A tribute to Bob McCracken

Dr. Lloyd Brown-John, Professor Emeritus and founder of ElderCollege Special to the Sun

Sometimes you meet a person who almost instantly impresses you with their enthusiasm.

We first met Bob Mc- Cracken and his delightful life partner Shirley over 25 years ago when we joined the Leamington-Mersea Historical Society.

As western Canadians and thus newcomers to the Kingsville-Leamington area, we decided we had to learn about the history and people of the region. Many of those we enjoyed time with at the old church/museum at Albuna are now gone. Regrettably Bob McCracken has now joined that heavenly entourage.

Bob was unique. An avid local historian and raconteur or marvelous story teller.

He was also skilled and his talents translated into the world’s largest ironing board, a life-size operational stage coach and a wonderful historical monument recording Leamington’s history on the rings of a slice from a fallen tree.

It is rumoured that he had a small experimental still tucked away in a barn. Rumour never was confirmed!

At one time he volunteered to hold the salvaged remains of a sunken ship, the “SS Nessen”, on his farm. At the time, he and several others were involved in seeking to have the remains of the ship — dredged from Leamington harbour — converted into a Leamington waterfront memorial to all the ships that vanished and all those who died in and around Point Pelee and nearby Lake Erie.

Bob was also responsible for another remarkable tribute. At some point in the distant past, I convinced the Historical Society to establish an annual Heritage Awards program. The idea was to acknowledge those who contributed to Leamington and Mersea as pioneers, as preservers of heritage buildings and as innovators within the community.

Bob McCracken and his brother-in-law designed and constructed a steady stream of hand-crafted plaques, which were awarded annually to those nominated and selected for awards.

The plaques were astonishing as they incorporated a rainbow of local woods in varying natural colours and a small metal slice from an old railway track. These award plaques are retained by so many deserving people in Leamington and area. A unique award in a entirely unique form.

I’ve not had much contact with Bob McCracken these past most immediate years. I’ve been very focused upon Elder- College and our seniors community. Yet, in some respects, it was a person like Bob McCracken who helped trigger development of ElderCollege.

His passion for local history, including a co-authored book on Staples, led me to develop road trips to historical places in southwestern Ontario. Many of those road trips subsequently translated into ElderCollege heritage bus trips.

But it was also Bob’s enthusiasm for history.

It was his remarkable creativity and skill. And it was his willingness to undertake almost any task related to Leamington’s history.

That sparkle of his and twinkle of the eye were catchy and I thank my buddy Bob McCracken for his inspiration for ElderCollege and so much more.

All who had contact with this brilliant man will deeply miss his presence in the Leamington and Mersea community.