Try refreshing your browser. Reflections: Stratford s largest walkathon of 1971 Back to video
Today, one associates the walkathon with charity fundraisers. When the term was first coined, it was anything but. The term “walkathon” evolved from the words “walk” and “marathon.” In the 1930s, walkathons were contests for cash. Couples competed and, whoever stayed on their feet the longest, won the prize. These events could take days, weeks and even months before a winner was proclaimed. They were held in halls, theatres, fairgrounds and tents, anywhere there was room enough for couples to keep walking in a circle. The were brutal affairs, often rigged with professional walkers, and organizers who made huge profits by selling tickets to the public who came to watch the suffering. This entertainment fell out of favour in the 1940s and could not be revived after the war.
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A community garden in Stratford’s Dufferin Park could soon see an opportunity for further expansion and funding if council approves a 10-year lease agreement between the city and the Local Community Food Centre.
At a community services committee meeting Monday, Stratford councillors approved, without discussion, the agreement that has been in works since 2019 that would, if approved, keep the centre’s community garden in its current home until 2031.
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Try refreshing your browser. Community garden could become Dufferin Park fixture on approval of 10-year land agreement Back to video
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In this week s edition of Rewind Robert Smith profiles the career of one of Canada s greatest horsemen of the 20th century. That gentleman was the late John Chapman, a member of one of the best known families in the sport a half century ago. He is a member of both the Canadian and U.S. Hall of Fame.
A little over 40 years ago, on May 2, 1980 the sport of harness racing lost one of its finest citizens with the untimely passing of Johnny Chapman; he was just 51 at the time. Chappie as he was known to all was stricken with a heart attack just before leaving his home for Roosevelt Raceway. His career, which began in the decade of the 1940 s back at Dufferin Park right near his home in Toronto, led him to many of the top events the sport had to offer. He was known as an elite horseman and acquitted himself well in everything he did.