Charles Harold Hale (1874 - 1963) Inducted 1966
At a very young age, Harold Hale joined his father, George Hale, in the publishing of the Orillia Packet, later to become the Orillia Packet and Times. His association with newspaper journalism spans a period of 65 years, from printer's devil to editor.
Harold Hale was a man of foresight and vision, of sound wisdom, a forthright and fearless champion of every cause he believed to be right. He maintained a high standard of ethical journalism, never stooping to sensationalism, and his editorials were widely read across Canada.
An intense historian, he was active in preserving both written history and historical sites. It is impossible to give in detail the many and varied services he rendered to the town he loved and to the movements he initiated and the positions he held.
He was one of Orillia's greatest citizens and truly could be called "Mr. Orillia". As he was one of Canada's outstanding journalists, University of Toronto conferred on him the degree Doctor of Laws in 1956. A bronze portrait bust of Harold Hale, by Elizabeth Wyn Wood, stands in Orillia's Public Library in recognition of his many-faceted contributions to the community.
At his death at the age of 88, Orillia mourned the loss of one of its most illustrious sons.
