Our little gang was especially concerned about the preservation and re-purposing of the Grand Trunk Railway shops, which had in no small way helped to shape the city we have today. In the years since, we have never been given good reason to abandon that concern.

Increasingly, I came to appreciate the wealth of information that Vince had gathered through years, in particular his postcard collection. He routinely shared with us samples of the cards and other documents, often with short explanations of each. On occasion he included questions, such as, “Do you know where this building was?” or “Do you know what was on this street corner before the school that’s there now?” or “This is a photo of the back of a building; do you know where it is?” The subject matter ranged from

banks to buses, from picnics in the park to parades, from floods to fireworks.”

In my historical research I regularly came upon photos and docs bearing the Vince Gratton credit. His stuff was everywhere – in books, in newspaper clippings, here at the museum and in the Stratford-Perth Archives.

Early in 2019, I asked him for some assistance – or he offered it and I readily accepted. In any event, I want some images to help illustrate a book I was working on. It contained 17 self-standing stories, so there was a significant need for photos and documents or, as it is often called in the publishing business, “art.”

To get the ball rolling, and well in advance of the deadline I had set, I sent to Vince a list of the stories and my ideas about the “art” that I thought could best compliment those stories.

A few weeks later we met in his sunroom and he showed me what he had found. It was a terrific afternoon. The book, Not the Last Waltz and other Stratford stories, was published in December 2019. It contains 24 photos with Vince Gratton credits.

More recently, Vince and I and Roger, who is here today, spent memorable afternoons visiting historic sites in the area: Castle Kilbride in Baden; the Fryfogel Inn in what is now Perth East; the Irish School, also in Perth East; and the Harrington Grist Mill, in Zorra Township, between Stratford and Ingersoll.

We also went to car shows at Woodland Towers, at Bethel Pentecostal Church, and at the River Gardens Retirement Residence. Going to a car show with those two guys was like pretending I could sing harmony with Simon and Garfunkel. I mostly just listened as they talked about flatheads and fastbacks, short blocks and six packs, goats and grab rails, and superchargers and skirts. While the car owners and the car aficionados seemed to know what Vince and Roger were talking about, in that setting I might as well have been a worn-out hood ornament.

But that was OK, because these were outings that we always enjoyed. We enjoyed every one of them. We learned, we laughed, we mingled with the masses, and we vowed to do it again. And we did it again, and again and again.

In the winter months we met indoors – in the Gratton and Hilderley sunrooms and in the Robinson family room. In the good weather we gathered outdoors as much as possible.

On a summer weekday afternoon in 2024, Vince and I took a top-down drive to Tavistock and back in a red 1992 Sunbird convertible that I had put back on the road. It was a bright June day, sunny and warm, and we took our sweet time on the near-empty back roads. Just two ol’ farts thinking we were still 60 years old heading for the Tim Horton’s in Tavy.

On another equally fine day, we cruised multiple streets in Stratford. Vince was the tour director and I drove wherever he asked me to go. There was method in his directions because we never went more than half a block without him saying things like this:

•  A long-ago mayor lived in that house for many years.

•  That’s a great ol’ house that looked much better when it still had its front porch. The new owners took the porch off about 10 years    ago. Looks too barren now.

•  I had a school friend in that house and we used to cut through here and down that laneway whenever we went uptown. But that fence put an end to that, and now the laneway has been paved.

•  This road never used to go this far, but when that subdivision was built, the road was extended.

•  Couple really good hockey players used to live on this street. (And then he would name them.)

•  Remember so-and-so? He grew up in that house and when he was in high school the family moved to London.

What an experience! And it was all because Vince was someone who loved to talk about his city’s history. He wasn’t bragging, or showing off. Rather, it was just his willingness to care and share. Which he did with me, yes, but also with the Stratford-Perth Archives and the Stratford Perth Museum and with Paul Wilker and Gord Conroy for their Streets of Stratford project.Paul and Gord each wanted to be here today, but unforeseen circumstances and distance (Ottawa and Ancaster) forced a change of plans. I assured them I would pass along their sincere regrets and tell all of you how much Vince had so willingly stepped up to be a huge contributor to their Streets of Stratford.

Betty Jo Belton heads up the Stratford-Perth Archives across the parking lot from here. More than once, she and I talked about how Vince was always so generous in sharing his wealth of knowledge about Stratford history – and making material from his own collection available for many events and research projects that involved the Archives. Fresh in her memory was how he stepped up for the annual Railway Heritage Days, for collector shows, and for the 2008 celebration of Richard Manuel and the Rockin’ Revols. Vince was one of the lead organizers for that most memorable afternoon in Upper Queens Park. Said Betty Jo, “Vince also steered others to us for research, but also with donations of their own. While I can’t offer a precise number of photographs and postcards that he provided to the Archives, his contributions are immeasurable.”

So we are left to ask, “Could any of us wish for a better legacy?”

Thank you for your kind attention.