List of Hall of Fame inductees

Ruth Abernethy

Born in Lindsay, Ontario, Ruth Abernethy began a creative profession from high school. First working as Assistant Carpenter at the Kawartha Summer Theatre in Lindsay, she later attended Malaspina College in Nanaimo, B.C.

Ruth turned 21 as the Head of Props at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre and created props in theatres across Canada for 20 years. She was Head of Props at Shaw Festival, built special items for the National Ballet of Canada, and spent 15 seasons with the Stratford Festival Theatre.

In 1996, Ruth exhibited her first sculpture collection in Waterloo. Her first work in bronze was Raising the Tent (1997). This complex design, located on the grounds of the Stratford Festival Theatre, depicts the raising of the poles of the original performance tent.

Over the last 22 years, Ruth has completed dozens of commissioned works, primarily in bronze and, occasionally, in stainless steel. These works are found in public spaces and private collections in Waterloo Region, across Canada, and beyond.

In 2018, Ruth was awarded an Honorary Degree from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Carl Henry Ahrens 1862-1936

Carl Ahrens was born in Winfield, near Elora, Ontario. He moved to Berlin, Ontario where he attended school until his father's death in 1875. He later lived in Winnipeg and travelled extensively in the American and Canadian west.

Returning to Berlin, Ahrens worked as a dyer in a button factory, where he began his mastery of colour. In his early twenties he began to paint from his Toronto studio. His first exhibition was at the Ontario Society of Artists in 1889. In 1891 he was elected associate painter of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. He later studied painting and sculpture in New York. From 1900 to 1902, Ahrens lived in New York State where he helped to start the Roycroft pottery.

In 1922, after a sojourn of several years in the U.S., Ahrens and his family moved back to Toronto, and soon after settled in a farmhouse near Galt, Ontario, which Carl named "Big Trees." Here he painted and taught, often entertaining Homer Watson, a lifelong friend. A childhood bout of tuberculosis in the hip left him an invalid in his later years, although he continued to paint until his death in 1936 at the age of 73.

Charles August Ahrens 1856-1937

Charles August Ahrens, born in Port Elgin, Ontario, the second oldest of eleven children, served three years apprenticeship at harness making with Henry Roth in Berlin, Ontario. He then went to Iowa and specialized in making fancy harness for harness racing.

While in Berlin on his honeymoon in 1882, Ahrens was persuaded by his father to join him in shoe manufacturing. A factory, specializing in men's work boots, was built at 43 Queen Street South and later a new factory was erected on Linden Street where "Chums" shoes for children were manufactured and sold nationally. Ahrens was very highly respected in his home community as a businessman and leading citizen.

Ray Alviano 1934-2020

Ray Alviano was born in 1934 in Guelph. He got his start in the newspaper business in 1956 at the Guelph Mercury, working as a general reporter/photographer. In 1959, Alviano was hired by the K-W Record for a position in its sports department.  His career at The Record spanned 33 years. From 1968 to 1978 Alviano held the sports editor's position. He was a member of the Ontario Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, serving two terms as president in the early 1970s.

Alviano's efforts did not go unnoticed as many local, provincial and national athletic organizations honoured him for his work. In 1981 he was inducted into the Ontario Five-Pin Bowling Association Hall of Fame.

Alviano took on the job of managing the K-W Civitan junior women's softball team in 1983 and that year they won both the provincial and national championships. It would be the start of more successful runs, as the Civitan won provincial and national honours in 1987, 1989 and 1990.

Alviano was the founding president of Kitchener Fastball Promotions founded in 1994. The mandate of the group is to bring provincial, national and international softball (fastball) events to Kitchener. Alviano's volunteerism was also significant with Kitchener Minor hockey, Kitchener Minor Girls Softball and Kitchener Minor Baseball.

He was a member of the organizing committee for five Canadian junior baseball championships from 1995 to 2000. He volunteered for the 1997 World Women's Hockey Championship and 4 Nations Cup in 2002, both held in Kitchener.

Alviano was also the media vice-chair for the 2008 Memorial Cup Junior Hockey Championship held at the Kitchener Auditorium.

Amanda Overland Anatol

Amanda Overland Anatol, from Kitchener, came onto the national short track speed skating scene in the late 1990s and won her first major international medal in 2003 - silver in the 3000m relay at the World Championships in Sweden. 

During the 2004-2005 season Overland experienced success as an individual, winning silver in the 1000m at World Cup USA and bronze in the 1500m at World Cup Slovakia. 

In 2005 Overland was named Speed Skating Canada's Short Track Athlete of the Year, and she was ranked first in Canada in her sport.  The same year, she was named KW Athlete of the Year. 

In advance of the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, Overland qualified for the 1000m, 1500m and 3000m relay races.  She placed fifth in both of her individual events.  In the team relay Overland and her teammates won an Olympic silver medal. 

In 2007, she was a member of the 3000m Canadian relay team that won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Milan.  During her career, Overland competed in five world championships. 

The Cambridge Speed Skating Club has raised six banners at the Hespeler Arena to honour their internationally acclaimed athletes, including Overland.

Neil P. Armstrong 1932 - 2020

Beginning as a volunteer official in local minor league hockey games, Neil Armstrong progressed through the ranks and joined the National Hockey League as a lineman in 1957.

A Cambridge resident most of his life, Armstrong became known as the "Ironman" of the officiating staff en route to a twenty-season career where he officiated in 1733 regular season games, 208 Stanley Cup playoff contests and ten all-star games. Over a sixteen-year period Armstrong never missed an assignment, travelling more than 90,000 miles a season. Commended for his professional dedication and desire, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.

Following his officiating career, Armstrong served as a scout for the Montreal Canadiens.

Raffi Armenian b. 1942

Raffi Armenian was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1942 and immigrated to Canada in 1969.

Armenian was the Artistic Director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony from 1971 to 1993. He transformed a community orchestra into a world-class professional symphony. In 1974, its professional core, the Canadian Chamber Ensemble, was formed by Armenian and it became recognized as one of the premier ensembles in North America with tours that took it all over the world.

Recognizing the need for a performance space that would complement the professional orchestra, Armenian was instrumental in the building of the Centre in the Square in Kitchener, one of Canada's finest performance halls where opera, choral, ballet, theatre and other groups perform.

Armenian's work has been recognized with countless honours including an Emmy Award Nomination for a television opera starring Maureen Forrester. He is a Member of the Order of Canada and has honorary doctorates from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University.

In 1999 he became Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Toronto. He has also held several other professorships in Canada and Europe.

John G. Ashley 1929-2008

John Ashley was born in Galt and lived in Preston until Grade 12. John played minor hockey in Preston and later he played for the Toronto Marlboros and the Guelph Biltmores. Ashley signed a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1950, and in the ensuing three years, played for their Pittsburgh farm team in the AHL. Ashley sought and gained reinstatement as an amateur in 1954. He then played three years with Stratford in Senior A hockey.

Ashley became interested in officiating in 1957. By 1959 he signed a contract to officiate in the NHL. Ashley spent eighteen years in the NHL - thirteen as a referee and five as a scout and councillor to referees.

Ashley refereed 1075 games. Of this, 622 were regular NHL games and fifty-eight were NHL play-off games. In the last eight of his thirteen on-ice seasons, Ashley was rated the NHL's number one referee. Ashley's overall record in Stanley Cup play-offs was one of high quality performance, under sustained pressure, over a period of ten years.

On September 15, 1981, Ashley was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Don Awrey b. 1943

Don Awrey was born in Kitchener. At the age of sixteen he was a member of the Waterloo Siskins team which won the Ontario Hockey Association Championship in 1959-60. He played Junior A for the Niagara Falls Flyers from 1961 to 1964, a team which reached the Canadian finals in his last year.

Awrey signed with the Boston Bruins when he was twenty and played on two Stanley Cup winning teams. He was chosen to play for Team Canada against the Russians in 1972.

Awrey was named a member of the Western All Stars while playing for the St. Louis Blues in 1973-74. He was playing for the Montreal Canadiens in 1975 when they won the Stanley Cup. He also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers and Colorado Rockies. Awrey ran a hockey school in the off-season.

Awrey retired from the NHL in 1979, having played nearly 1,000 games.

Jacob Baetz 1851-1920

Jacob Baetz, born near Niederaulau, Germany, came to Canada in 1868 and had a family of nine children.

He worked for Casper Braun as a stonemason, bricklayer, and plasterer; trades he had learned from his father. Baetz became a building contractor and built the 1907 Berlin market building, Victoria Public School, Trinity, St. Andrew's and St. Matthew's churches, and many other buildings.

With R. Boehmer, Baetz founded and operated the Berlin Brick Company on King Street East and in 1907 became owner of the Pommer-Cowan Furniture Company, later Baetz Furniture Limited. This factory was destroyed by fire in 1910 and he then built the Baetz factory still in use in 1973.

Baetz was treasurer of St. Matthew's Church for many years from the time the church was built. During the 1890s he was a town councillor and was chairman of the Board of Works when the first steam road roller was purchased.

John Bain 1920-2009

John Bain was born in Galt and began his baseball career with the Galt Pickards Juveniles (Ontario Champions in 1937) and later with the OBAA Senior Welland Nationals of the Niagara District League before World War II. He joined the RCAF in 1942, where he served for four years, including service in England and continental Europe.

After the War, Bain returned to play with Galt in 1946 and Kitchener from 1947 to 1950. In 1946, he led the Intercounty League in runs scored (29); in 1947, he led the League in stolen bases (21) and runs scored (31); in 1948, he led the League in triples (7) and number of hits (52). His batting average was consistently in the 333 to 350 range over his years in baseball. In 1948, he was voted Most Valuable Player in the Intercounty League by team managers and coaches.

Bain earned his BA at McMaster University, a teacher's certificate from the Hamilton Normal School and a BEd from the University of Toronto. He holds an Elementary School Inspector's Certificate. In 1950, he began a teaching career with the Kitchener Board of Education, Elementary Public Schools, serving firstly as classroom teacher, and, later, as Supervisor of English. In 1955, Bain joined the staff of the Hamilton Teachers' College as Master of English. In 1963, he was appointed Principal of the Toronto Teachers' College and, in 1966, was appointed Assistant Director, Teacher Education Branch of the Ontario Department of Education.

Bain was married in 1946 to Verna Allen of Galt; they have two daughters and five grandchildren.

James Barrie 1924-2019

James "Jim" Redpath Barrie's rural roots began in 1924. He received his early education at Dickie Settlement School and later attended Galt Collegiate Institute and Vocational School.

From his earliest years, Barrie belonged to many organizations including 4H, Junior Farmers Club, South Waterloo Agricultural Society, the Ploughmen's Association, Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and the Ontario Agriculture Hall of Fame. He served with the Dumfries Mutual Insurance Company, Doon Pioneer Village, Waterloo Historical Society, Central Presbyterian Church and the Probus Club. He truly was a leader in his community and Barrie was recognized as Provincial Senior of the Year in 2006.

Barrie is well known as the local historian of North Dumfries, Galt and Waterloo County. He wrote the history of Central Presbyterian Church in Galt in 1982 and was involved with the publishing of two Waterloo Historical Society books Waterloo Township through Two Centuries and Waterloo County: An Illustrated History.

He was a friendly mentor to young people who expressed an interest in one of his special areas of interest. Neither a loud-spoken man nor an attention-seeker, Barrie worked in a quiet and co-operative manner. He married Marian Henderson in 1948 and they had three children.

Jim is recognized for his commitment and dedication to his community and to the agricultural industry, both locally and provincially.

George Redpath Barrie 1847-1929

George Redpath Barrie was a distinguished agriculturist whose farm was awarded the bronze medal by the Agricultural and Arts Association in 1887 and was designated a demonstration farm for six years by the Dominion Department of Agriculture.

Born in North Dumfries Township, he was educated at the log schoolhouse, Dumfries Station. Barrie was a noted livestock breeder and cattle feeder and pioneered the feeding of cattle in loose pens. He was the first producer of registered seed grain in Waterloo County.

Secretary-Treasurer of the Grange from 1880-1886, he was a leader in the Farmers' Institute. It was on his farm, at a Farmers' Institute open meeting in 1903 that the first Women's Institute in South Waterloo was formed.

Barrie served North Dumfries Council for seventeen years, was deputy reeve from 1889 to 1891, reeve from 1892 to 1894 and was president of the South Waterloo Agricultural Society.

William C. Barrie 1884-1982

The four great-grandparents of William C. Barrie came to North Dumfries from Scotland in 1829. Born on a farm in that township, he attended Dickie Settlement School and the Ontario Agricultural College. He had a most distinguished and outstanding career in agriculture and received many awards in recognition of his work.

A director of the Ontario Plowmen's Association for fifty years, Barrie conducted the Canadian plowing team to Sweden in 1955 and was greatly in demand as a judge of plowing matches and field crops.

Barrie served on the North Dumfries Township Council, the Suburban Road Commission, and the Farmers Institute. He was president of the Waterloo Historical Society, the Ontario Agricultural and Experimental Union, the Waterloo County Crop Improvement Association, the South Waterloo Agricultural Society, the Ontario Plowmen's Association, the Central Dumfries Farmers' Club and the South Waterloo Liberal Association.

Barrie assisted in the planning and establishment of Doon Pioneer Village.

Peter Bassin 1935-2022

Peter Bassin was born in 1935 in Madulain, Switzerland, a country that cultivated two of his biggest passions: a devotion to athletics and a love of the culinary arts.

Bassin immigrated to Canada in 1957 after accepting employment with the Walper Hotel in Kitchener. In 1972 he created the Hospitality Management (Food and Beverage) program at Conestoga College; he headed and taught in this award-winning program for 25 years.

It was during this time that Bassin's marriage to Maggie DeGroot in 1961 cemented his love of competition - this time in sailing. After only five years of self-instruction, they won their first Canadian National Championship - the first of many more National and International titles they would garner.

In 1968, Bassin was hired at Chicopee Ski club in Kitchener as a coach. Armed with his aptitude for instruction and a drive for athletic excellence, after only four years Bassin quickly climbed the ranks at Chicopee. In 1973, now Head Coach, the Chicopee Race Program was recognized as one of Ontario's top racing clubs with many team members winning championships, titles, and a few rising to top competitive circles, participating as members of provincial and national teams.

Bassin left his position as Head Coach in 1996 to personally train the now world-renowned Kelly VanderBeek, then a promising 13-year old. With VanderBeek's natural talent Bassin cultivated her innate skills, and in 1998 VanderBeek earned her first Canadian Juvenile slalom title.

It was this work with VanderBeek that caused Bassin to be selected as Team Canada Coach for Whistler Cup and World Topolino Games, in Italy in 1998. By 2000, the Canadian Ski Coaches Federation recognized Bassin's work with top athletes and awarded him with the Award of Excellence in 2000. Not one to rest on his laurels, Bassin continued to coach the Quebec Women's Ski team in 2001, where he coached another female athlete to be selected to the Canada's Alpine Team.

Bassin now acts as a personal ski coach. It comes as no surprise that in 2003, yet another one of Bassin's athletes was named to the Ontario team.

David William Bauer CSB, CSM 1924-1988

Father David Bauer, a native of Kitchener, made a tremendous contribution to Canadian youth, as a teacher and in the capacity of player, manager and coach in the world of sports.

Following graduation from the University of Toronto, he was ordained a Basilican priest and taught at St. Michael's College and St. Mark's College in Vancouver, where he became Superior. He founded a monastery at St. Agatha, operated by the Carmel of St. Joseph nuns.

Father Bauer promoted the use of Canadian university students in international hockey competitions. He was Canada's Olympic coach for the 1964 games in Austria. He was awarded a gold medal for sportsmanship by the International Ice Hockey Federation.

