Paul Henderson place of birth Kincardine
Early life
Henderson was born January 28, 1943, near Kincardine, Ontario. His mother, Evelyn, went into labour while staying at his father's parents' farm in the nearby community of Amberley during a snowstorm. She gave birth to Paul while the family was crossing Lake Huron via horse-drawn sleigh attempting to reach the hospital in Kincardine. His father, Garnet, was fighting for Canada during the Second World War at the time and did not meet his son until Paul was nearly three years old. Garnet worked for the Canadian National Railway following his return and the family – Paul was the eldest to brother Bruce and sisters Marilyn, Coralyn and Sandra – moved frequently to different posts in Ontario before settling in Lucknow.The family often struggled financially, though Garnet was always able to provide the basic life necessities. Paul's first experiences with hockey came at a young age in the basement of a Chinese restaurant operated by Charlie Chin, an immigrant who settled in Lucknow. Henderson played with Chin's sons using a ball instead of a puck. The Chin family bought Henderson his first set of hockey equipment; he had been using old catalogues as shin pads. His father coached his youth teams, and at one minor hockey tournament, told his teammates simply to "just give the puck to Paul and get out of his way". That incident remained with Henderson throughout his life: while it embarrassed him at the time to be singled out in front of his friends and teammates, he later realized it stood as an affirmation and expression of his father's pride in him and his abilities.It was in Lucknow where Henderson met his future wife, Eleanor, at the age of 15 while he was working at a grocery store. They married in 1962 and, wanting to ensure he could provide for his wife, he considered giving up the game to become a history and physical education teacher. His father convinced him to remain in hockey, warning him that he would regret it for the rest of his life if he never tried to make the National Hockey League (NHL). After considering his father's advice and talking with Eleanor, Henderson decided to play two additional years, and if he had not reached the NHL by 1964, he would quit the game and focus on his education.
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