Orillia Hall Of Fame Grows By Three
By John Swartz
The Orillia council chamber was almost full for last Thursday’s induction of three people into the Orillia Hall of Fame. Recipients are recognized for their outstanding contributions to Orillia and by extension to the country.
Harriet Todd
Harriet Todd was an advocate for women’s rights, public health, and education. She was Orillia’s first female high school teacher and elected official, severing on the school board from 1919 to 1933. Todd led initiatives for school vaccinations and health programs, equal pay for female teachers, and adult education.
She served as president of the East Simcoe Women’s Institute, and in that capacity convinced other Women’s Institutes in other communities to form a provincial association, of which she became president. She repeated the exercise with other provincial groups and formed a national organization, again becoming president. She then was instrumental in creating a Commonwealth Women’s Institute which included groups from South Africa, Australia and England.
Todd advocated for first aid training, women’s voting rights, and support programs for rural women. During WWI, Todd raised funds for the Red Cross and led her Women’s Institute to donate an ambulance and two field hospitals for Simcoe County Battalions serving in France. She was also essential in coordinating Orillia efforts to battle the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918 which resulted in one of the lowest infection and death rates of any Canadian municipality.
Harriet Todd Public School is named for her. The principal of the school, Elaine Vodarck, accepted the honour in Todd’s stead.
Stephen Graham
Stephen Graham is a talented athlete who competes in several sports as a dedicated member of the Orillia Special Olympics program. He competed in over 25 Provincial Games, 10 Canadian National Championships, and 3 World Winter Games and earned numerous medals in international competition, including 5 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze. Graham’s excellence has been recognized with many honours including being named Orillia Athlete of the Year, Special Olympics Canada Male Athlete of the Year, Special Olympics Male Athlete of the Year (he is the only athlete to win it twice), and receiving the King Charles III Coronation Medal.
Graham was a torchbearer for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the 2015 Pan Am Games, and the 2019 Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi He also starred in a Coca-Cola commercial for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
“It’s amazing. I’m just so happy this city is behind me in everything I do. I’m so grateful,” Graham said following the ceremony.
Dr. Richard Johnston
Chuck Penny, Dr. Richard Johnston and councillor Ralph Cipolla
Dick Johnston is a respected obstetrician and gynecologist who served Orillia for 45 years and was a mentor at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital. Johnston instituted perinatal rounds, was instrumental in raising the overall standard of care, and his standardized order sets now apply to every hospital procedure across Canada.
His medical leadership extended provincially and nationally, including roles on the council of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and as founding chair of the Ontario Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Johnston was awarded a Lifetime Membership by the Ontario Medical Association for his outstanding service. He has also co-founded several community initiatives including the Take a Vet to Dinner Remembrance Day event, which other communities replicated, and an associated scholarship, and he led the Orillia Museum of Art and History’s annual fundraising dinner, originally known as the Sir John A. Macdonald Dinner. He also led a community effort opposed to eliminating community representation on the Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital board.
“I’m overwhelmed by this,” Johnston said. Johnston has never been known to take all the credit for any accolades. “There’s so many people that have contributed so much to this community.”
The trio joins previous inductees Gordon Lightfoot, Stephen Leacock, Rick Ley, Pete McGarvey, James K. Bartleman, Franklin Carmichael, Glenn Gould, Charles H. Hale, Walter Henry and Elizabeth Wyn Wood among others.
A reception followed the induction ceremony.
(Photos by Swartz – SUNonline/Orillia; Image Supplied) Main: Hall of Fame committee chair Chuck Penny, Harriet Todd Public School principal Elaine Vodarck, committee member Gilles Depratto, Dr. Richard Johnston, Stephen Graham, committee member Roy Menagh and councillor Ralph Cipolla.