From 1964-69 he was an advisor to Canada's national hockey teams. A director of Hockey Canada, he also served Canada's National Health and Fitness Council and was a coaching counsellor in Japan.

In 1968 he was awarded the Order of Merit of Canada and in 1973 was named to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

Robert T. "Bobby" Bauer 1915-1964

Bobby Bauer, born in Waterloo, started his hockey career in the Twin Cities organization where he played with Milt Schmidt and Woody Dumart who later formed the "Kraut" line.

After playing for St. Mikes and the Kitchener Juniors, who won the OHA Jr. Championship in 1935, Bauer played for the Boston Bruins from 1937-1947. During these years, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup twice. He won the Lady Byng Trophy for good sportsmanship and gentlemanly play in 1940, 1941, and 1947.

Bauer served in the RCAF from 1942-46. After WWII, the "Kraut" line was reunited and the RCAF won the Allan Cup Championship. His best year in the NHL was in 1946-47 when he scored 30 goals and 24 assists in a 60 game schedule.

He served as a player, coach, manager and on the executive of the Kitchener Dutchmen Hockey Team in the Senior OHA and was president when the team won the Allan Cup in 1953 and 1955.

The Rev. John Bayne DD 1806-1859

The Rev. John Bayne, minister of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Galt, was responsible for the establishment of the (Free) Presbyterian Church of Canada as apart from the Church of Scotland.

A native of Greenock, Scotland, Bayne was a graduate of Glasgow University and the University of Edinburgh. He was a powerful preacher and attracted Presbyterians who were settling within fifteen miles of Galt. When the split in the Presbyterian Church occurred, the majority in his congregation followed Bayne to his new church. A civil court ruled that the buildings, glebe and monies of St. Andrew's were for the use of the minority group, and the dissidents, who were in the majority, built a church on the corner of Dickson and Ainslie Streets, and called it Knox's Presbyterian Church.

Union College in Schenectady, New York, recognized the accomplishments of Bayne by conferring on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.

Florence Diamond Bean 1910-1993

Florence Fallis was born in 1910 in Minto Township, Wellington County. After taking a secretarial course in Toronto, she moved to Wilmot Township, where she married Clarence Diamond.

Bean rose to executive positions on the provincial and national level of the Women's Institute. She served as provincial public relations officer and was president of the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario from 1977 to 1980. She took a leadership role in conferences of the Associated Country Women of the World.

She was active in the Waterloo Farm and Home Safety Council, the Wilmot Agricultural Society, the Wilmot Horticultural Society, the Waterloo Historical Society, the Haysville Sunshine Club and was clerk of session for Zion United Church, New Hamburg.

Bean was Haysville correspondent for the K-W Record for thirty years, having commenced her media career at radio station CFRB, Toronto. Honours include the Jubilee Medal and Wilmot Citizen of the Year 1990. She was widely known as "a good neighbour." She was married to Ellworth Bean.

Walter Alexander Bean CBE, ED, CD 1908-1998

Kitchener native, Walter A. Bean graduated from the University of Toronto in 1930.

Commissioned in the Scots Fusiliers of Canada, he volunteered for overseas service in 1940 with the Highland Light Infantry of Canada attaining the rank of Brigadier by June 1945. He served as a senior staff officer in the United Kingdom, North Africa, and in the Pacific Theatre. Later he commanded the Canadian Pacific force headquarters and later the 2nd Infantry Brigade Militia.

Bean was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and was awarded the Efficiency Decoration and the Canada Decoration.

Bean served as president of the Kitchener Chamber of Commerce, the Gyro Club and was KW Citizen of the Year in 1973. He served the Waterloo Trust in various executive capacities becoming Deputy Chairman and vice-president of Canada Trust. He was Chairman and/or director of many local and national financial and industrial organizations.

Jessie L. Beattie 1898-1985

Jessie L. Beattie, a noted Canadian author, was born at Blair, Ontario, and two of her twenty books, Along the Way and A Season Past, recall life in the pioneer home and village in which she grew up. Educated at Tassie Hall, Galt, the University of Buffalo and the University of Toronto, she taught school, spent six years in library work, two years in corrective educational work with the provincial government, one-and-a-half years as Director of Recreation, Community Welfare Council, and conducted a private school in Blair for four years.

Beattie wrote and produced several plays but is best known for her novels, biographies, books on travel, short stories and poetry. Strength for the Bridge is a deeply researched novel treating sympathetically the plight of the Japanese in Canada during World War II. In spite of poor health and eventual loss of her sight, Beattie continued writing through the years and received wide acclaim for her breadth of vision and the quality of her literary accomplishments.

Sir Adam Beck 1857-1925

In 1886, Berlin businessman, D.B. Detweiler, conceived the idea of bringing electricity, generated at Niagara, to southwestern Ontario. Travelling on a bicycle, he continuously promoted the project, and his endeavours brought him the title of "Committee of One."

St. Jacob's industrialist, E.W.B. Snider, constantly and enthusiastically promoted the idea and to these men belong great credit for their tremendous achievements in bringing low-cost public power to this area.

They were assisted greatly by Sir Adam Beck, born in Baden in 1857, a distinguished citizen and politician, MPP 1902-1919 and 1923-1925, who became the first chairman of the Ontario Hydro Power Commission, and retained that position until his death in 1925.

Jacob Beck 1816-1906

A master mechanical genius, Jacob Beck, born in Baden, Germany, came to Waterloo Township in 1837. He opened a smelting furnace at New Hope (Hespeler), and later established an iron works on Spring Creek, Preston. He invented a turbine water wheel and in partnership with John Clare and Valentine Wahn manufactured stoves at Preston.

In 1854 Beck located a good source of water power on Spring Creek in Wilmot Township and purchased 200 acres. He erected a gristmill and foundry. He subdivided his farm in 1856, sold lots and developed Baden.

Beck was a member of the first board for the 1839 school in Preston, village councillor, councillor Wilmot Township from 1860 to 1864 and Baden postmaster from 1854 to1879. In 1863 he gave the community the deed for land with the courthouse on it for one dollar. This building served as Wilmot Township Hall until 1867 and is now at Black Creek Pioneer Village, Toronto.

Egon Beiler DDS b. 1953

One of the world's top wrestlers for a decade, Egon Beiler competed in four different weight classes before retiring in 1981. He won gold medals in the Commonwealth Games in Christ Church, New Zealand (1974) and Edmonton (1978) and in the Pan American Games, Mexico City (1975). He reached the pinnacle of his sport when he captured the top spot in the World Cup competition in Toledo, Ohio (1976). He competed mainly in the 60-kilogram division.

Beiler, born in Kitchener in 1953, wrestled for St. Jerome's High School and for the University of Western Ontario. As a junior wrestler, he won a bronze medal in the world junior championships. He held eight Canadian titles. A winner of the 1980 Olympic trials, he was named to the team that would have represented Canada in Moscow. After retiring, he became a coach. Beiler practices dentistry in Kitchener.

Charles Belair 1914-2012

For more than 70 years, Charles Belair, the dean of photography in Kitchener-Waterloo, created more than 22,200 images of people, including prime ministers and multiple generations of local families. He also photographed several thousand locally-produced products leaving a pictorial record of the history of this community.

Born in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1914, Belair moved to Kitchener with his mother in the early 1920s to join his father who had immigrated here to take a job at the Lang Tanning Company.

Belair completed his primary education in Kitchener and then attended Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School in the technical program where he specialized in drafting. It was at KWC&VS that he began taking pictures for The Grumbler, the school year book.

Unable to find a drafting job, Belair worked for a local photographer and bought the business in 1939, the same year his photograph of the Royal visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made the front page of the Kitchener Daily Record.

In 1982, Belair was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. In 2000, Belair was named an Honourary Senior Fellow by Renison College, University of Waterloo for his contribution to the community.

In 2002, Belair was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, as well as the K-W Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement recognizing his contribution to the cultural vitality of Waterloo Region.

A member of the Kitchener Rotary Club for more than 60 years, in 2007 Belair and his wife Keiko established the Keiko and Charles Belair Centre for East Asian Studies at Renison College, University of Waterloo.

The Berlin Bowling Club: W.D. Euler - Skip, H. Boehmer - Second, W.G. Cleghorn - Lead, H.J. Sims - Vice Skip

The popularity of lawn bowling as a summer sport increased considerably in this area with the formation of The Berlin Bowling Club in April 1902, with Judge Chisholm as president. A lawn bowling area was created at the rear of the Court House and in 1905 the Club joined the Ontario and the Western Lawn Bowling Associations.

The Club provided good facilities and organization for a large number of local players and friendly competition with other clubs in the province and beyond. Rinks were selected to play against visitors from Great Britain in 1906. A club rink consisting of W. D. Euler, H. J. Sims, Herman Boehmer and W. G. Cleghorn won the Ontario Championship in 1909 and 1913, and the Dominion Championship in 1913. Club rinks skipped by Ed Wettlaufer successfully competed for many years in the Annual Tournament in Buffalo. A rink of Messrs. Euler, Sims, and Cleghorn did well in the British Empire Games in England in 1936 and several of the Club's best players toured Great Britain in 1913, 1924 and 1926.

Lorna Bergey 1921-2009

Lorna (Shantz) Bergey was born in Wilmot Township in 1921 and became one of Waterloo Region's most respected Mennonite historians. Although her formal education ended after Grade 8, Bergey always enjoyed books and collecting information. Through visits with family members, church and community events, she was exposed to verbal accounts and the folk history of Waterloo County and the Pennsylvania Germans. Thus began the foundation of her extensive knowledge, detailed stories and historical facts connecting people, places and events.

In the 1960s Bergey expanded her involvement in historical organizations. In response to invitations, she began preparing articles for publications and talks at family reunions.

Bergey held leadership positions in many organizations including the Waterloo Historical Society, Doon Heritage Crossroads, the Historical Committee of the Mennonite Church of North America and the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society of Waterloo and Ontario.

Her accomplishments and awards include the Joseph Schneider Haus Volunteer Award (1993), Kitchener Seniors Advisory Council Award of Distinction (1999), Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation Award of Excellence (2001) and the Mennonite Historical Society of Canada Award of Excellence (2007).

Jacob Bettschen 1808-1869

The first frame house in Wilmot Township was built by this native of Reuebruegg, Switzerland who arrived in 1830. He was a tax collector, a constable and a magistrate. He served for eight years as a Wilmot Township councillor in Wellington District and was the first reeve of Wilmot Township in 1850. He was a charter member of the Wilmot Agricultural Society in 1853 and he was appointed a captain in the Wilmot Township Militia.

Bettschen is remembered as the promoter of library services for the Township in 1853. In 1859 this developed into a travelling library which placed 150 books in each of the five wards and the books were exchanged every four months.

Thomas D. Beynon QC b. 1941

Born in Kitchener in 1941, Thomas D. Beynon graduated from Queen's University (Mechanical Engineering) in 1965 and from the University of Saskatchewan (Law) in 1968. Beynon started his Canadian Football League career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1966 when they won the Grey Cup. Two years later he was traded to the Ottawa Roughriders, winners of the Grey Cup in 1968 and 1969. He retired in 1970 after an injury. He provided legal services to the Canadian Amateur Football Association for a number of years and was chairman of the Vanier Cup Championship (for university football) in 1982 and 1983.

Beynon articled with a law firm in Ottawa in 1968, later moving, to become a partner of a firm in Toronto. He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1983. Since 1986 he has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Waterloo Micro Systems Inc.

Steve Bienkowski 

Synonymous with professionalism on and off the ice, Steve Bienkowski has been essential to the Kitchener Rangers’ success for nearly 40 years.

Originally from Oshawa, Steve first joined the Rangers in 1979 as a player. He was a team member when the Rangers’ won their first Ontario Hockey League (OHL) championship in 1980-1981.

After graduating from Wilfrid Laurier University, Steve became a chartered accountant in 1986 and had a successful business career prior to returning to the Rangers in the 1990s.

He served for six years on the Rangers’ Board of Directors Executive Committee. After significantly improving the professional operation and financial stability of the Rangers, Steve was appointed the Club’s first Chief Operating Officer in 2002. He is responsible for the operations of the franchise and represents the Rangers as an OHL Governor.

In addition, under Steve’s leadership the Rangers have created partnerships with Kitchener Minor Hockey (Junior and Lady Rangers programs), Cambridge Ice Hounds and Kitchener Ice Pirates (inclusive hockey programs), KW Poppy Fund, Grand River Hospital Foundation (Clarky’s Kids), and numerous other not-for-profit organizations.

For all of his contributions, Steve has twice received the OHL’s Executive of the Year award, in 2002-2003 and 2011-2012.

His lead role in assembling a bid for and hosting a Memorial Cup in 2008 is widely recognized as one of the most successful and memorable events in Waterloo Region sporting history.

Rev. F.W. Bindemann 1790-1865

An unconventional figure, in the person of the Rev. F.W. Bindemann, came into the early religious life of Waterloo County in 1834. Rev. Bindemann, a native of Koethen, Potsdam, Prussia, was a "free-thinker" and did not hesitate to express his independent opinions.

Rev. Bindemann organized the Lutherans of the area, forming several congregations, including St. Paul's Church, Berlin, in 1835. He is said to have not been "Spiritually minded," but by precept and example impressed on the people the value of the virtues of honesty and neighbourliness. His interesting remarks in his written records of births, marriages and deaths were often very amusing. He was known as the "marrying preacher."

He died on November 29, 1865 and was buried in the Mennonite cemetery by a Swedenborgian minister.

Arnie Boehm 1933-2002

The man who started the World Boxing Council Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis on his career as a junior boxer in Kitchener, Arnold Boehm made a notable contribution to the youth of the Region of Waterloo through his involvement as a coach with the Waterloo Regional Police Association Boxing Club. Born in Wellesley Township in 1933, one of a family of eleven, he boxed as an amateur in his youth and then worked with Hook McComb in coaching the Police Club boxers.

Boehm was a coach of the Canadian team at the World Junior Championships in the Dominican Republic in 1983 when Lewis won a World title. He helped coach the Canadian team at the Los Angeles Olympics and the North American team at the World Cup IV in Korea in 1985. He coached many more aspiring boxers in the community, including Chris Johnson, a bronze medallist at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

In 1982 Boehm was named Boxing Ontario's "Coach of the Year," was inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame in 1989 and received a Canada 125 Award in 1992. Boehm passed away on October 9, 2002.

Charles Harry Boehmer 1877-1963

C.H. "Carlo" Boehmer of Berlin achieved fame as an amateur hockey player, an opera singer and an industrialist.

He was a well-known hockey star and played football while attending the University of Toronto.

Possessing a splendid voice, in 1906 he began to study comic and grand opera in Milan, Italy. He was a close friend of Enrico Caruso and Edward Johnson, at one time head of the Metropolitan Opera Company. He lived with Johnson in New York in 1902 and 1903 when they were both studying voice. He gave concerts in Italy and the United States. His success in Italian opera was spectacular and he toured South America with an Italian opera company. He was engaged by the Chicago Opera Company in 1919.

In his later years Boehmer returned to Kitchener and joined the family business, A & C Boehmer Box Company, later becoming president.

He was active in many community organizations.

Kurt Boese b. 1929

Kurt Boese was one of the area's outstanding wrestlers and coaches for a period of some 24 years from 1954 to 1978.

Boese won five Canadian Championships: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962 and 1963. In 1960 Boese won both Greco-Roman and Freestyle championships. His weight class was welterweight.

He represented Canada in the Commonwealth Games in 1958; the Olympic Games in 1960; the Commonwealth Games in 1962; and the Pan American Games in 1963. Boese won bronze medals in the Commonwealth Games of 1962 and the Pan American Games of 1963. In addition to these accomplishments, Kurt won numerous YMCA championships.

