Over 80 members of the Burford community came together to celebrate Don Henderson and his contributions to the sport of drag racing during the County of Brant Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, October 12, 2024.
The County of Brant Sports Hall of Fame was created not only to recognize the individuals and teams who over the years, have represented the County in the area of sport, but also to recognize those that have played an integral part in not only building, but ensuring the longevity of sport in the community.
Having already been inducted into the Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2023, Henderson was officially recognized by his hometown community as he was posthumously inducted into the local Sports Hall of Fame for his contributions to the 1960s drag race scene.
Henderson was not only a fearsome racer, but a proficient mechanic who constructed his super-stock race cars from scratch, handling everything from engine building to suspension.
After leaving his job as a lead line mechanic at Brant County Ford in 1970, Henderson went on to establish Don Henderson Technical Services with his wife, Grace, and produced top-notch engines and cars that set NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) national records and earned outstanding wins across Canada.
To kick off the ceremony, David Miller, Councillor for the County of Brant, welcomed the attendees and briefly touched on Henderson’s reputation as an honest businessman.
“For anyone living in Burford Township, the word that naturally followed the name Henderson was always automotive… It’s kind of like Marco Polo, you heard it so often and it just became a habit,” he said. “Henderson Automotive, you knew that name because in addition to being a generous sponsor of sports in the community, Don had a stellar reputation as a good and honest car mechanic. While we are celebrating Don’s racing accomplishments, let us also remember the solid community businessman and community booster that Don Henderson was.”
Later, Jason Hardie, the man who nominated Henderson, spoke about not only how the nominee gave him his start as a mechanic at just 13-years-old, but about his character and his commitment to the sport.
“When you think about somebody that’s really good at something like athletes or rockstars or whatever else, you don’t see everything that goes behind the scenes. All of the little pieces that make that person who they are and why they’re so good at what they do and so I wanted to talk a little bit about all the late nights, early mornings, the practices and all the things that go into doing something really well,” Hardie said.
Hardie went on to recite several quotes that reminded him of his mentor’s network of family and friends whose unwavering support fueled his passion, his ability to surround himself with like-minded people in the community who saw his greatness and helped him grow, the skill to not only find a space where he belonged but to make it, his dedication to his values and integrity as a businessman, and lastly, his commitment to doing what he loved and the mindset needed to achieve that.
“Don has been a huge influence on a lot of drag racers, he was kind of one of our pioneers for the sport and he showed us all how to do it right,” said Hardie. “…This is a passion that Don shared with all of us that knew him, he inspired us to chase our dreams and not give up. Some of my best memories are from when I was a kid sitting in the shop at night, talking to Don about his days in drag racing and listening to his stories and hearing the names. It was such an inspiration to me to chase that dream, and from that moment on, I knew what my future was going to be and I think a lot of you here today probably share that same sentiment.”
Councillor Robert Chambers, the MC for the afternoon, then called up Henderson’s wife, Grace, his daughter Cathy Ritchie and her husband Bill Ritchie, as well as Henderson’s former daughter in-law, MaryAnn Bell, to unveil the plaque.
Afterwards, Cathy then thanked the community for attending the ceremony.
“On behalf of the family, we want to thank everybody for being so supportive and for the nomination by Jason and all the things you’ve done to make this happen for us,” she said. “Dad’s been gone 30 years and to see this kind of turn out for this event is just amazing. Dad loved family, community and supporting people, and seeing this going on today now means more than you could ever know. We appreciate it so thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
As the ceremony wrapped up, the guests spent the rest of the event looking at various Henderson memorabilia, photos and trophies, as well as the three cars sitting out front of the community centre that either belonged to Henderson, or that he had a hand in building.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
