When Brian Topp graduated from university in 1983, the Longueuil native decided to parlay his recently acquired knowledge into a career.

Except it wasn’t the history and political science courses he studied that ignited his entrepreneurial spark, but the skills he picked up as a senior editor at the McGill Daily.

The writing, editing and publishing experience he acquired at the paper led Topp and some university friends to start Open City, considered Montreal’s first alternative weekly.

That experience morphed into a graphic design company Topp founded, possibly the city’s first venture in desktop publishing on Mac computers. And one of his first customers happened to be a publication just starting out. It was called The Senior Times, started 25 years ago by publisher Barbara Moser.

My daughters, Amy and Molly Newborn, then 7 and 5, gave out the first issue of The Senior Times in October 1986, at the Van Horne Shopping Centre. I asked them to give the 12-pager to “anyone with grey hair.” What did I know? I was only 36.

I sold my first ad to Alymer Must Nursing Services. I had called at least 50 potential advertisers and was about to give up when when Ms. Must said, “Put me in.” I cried. I didn’t know much about collection in those days. I took my kids, got in the car, and drove around to my advertisers’ offices to collect the money for the ads. I drew the bowling pin in the ad for Rose Bowl lanes in the first issue. There were no graphics to borrow from in those days, or I didn’t know how to get them.

I lost $400 for a quarter page ad for Griffith McConnell, when we printed “infra-red light in all pubic places.”

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Growing up with The Times has been all about family and good times

I remember distributing the first issue of The Senior Times at 5 years old in front of the Van Horne Shopping Centre—timidly approaching anyone with grey hair, as my mother had asked me.

I remember spending time at Brian Topp’s Studio Apostrophe, known to me as “the typesetter,” playing with a litter of kittens while my mother put together the articles and ads on a large board like a puzzle. I remember The Senior Times offices, first on Victoria, then Sherbrooke in N.D.G., then on Queen Mary, each with several rooms, lots of gadgets to play with and always an eclectic staff to talk to.

I remember the second anniversary party, The Times of Your Life, held at the Delta hotel. I proudly wore my red velvet dress with the white lace collar and had my hair done professionally in a perfect French braid. The gigantic birthday cake, which covered a huge table, mesmerized me while I patiently waited for my piece. My mother says I was quite sick at the time, but all I remember is how exciting the celebration was.

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