Boese made outstanding contributions in the coaching field. From 1954 to 1970 he was head coach of the Kitchener YMCA. In 1967, Boese coached the Ontario team in the first Canadian Winter Games. They won the championship.

From 1970 to 1978 Boese was the head coach of the University of Waterloo wrestling teams. In 1972 he was the Olympic wrestling coach for the Munich Olympic Games. In 1979 Kurt Boese was elected to the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame.

William (Bill) Boettger 1941- 2005

Bill Boettger was born and raised in Kitchener. After graduating from Kitchener Collegiate Institute, Boettger received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Waterloo, and a teacher's certificate from the University of Toronto. He was the Assistant Head of Mathematics at Eastwood Collegiate and taught mathematics there for 31 years.

Boettger is known as Canada's most internationally decorated lawn bowler, and the first to bring home a gold medal. He began his involvement with bowling while working as a pin boy at a local bowling alley. Boettger was a member of the Ontario men's championship 5 Pin Bowling team, winning a silver medal at the Canadian championships. His skill as a bowler led to his winning a gold medal at the Canadian Masters singles title in 1974. In his final game in the pin boy league, he rolled a perfect game of 450 points.

In addition to his skill as an athlete, Boettger wrote the lesson plans and curricula for 5 Pin Bowling, which is still being used today. He served various roles with the Master Bowlers Association of Ontario, including Treasurer and President. He was inducted into the Builders Division of the Ontario 5 Pin Bowler's Association in 1997.

Boettger was a member of the Canadian Lawn Bowling team for eighteen years, representing Canada twenty-five times. He was a Canadian Champion and won two silver medals at the Commonwealth Games and silver and bronze medals at the world championships. In 1991, at the South Pacific Bowls, he was named top bowler of the competition as he brought home gold in the singles, pairs, and fours. Boettger was National Coach for Bowls for four years. In the world of lawn bowling, he was known to many as Captain Canada.

Boettger paired up with Brian Williams at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton to provide the colour commentary for lawn bowling for the CBC.

Boettger was instrumental in the creation and operation of the Heritage Lawn Bowling Facility and served as its treasurer from its inception. In 1999, he chaired the National Championships Hosting Committee. The National Championships in 2005 in Kitchener, and Woodstock were named in his honour.

Boettger wrote several level one and two coaching manuals. He was a level three coach.

Boettger is survived by his partner, Bev Bayus and a large extended family.

Margaret Bolender b. 1921

Margaret Cumming was born in Pilkington Township, Wellington County in 1921. She won the Elora High School's Ballard Scholarship as best overall student in 1939. She graduated from Hamilton Normal School (1941) and Wilfrid Laurier University (1974) with a Bachelor of Arts. She taught school for many years and was a friend to all her students.

When she was president of the Elmira Horticultural Society, Bolender spearheaded the planting of a butterfly garden at the Elmira Branch of the Waterloo Regional Library. She encourages children with disabilities to take part in gardening. Bolender is a Master Gardener and a flower and vegetable judge. She was the first woman president of the Elmira Fair Board and is president of the Waterloo North District Women's Institute (1996-98).

Bolender received the Bicentennial Certificate of Merit from the Province of Ontario (1984), the Ontario Horticultural Association service award (1990) and the Oktoberfest Senior Citizen of the Year Award (1997). She has also received an award from the Ontario Women's Institute (FWIO) in 1997. She is a member of the Woolwich Healthy Communities where she is involved in the sustainability group. She is an active member of Trinity United Church, Elmira.

Sharon Bowes

Waterloo resident and University of Waterloo graduate, Sharon Bowes has been a member of Canada’s National Rifle Team since 1983. She is one of Canada’s most experienced shooters, having competed in Olympic, Commonwealth, and Pan American games. Sharon is the Canadian Record Holder in her specialities, Sport and Air Rifle.

Sharon is a four-time Olympian, having competed in 1984, 1988, 1992, and 2000. She has four Top Ten Olympic finishes, including fourth place at the 1984 Los Angeles and fifth place at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.

In addition, Sharon has the distinction of being the first woman to compete in shooting at the Commonwealth Games, where she is also a record holder. She has won 12 Commonwealth medals and, at the 1986 Commonwealth Games, won silver while competing in the men’s 10m air rifle. Sharon was also the flag bearer for Canada during the closing ceremony of the 1986 Games.

Sharon has five Pan Am medals from eight Pan American competitions. She is a seven-time World Championship team member with two World Cup medals; silver (1992) and bronze (1987).

She has been giving back to her sport as a coach for the Ontario Provincial Team since 1997. Sharon also serves as an Athlete Representative for the Shooting Federation of Canada.

Photo courtesy of University of Waterloo Library, Special Collections & Archives. Kitchener-Waterloo Record Photographic Negative Collection

David Sovereign Bowlby MD 1826-1903

Dr. D.S. Bowlby, physician and surgeon, practiced in Berlin from 1853 to 1903, often driving fifteen to twenty miles by horses and buggy to treat a patient, was a perfect example of the old-time family doctor. It was said that his very appearance at a bedside often brought immediate improvement. Because of his skillfulness and sympathetic attitude, he developed a very large practice.

Dr. Bowlby was the son of a pioneer, Adam Bowlby, and was born in the Township of Townsend, Norfolk County. He was educated at Upper Canada College, the University of Toronto, the Toronto School of Medicine and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York.

Bowlby was a member of the Berlin Village Council, chairman of the board of trustees of the Berlin High School for twenty-five years, and chairman of the Reform Association of North Waterloo.

Ward Hamilton Bowlby KC 1834-1917

Ward Hamilton Bowlby, a prominent lawyer in Berlin and Waterloo County Crown Attorney for half-a-century, won the first gold medal in law awarded by the University of Toronto. A traveller of note, he wrote a book on his experiences during a trip up the Nile in 1899.

He attended Upper Canada College and the University of Toronto, from which he graduated in arts in 1856 and in law in 1858. He was a senior partner in the law firm of Bowlby, Colquhoun, and Clement, later Bowlby and Clement, from 1858 to 1903. A sound lawyer, a reliable counsellor and a trenchant prosecutor, he argued many important cases in the High Court at Toronto and the Supreme Court at Ottawa.

Bowlby was a member of the town and county councils, Reeve of Berlin from 1863 to 1868 and for thirty years was a member of the Public School Board.

Amos B. Bowman 1838-1894

Amos B. Bowman was born at Blair, but soon after, his parents moved to Ohio. Later he had a very distinguished career as a renowned scientist in Canada and the United States.

Following university studies in Germany, he graduated as a civil and mining engineer, and travelled in Europe writing articles for the New York Tribune.

An outstanding authority on geology, he had charge of a five-year California geological survey. He then joined an official Canadian geological survey, surveying the Cariboo mining region, and prepared reports on many sections of British Columbia.

Bowman promoted the interests of Fidalgo Island in British Columbia, whose possibilities impressed him. In recognition of his services, the town of Anacortes was named after his wife, Anna Curtis Bowman. He published a newspaper, and gave liberally in land to induce the building of a railroad up the Skagit Valley.

It was said of this outstanding scientist that "he often impoverished himself to enrich others."

Isaac Erb Bowman 1832-1897

Isaac Erb Bowman was one of the most prominent and competent politicians and businessmen in Waterloo County's history. Born on a St. Jacobs's farm, he was educated at the local public school and Rockwood Academy and taught school for ten years. He lived in St. Jacobs for most of his life. In his early years he was a municipal clerk, treasurer of Woolwich Township and St. Jacobs postmaster.

In 1864 he was elected as a Liberal to the last parliament of old Canada, and represented with distinction the north riding of Waterloo from 1864 to1878 and from 1887 to1896.

Bowman was senior member of the firm of Bowman and Zinkan that operated tanneries in St. Jacobs, Port Elgin and Southampton. He was one of the founders of the Ontario Mutual Life Assurance Company (now the Mutual Life Assurance Company of Canada) and was president from 1870 to 1897. He was also president of the Mercantile Fire Insurance Company.

Isaiah Bowman 1878-1950

Isaiah Bowman was born in Waterloo County of Pennsylvania German parents, who moved to Michigan when he was a small child.

His great scholastic achievements won for him distinction in many fields and he became known as one of the world's foremost geographers. A graduate of Harvard and Yale Universities, he became a professor at Yale. He led expeditions to South America in 1907 and 1913 and served as geographer and geologist on a Peruvian expedition in 1911.

He was President of Johns Hopkins University from 1935 to 1948.

Bowman accompanied the American delegation to the Peace Conference following World War I and was adviser to Presidents Wilson and Roosevelt. He also took part in the World Security Conference in Dunbarton Oaks in 1944.

In honour of his memory and in recognition of his many accomplishments, the University of Waterloo named its Social Science Building, "The Isaiah Bowman Building."

Brian Bradley b. 1965

Brian Bradley is a Kitchener native and started playing minor hockey at the age of six. At 10, Bradley played on the Bauer Krauts Atom AAA team scoring 185 points in one season with 119 goals and 66 assists.

Bradley was drafted into the Ontario Hockey League as minor midget and played one season with Guelph and three with the London Knights. Bradley played for Team Canada in 1985 that won a gold medal in the World Junior Championships and he was selected to the World All-Star Team.

Between 1985 and 1997, Bradley played in the National Hockey League for Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Tampa Bay, scoring 503 points in 651 games, with 182 goals and 321 assists. He spent the 1987-88 season with Canada's Olympic Hockey Team and played seven games in the Winter Olympics. Bradley played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1993 and 1994. His best NHL season was 1992-93 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring 42 goals and 44 assists.

Bradley now lives in Tampa Bay, Florida with his wife Carrie and their three children.

John Bramm 1817-1893

John Bramm was Berlin's first brickmaker, his factory being located on the land on which Zion United Church, Weber Street, was built. He started the factory in 1845, the year in which he came from Germany.

The bricks for wells, houses and stores were taken to their location by a team of oxen. 500 bricks sold for $3.75. In 1880 Bramm employed six men, their weekly wages totalling $40.

In 1880 Bramm purchased the Doering steam grist mill on Queen Street South and operated it with his sons. Hundreds of cords of wood were purchased from local farmers for the operation of the mill and brickyard. The Bramm brothers operated the mill until 1907 and it is, in 1972, the Kissner Milling Company.

Bramm was also a private banker, lending money at interest rates of 6 ½ to 7%.

Nathan Brannen, Track & Field

Nathan “Nate” Brannen is one of the most decorated distance runners in Canadian history. He has broken seven Canadian track and field records, and currently holds four Canadian records. Nate has competed in all major track and field competitions, including the Olympics, the World Championships, and the Commonwealth Games. 

Casper Braun 1864-1937

Casper Braun, when an infant, came to Berlin with his parents. His father Henry Braun, was a mason and built homes in this community. Casper also became a contractor and, as well as homes, built portions of the Uniroyal building, the original Ames, Holden, McCready Rubber plant (later B.F. Goodrich Canada Limited), the Cluett Peabody, Lang Tanning and Krug Furniture plants and many other industrial buildings.

He also built King Edward School and additions to Victoria School and Suddaby School, as well as St. Mary's, Calvary Memorial and the Sunday school addition of Zion Evangelical (United) churches and the first large apartment building in Kitchener, the York apartments. He also had a large monument business and owned and operated the Ott Brick and Tile Manufacturing Company.

Braun was a member of Kitchener Council for nine years and the Water Commission for twenty-nine years. He was also a trustee of Zion Evangelical Church for many years.

Louis Breithaupt 1827-1880

Louis Breithaupt, who started the first tannery in Berlin in 1857, at one time used the services of Abraham Lincoln, then a Springfield, Illinois lawyer.

The fifth generation of Breithaupts in the tanning industry, he was associated with his father in business in Buffalo. During one of his trips to Canada to buy sheepskins, he met and eventually married Catherine Hailer of Berlin. In 1861 they came to Berlin to reside and later moved into a spacious home named Waldeck. A number of their descendants became distinguished and famous citizens.

Breithaupt's life was one of unremitting activity and indomitable perseverance. His tannery was destroyed by fire in 1867 and again in 1870 but he rebuilt and continued to develop a large business. He was called the "first citizen of Berlin" for his work in furthering the growth of the town and his municipal activities, including two years as mayor.

The Hon. Louis Orville Breithaupt 1890-1960

Louis Orville Breithaupt earned the title of the city's "most eminent citizen" when he became Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario in 1952. He served the office with distinction until 1957.

His father, Louis Jacob Breithaupt, was a prominent industrialist, operating the Breithaupt Leather Company. Following graduation from the University of Toronto, Breithaupt entered his father's business, became vice-president and general manager, and, later, president.

He was an alderman for four years and in 1923, at age thirty-two, became the youngest mayor in the city's history - and the third generation of his family to serve in that office. Many local organizations received the benefit of his executive guidance. He had been governor of McMaster University, Hamilton and the chancellor of Victoria University, Toronto.

He was elected Liberal member for Waterloo North in 1940, 1945 and 1949.

His personal qualities and interest in humanity made him a beloved citizen.

William Henry Breithaupt 1857-1944

William Henry Breithaupt, an extremely accomplished civil engineer, was a builder of railway bridges on this continent and the author of many technical papers.

Born in Buffalo in 1857 to Louis and Catherine Breithaupt (later citizens of Berlin), he took up residence here in 1900 and promoted the family interests - the Berlin and Waterloo Railway, and the Berlin Gas Works - and built a rail line to Bridgeport. First chairman of the City Planning Commission, he brought in a famous New York town planning expert for consultation. He visited the Carnegie Foundation in New York, successfully seeking funds for the Berlin Library on three occasions.

Breithaupt served as president of the Ontario Historical Society, was first president of the Waterloo Historical Society and a founder of the Waterloo County Pioneers' Memorial Association that erected the Pioneers' Memorial Tower near Preston. The first to propose flood control, Breithaupt also pioneered Grand River Conservation.

Breslau Merchants Softball Team

Breslau Merchants were a senior softball team that competed in the North Waterloo Rural Softball League. This was an outlaw league with orthodox pitching, legal balk, hidden ball trick and lead offs. All players had to be residents or employed in the community in which they played. The league ran for 60 years from 1931 to 1991 - the oldest continuous organized softball league in Canada.

In 1947 the team acquired land, and along with local store owner Roy Schiedel, they collected money from businesses and residents to turn the land into a ballpark. They ploughed, seeded, and built fences and backstops. Schiedel sponsored the team providing uniforms and gear. Players volunteered their time and money to care for and improve the ballpark. In 1964 the Breslau Recreation Association was formed and assumed ownership of the ballpark.

Breslau Merchants won the North Waterloo Rural Championship in 1945 and 1948, and from 1951 to 1960 they won 10 consecutive championships. They also won in 1971, 1972 and 1978.

Cliff Bricker 1909 -1980

Cliff Bricker was born in St. George, Ontario but lived most of his life in Galt.

Bricker started in the sport of running in 1923 and during his career which ended in retirement in the mid 1930s he ran in hundreds of races across Canada and the USA. He specialized in the marathon (26 miles-385 yards) but also ran in other long distance events.

In 1927 he won the British Empire Games marathon which automatically placed him on the Canadian Olympic Games team which competed in Amsterdam in 1928 and in which race he finished tenth. In the same year, he finished third in the British Empire games held at London, Ontario.

Bricker was considered to be an extremely good scientific runner, always competing against the clock rather than against his opponents. Using this procedure he was spectacular in some of his victories.

Samuel Bricker 1776-1868

Samuel Bricker was one of several German speaking Mennonites who came with their families to Waterloo Township from Pennsylvania in 1802. He purchased land north of the present Freeport, on the east bank of the Grand River. In 1803 these settlers learned that the mortgage on their lands was going to be foreclosed. An appeal for funds was made to relatives in Pennsylvania and a fictionalized account of Bricker's efforts to raise this money is contained in The Trail of the Conestoga by B. Mabel Dunham.

