Joseph Rankin (1849-1905) and Katherine Morrison (1850-1914) Rankin opened their first Stratford store in 1874, after they had purchased the handsome Mowat bank building at the corner of Downie and Wellington streets (a building demolished in 1979 by the Toronto-Dominion Bank). For Joe Rankin, it was a bake shop and candy store, formerly owned by John Pratt, and the business thrived. The Rankin advertisement in the Beacon proclaimed "Special attention will be given to catering to private parties and school entertainments."

The Rankins also advertised toys, mutton and mince pies, oysters, lobsters, buns and cakes. In those days it was considered fashionable to have the bride's cake "Made at Rankin's." In about 1890, the Rankins moved to larger premises, at 32 Ontario St. (later the Alex Beattie grocery store), before their final location at 81 Ontario St. In 1905, Joe Rankin died and the business was operated by the oldest of his eight sons, Charles R. Rankin (1875-1907), who said this about his establishment: "The interior fittings and cases are in mahogany finish, and with the numerous mirrors and adornments, present an appearance that cannot be excelled west of Toronto."  

The Rankins' confectionery was manufactured in their bake shop on the corner of Brunswick and Downie streets, where they had two Dempster ovens. Even in 1905, Rankin's was described as this old established house. After Gharles Rankin died tragically at the age of 31 in a train derailment in 1907 near Guelph, the business was then taken over by another of the Rankin boys, Gordon Harry Rankin (1883-1966), usually known as Dick.

Barbara Collier, renowned international singer who grew up in Stratford, (see Murray Hill Road), remembers Mr. Rankin from her childhood with affection as a character from the works of Charles Dickens. "I remember Mr. Rankin - I believe they called him Dickie. He resembled Mr. Pickwick, about as round as he was tall. He was ever so sweet and was always on hand to welcome his customers. "

Barbara has a further memory of how important Rankin's was as a meeting place for families. "Rankins was the go-to place when my Mum had something important to tell me, good or not so good. To this day I remember her taking me to lunch one day in late summer when I was 7. After I had had my standard fare of a grilled peanut sandwich and a Tin Roof Sundae, she told me we were going to meet a Miss Hyde, who would teach me piano.

"My day was ruined and she practically had to drag me over to Cambria Street. Meanwhile, I was envisioning an old witchlike woman with a crooked nose and a big mole on her face.  When the door opened, there stood a lovely, young woman with a big smile on her face. My Mother introduced us, then said she would leave us alone to get acquainted. I took lessons from Hazel until after my Grade VIII and Grades I and II theory, at which point poor Cora Ahrens took over. (see Hibernia Street). Hazel and I became lifelong friends."

To a child, that magnificent Rankin soda fountain, all glistening marble and gleaming nickel-plate, seemed a mile long. It was Joe Rankin's pride and joy and, when he held court, all his friends were reflected in the sparkling mirrors. Mrs. A. C. Jones became famous for the delightful concoctions she whipped up at that magic fountain, with its fancy fizzing soda taps and deep cold wells of frosty homemade Rankin's ice cream.

The Eaton Athletic Association won the Ontario Hockey League senior title in 1910-11 and repeated the following year, before losing the Allan Cup final to the Winnipeg Victorias. Rankin led the senior league in goals during the 1910-11 season, scoring 15 times in just four games. His performance earned him a First Team All-Star selection for the second consecutive year.

In 1912-13, Rankin moved uptown to Toronto St. Michael's, a team that lost the OHA final to the Toronto R. and A. A. both that season and the one following. He was chosen as a First Team All-Star for the third time in 1912-13 based on his league-leading 20 goals in five games. Rankin earned a berth on the Second Team All-Star squads in the 1911-12, 1913-14, and 1914-15 seasons before joining the Canadian Armed Forces during World War 1.

In 1924, Rankin was the coach of the Toronto Granites when they represented Canada at the Olympics and won a gold medal. He had also coached the Granites of the O.H.A. Senior League during the previous season.

Frank Rankin was inducted into the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961. Source: Hockey Hall of Fame    For his stats see Wikipedia.

For reasons good and bad, all of them related to hockey, 1907 was a memorable year for Stratford, and for the family of Joseph and Katherine (Morrison) Rankin. In that year, Stratford hockey teams won the Ontario Hockey Association's junior and senior championships. The double win was a first (and still the only) for Stratford and the OHA. Among the 16 players comprising those two teams were three Rankin brothers: Frank, Ramsey and Reg. In those days, train travel was common among playoff teams needing to travel any distance. The same trains were just as convenient for fans wanting to follow their teams in those playoffs. So it was, in the last week of February in 1907, about 125 Stratford fans, were in Toronto to watch their senior Indians play a series-deciding game against the St. George's Saints. Those fans included Charlie Rankin, who wanted to see the game, but may also have wanted to conduct some business in Toronto. The next morning, the Indians and their fans returned to Stratford, but not all of them chose the same train. For various reasons, some, Charlie Rankin among them, spent the morning in Toronto and opted for an early afternoon departure for Stratford. It was that No. 5 train that derailed just east of Guelph. Three passengers died in the crash: Charlie Rankin and John O'Donoghue of Stratford, and an 18-month-old girl from Peterborough. O'Donoghue had been Stratford's mayor in 1897 and 1898.

A full account of that record-setting hockey season, and the train-wreck tragedy that was part of it, is a 20-page story in Dean Robinson's book, Not the last waltz and other Stratford stories, published in 2019.

This plaque pays respect to the seven crew members of Halifax LV831, piloted by Frank Devereaux, RCAF; and seven crew members Halifax MZ295. piloted by Carmen Ross, RCAF. Location.  Baisy-Thy, Belgium

Both aircraft, Halifax III LV831 and Halifax III MZ295, had the same mission, namely an attack on a German military base in Leopoldsburg, Belgium. Following a mid-air collision the two Halifax bombers, crashed in the Baisy-Thy area of Belgium. All crew members (seven in each aircraft) died at 0230 hours (2:30 am) on May 28, May 1944, and were buried in Baisy-Thy Communal Cemetery. See list of names Crews