Memories of the Festival by Vince Gratton

I was born here in Stratford in 1945 and raised a large gray brick home on Cobourg Street just east of Queen Street. It was a wonderful neighborhood to be a youth end during those boyhood years. There was at the time no shortage to playmate both boys and girls living in the surrounding homes with the park nearly at our doorstep it seem like our own private domain to play in.

 Gathering together a group of playmates for Cowboys and Indians tin  can cricket hide and seek in the evenings and football in the leaves during the fall and fabulous toboggan rides down the hill behind the Normal school in the winter. I just did not get any better and being allowed to play for a day in the park without parental supervision was the way it was then. A wonderful time of innocence that seems strangely today. Climbing the fire escape at the back of the Normal School to the top allowed us kids a very commanding view of our private playground . Then one day, a group of workers and equipment arrived and started to dig a big hole right in the middle of our hill where we toboggan every winter. How could they do this to us?   What were they doing? We kids from time to time climbed the fire escape and watch the men work.  They made the strange looking round set of cement steps in the ground and then eventually covered it with a circus like tent. But there was no mention of any circuits coming to town. I suppose that as kids just accepted what they did and carried on playing.

I was alone one Sunday day during July 1953 and was driving around the park in my Austin pedal car when I’m noted a large number of adult standing around this and chatting on the front lawn of the normal school. I remember quite well that there was people lined up along the sidewalk from Queen Street to the front steps to the school, shaking hands and greeting people as they moved along. Near the end of the line by the entrance to the school, I spotted this lovely looking lady also greeting people. As a kid I had no time for for that formalities and just simply paddle my car right over to this nice lady much to my surprise she took the time to come over and bend down and we had a nice little private talk. It seems this situation cut the attention of a reporter Who was there for London Free Press. The following day much to my parents surprise there was my picture in the paper with actress Bee Leonard. I would come realize in the later years what I had accidentally attended that day was an inaugral  garden party for the opening of the Stratford Festival theater hosted by the local IODE.

 As an invited guest this year to the theaters 50th garden party I wondered how many people there like me might have attended that first half century ago.  The theater has been a wonderful, most gracious addition to our community over the past many years. Few would have ever imagine the size the success the theater would reach here at Stratford.

With all this, I still see children tobogganing down the hill to the east of the theater every winter and without even mention each spring, the theater grounds people repair the warn grass for another season of fun. I congratulate Stratford Festival on their golden anniversary and thank them for this and many other memories of their presence here in our community and theirs.