The German Land Company was formed in 1805, paid off the mortgage of approximately $10,000 and obtained clear title to 60,000 acres of land. The German Company Tract was settled by the stockholders and their children during the years 1805-1825.

Peter Brill b. 1943

Peter Brill was born in 1943 in Kitchener and had a long association with the Waterloo Siskins Junior "B" Hockey Team as a player and general manager.

Brill was a player on two Waterloo Siskins Sutherland Cup Championship teams in 1960 and 1962. He was General Manager for Waterloo Siskins Sutherland Cup Championship teams in 1984, 1985, 1988 and 1991. He also served as General Manager for the Cambridge Winter Hawks who won Sutherland Cups in 2000, 2006 and 2007. Brill is regarded as one of the premier architects of Junior "B" hockey teams in Ontario for more than 30 years.

Brill also served as Director of Scouting for the Ontario Hockey League London Knights and Sudbury Wolves. He was a Scout for the Los Angeles Kings from 1995 to 1997.

He was Director of Hockey Operations for Team Ontario Under 17 that won the World Championship Gold Medal in 1995.

Brill was inducted into the Waterloo Hockey Wall of Fame in 1996. He has been honoured by the Ontario Hockey Association with their Gold Stick Award in 2004 and with the Ontario Hockey Federation's Past President's Honour Award in 2004.

Todd Brooker b. 1959

A native of Waterloo who started skiing on the hills of Collingwood as a three year old, Todd Brooker went on to fame and glory on the world downhill skiing scene.

In 1972 at the age of thirteen, Brooker served notice of his skiing potential at the Canadian Juvenile Skiing Championships when he placed first in the downhill, second in the slalom, third in the giant slalom and finished first overall. He joined the National Team in 1977.

In 1982, starting the year ranked ninety-seven in the world in downhill, Brooker finished the year with a ranking of seventh. In 1983, he won World Cup downhill races at the famous Hahnenkahm in Austria, was second at Aspen, Colorado and finished the season ranked the number one downhill skier in the world.

Injuries in 1984 and 1986 curtailed his performances but he won another World Cup downhill race at Furano in Japan in 1985. He retired in 1987 but has continued his association with the sport as a television commentator and analyst.

Albert Ernest Broome MD 1895-1962

Doon Pioneer Village, now Doon Heritage Village, is a monument to the memory of Dr. A.E. Broome, a Kitchener physician and radiologist who conceived the idea while visiting a pioneer community near Arnhem in Holland. He spent countless hours visiting curators of similar museums in the USA, promoting the idea, raising funds and forming a board that eventually acquired land. The first buildings were brought to the site before ill health forced his retirement.

Dr. Broome, who was born in Renfrew, had taught school in Saskatchewan before entering Queen's University. His education was interrupted by service with an Army Medical Corps during World War I. Contracting tuberculosis while overseas, he returned to Canada, continued his medical studies while an ambulant patient in the Kingston Sanitarium, and graduated from Queen's in 1919. He served at Petawawa and Chorley Park Military Hospitals during World War II and was awarded a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal for his outstanding work.

Mel Brown 1939-2009

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Mel Brown became one of the most sought-after session musicians on guitar and keyboards in North America.

Brown's recording career began in the mid-1960s when he recorded several albums. He also worked in television, performing on The Steve Allen Show, The Cosby Show and the Jerry Lewis Telethon. Throughout his career he performed with countless music legends in the blues, country and pop genres.

Brown came to Kitchener in 1989 to anchor the house band at a local blues night club. His appearances built a large loyal following for the blues and live musical performance in this region and his presence forever changed the musical landscape in the community.

Brown and his Kitchener-based band The Homewreckers became the flagship act on the Canadian blues label Electro-Fi Records. In 2000, Mel Brown and The Homewreckers released the album Neck Bones & Caviar, which was awarded the W.C. Handy Award for the Best Comeback Album of the Year. The same year it also won France's Blues Album of the Year. In 2001, Brown was nominated for a Juno award for Best Blues Album of the Year in Canada.

Brown's presence created a vibrant local blues scene and a growing audience for this form of music. The Kitchener Blues Festival would not exist and could not have grown to its current size as an international music festival, drawing tens of thousands to the community, without the influence of Brown.

Susan Hodges Bryant b. 1948

Born in Rochester, New York, and a graduate of the University of Toronto, Elmira's Susan Bryant is an engaged activist on environmental and water issues and one of the founders of APT Environment (Assuring Protection for Tomorrow's Environment), a citizen's group in Elmira. APT was formed in 1989 to respond to problems with water and air quality related to the operations of Uniroyal Chemical (now Chemtura).

Since APT's founding, Bryant has become a self-taught expert on water contamination issues, earning recognition here and beyond her community. She was a long-serving and respected member of the Chemtura Public Advisory Committee, which began in 1992 and she has served on several Region of Waterloo committees concerned with water. She is an executive member of GREN (Grand River Environmental Network) and a member of the Township of Woolwich volunteer environmental group.

Bryant has been a water guide for the REEP Green Solutions (Regional Energy Efficiency Project) "Well Aware" program, helping rural land owners maintain their wells and protect their water supply. She has been a speaker at numerous conferences related to water, receiving awards from the Grand River Conservation Authority, the Region of Waterloo, and the K-W Field Naturalists. In 2010, she was named an Honourary Fellow of Renison University College for her outstanding environmental work.

Professionally, Bryant worked for 26 years as a part-time lecturer in English at Renison and was a founding partner of WordsWork Associates, specializing in writer training for businesses. 

Photography by Calla Studio.

Fred Budd 1916-2010

Fred Budd was born in Ottawa and moved to Kitchener at ten years of age. Taking clarinet lessons, he joined the Waterloo Band under Professor C.F. Thiele, eventually becoming solo clarinetist. After serving five years in the Canadian Army, he built his new home in Preston and joined the Preston Legion Band. Later, he conducted the Milverton Band for six years and returned to Preston to direct the Legion Band for twenty years, retiring at age sixty.

Budd directed the Preston Opera Orchestra for twelve years and also played in the Johnny Kostigan Dance Band at The Leisure Lodge Night Club for nine years. Since retirement he has led the Galt Kiltie Band and the Ayr-Paris Band, taking the latter on an overseas trip to Germany and France.

In his conducting years in Preston, his band won first place three times in Class Two at the Canadian National Exhibition and five years in a row at the Kitchener Kiwanis Music Festival. For forty years he has led a band, comprised mostly of employees, which played annually at the Mutual Life Insurance Company Christmas party.

Photograph by John Mitchell Photography.

Martin Buhr

Martin Buhr was born in Altona, Manitoba in 1939 but moved to Waterloo to attend university, earning a Master of Social Work degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1984.

From 1978 to 1998, Martin served as Executive Director for Kitchener’s House of Friendship. During his tenure with the men’s shelter, the House of Friendship evolved into a charitable social service agency, providing food, housing, addiction treatment, and community resources to thousands across Waterloo Region.

Martin co-founded The Food Bank of Waterloo Region in 1984, which serves as the primary procurer of food supplies from corporate and individual donors. He also helped establish St. John’s Kitchen (under the governance of The Working Centre), which provides daily meals using supplies from the Food Bank.

After retiring, Martin co-founded MennoHomes Inc. in 2001, a non-profit charitable organization that provides affordable housing in Waterloo Region. As president until 2013, Martin helped build over 105 affordable housing units for seniors, singles, and families.  

Being lead cyclist in the House of Friendship’s annual Trek4Kids campaign and in the MennoHomes annual Bike-a-thon, Martin has raised around $500,000 for the two non-profit agencies by obtaining pledges for his bike rides.

Currently living in a condo, where all the organic waste was going into landfill, Martin led a committee to investigate the issue. The organic waste is now being recycled and the pilot program has generated interest from other multi-residential buildings.

Susan Burke

Susan Burke was hired as curator by the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation in 1979 to oversee the restoration and development of Joseph Schneider Haus in Kitchener.

In addition to the meticulous restoration and documentation of the process, Burke researched and developed the historic landscape of the Schneider homestead and several domestic outbuildings. She curated numerous exhibits about aspects of Waterloo County history and folk traditions. In 1985, Burke was instrumental in the acquisition of the Canadian Harvest Collection, one of the definitive collections of Pennsylvania- German folk and decorative arts in Canada. Schneider Haus was declared a National Historic Site in 2000 by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

In 1992 Burke with Matthew Hill co-authored the book From Pennsylvania to Waterloo, exploring the material and folk culture of the Pennsylvania-Germans. To mark the 25^th anniversary of the house in 2008, Burke authored This Old Haus: A Place in Time, detailing the restoration of the house and property and its development into a community museum.  

When McDougall Cottage in Cambridge was acquired by the Region of Waterloo in 2001, Burke was appointed Manager/Curator to develop the interpretive plan for this historic site, showcasing the Scottish heritage of the region.

Burke encouraged the formation of the Joseph Schneider Haus Folk Artist-in-Residence program, the Edna Staebler Research Fellowship, the Heart and Hand Festival of Traditional Arts, and the McDougall Cottage Musician-in-Residence program, all of which have enriched the cultural landscape in Waterloo Region.

Burke has been recognized by her peers in the museum field, receiving an award for outstanding achievement in 1989 from the Ontario Museum Association. In 2007, she received an Honourary Doctor of Letters from Wilfrid Laurier University and in 2013, a Diamond Jubilee Medal. 

Photograph courtesy of the Waterloo Region Record/Peter Lee. 

J. Howard Butler 1926-2016

J. Howard Butler, a native of the Twin Cities, played football and basketball while attending Kitchener Waterloo Collegiate Institute. He received strong support for his badminton interests as his three brothers Keith, Bill and Alan also played.

In the 1940s and 1950s the K-W Granite Club was one of the strongest clubs in the province and drew an outstanding field to the annual international invitation tournament. Butler was the club men's singles champion from 1955-1968, losing the title to his son John. He was also men's doubles champion with brother Bill from 1955-1961.

In 1966 Butler reached the finals of the US open men's senior badminton championship and the following year won the title. In 1968 he lost the final match. He was a graduate in pharmacy from the University of Toronto.

Donald Joseph Cameron b. 1936 - 2018

Don Cameron was born in Summerside, Prince Edward Island in 1936. He began his career in broadcasting by announcing at the race track in Summerside. In 1956 he started work at Radio Station CJRW in Summerside. In 1957, Cameron took a job with CKTB in St. Catharines, Ontario. He came to Kitchener in 1958 as Sports Director for Radio Station CKCR and later with CKKW. In 1979 he became part of CKCO-TV Sports and continued there until his retirement in 1998.

Cameron gained much of his recognition as the voice of the Kitchener Rangers. He has been their play-by-play announcer for over thirty years. Other highlights of his broadcasting career include reporting on the KW Dutchmen from the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics, broadcasting the Memorial Cup on four different occasions and reporting on the Briar National Curling Championships, Skate Canada, the Canada Summer Games and many other national and international sporting events.

Cameron has given much to the community. He promoted local amateur sport through his radio and television broadcasts. He coached the Kitchener Kieswetter Ladies Senior Fastball Team from 1973 to 1978. In 1975, they won the Canadian Championship and in 1976 they finished second.

He has also served his community through CYO, Big Brothers, the KW Press Club, Knights of Columbus, the Granite Club and the Jazz Club. Throughout their 55 years of marriage Cameron's wife, the former Carole Stoesser, was very supportive of his career and endeavours.

Kitchener-Waterloo Record Photographic Negative Collection, University of Waterloo.

Craig Campbell

He became well-known locally, provincially, and nationally as an expert on Ontario’s mammals, reptiles and amphibians, butterflies, and plants. Campbell’s particular focus has been the plight of threatened and endangered species and the urgent need to protect their habitats. 

Campbell’s contributions to the conservation of Ontario’s natural heritage have been recognized by several honours, most recently by the Ontario Nature W.W.H. Gunn Conservation Award (2013) and the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Trust Lifetime Achievement Award (2016). 

His willingness to share his extensive and detailed knowledge of Waterloo Region’s biodiversity was instrumental in the early establishment of strong natural heritage protection policies in the Region of Waterloo’s Official Plan. Due in large part to Campbell’s expertise, the Region of Waterloo became Canada’s first municipality to designate Environmentally Sensitive Policy Areas (ESPAs) in 1976. 

Campbell is the author or co-author of several books on the flora and fauna of this region. He has been a mentor to many individuals who themselves are now outstanding experts in their field. 

Photograph courtesy of courtesy of Brett Woodman.

Derrick Campbell b. 1972

Derrick Campbell was born in Cambridge in 1972. He has established himself as a world class short track speed skater.

In 1989 Campbell was named to the National Training Squad and he won three gold medals at the 1991 Canada Games. He competed internationally at the Olympics in 1992, 1994 and 1998. His medal in the short track men's relay in 1998 was the first time an athlete from Waterloo Region won gold at the Winter Olympics.

In 1995 Campbell set and then broke the world record for 500 metres. He was a member of the Canadian team from 1989 to 2000, and following retirement from competition, Campbell has been involved in coaching. He was team leader and coach for the United States Olympic team in 2006, and he twice received the Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Award. Campbell was head coach of Canada's short track speed skating team for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Campbell has been inducted into the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame.

Campbell lives in Montreal, with his wife Cindy Overland, also a speed skater.

William Wilfred Campbell FRSC 1861-1918

William Wilfred Campbell, whose father was the rector of the Anglican Church at Berlin, where William was born, became one of Canada's most famous poets, and was recognized as the leader of the Ontario poets of his generation.

He attended the University of Toronto and the Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was ordained as a minister in the Church of England in 1886. He had a parish in New Hampshire and in 1988 became rector at St. Stephen, New Brunswick. He left the ministry in 1891 and entered the civil service.

His first volume of verse, Lake Lyrics, was published in 1889. He published five other books of poetry; four verse-plays; three novels and a descriptive work, The Canadian Lake Region, and edited the Oxford Book of Canadian Verse. Campbell was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1893. One of his best-known poems was Indian Summer.

Canadian Curling Champions 1939

Cam Seagram (Lead), Ernie Parkes (Second), Perry Hall (Vice-Skip) and Bert Hall (Skip) formed the Kitchener Granite Rink which was never defeated in Ontario British Consul competition and which in representing Ontario, won the MacDonald Brier Tankard in 1939 emblematic of the Canadian Curling Championship.

The First Canadian Pacing Derby: New Hamburg

From 1936 to 1956 a major sports event in Waterloo County was the Annual Canadian Pacing Derby at New Hamburg.

Harness racing had become an increasingly prominent sport in Canada and the United States. Early in 1936 some sports and community-minded citizens of New Hamburg and surrounding area considered forming a racing club to utilize the track and park facilities in the village for organized racing meets.

On June 5, with thirty present, including several municipal officials, the New Hamburg Turf Club was formed. The elected executive raised the funds necessary to assure the initial success of the project, including the guarantee required by the Dominion Harness Racing Association to permit holding the annual Canadian Pacing Derby at the local track.

For many years the success of the Derby, that attracted thousands of spectators, permitted the Club to financially assist other community projects. Owing to the establishment of many new tracks in larger centres, the Club discontinued operations in 1957.

Hugh Cant 1833-1917

Serving in public life in Galt for 40 years after taking up residence in 1845 made Hugh Cant, the 1903 mayor, an authority on the town's early history. In 1915 he wrote an interesting brochure, "Historical Reminiscences of Galt." He was a native of Calcairn Mills, Rosshire, Scotland.

