Remembering our past – Harrison & Marie Gray

Times Contributor

 

Harrison’s father was born in Ontario, moved to B.C., then to Strathmore in the 1930’s. His mother was born in Saskatchewan, and moved to Strathmore. Harrison’s father was known as ‘The Old Gray Mare’ after he spent three terms as the mayor. Harrison was born in Calgary in 1941, and grew up in Strathmore. He played as a goalie throughout an early hockey career, starting with the Lethbridge Native Sons, then the Edmonton Oil Kings. 

He played in the 1961/62 Memorial Cup, before turning professional with the Detroit organization in 1963. In October 1963 he was playing with Indianapolis, and while they were playing an away game, the Ice Capades were using their arena. An explosion, which the authorities think was caused by a propane leak on the popcorn machine, killed 90 spectators during the performance. Harrison said that when the team came back to Indianapolis before the next road trip in Cincinnati, the sight of all those body bags lined up on the ice is something he’ll never forget. Other teams he played for included Cincinnati OH, Knoxville TN, New Haven CT, and Jacksonville FL. He also played for Hall of Famer Eddie Shore, whilst playing in the American Hockey League.

Gray’s Limited was formed by his father in 1947, and is still run and owned by the Gray Family. This makes it the oldest family-run business in Strathmore. Originally, it was a trucking company hauling hay, then they started hauling gravel which required the acquisition of heavy duty equipment. 

After Harrison took over the company in 1969, the company continued to grow to what it is today. He estimates that 90 per cent of all basements in Strathmore were probably built by Gray’s. Control of the company passed to his nephew Greg McLean in 1998, which allowed Harrison and Marie to head to Arizona every winter, a pastime they still enjoy to this very day. Both Harrison and Marie were previously married, and from this previous marriage, Harrison has two daughters (one lives in Arizona), and seven grandchildren. Marie was born in Pincher Creek in 1947, and has one daughter from her first marriage. She was a teacher at both Westmount and Brentwood Elementary schools before she retired.

Harrison is a Founding Member and Life Member of The Kinsman Club, and with the assistance of other members, was instrumental in constructing Kinsman Park. He says it was built on a whim and a prayer in 1980, because at the start they had no money, and grants and other financial agreements, were very slow in coming to fruition. But, they forged ahead and raised money by selling the dirt from the bottom of the lake to developers who were in need of fill, before building houses. After digging out the lake, they planted all the trees surrounding the area. He was on the board of directors of Strathmore Golf Club, and was involved in the expansion from nine to 18 holes.

Harrison has been very involved with community activities from the beginning. He coached hockey, has always been there as a volunteer at Heritage Days, and various other activities, too many to record here. In recent years they built Elmer and Phyllis Park on Wheatland Trail in memory of his parents. They built the basketball court at Strathmore High School in memory of his mother.

Looking back over the years, he noted that the population in 1960 was about 800, and is now over 12,000. The late 70’s provided lots of growth until the introduction of the National Energy Program by the federal liberals in 1980. The next boom was from 2006 to 2009, then a worldwide recession occurred. Population is booming again and growth has brought big box stores to the town.