Orville
Kelly was one of Merrittville
Speedway’s true pioneers, competing
at Merrittville during opening day
in 1952, becoming first track
champion and later repeated in 1954.
 However, Orville’s main
concern was not necessarily as a
competitor, but he saw the need for
improved safety measures and after
the 1954 season, Orville became
Merrittville’s first true safety
inspector in 1955. Why would a
competitor quit his successful
driving career and become a safety
inspector? Let’s look at his life.
Orville, whose father Norman
and mother Beatrice, started out in
Toronto. Orville’s father was a
truck driver for a transport
company. As a result, Orville was
raised in the Paris area by his
grandparents on a farm along with
his two sisters Florence and Norma.
In 1936 Orville’s family moved to
St. Catharines and Orville started
working as an apprentice mechanic
and tow truck driver for Well’s
Garage, later to become Crew’s
located beside the Welland House
Hotel on Ontario Street.
Over the
years, Orville’s love for
automobiles and machinery were
apparent. He continued to work for
Drinkwater Motors and lastly for
Brian Cullen Motors to 1989. All
during this time period, Orville not
only worked on cars, but as a tow
truck driver he saw many accidents
off the race track, as well as on.
Safety became a true concern and
his love of stock car racing made
his focus on automobile safety. When
Orville’s stock car career started
he raced at Ancaster, Civic Stadium
and Merrittville Speedway. If he
hadn’t been focused on safety so
much, he truly could have had his
career ended at Ancaster one night
when his racer plunged off the
infamous 40' embankment. Instead of
being injured, he crawled out of the
Ford coupe and watched the rest of
the races with his wife Dolly.
Many people don’t know that Orville
Kelley’s driving exploits started
behind the #3 Ford coupe owned and
sponsored by Murray Stricker’s
father-I. Stricker and Sons -Lee
Furniture Company, on St. Paul
Street in St. Catharines. It was
that car that won the first points
championship at Merrittville
Speedway.
 For 1953 and 1954
Orville continued to drive a tow
truck by day, answering many
accident calls and raced at
Merrittville Speedway on weekends.
In 1954, Orville drove the
Weller Park Garage-Niagara Tile
Center-Flathead Fords owned by Al
Aalto and “Butch” Bogusat #3 as team
mate to Murray Stricker’s #32. If
there was a dominant team during the
early to late 1950's this was it. In
1955 Orville quit driving, after
seeing the 1954 championship and
became the head technical inspector,
a job he took seriously and held for
18 years. Both Orville and fellow
competitor Bruce Swartz became
technical inspectors and safety men,
being responsible for stock car
safety and specifications under NARA
rules. Orville was a strict task
master on safety. Drivers such as
Sandy MacPherson, Alex Gunn and Ivan
Little have all had their cars
heavily scrutinized and even parked
for the evening, when Orville didn’t
approve their cars. Don’t get me
wrong, Orville was a gentle giant of
a man, but “safety” was an
occupation to him, according to his
wife Dolly and brother in law Albert
Wardell, who also worked the pits on
the line-up board with Wally Arndt.
Every Saturday night Orville,
Albert, Dolly and Alice would pull
in to the Merrittville gates, while
Orville and Albert would take to the
pit gate, wives and sisters in law,
would take their familiar spots in
the grandstand. Dolly recently told
me they always brought their
blankets for those cold nights and
they remembered sitting near the
Hatt family who had their favourite
seats near turn one, rooting for
their local driver Bob Hatt. They
remembered those cold May nights,
being frozen in the grandstands,
sipping on coffee while their
husbands attended to the racers.
 Friendships last a long time and
while Orville is no longer with us,
his wife Dolly still resides on
Laird Drive in St. Catharines, the
same address at which Orville used
to keep his tow truck for those late
nights on weekend accident calls. As
well brother-in-law Albert and his
wife Alice still reside in St.
Catharines and the two families are
still in daily contact today.
Orville was truly a gentle giant
of our sport and a pioneer in
promoting safety in stock car
racing. I hope that if Orville was
with us today, he would be pleased
at not only how the sport has
advanced in technology, but also how
it has emphasized safety in the
construction of the race cars.
Orville Kelley was a true
Champion and pioneer of the sport of
stock car racing who helped bring it
from the early days of the 1950's
through the early 1970's.
At
this past year’s banquet, I had the
privilege of introducing Mrs. Dolly
Kelley and Albert and Alice Wardell
to the gathering along with their
son Wayne. It was also my honour to
present the Kelley-Winger
Sportsmanship Award for the first
time, to Don Turner.
May
Orville Kelley not only be
remembered for his 1952 and 1954
track championships, but also his
pioneering efforts to bringing
stricter safety rules to stock car
racing at both Merrittville Speedway
and Speedway Park for nearly 18
years.
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