In early life, when horses were very numerous, Cant engaged in the harness and saddlery business and had a busy shop on Main Street. He then became a partner with his brother's Andrew and John, in the firm of Cant Brothers, a woodworking machinery company, from which he retired in 1890.

Cant was actively associated with the Galt Town Council, the Board of Trade, the Galt Collegiate Institute Board and the Public School Board. He was a director of the Gore Mutual Insurance Company from 1877 until his death in 1917, having become president four years earlier in 1913.

Dominic Vincent Patrick Cardillo 1930-2013

Born in Guelph, Ontario, Dominic Cardillo - teacher, politician and man of the people - became a household name long before the City of Kitchener named a major ice hockey arena in his honour.

Cardillo worked as a secondary school teacher and coach from 1956 to 1965 at Kitchener Collegiate Institute, at Forest Heights Secondary School in 1964, and Laurel Vocational in 1968.

Cardillo ran successfully for Kitchener City Council in 1963, sponsored in part by a collection taken by his grade twelve students. He remained in office until his retirement in 1994. The longest-serving Mayor in Kitchener's history, Cardillo had many tributes awarded to him, including the naming of the Dom Cardillo Arena.

His service to the community was remarkable and included: director of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs; president of Big Brothers; secretary of the Kitchener Minor Hockey Association; member of two hospital boards; and eighteen years as a Hydro Commissioner. He helped raise funds for many local civic projects and charitable causes.

Known to attend all functions to which he was invited, Cardillo had the ability to remember names of everyone he met. He tirelessly promoted his city and its reputation, taking a fastidious interest in the cleanliness of its streets. Also known for passing out pens and lapel pins promoting the City, he was once photographed giving out pens in a rice paddy in Japan.

Florence Carlyle 1864-1923

Florence Carlyle, born in Galt, was a relative of British author Thomas Carlyle. She studied art in Paris under three distinguished French artists and in 1898 established studios at London and Woodstock, Ontario excelling in landscapes, domestic interiors and portraits.

Her paintings were exhibited at Paris in 1893, and at the Chicago World's Fair, where she was awarded a silver medal. She was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy and the Ontario Society of Artists.

In 1899 she moved to New York City where she opened a successful studio. During the World War I she did hospital work in England and sold paintings to aid the Red Cross Society. She exhibited at the Royal Academy, London, the Royal Canadian Academy of Art, the Art Association of Montreal, the Canadian National Exhibition, and the Pan-American Exhibition.

Her paintings hang in the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the London, Hamilton and Woodstock galleries.

Carlyle died at Crowborough, Sussex, England at the age of 59.

John Fayden Carmichael 1866-1949

J.F. Carmichael, a distinguished educator, was born in Victoria County. He attended the Lindsay Collegiate Institute and on graduation from the Ottawa Normal School taught in several one-room schools before being appointed principal of Margaret Avenue School, Berlin, in 1905. He became principal of Suddaby School in 1910 and the first principal of Victoria School in 1912, where he remained until his retirement in 1937. The J.F. Carmichael School on Patricia Street was named in recognition of his outstanding contributions to elementary education.

In his teaching he particularly stressed character building and high ideals as desirable goals.

Carmichael also gave long and distinguished service to St. Andrew's Church in many areas. He served as a member of the Kitchener Public Library Board and as chairman of the Kitchener Public School Board.

In 1949, in recognition of his outstanding services to the Masonic Lodge, the Scottish Rite Association set up a Memorial Hospital Bed Fund to honour his memory.

Thomas Carscadden 1848-1934

Prophetic of scholastic abilities that would carry him far was Thomas Carscadden's achievement in obtaining at the age of sixteen, a first class teacher's certificate from the Toronto Normal School. He ultimately served as principal of the Galt Collegiate Institute from 1884 to 1914.

Carscadden, who was born in Durham County, taught in public schools, and continuing his studies, graduated from the University of Toronto in 1875. He began his career with the Galt Collegiate Institute in 1881, and thirty-three years later retired as principal but then served as assistant principal for ten years.

A believer in developing the whole man, he was a keen hiker, a lover of nature and an expert trout fisherman. He was active in the work of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.

Janet Wishart Carter 1870-1953

Janet Wishart Carter, of Galt, was the first woman to graduate from the University of Toronto with a Master of Arts degree and the first woman teacher on the staff of the Galt Collegiate Institute. She had the distinction of receiving a decoration from King George for her outstanding contributions in the field of education.

Carter received her early education at Elora where her family lived for some time. She was appointed to the staff of the Galt Collegiate Institute in 1901 and to perfect her ability as a teacher of French, German and Spanish spent several summers studying in Europe.

She was the first president of the Galt Collegiate Institute Staff Players Club, organized in 1924, was an active member of the Little Theatre, and a member of the Galt Library Board from 1938-39. Her wide interests included the work of the Grenfell Mission to which she gave strong support.

John Cassel 1871-1910 Jacob Cassel 1871-1909

Before the turn of the century, John and Jacob Cassel born in 1871, twin sons of Mr. and Mrs. Adam B. Cassel of Blenheim Township, Oxford County, gained considerable fame as tightrope and trapeze artists, and balloonists. They ascended to approximately 500 feet landing by parachute and gave many performances throughout Waterloo County.

The accomplished athletic brothers spent some time traveling with circuses in the USA and Jacob worked with a medicine show as a magician and sharpshooter.

In his early forties, John Cassel was injured in a fall which resulted in his death in 1910.  He resided in Marion, Indiana, at the time of his accident. Prior to that, he had lived in Louisville, Kentucky, LaPorte, Indiana and in Alabama. John died on August 18, 1910 in Evansville, Indiana at the age of 38. He was buried in Louisville, Kentucky.

Jacob Cassel was also injured from a fall but only partially recovered. He spent time recuperating at his mother's house in New Dundee, and after several months, he continued to perform some of his stunts. He died at the age of 37 from a heart condition on April 14, 1909, the year before his brother died.  He died while in Louisville, Kentucky but was buried in the Blenheim Mennonite Cemetery, outside of Washington, Ontario.

Bob Celeri 1927-1975

Bob Celeri, born in Fort Bragg, California, on June 1, 1927, attended the University of California at Berkley and was named an All-American football star in 1948 and 1949.

After playing for the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Yankee's he was signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1953. He joined the K-W Dutchmen the following year as quarterback and kicker. From 1954-60 he guided the K-W Dutchmen to the Ontario Rugby Football League senior title each year. He was named the league's Most Valuable Player four times.

Celeri was assistant coach of the K-W Dutchmen. He coached the Waterloo Lutheran University football team 1960-62 and the Junior Dutchmen team in 1963.

He was personnel manager for General Springs Products for fourteen years, before moving to Buffalo in 1968.

Samuel J. Cherry 1843-1917

From the age of fifteen, when he became an apprentice in a gristmill at Dundas, until his death some sixty years later, Samuel Cherry was associated with flour mills. The Cherry Mill at Preston is the oldest continuing business in Waterloo County. The 1807 original "John Erb" mill was replaced by a frame mill in 1835, and the brick structure was erected in 1894.

At the age of nineteen, Cherry moved to Preston to work with the Abram Erb and Brothers Cambridge Mill, which he later owned. He subsequently had charge of mills at Dundas, Guelph, Glenmorris, Walkerton and Glendinning. In 1879 he and his brother John acquired the Preston mill and ten years later he became sole owner.

Cherry served the municipality as a member of the town council, chairman of the park board, as a member of the county council and as warden in 1906.

Thomas Chisholm 1822-1898

Thomas Chisholm was born in Melrose, Roxburghshire, Scotland in 1822 and immigrated to Upper Canada with his parents in 1832. The family settled in North Dumfries Township, Waterloo County.

Chisholm was a member of the third council of the Township of Dumfries. He served as Deputy Reeve of the Township in 1854-55, Reeve of the Township in 1856-59, a councillor in 1860, returning again as Reeve from 1862-64. He was elected Warden of Waterloo County in 1862. Later he became an Assessor, retiring in 1885.

He was a Director of the South Waterloo Agriculture Society, on the Board of Directors of the North Dumfries and South Wellington Fire Insurance Company, and a member of the Wrigley's Corners School Board.

Tom Clancy b. 1940

Tom Clancy was born in Cargill, Ontario and received his Niagara Parks Diploma from the Niagara Parks Commission School of Horticulture in 1961 and a Bachelor of Science Degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in 1968.

Clancy served as Director for 25 years from 1968 to 1994 and then as General Manager of the Community Services Department for six years from 1994 to 1999 for the City of Kitchener.  During his time in Kitchener, he was an enthusiastic volunteer in coaching and administration of fastball, baseball and hockey with both minor and adult teams.

Clancy was a founding chair of the Ontario College of Recreationists, Past President and Life Member of the Ontario Parks Association, and Past President and Life Member of the Niagara Parks Commission School of Horticulture Alumni Association.

He served as volunteer Chair of the 2002 and 2006 International Softball Congress World Tournaments held in Kitchener and as Chair of fund raising in 2007. He has volunteered at numerous high profile sporting events in Waterloo Region and assisted with event planning for numerous organizations. Clancy is also Chairman of fund raising for a Legacy/Tribute Garden currently being constructed in the Niagara Botanical Gardens and he writes a regular column for the Ontario Parks Association magazine.

He continues to teach an Ontario Parks Association Management and Maintenance of Sports Turf Infrastructure course for workers in the sports facility maintenance industry across Ontario.

John Clare 1824-1888

The family name of John Clare, an astute and forward-looking industrialist of Preston who came to Canada from Germany, was originally Klaar.

In his late teens he learned the moulding trade in a foundry in Buffalo, NY, and in 1843 was hired by Jacob Beck of Preston. A short time later he became Beck's partner.

In 1853 when the Great Western Railway was being built Beck said: "We must locate on the railway." Clare replied: "They will have to come to us eventually." Both proved to be right for the railway did go through Preston. Beck sold his interest in the flourishing firm which became John Clare and Company.

Several sons succeeded him in the business, one of whom, George became a member of Parliament at Ottawa and a member of the Cabinet.

Emerson Clark 1892-1974

A native of Galt and a lifelong district resident, Emerson Clark was an outstanding marksman.

In 1958 he won the Grand American Handicap championship for trapshooting, breaking ninety-nine out of 100 clay pigeons in competition against 2,400 marksmen. He is the only Canadian to have ever won this event which was staged annually at Vandahalia, Ohio. No one has ever won this event on more than one occasion.

Clark also won the Past Grand American championship, a competition which is limited to winners of the Grand American championship. On two occasions he won the highest Canadian trapshooting honours by winning the All Round championship of Canadian Indians competition. He also won the Ontario championship title several times during his career.

Harry Class 1916-2011

Harry Class was born in Kitchener where he received his swimming and diving training at the YMCA under the supervision of Harold Ballantyne and Tommy Armour.

In 1932 he won the Canadian Junior three-meter Diving Championship and was the Canadian Senior Men's three meter Diving Champion in 1935, 1936, 1938, and 1943. In 1935 he won the Canadian Senior Men's one meter Diving Championship. In addition, he was a member of the 150-yard medley relay team that broke the Canadian record by four seconds in 1938.

At the British Empire Games in London, England, in 1934, he won a Bronze Medal for Canada in the three-meter diving event. Along with his Canadian Championship in 1936, he won the Canadian Olympic Trials in three meter diving at Montreal.

Class won many other Provincial and YMCA swimming and diving championships, and also is a member of the Toronto Granite Club Hall of Fame and the Hamilton Aquatic Club Hall of Fame.

William Gibson Cleghorn 1861-1943

W. G. Cleghorn was an important figure in early 20th century Berlin/Kitchener as an industrialist, politician, sportsman and civic-minded citizen.

He and partner Louis McBrine founded McBrine Luggage that became one of the world's largest luggage manufacturing companies. The company employed thousands of people from 1905 until the 1960s.

When the Four Wheel Drive Company came to Kitchener in the early 20th century, Cleghorn served as treasurer on its board of directors and he was prominent on the local Board of Trade.

In civic life, Cleghorn served on the board of the Berlin-Waterloo Hospital for five terms. He was an alderman on city council during the rancorous era of the Berlin-to-Kitchener name change of which he was in favour and spoke eloquently about during the debate.

It was on the sporting field that he also made a major mark. Scotty Cleghorn, as he was known in Ontario Lawn Bowling circles, helped the Berlin/Kitchener club capture several provincial championships and his team represented Canada at the British Commonwealth Games in 1934. He was also one of the first to introduce curling to the community.

Edwin Perry Clement KC 1853-1924

E.P. Clement was a young law student in 1873 when he entered the office of Ward H. Bowlby, Waterloo County Crown Attorney. He was called to the bar a few months later and entered into partnership with Bowlby under the firm name of Bowlby and Clement. He was elected first secretary of the Waterloo County Law Association in 1895.

E.P. Clement, KC held retainers from many banks, insurance companies and other corporations, and was the Berlin solicitor. In 1907 he was appointed a county court judge at Windsor. After serving for a few months he resumed his law practice and became vice-president of the Mutual Life of Canada of which he had formerly been a director. He was president of the Company from 1908 to 1920.

Clement was responsible for organizing the YMCA in Berlin around the turn of the century.

Muriel Clement 1895-1975

Muriel Clement was born in Woodstock in 1895 and came to Berlin with her parents in 1910.

Hundreds of new Canadians who came to the Kitchener-Waterloo area from the 1930s to the 1950s owe a great debt to Clement for her work in founding and developing the Council of Friendship, of which, she was president for thirty years. Mutual understanding and brotherly love for all, regardless of race or creed she translated into action, breaking down barriers of language and prejudice for newcomers, helping them become established in their new homeland. In 1967 she was given the Centennial Award by the Kitchener-Waterloo Chapter of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews for her work with the Council.

She taught physical training at the Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and in public schools, and in 1915 married William P. Clement, a noted Kitchener lawyer.

Clement also gave great service to the Women's Committee of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, for which she was made a life member, the Women's Canadian Club, and the Kitchener-Waterloo YWCA.

She was named Woman of the Year by the Quota club in 1949.

William P. Clement 1887-1982

William P. Clement, a native of Berlin, Ontario, served his community for many decades with distinction, especially as alderman for four years, and as Mayor in 1929 and 1930. In 1945 he played a prominent part in organizing the K-W Symphony Orchestra, in which he played the viola for twenty-five years. He was a Life Director of the Symphony.

He was educated in local schools, Victoria College of the University of Toronto, and Osgoode Hall Law School. After graduation, he entered into a law partnership with his father, E.P. Clement and his cousin, E.W. Clement. In 1936, he was appointed a Queen's Counsel, and in 1945 was elected a Bencher of the Provincial Law Society, of which he is a life member. He was secretary of the Berlin Board of Trade and for seventeen years was County Crown Attorney.

Clement served three local churches as organist: Trinity Methodist (now Trinity United), St. Andrew's Presbyterian and the Christian Science Church. He was an honorary member of the Kitchener Rotary and also a Life Member of Twin City Lodge, Masonic Order (A.F. & A.M.)

Goldie Cochrane 1882-1952

Goldie Cochrane was born in Berlin in 1882. His hockey career started in Berlin in the 1890s. In 1900 he joined the Berlin Senior team and later the Senior team in Galt. He was soon recognized as one of the game's finest players.

Those were the days of seven man hockey, with only two spares allowed, making it sixty minutes of action for most of the players.

In 1907 he left the area to play for Houghton in the Iron Mines Professional League in Northern Michigan. His hockey career ended when he joined the Canadian Army in 1914. He was wounded overseas and returned to Canada in 1918.

He located in Exeter, Ontario where for several years he coached teams in the Ontario Hockey Association.

