Museum's Board of Directors since 2008, Ron brings 40 years of print industry experience which had included numerous executive assignments in sales, marketing, training and technical service. A life long "Gearhead", all things mechanical hold great interest, antique printing presses being high on his list.
A former motorsport competitor on both two & four wheels, he still follows closely international events having retired from active participation. The Printery, Blue Jays baseball, the practice of Tai Chi and the game of Snooker occupy what spare moments do occur in his busy retirement.
Married for some 48 years to his wife Robin, he is the proud Grandfather of daughter Veronica's three children.
Kevin Martin - Vice Chair
Kevin is the co-owner of the Papertrail Handmade Paper and Book Arts where, since 1997, he has been working in hand papermaking, marbling, type casting, and letterpress printing. His academic background in physics and computer science provides him with a good insight into troubleshooting and repairing old undocumented machinery.
Art Ellis - Treasurer
Art's entrepreneurial talents lead him into his own business at a young age. A carpenter by trade, night school in the 1960's added machining to his technical skills. His lifelong dedication to continuous learning has made him acutely aware of the opportunities all these newly developed skills offered. The result is a very successful company now 60+ years in operation, Artwell Developments Limited, also a corporate sponsor of the Mackenzie Printery & Newspaper Museum.
A member of the museum's Board of Directors since 1997, Art has served numerous executive functions including his current post as Treasurer. Although not often seen at the Saturday morning Printery Work Parties, he donates his considerable fabrication talents regularly to the Printery from his fully equipped home workshop, currently restoring two Pearl Treadle printing presses on behalf of the Printery.
Art's a long time St Catharines resident whose latest "toy" is a reminder of his passions both past & present; a 1931 Ford Model A roadster.
Louise Rowe - Secretary
A former events manager turned mum, and bookkeeper, Louise has volunteered with the Mackenzie Printery & Newspaper Museum for eight years.
With a passion for creativity, Louise is an avid reader, writer, painter and has her own print studio: Out of Sorts. She has a weakness for adopting printing presses and type cabinets in need of a home, and printing with Woodtype is her favourite thing.
Fran Young - Graphic Design
A professional in Marketing, Design and Print, Fran's career spans over 30 years with particular experience in the entertainment industry. She has worked with many print craftsmen, using traditional and state-of-the-art technologies to create unique communication solutions. Her interests include history, printing, gardening, beekeeping and spoiling her two Labrador Retrievers.
Kathy Hiscox - Media
With over 15 years of experience in print and digital marketing—and a lifelong fascination with letterforms and the visual rhythm of words on a page—Kathy feels right at home among the century-old presses at the Printery.
Drawn to the tactile, deliberate nature of letterpress, she values the opportunity to contribute to keeping the craft alive and continues to learn through the shared knowledge and enthusiasm of her fellow members.
Originally from Montreal, where she earned a degree in Modern Languages and Linguistics, Kathy now calls Fonthill home.
Pat McIlroy - Events
Pat is a Niagara local with a background in creating visual effects and a growing passion for traditional printmaking. He has spent 15+ years creating digital effects for film, television, and advertising. In recent years, he has traded pixels for paper, exploring more hands-on art forms including sketching, sculpting, and watercolour, before discovering a true passion for linocut relief printing.
After a chance meeting at the Grimsby Wayzgoose Book Arts Fair in 2023, he has had a regular Saturday Work Party presence at the Printery in Queenston, learning the craft of typesetting and letterpress, sorting type, and helping the group find new ways to share their work online as a key member of the Media Committee.
An avid cinephile, Pat holds a degree in Film Studies from Brock University. He lives in Niagara with his wife and their two children.
Denis Cahill
Denis Cahill is a retired award winning photojournalist having spent his entire career with the St. Catharines Standard. Hired in 1965 as a staff photographer, he was appointed photo department manager and chief photographer in 1988. The Cahill family arrived from Ireland in the 1850's and he is the third generation to be born in St. Catharines. Love of local history runs deep in the Cahill family. His father Lou Cahill was a co-founder of the Mackenzie Printery & Newspaper Museum. (1991) Denis is a member of the St. Catharines Historical Society and the Dalhousie Yacht Club. He continues to live in St. Catharines where he and wife Bridget have raised their three children.
Nick Howard
As a partner in Howard Graphic Equipment and curator of Howard Iron Works, a privately held printing museum, Nick is a printing historian, consultant and Certified Appraiser of capital equipment. A second generation print equipment dealer and refurbisher, Nick also authors a regular column for Print Action magazine.
George Henry
As a child, George grew up in a family owned print shop and enjoyed playing with every machine as his toy! His main fascination was their Linotype typesetting machine, spending many hours watching and helping in its operation. As an adult George was hired by Linotype UK to install and train the new era of computerized equipment to customers all over Europe and Africa. Upon his arrival in Canada George continued his print career joining Linotype Canada and later Heidelberg. Says George: "It has been fascinating to see the progress of the print industry during my career and nostalgic to see the same Linotype machine still in operation in our "Printery" museum today!"
Directors Emeritus
John Hunt
John is a founding member of the Mackenzie Printery and Newspaper Museum, his continued dedication to the support of this historic site numbers multiple decades. His exposure to letterpress printing began as a boy while visiting his father & uncles Saturday mornings at the St Catharines Standard newspaper. Thus began a life-long passion as an amateur printer, always maintaining his own home based print shop.
John, a now retired licensed electrician and ski-lift mechanic. He has been engaged in the electrical fields most of his career. This, along with a lifetime of letterpress print experience, makes him the Printery's "Go to Guy" for equipment operation & maintenance.
A long time resident of Niagara Falls, when not running his presses at home, John enjoys woodworking and Ham radio.
Marvyn Rivett
Marvyn retired from teaching in 2001 after 30 years in the elementary school system. He taught every grade from one to eight at least once. He also spent eight years teaching special education and seven years as a consultant teaching teachers.
He is currently a full time artist working in oil, acrylic, pastel and printmaking. His latest passion is adding letterpress techniques to his wood engravings. When he is not working at his art, he enjoys golf and playing mandolin. Marvyn is a member of the Queen Street Artists' Group in Niagara, the Harper Printmaking Studio near his winter home in Florida.