The origin of the Streets of Stratford  website

Each week the Beacon runs a story about one of the Streets of Stratford contributed by Paul Wilker and Gord Conroy. The Beacon  Herald was curious about why and how this site was created.  

Beacon: Tell me Paul, what was the origin of the new Streets of Stratford site?

When Covid broke out in March 2021, I was looking for a hobby to pass the time.  I came across my Mother’s musty old scrapbooks that had a series of 180 articles about the naming of the streets of Stratford. They were written by Stanford Dingman of the Stratford Beacon Herald in the 1980s. So, I decided to  preserve the stories by scanning them and creating a website . I had no idea it would grow to be such a monster.

Beacon: Yes there is much to browse.  How were you able to obtain so much material ? 

Over almost three years.now, Gord Conroy and I found stories about people and places who were linked to the streets on various websites and books and we received pictures and stories contributed by more than seventy residents.

The Stratford-Perth Archives provided an invaluable resource for stories and vintage photos and Dean Robinson, a local author and historian whose books tell many stories of Stratford and area, contributed material from his books and helped with editing. Vince Gratton,a life-long Stratford businessman and local historian supplied a trove of old photos and much history to go with them. 

Nancy Musselman with her breadth of knowledge of Stratford also supplied photos and historical background as did her colleagues at the Stratford and District Historical Society. Fred Gonder added his beautiful photos. Gord Conroy, a contemporary of mine in Stratford in the 1950s  joined me early and did research and editing plus compiled stories.

 Beacon. The Streets of Stratford is now in digital form. What are the advantages to the reader?

The beauty of a digital site is that new material can be easily added,edited or updated. It uses links to blogs or historical sites that are relevant to an article if the reader wishes to explore further.  For example, the Beacon’s  E-paper can now link to any page on the site. We have also added many related audio clips or videos which are embedded to enhance the stories. We think digital is a unique and fun way to discover the rich history of Stratford.

Beacon. Can you give us some audio or video examples?. 

If you click on Christopher Plummer Drive you can hear his “We Band of Brothers”  Saint Crispin's Day speech as Henry V.or you can click on Morenz Drive to see a video about Wayne Gretzky scoring his first goal in the Grand Old Shrine or go to Downie Street and watch Justin Bieber, when young, play his guitar on the steps of the Avon Theatre where he got his start..

Beacon: Are there any other features the reader should know about?

Yes ,there is a Flashback section that reproduces over 40 articles written about events and interesting history that are not necessarily linked directly to a street. There are also fun puzzles to test one's knowledge of Stratford’s streets or you can take a tour to find Willian Shatner’s mural. 

Beacon. So what does the future hold for the site?

We hope to continue to grow and maintain the site as long as we can type. There are seemingly endless stories that can be told. We also encourage residents to contribute their history and photos as well . We consider this site to be an educational/historical site with no remuneration or acknowledgement expected.

Beacon. What are your impressions of Stratford after three years of work?

We were blown away by the breadth of interesting stories about people and places. Stratford had great visionaries who saved the parks and founded a prosperous beautiful town that had the resilience to adapt and survive . Stratford is also rich in inventors, educators, artists, musicians and sports figures who thrived in the Festival City . I believe there is no other city like it!

Beacon: The site seems to have become popular in a short time? 

It appears so. It was launched in March of 2023 and the site analytics show it has over 18,000 users and 150,000 clicks so far from residents and people around the world.

Beacon: Fascinating, Paul. Any final words? 

We invite anyone who loves to read about the history of Stratford to take a scroll on the streets.   www.streetsofstratford.ca