Joseph Connell 1911-1999

A native of Scotland, Joseph Connell was raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He became a school teacher and president of the Ontario Teacher's Federation. He was president of the Sault Ste. Marie YMCA and was international director of the boys' work for Y Men for five years. In 1937, he received the King George VI medal for his work with young people and the blind. During World War II, he served in the RCAF.

In 1948, he became general secretary of the YMCA in Kitchener. It is estimated that 10,000 people learned public speaking techniques from Connell, who travelled extensively and made as many as 200 speeches each year. He was named Kitchener Citizen of the Year in 1959 by the Sales and Ad Club and in 1963 by the Kitchener-Waterloo Jaycees.

Connell was chairman of the Federated Appeal for twenty-five years and he was executive secretary of the Grand Valley Conservation Foundation. He was designated an Officer of the Fellowship of Honour of the national YMCA, received a meritorious service award from the Industrial Accident Prevention Association, a Canada Centennial Medal and an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Waterloo "for service to youth, industry and education".

James William Connor 1843-1929

James William Connor was one of Waterloo County's outstanding scholars and had the unusual distinction of graduating from the University of Toronto with first class honours in Classics at the age of sixteen.

At the age of eight he immigrated with his parents from Shillelagh, County Wicklow, Ireland, to Niagara Falls and already showing signs of a brilliant mind began the study of Latin at the St. Catharines Grammar School at the age of nine. He continued to excel in all his studies and served as principal of the Berlin High School from 1871 to 1901.

Connor was widely known as an outstanding scholar and teacher of the Classics, English Literature, Sanskrit and other
 languages.

Doug Consiglio b. 1964

Doug Consiglio was born in Toronto in 1964 and became a long distance runner while attending high school in Cambridge.

In 1986, Consiglio became the first Canadian to break the four-minute mile indoors at 3:55.91, and he also set a Canadian record for 1,500 metres. Through his career, Consiglio held seven Canadian records in five events. In 1986, he ranked second in the world for the indoor mile, and with his team mates at the University of Arkansas, established a world record in the distance medley. In 1988 Consiglio competed at the Olympic Games in the 1,500-metre event.

At the University of Arkansas where he earned a degree in biology, Consiglio was a seven-time All American. Consiglio went on to Auburn University where he obtained a masters degree in Science Education.

Consiglio is presently retired, living in Austin, Texas with his wife Katie, and their daughter. Previously he worked in various start ups in California's Silicon Valley and worked as a massage therapist before he retired.

Jane Young Cooper b. 1965

Jane Young was born and raised in Waterloo and is well known by the International tennis community.

Cooper was Canadian Junior National Champion, 1983 and represented Canada on the Junior National Team competing in many International competitions.

Cooper received a full athletic scholarship to the University of Mississippi and represented this NCAA Division 1 school as their #1 player from 1984 to 1988. During this time she participated in the NCAA tournament and was added to the southeastern Conference Scholar-Athletic Honour Roll in 1987. She graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor's in Business Administration.

She was Canadian National Women's Champion in 1985 and represented Canada on the Federation Cup Canadian National Team in 1985, 1986 and 1987. Cooper has won many tennis tournaments at the local, Provincial, National and International level throughout her amateur and professional career, one of which was the Professional Circuit of Michigan.

Cooper's professional career has taken her around the world playing all of the major championships including the US Open and she has earned many honours, including: Canadian National Female Sportsmanship Award in 1984, Federation Cup Tournament - Team Elegance Award in 1985, Certificate of Merit - Outstanding Young Citizen in 1986, Kitchener Waterloo Oktoberfest Woman of the Year, Tennis Canada Special Achievement Award and Tennis Teaching Professional Outstanding Service Award in 1987.

She returned to school after her tennis career and graduated from the University of Ottawa in 1995 with a Bachelor of Laws. She was called to the Degree of Barrister at Law in 1997 and has been working as an Assistant Crown Attorney since 1997 in the Waterloo Region.

She was married in 1997 to Mark Cooper and they are living in Waterloo.

Photograph Copyright David James Photography, Waterloo.

Jack Couch 1913-1974

Jack Couch was born in Clinton, Ontario and at age seven moved to Kitchener with his parents. He received his education at Victoria School and Kitchener Collegiate and later entered the electrical field.

He became interested in athletics at an early age and at fifteen was playing senior baseball. Later, he managed and coached championship teams in Kitchener and Waterloo.

He was keenly interested in junior baseball and organized the Kitchener Dodgers, a junior team, in 1954. The team made the Inter-County finals ten times, winning seven titles. The Dodgers also won the Ontario honours in 1956.

Couch's playing days ended in 1947, two years after returning from service in the Navy. He not only played baseball but over a period of fourteen years played defence on Junior, Intermediate and Senior Hockey Teams.

In 1967 he was the recipient of the first K-W Annual Sports Celebrity Citation Award and retired from active sports participation in 1969.

Gary Richard Cowan b. 1938

Born and educated in Kitchener, Gary Cowan, father of four, is an outstanding amateur golfer and has won many top flight tournaments in Canada and in the United States. He started his career at Rockway Golf Club as a caddy. In 1956 he won the Ontario Junior Championship and the Canadian Junior Championship. In 1964, 1968 and 1971 he won the Ontario Amateur Championship and in 1966 and 1971 the US Amateur. He was top Amateur in the Canadian Open in 1973. For many years he has been a member of the Willingdon Cup team and has been on every Canadian International golf team since 1959.

Cowan joined the sales staff of the Mutual Life of Canada in 1963, where he has been eminently successful. His personality and accomplishments have earned for him an enviable reputation in his home community, across Canada and in the United States.

James Cowan 1803-1900

James Cowan, a farmer from Cramilt, in the Lowlands of Scotland, settled in Waterloo Township in August 1834, and became one of the County's most distinguished agricultural authorities. From the 1860s to the 1880s his farm "Clochmhor" was well-known for its sales of purebred Leicester sheep and Shorthorn cattle.

Cowan was the first vice-president of the Agricultural Society of Waterloo County when it was founded in 1853 and was the first president when it became the South Waterloo Agricultural Society.

He was a representative of Waterloo Township on the District Council of Wellington from 1842-1849.

In 1853 he bought an interest in Lutz, Cook and Company, of Galt, manufacturers of woodworking machinery, which eventually became Cowan and Company in 1879.

Cowan served as a Reform member of Parliament for South Waterloo from 1861 to 1867 and was a member of the Federal Board of Official Arbitrators from 1869 to 1888.

Jennie Ferguson Cowan 1898-1986

Jennie Ferguson Cowan, a native of North Dumfries Township, and a historian, was educated at Mill Creek School, and Galt Collegiate Institute and graduated from the University of Toronto in 1926, with an Arts Degree in the Honour Course in Household Science. She was a teacher for seven years. Much credit is due Cowan for her enthusiasm in arousing public interest in the history of Waterloo County.

She was one of the earliest convenors of historical research and current events for the Women's Institutes in South Waterloo and London districts, encouraging at all times the assembling of records of local history.

A member of the session of Knox's Presbyterian Church in Galt, she was the writer of a large part of the church's history on the occasion of the centennial of the church building in 1969.

She stimulated research by the Waterloo Historical Society of which she was president from 1951-53. She was one of the early members of the Board of Directors of Doon Pioneer Village, and also of the Waterloo County Hall of Fame Research Committee.

After her marriage to Thomas D. Cowan in 1932, she lived at Clochmhor, the family farm since 1834, until the sale of the farm to the City of Galt.

William J. Cowls 1904-1989

William J. Cowls was born in Cornwall, England, and moved to Kitchener-Waterloo in 1923. He worked for Mutual Life Assurance Company for forty-four years and was publicity manager when he retired. He held executive positions with various national and international insurance organizations.

An avid writer, he coauthored Mutual's centennial history, was editor for 14 years of Trinity United Church's quarterly newsletter and was a longtime editor of the Trefoil Literary Society's Grumbler. He wrote pageants for the City of Waterloo 100th anniversary and the Evangelical Church's 60th anniversary in Canada and published three books. He won numerous writing awards, including the IODE Ontario's short story contest and the K-W Little Theatre's play writing contest.

Cowls was associated for many years with the K-W Council of Friendship and helped hundreds of New Canadians adjust to life in their new country. In 1971 he was named K-W Citizen of the Year for his humanitarian work. W.J. Cowls: "The quiet moment of the Eye of the Artist but whose paints and colours were the spoken word."

Craig Crawford

Born in Scarborough and growing up in Markham, Craig Crawford moved to Waterloo in 1990 to attend Wilfrid Laurier University. A multisport athlete, Craig also played hockey and volleyball in his youth before embarking on a career in fastpitch softball.

Internationally, Craig is the most decorated men’s fastpitch player in Waterloo Region’s history, and is considered one of the best catchers and hitters of his era. His junior career included Ontario championships in 1990 and 1991, and an Alberta championship in 1992. In 1991 and 1992, Craig received the All-Star Catcher Award in consecutive National Championships.

In 1993, while still of junior age, Craig was recruited by the Waterloo Twins and started his career in the major level of men’s fastpitch. He was selected for the Canadian Men’s National Softball Team in 1996 and remained an integral part of the team for 13 years.

Craig won two gold medals at the Pan American Games in 1999 and 2003. He also won three medals at the International Softball Federation (ISF) World Championships; silver (1996, 2004) and bronze (2009). In club team competition, Craig has won four International Softball Congress (ISC) and six Canadian National championships.

Retiring as a player from the National team in 2009, Craig has become a mentor for numerous youth by running skills clinics for various local teams.

Photo courtesy of ISC Fastball/Mark Burnham and Rick Kowalczykowski 

Elsie Cressman 1923-2012

Elsie Cressman, a native of Wilmot Township, was a well-known pioneer in the development and practice of midwifery. Locally, she was a key person in the establishment of St. Jacob's Midwives.

Cressman's pioneering work in having midwifery accepted as a profession laid the groundwork for midwifery programs at several Canadian universities. In Ontario, McMaster, Ryerson and Laurentian Universities all now offer Bachelor of Science degrees in midwifery.

Internationally, Cressman was instrumental in establishing and running a number of heath clinics in East Africa. Elsie organized a leprosarium on the shore of Lake Victoria at Shirati, Tanzania where she is credited with integrating leprosy patients back into their communities. Later, she started what became known as the Tom Mboya Memorial Health Centre, Kenya.

Cressman was awarded the Order of Ontario in 1994 and Oktoberfest Woman of the Year - Lifetime Achievement in 2010.

Isaac S. Cressman 1830-1894

Isaac Cressman's great-great-grandfather, Nicolaus Cressman, a native of Switzerland, emigrated to the United States at an early age. In 1806, Isaacs' father, Abraham Cressman, came to the Strasburg vicinity in Waterloo County, where Isaac, his seventh son was born. Isaac resided in the Cressman Homestead, located in a beautiful wooded area where there were a tremendous variety of trees. This unique area was known for a long time as Cressman's Woods, and now is designated Homer Watson Park. Great credit is due the memory of Cressman for his determination to keep for posterity this magnificent forest that had developed through countless centuries. Because of its uniqueness, part of the property was appropriately selected as the site of the Doon Heritage Crossroads.

Cressman married Barbara Schneider, a daughter of Jacob E. and Elizabeth Schneider, in 1854, and they had five children. On the death of his wife in 1865 he married her sister, Elizabeth. Eight children were born to this couple.

Many of Cressman's descendants live in and around Waterloo County.

Lieutenant-Commander James Croal 1917-1985

James (Hamish) Patrick Croal was born in Galt (Cambridge) and educated in Scotland. He joined the Merchant Marine before the start of WWII, enlisted as an Ordinary Seaman and earned his commission in 1944.

Following the War, Croal pushed back Canada's Arctic frontiers. He was appointed Naval Observer for Exercise Muskox, the Canadian Army's cold weather training project. As a civilian with the Defence Research Board in Churchill, Manitoba, he studied ice conditions, behaviour of vehicles and appropriate clothing and rations for military and scientific personnel operating in the Arctic. In 1948 he was a Canadian observer on American led expeditions to the Arctic when drilling tests were done for the construction of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line radar sites. This work resulted in Croal receiving a personnel commendation from the United States of America Secretary of the Navy.

In 1949, Croal joined the permanent force of the Royal Canadian Navy and was assigned to test survival equipment north of Churchill. He was on HMCS Labrador in 1954 when it became the first Canadian icebreaker to sail through the Northwest Passage, subsequently circumnavigating North America via the Panama Canal. He trained Canadian Army instructors in survival techniques and was a Defence Research Board consultant in a 1959 study of sea ice. In retirement Croal continued to work for the Defence Research Board in Ottawa, was a consultant to the Department of the Environment and to the Arctic Institute of Canada to which he was inducted as a Fellow. 

Lillian Croal 1920-2014

Lillian Croal, born in York, England, volunteered as a plotter for the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force, during the Second World War. Croal immigrated to Canada as a war bride in 1946, settling in Kitchener-Waterloo.

Growing up during the Depression of the 1930s, Croal's motto became "waste not, want not", leading to her involvement in recycling. Croal, along with her husband Ken, were among the early environmental pioneers in the community, speaking to municipal committees and community groups about the merits of the three Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle.

Long before environmental issues were community issues, Croal tenaciously lobbied City and Regional government to start recycling programs. In 1974, Croal's submission to Kitchener City Council was referred to the City's Engineering Committee to investigate and begin implementing her ideas. In the early 1980s she was an integral part of a 10 person recycling team that piloted the blue box program in the city.

In 1983 in recognition of her efforts, Croal was selected to receive the first blue box when 34,000 boxes were distributed to homes across Kitchener. Subsequently Croal became the poster girl for recycling in Waterloo Region and Mississauga by appearing in media reports and promotional literature. Her early actions influenced Waterloo Region's decision to offer a blue box recycling program across the entire region.

Croal volunteered for many community organizations including: Cambridge Hospital Auxiliary, Consumers' Association, Regional Safety Council, Kitchener Beautification Committee, Local Architectural Advisory Committee, Rockway Seniors Advisory Committee and many more. In 1987, she was recognized with the Zonta Volunteer Award.

In 2003 Croal's pioneering efforts in recycling were recognized at an official ceremony at Region of Waterloo Council where she generously donated the first blue box back to the Region.

Photo courtesy of the Kitchener-Waterloo Record Photographic Negative Collection, University of Waterloo Library.

Kevin Overland Crockett b. 1974

Kevin Overland Crockett was born in Toronto in 1974 and grew up in Kitchener.

Crockett was a member of Canada's National Speed Skating Team for nine years. In the 1992-93 season, he was Canadian Junior Overall Champion and Canadian Senior Sprint Champion. In 1993, Crockett was the World Junior Record Holder in the 1000 metre event and he held the Canadian All-Time Record in the 3000 metre event.

At the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, Crockett won a Bronze Medal in the 500 metre event. In 1998 he finished fourth overall in the World Sprint Championship in Holland, also earning a Bronze Medal in the 1000 metre event. In 1997 and 1998 he won seven international medals at World Cup competitions.

In 1995 Crockett broke the World Record in the 1000 metre event with a time of 1.12.19 minutes. In 1997 Crockett broke the World Record in the 1500 metre event with a time of 1.49.07 minutes. In 1994 he was an alternate on the Canadian Team in the 1000 metre event at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

Crockett's father Ernie Overland competed in speed skating, and his sisters Amanda and Cindy have both competed nationally and internationally in speed skating.
 
 Photograph courtesy of The Record Photographic Negative Collection, University of Waterloo

John B. Crozier MD 1849-1922

John Beattie Crozier, a British philosopher, whose 1885 book Civilization and Progress reached a fourth edition and was translated into Japanese, was a native of Galt. He was one of the many natives of Waterloo County who achieved their fame in other parts of the world.

