The Streets of Stratford: T.J. Dolan Drive

Thomas Joseph Dolan was born in Stratford in 1898 and came to be known as Mr. Stratford.

Dolan began his career as a newsboy for the Herald at its then-headquarters on Market Place. Shortly after the accompanying photo of the newsboys was taken in 1910, young Dolan left the Herald to work for the Beacon because they paid five cents more a week. He worked his way up through the mailroom, mechanical and circulation departments of the Beacon and became the newspaper's sole reporter at the age of 17.

Tom Dolan is fourth from left, in the middle row, in this group photo of Stratford Herald paperboys from 1910.He joined the staff of the Stratford Beacon in 1915 with it, and its successor, the Beacon Herald, until 1966 ,when he retired from his position as managing editor. After his retirement, Dolan continued to write for the paper until two months before his death in 1981 at age 82. He was associated with the newspaper for 71 years.

In 1936, Dolan was appointed to the board of park management and served as a member for 22 years, including 14 years as chair. In 1961, Stratford city council named him an honorary life member of the board. He was involved for 45 years.

Thomas Dolan was one of four men who did tremendous work to establish and build the Stratford park system. The others were George Mclagan, R. Thomas Orr and Dr. Edward Henry Eidt.

Tom had an amazing memory for detail. He maintained an extensive filing system during his long and successful service to the community.

His large trove of papers are now safely stored at the Stratford-perth Archives in a section called T.J. Dolan Papers. Source: Stan Dingman Stratford Beacon Herald and Streets of Stratford 2004

The T.J Dolan Natural Area is named for him. It was formerly known as “the old grove,” covering some 23 hectares (57 acres). The T. J. Dolan Trail is part of the larger Avon Trail and park system that surrounds the Avon River.

For more of the Dolan story visit www.streetsofstratford.ca and select T. J. Dolan Drive.