His father, Thomas Crozier, a stone mason who built a long stone cottage on Colborne Street, Galt, and his mother, were natives of Liddlesdale, Scotland.

Dr. Crozier attended Dr. Tassie's School. He graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto in 1872 and practiced in London, England.

In addition to Civilization and Progress he also wrote The Religion of the Future, Intellectual Development, My Inner Life (an autobiography), The Wheel of Wealth, Sociology Applied to Practical Politics and Last Words on Great Issues. He died in London, England.

Carl M. Dare 1917-2014

Carl Dare's parents died when he was an infant and he was raised by his grandparents. In 1941, following the death of his grandfather, 24-year-old Dare was entrusted with the family's struggling biscuit and candy business, then known as The C.H. Doerr Co. Sadly, fire destroyed the plant in 1943.

With vision, leadership and determination, Dare overcame these obstacles and what is now known as Dare Foods became the second largest cookie and cracker company in Canada. Company products are found in every province of Canada, every state in the United States and some 25 other countries. About 500 people are employed in Waterloo Region and an additional 800 elsewhere in Canada and the United States.

Dare was an active member of many community organizations. He served on the board of Waterloo College, now Wilfrid Laurier University, and he was a founding board member of the University of Waterloo. In 2007 he was granted an Honourary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Waterloo. He also served as President of the Kitchener YMCA and the Chicopee Ski Club.

Dare is an outstanding philanthropist. He has made generous contributions to many organizations and worthy causes including the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Grand River Conservation Authority, the K-W Community Foundation and the Grand River Hospital.

His donation of the extensive corporate records of Dare Foods to the University of Waterloo Archives speaks to his interest in preserving the history of Waterloo Region.

George Davidson 1814-1881

George Davidson, who came to Canada in 1835 and bought and improved 200 acres of partially cleared land at Winterbourne, had several claims to distinction. He became the first sheriff of Waterloo County (1853-1881), the first postmaster of Berlin (1842) and was one of three men who, in the old schoolhouse adjacent to the village hall, organized St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Berlin.

At New Aberdeen, six miles to the southwest of Berlin, he bought a farm of 500 acres, built a sawmill and a grist mill, and opened a store. He later returned to Berlin where he performed his duties as sheriff. He was also a township and County councillor and a school trustee.

Davidson's church interests led to the organization of Chalmers Church, Winterbourne, in 1837, and the holding of mission services in Berlin. He was also Lieutenant-Colonel of the 2nd Battery, Waterloo Militia.

Charles Edgar Davies b. 1930

Ed Davies was born in Toronto in 1930 and moved to Kitchener in 1964. He has been a dedicated, active volunteer and a driving force for community-based initiatives in Kitchener-Waterloo for the past 44 years. A member of KW Civitan for 44 years, Davies has been instrumental in raising funds for local charities. Davies has made significant contributions in Waterloo region in support of Civitan senior citizen housing projects, Civitan sports projects and child education.

An historian at heart, Davies took on the task of researching and documenting the history of sport and accomplished athletes from both Kitchener and Waterloo. Today, the Kitchener Sports Parade of History and the Waterloo Sports Parade of History total more than 600 images as well as details of team achievements. The Sports Parade of History is a project that has stretched over many years and is a true testament to Davies' passion for sport and history. He was also instrumental in fundraising for the Sports Parade of History at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium and at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.

Davies has founded many other projects, including conceptualizing and chairing the Fire Education Centre at the Children's Safety Village, the Civitan Seniors Apartment, taking children with disabilities to Disney World, Meals Programs for Seniors, fundraising for girls softball teams, the purchase of a Zamboni® for the twin ice pads at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, and the Kitchener Sports Parade of History Banquet.

Davies has been recognized locally, provincially and internationally for his community service including the 0ntario Fire Marshall Fire Safety Award, the City of Kitchener Seniors of Distinction Leadership Award, and a Province of Ontario Award for Fire Safety. Davies continues to dedicate his life to helping others and his community.

Davies is proud to be a husband, father and grandfather.

Victor Davis 1964-1989

The winner of four Olympic medals and thirty-one Canadian Championship swimming events, Victor Davis showed a competitive spirit that won him respect the world over. Born in Guelph, he trained with the Region of Waterloo Swim Team (ROW) from 1981 to 1989.

At his retirement from competitive swimming in 1989, he held the World Record in his specialty, the 200-metre breast stroke (2:13.34) which he had previously broken at the World Championships in Ecuador 1982 and twice more in 1984.

His Olympic accomplishments include a gold in the 200 m breast stroke in the 1984 Olympics at Los Angeles and three silver medals, the 100 metre breast stroke and the 4 x 100 metre medley relay at Los Angeles and a silver in the 4 x 100 metre medley relay at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Davis was Swimming Canada's Athlete of the Year in 1982, 1984 and 1986, was inducted into the Canadian Amateur Sports Hall of Fame in 1985 and was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1984. His life was brought to an untimely end in an automobile accident in Montreal in 1989.

Robert Dawson 1830-1912

The naming of a select strain of wheat as "Dawson's Golden Chaff" honoured Robert Dawson, a farmer in Galt, born in Aberdeenshire Scotland, who was responsible for its development.

In 1881 Dawson, living on land which became the Galt Country Club on Coronation Blvd., owned a field of storm-flattened winter wheat called Red Dawson. While walking in the field in the spring, he noticed standing alone one plant obviously unusually vigorous, that had withstood the adverse weather. He saved the plant and in a few years produced enough grain to seed his own farm and sell a quantity to a neighbour. The Ontario Agricultural College purchased some of the wheat, and on testing it in their plots discovered that it far out yielded all other varieties. They gave it the name "Dawson's Golden Chaff." This variety is, in 1972, still being used in test plots at Guelph to improve new varieties of wheat.

Martha (Marty) Deacon

Coach and educator, Marty Deacon has had an extensive career locally, nationally, and internationally. She was appointed to the Canadian Senate in 2018 and is the first Senator to be appointed and serve in Waterloo Region since 1941.

Marty worked for the Waterloo Region District School Board as a teacher, consultant, administrator, and principal for 34 years, while also coaching and being an advocate for physical activity and amateur sports.

Beginning her badminton coaching career at Kitchener’s Granite Club, Marty started coaching high calibre athletes at the Ontario Games and the Canada Games in 1991. Marty was an apprentice coach at the 1994 Commonwealth Games. She went on to coach and lead teams at six different Olympic, Commonwealth, and Pan Am Games. In 2010, she served as Chef de Mission, leading Team Canada at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.

Currently, Marty serves as a Director on the Canadian Olympic Committee and on the Commonwealth Games Canada Board. Through her leadership, Marty has continued to showcase Waterloo Region and has involved local athletes and coaches where possible.

Marty’s achievements have been recognized by numerous awards, including the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Jule Nisse Award (Playground to Podium), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Education Award, the IOC Women in Sport Award, and the Most Influential Women in Sport Award.

As Senator, Marty is an advocate for education, health and well-being for all Canadians.

William Deans 1846-1911

William Deans, born near Paris, was a founder of the Dumfries Mutual Fire Insurance Company in 1856, the first insurance company started in Waterloo County. It was originally called the North Dumfries and South Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Co. He served as secretary-treasurer from 1885-1911.

Deans became well-known throughout the North Dumfries farming community. He made regular trips to farm homes to collect premiums from policyholders and for his protection, he always carried a gun. On long trips he frequently spent the night with farmers.

He lived at 58 Blair Road, Galt, and became one of the city's best known and highly respected citizens. He was an elder of Central Presbyterian Church for twenty years and a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Stan Deckert 1925-2002

Stan Deckert was born in 1925 and raised on a farm on the edge of Linwood in the Township of Wellesley. Throughout his life, Deckert was highly respected for his dedication and commitment to community service and volunteerism.

In both work and service, Deckert's extensive civic involvement included long-term leadership roles with the Linwood Lion's Club, Linwood Park Board and Linwood Snofest. In addition to these organizations he was a volunteer fireman with the Linwood Fire Brigade for 26 years, serving 15 of those years as Fire Chief. Deckert also served as Linwood's representative on the Wellesley Township Council from 1973 to 1998.

Any initiative brought forward by Deckert always had the best interests of the community at heart. He helped realize a Community Centre in the 1960s, a baseball diamond, fundraising dances, space for a fire hall and library, a sister-city initiative with Linwood, Michigan, and numerous grant requests for recreation projects.

In athletics, Deckert was a valuable hockey and ball player playing on teams both in Linwood and Wellesley. During the 1940s and 1950s his team celebrated many championships. After his years of playing sports Deckert coached many young men's baseball teams. He was also instrumental in twice getting a proper ball diamond with lighting for the community.

Through his lifetime, Deckert was honoured with a Certificate of Merit from the Government of Canada, the Melvin Jones Fellowship for Dedicated Humanitarian Service, and the Canada 125 Anniversary Commemorative Medal for significant contributions to his community.

Sherry Hawco Delanty 1964-1991

Sherry Hawco Delanty was born in Cambridge and embarked on a gymnastic career in the early 1970s that led to six years on Canada's National Team 1977 to 1983. She won junior and senior provincial championships, Canadian Championships and was a gold medal winner in the 1978 Commonwealth Games in both team and individual events. She competed in fifteen International meets gaining a reputation as one of the premier performers in the world.

Although recognized as a top all-round competitor, it was in the floor exercises where Delanty excelled, winning several choreography awards. Described by her coaches as an incredible athlete, she was capable of setting high goals and achieving them with genuine modesty.

She lost an untimely struggle with cancer and died in 1991.

Herbert (Peter) Denis-Nathan 1908-1989

Herbert (Peter) Denis-Nathan was born in King William's Town, South Africa. He attended Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., and came to Canada in 1930 where he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, and teaching qualifications from the Ontario College of Education. He taught at Galt Collegiate and Vocational School where he became vice-principal, retiring in 1970.

Denis-Nathan served with the Highland Light Infantry during the Second World War and was awarded the Efficiency Medal. He served on the boards of the Ontario Pioneer Community Foundation, the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation and the Waterloo County Hall of Fame. He was chairman of the Wellington-Waterloo Branch of the Chemical Institute of Canada, president of the Waterloo Historical Society and a director of the Ontario Educational Association. He received the Award of Merit from the Ontario Secondary School Teacher's Federation.

Bishop Clayton F. Derstine 1891-1967

Clayton F. Derstine, a Bishop in the Illinois Conference of the Mennonite Church, was the youngest Bishop in America. He came to the First Mennonite Church, Kitchener, in 1924, where he demonstrated spiritual integrity and wisdom for more than forty years. He was Bishop in the Ontario Conference from 1925. He was internationally known as an evangelist, teacher, writer and lecturer.

Bishop Derstine was an instructor in the Ontario Mennonite Bible School; taught public speaking at Waterloo College; was editor of the Christian Monitor for twenty-five years; compiled a book of 300 hymns and meditations and wrote fifteen books. He started the first Community Bible School in Canada; launched and served the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship; and was Chairman of the Board of the House of Friendship for twenty-five years. His work took him through Canada and to forty-five states of the USA. He had the privilege of preaching to and serving three generations of the Mennonite Church.

Daniel B. Detweiler 1860-1919

Daniel B. Detweiler was one of the three "fathers of hydro" in Ontario. After years of hard effort, in association with others, his dream of hydro electric power as a provincial undertaking became a reality. He travelled dusty county roads on his bicycle seeking the support of councils in the project.

A cairn erected in 1935 in his native Roseville is a monument to his participation in the enterprise. In 1953, Ontario Hydro named the transformer station at Petersburg after him. In 1918 he developed water power near Michipicoten on Lake Superior and organized the Algoma factory and in 1901 joined a shoe company.

Detweiler was a leading member and President of the Board of Trade and a member of the Kitchener Light Commission.

F.W.R. Dickson 1898-1984

F.W.R. Dickson, a descendant of a pioneer County farmer, served in World War I, graduated from the Ontario Agricultural College and the College of Education and taught science at the K-W Collegiate and Vocational School for forty-one years. He was director of the Academic School and football coach. He retired in 1965.

Dickson was associated with Dr. A.E. Broome in the planning of Doon Pioneer Village. His research and knowledge of pioneers proved invaluable to the Waterloo County Hall of Fame. He edited the Waterloo Historical Society's annual volumes for twenty-five years.

The K-W Field Naturalists, in conjunction with the Grand Valley Conservation Authority, named eighty-three acres, "The F.W.R. Dickson Wilderness Area," in recognition of his outstanding service.

His interest in photography resulted in a very valuable collection of slides of historic Waterloo County buildings. He gave hundreds of free illustrated talks on Waterloo County history and natural history continuing his valuable work as a historian.

The Honourable William Dickson 1769-1846

One of the men taken prisoner by the Americans in the War of 1812 was William Dickson, a forty-three year old lawyer from Niagara Falls, who had come to Canada from Scotland in 1792. Dickson was later released on parole.

Elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1816, he took an active part in the rebellion of 1837, urging the men of Niagara to enlist and help the government.

Dickson purchased the township of Dumfries from the Hon. Thomas Clark in 1811 for $34,000 and in 1815, with Absalom Shade, a carpenter from Pennsylvania, visited his property. He decided to start a settlement with people from his birthplace, Dumfries, in Scotland. He had the land surveyed in 1816 and in 1817 sold farms and lots to settlers.

Although still living in Niagara he continued his interest in Dumfries and donated two parks to the citizens of Dumfries and Galt. Image courtesy of the Niagara Historical Society & Museum.

Clarence Diefenbacher b. 1940

Clarence Diefenbacher of Floradale was a Master Holstein Breeder who held leadership positions in a variety of community and agricultural organizations at the local, provincial and national levels.

Diefenbacher was instrumental in leading a number of farm organizations through difficult times. He served many years as a 4-H club leader. He is a past Chair of the Waterloo Milk Committee and a past President of the Ontario Holstein Association and Holstein Canada. He is the founding Chairman of the National Livestock Identification program. He has chaired the highly successful Mennonite Central Committee Heifer Relief Sale for more than a decade. He has also served at the executive level for several agricultural organizations including United Cooperatives of Ontario and the St. Jacobs Artificial Breeders Cooperative.

Diefenbacher was awarded the Bi-Centennial Medal by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food in 1984 for his service to the agricultural community. He received the Master Breeder Shield in 1988 for breeding top quality Holstein cattle; achieving the distinction of Master Breeder is considered the highest honour awarded by Holstein Canada.

Steve Dietrich

Steve Dietrich began his lacrosse career at the age of 10.  Dietrich played 18 years as a goalie in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) with Baltimore Thunder, Detroit Turbos, Rochester Knighthawks, Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Edmonton Rush, and completing his career with the Toronto Rock.  He retired as a player in 2010 with a 60-47 win loss record and in the top five of the NLL all-time saves list. 

Dietrich played on many championship teams at various levels throughout his career including:  Founder's Cup Jr  B Canadian Champions 1987, 1988; Mann Cup Sr A Canadian Champions 1992, 1993; Presidents Cup Sr  B Canadian Champions 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009; Major Indoor Lacrosse League World Championship 1997; and National Lacrosse League World Champions 2011. 

Dietrich represented Canada as a member of Team Canada at the ILF World Indoor Lacrosse Championships helping bring home the Gold medal. 

He won multiple individual awards throughout his career.  Among them he was named Goalie of the year in the NLL in 2005 and 2006.  He was named Championship game MVP in a 54 save performance to help lead Rochester to victory. 

In 2006 Dietrich was named the National Lacrosse League Most Valuable Player, the only goaltender to ever win the award. 

He was inducted into the National Lacrosse League's Hall of Fame in 2012. 

Dietrich has been an Assistant Coach with the Toronto Rock and is the current General Manager of the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League.  He coached Tyke and Novice children with KW minor lacrosse.  He has also provided lacrosse clinics for youth lacrosse across Ontario.  Dietrich was the Coach and General Manager of the KW Kodiaks for five years.  He was awarded Coach of the Year in 2015 as Coach of the KW Kodiaks.

Pat Doherty 1928-2015

Pat Doherty was born in Campbellford in 1928 and came to Kitchener in 1955. He served as coach, manager and president of the Kitchener Minor Hockey Association, was founding president of the Hub All-Star League (1972), manager of the Kitchener Ranger B's for two years and head instructor of the Don Hayes' Hockey School.

Doherty wrote a manual for hockey coaches and instructors and an organizational manual (1973) which are both used across Canada. He became chairman of the OHA board in 1982 and was first president of the Hockey Development Centre for Ontario in 1984.

A former teacher at Sacred Heart Elementary School and St. Jerome's High School, he joined the Waterloo County Separate School Board in 1968, serving as a consultant and safety officer until his retirement in 1989.

His thirty-five years' involvement with minor hockey was recognized with the Special Achievement Award by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation in 1985.

Cyrus Dolph 1865-1937

Born in Breslau, Cyrus Dolph began his career as a bookkeeper at Clare Brothers, Preston. In 1897 he formed the Metal Shingle and Siding Co. which later developed subsidiaries in other provinces. He invented disc brakes and television tubes and took out patents on metal shingles and a metal barn design.

He was president of the Preston Board of Trade, chairman of the Preston Public School Board and served on the boards of the Preston Library and the Victorian Order of Nurses. Dolph bought Preston's radio station CKPC in its infancy and operated it successfully for ten years. He was honorary president of the board of governors of Freeport Sanatorium to which he donated X-ray equipment. He donated Preston's first modern open-tank swimming pool, an organ to St. John's Anglican Church, Preston, money to South Waterloo Memorial Hospital, as well as education and sports scholarships. He was co-founder and benefactor of the Church Army of Canada in Toronto.

Clarence Edward "Dolly" Dolson 1897-1976

Dolly Dolson was born in Hespeler in 1897. He lived in Galt from 1903 to 1923 and was a resident of Stratford for more than fifty years.

Dolson was an all-round athlete, specializing in hockey, baseball and soccer. As a goal keeper, he played several years for the Galt Junior and Intermediate OHA teams and then with the Stratford Indians of the Senior OHA.

He turned professional in 1927 with the Detroit Falcons (later renamed the Red Wings) of the National Hockey League. He played four seasons in the NHL before joining the London Tecumsehs of the International Hockey League for one season. His active career ended after he played one year for the Cleveland Barons, also of the International League.

Gary Dornhoefer b. 1943

Always determined to either score a goal or set up enough goal-crease interference to allow a teammate to score, Gary Dornhoefer was respected for his combative readiness and driving, forceful energy. He helped the Philadelphia Flyers win two National Hockey League championships.

Born in Kitchener in 1943, Dornhoefer worked through the local minor hockey ranks and began his professional career in 1962 when he attended the NHL Boston Bruins training camp. With short season stints in three minor professional leagues and call ups with the Bruins, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers, a new NHL expansion team where he played for eleven seasons. Over an NHL career of fourteen seasons, he played 778 games, scored 214 goals, had 328 assists and served 1,291 penalty minutes.

After retiring as an active player, he shared his hockey expertise as a television colour commentator for nine years with Hockey Night in Canada.

Orval Dorscht 1914-1984

Orval Dorscht, a native of St. Clements, became a household name for sports fans during the period from 1949-1969. He was an all-round athlete but wrestling was his favourite sport. In 1936 he narrowly missed making the Olympic team. During the early 1940s he travelled the carnival circuit for four months, wrestling under the name of Frenchie Lavoy and Otto Luger, the German Terrier.

In 1950 he won an Ontario 130-pound wrestling title at the Kitchener YMCA. He later conducted coaching clinics at the Waterloo Family YMCA. Dorscht was also an accomplished weight-lifter, winning a championship in one-arm lifting.

Dorscht founded the Dorscht Ladies' Softball Team, which won the Twin City championship every year from 1949-66 with one exception. They reached the Ontario finals in 1964 and became the Kitchener Kieswetters when he sold the team. He operated Dorscht sporting goods store in Waterloo for about 25 years.

Colin Doyle, Lacrosse

Colin Doyle is a six-time National Lacrosse League champion and is one of the best box lacrosse players in the game’s history. Playing with the Toronto Rock for most of his professional career, Colin served as team captain for seven years. Colin was also a member of Team Canada, winning five World Lacrosse Championships.

Elizabeth Janzen Dreger 1918-1979

Elizabeth Dreger, a native of Kitchener, gave distinguished service to her community and her country. She graduated from MacDonald Institute, Guelph, with a diploma in Household Science.

She was actively involved with the K-W Business and Professional Women's Club, the Kitchener Horticultural Society, the K-W Gyrettes, the Kitchener YWCA and served as treasurer of the National YWCA. She was a charter member of the Ontario Press Council, a member of the board of governors of the University of Waterloo (1972-1975), the board of governors of Conestoga College (1967-1975), and the board of directors of the Ontario Pioneer Community Foundation (chairman for three years). She was also a member of the Research Committee of the Pioneer Builders Section of the Waterloo County Hall of Fame.

Dreger was President of the Western Ontario Progressive Women's Association and chairman of the women's advisory committee for Ontario. In 1956, she was elected president of the Progressive Conservative Women's Association of Canada and became the first woman in Canada to preside at sessions of a national party convention.

Rob Ducey b. 1965

Rob Ducey was born in Toronto and moved to Cambridge, Ontario in 1973.

Ducey's career in baseball started in Cambridge in 1981. His team won Inter County Championships in 1981, 1982 and 1983. In 1984, he signed a professional contract with the Toronto Blue Jays Organization. He won the MVP award in his first year of professional baseball with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays and in 1986 he won the Canadian Player of the Year award.

Ducey began his career in the major leagues in 1988. His career spanned thirteen seasons, the longest major league career of any Ontario-born player in fifty-two years.

He played on three division championship teams with Toronto and one with the Seattle Mariners. He has a World Series ring from the 1992 Toronto Blue Jays. He was awarded the most unsung player award while playing with Seattle in 1997. Ducey set an all-time team record for pinch hitting appearances with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2000, with 73 pinch hitting appearances.

In 1995 and 1996 he played in Japan and hit a total of 51 home runs including a league record of 8 lead-off home runs.

Ducey is married to the former Yanitza Gonzalez; they have three children, Thomas, Aaron and Jenaka. Ducey resides in Tarpon Springs, Florida where he serves as a youth baseball instructor.

Photograph courtesy of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Mervin Duke 1916-1998

Mervin Duke was born in Moorefield, Ontario and attended high school in Listowel, Ontario. He graduated from Stratford Teachers' College in 1935 and his first assignment was as Principal of a two-room public school in Innerkip where he taught all subjects in all the classes from grades 6 to 10. In 1943 he accepted a position with School Section #4 and Elmira Union School, now Riverside Public School in Elmira, as Principal. During this time he received his BA from the University of Western Ontario and Bed from the University of Toronto. Eight years later he joined the staff at Elmira High School. He was appointed Vice Principal and then Principal of the High School, retiring in 1973 after 38 years.

During this time, Duke was a youth hockey coach in Elmira for twenty years. Nine hockey teams coached by Duke went on to win Ontario Championships. In 1951 he was awarded the Ontario Hockey Association Honour Award for outstanding contribution to Minor Hockey.

He was chairman of the Elmira Old Boys' and Girls' Reunion in 1973 and during this celebration he topped the list of the ten individuals who had contributed most to the town of Elmira in the previous twenty-five years.

In the late 1970s, Duke managed the Elmira and Woolwich Chamber of Commerce until 1984.

Duke introduced Driver Training Education to Elmira and District Secondary School and he organized extra-curricular activities for students. He was an active charter member of the Elmira Lions Club and Gale Presbyterian Church, and supported many local activities including the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival.

He affected the lives of many people who live in Elmira through his professional and community contributions.

Woodrow "Woody" Dumart 1916-2001

Woody Dumart was born in Kitchener on December 23, 1916. He played his minor hockey in Kitchener. In 1934-35 Woody played on the Kitchener Junior Team that won the OHA championship. The following year he was signed by the Boston Bruins and played in their farm system until he joined the Bruins in January of 1937. The following season the Kraut Line was formed. In 1939-40 the Kraut Line finished 1-2-3 in scoring. Dumart finished 2nd behind Milt Schmidt. The Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 1938-39 and 1940-41 with the Kraut Line playing an important part.

In January 1942, Dumart joined the RCAF and with the Kraut Line reunited, the RCAF won the Allan Cup. In 1945 he returned to the Bruins. On three different occasions Dumart was selected to the 2nd all-star team, 1939-40, 1940-41 and 1946-47. He retired from hockey in 1954 having played in 771 regular season games and 82 playoff games. During his NHL career, Dumart scored 211 goals and 218 assists.

B. Mabel Dunham 1881-1957

One of Canada's most noted authors, B. Mabel Dunham, was always conscious of the value of history and enriched Canadian literature with her books: The Trail of the Conestoga;Toward Sodom; The Trail of the King's Men; Grand River and Kristli's Trees.

Dunham was born on a farm near Harriston. Her family moved to Berlin when she was six. She was educated at Central (Suddaby) School and Berlin High School, taught in Berlin briefly, and then attended Victoria College, Toronto, and McGill University, Montreal, where she completed a course in Library Science. Dunham was librarian of the Kitchener Public Library from 1908 until her retirement in 1944, the first trained librarian to be in charge of a public library in Ontario.

She was a member of the Canadian Club and the University Women's Club, serving as president of both.

Dunham was the only woman in the original membership of the Waterloo Historical Society and later served as president.

Anne Dunn b. 1947

Anne Dunn (née Vale) was born in Toronto in 1947 and moved with her family to Galt (Cambridge) when she was fifteen years old.

Friends convinced Dunn to try the sport of curling and she joined the Galt Country Club in 1967. Within six years she put together a team of local business women and skipped the team to her first Provincial Championship in 1973.

Since that time, Dunn has teamed up with members from her home club, and subsequently with players she has met and respected from other clubs in Southern Ontario, to pursue championships at the highest level of curling competition in Canada and internationally.

Since winning the first Provincial Championship in 1973, Dunn skipped and played third on teams that participated at twenty-two Provincial Championships. Dunn won eight of those Provincial Championships. In 1987 and 2003, Dunn and her team represented Ontario at the Scott Tournament of Hearts Canadian Championship. In 2001 Dunn and her team won the Ontario Senior Ladies Championship and that same year, won the Canadian Senior Ladies Championship. In 2002 and 2004 Dunn and her team again won the Canadian Senior Ladies Championship and won the World Senior Ladies Championship in 2002.

In April 2004, Dunn was the Senior Women's Skip of Team Canada, winning the Gold Medal at the world senior curling championship in Sweden.

Dunn was personally selected to the All-Star team at the Canadian Senior Ladies Championships in 2001 and 2004, and she cherishes her Sportsmanship awards received at the World Championships in 2002 and at the Scott Tournament of Hearts Canadian Championships in 2003.

Along with her participation in sport, Dunn volunteered and has been active on the Cambridge CanAmera committee; she has chaired the Cambridge Athlete of the Year Selections Committee; and she was on the board of the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame Committee.

Cecil Dunn 1914-2008

Dubbed the "Father of Minor Softball" in Cambridge, Cecil Dunn was widely honoured for his career in softball and especially as a long-serving and respected umpire.

He started his umpiring career in 1945 and in 1949 was one of the founders of the Galt Minor Softball Association. Joining the South Waterloo Umpires Association in 1950, he served as President and later with the Hespeler Umpires Association he served as director, president, umpire-in-chief and clinic instructor.

At the provincial level, with the Ontario Amateur Softball Association his many years on the executive culminated with being named president in 1972. The Association made special note of his contributions with a fifty year service recognition in 1996.

Born in 1914, Dunn and his wife Jean whom he married in 1936, have two children. He received the Cambridge Sportsman of the Year award in 1996. He also refereed ice hockey and, later in life, he umpired softball and conducted umpiring clinics.

Photograph by Belair, Kitchener.

Howard Dyck b. 1942

Howard Dyck's musical roots go back to the own of Winkler, Manitoba where he was born, and where he began studying piano and violin and singing in many school and church choirs. After completing his undergraduate education in Canada and the United States, Dyck was awarded scholarships for advanced conducting studies in Germany.

When Wilfrid Laurier University engaged him in 1971 to teach in the music department, Dyck, his wife Maggie, and their children moved from Winnipeg to Waterloo Region. Within a year of his arrival Dyck was conducting the Kitchener-Waterloo Philharmonic Choir. Now known as the Grand Philharmonic Choir, it became the heart and soul of his musical activities. Under Dyck's visionary leadership, the choir has experienced unprecedented growth in size and expertise; its success has established Kitchener-Waterloo as a leading Canadian centre for choral music. For more than three decades, thousands of singers of all age groups have had the opportunity to perform under Dyck's direction, singing in the adult, youth and children's choirs. The Grand Philharmonic Choir has toured internationally and has been featured on numerous CBC Radio broadcasts as well as on television.

Closely identified with Handel's Messiah, which he has conducted more than 100 times, Dyck regularly brings the great traditional choral works to local and national audiences. His vast repertoire includes many 20^th and 21^st century composers. A number of contemporary choral works have had their premiere performances under his baton.

During his years in Waterloo Region, Howard Dyck has also conducted the Kitchener Bach Choir, London Pro Musica, and the Bach Elgar Choir of Hamilton. He is the founding conductor of the Stratford Concert Choir and Consort Caritatis. His guest conducting career has taken him across Canada and to 18 countries on three continents.

A veteran CBC Radio broadcaster for more than 30 years, Dyck, with his clear, rich and authoritative voice, is known nationally and as the long-standing host of Choral Concert and Saturday Afternoon at the Opera. Among his numerous awards and honours are Doctor of Laws degrees from Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo, the Distinguished Service Award from both the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors and Choirs Ontario, the Kitchener-Waterloo Arts Award, the City of Waterloo Legacy of Leaders, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Award, and the Order of Canada.

Photograph - V. Tony Hauser

Bishop Benjamin Eby 1785-1853

The first Mennonite Bishop in Ontario, the esteemed Benjamin Eby, father of eleven children, as a boy made barrels in his father's cooper shop in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

In 1806 he came to Berlin, erected a log house and rode home to Pennsylvania on horseback, returning with his wife the following year. He was chosen and ordained a Mennonite minister in 1809 and Bishop in 1812. Meetings were held in local homes, but because of constantly increasing membership, in 1813 Bishop Eby instigated the building of log meeting houses.

One such log meeting house was erected at the site of the First Mennonite Church in Berlin. In this building, during the winter months, he also taught school, continuing the classes held since 1809 in a one-room log cabin and taught initially by an Irishman, John Beatty.

In 1834 a new A Eby's Meeting House, was built on the same site.

Ezra E. Eby 1850-1901

Ezra Eby was born and raised on Lot 120, German Company Tract, Waterloo Township on which the Grand River Collegiate of Kitchener was built. He was a grandson of Bishop Benjamin Eby, a son of Isaac Eby, and for twenty years taught in Waterloo County schools at Natchez, Martins, Bridgeport, Suddaby and Erbsville. Rev. Father Spetz recorded that Ezra Eby was a classmate of his at St. Jerome's College.

This Waterloo County historian created an exceedingly valuable storehouse of facts when he wrote A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other Townships being a history of the Early Settlers and Their Descendants Volume 1 1895, Volume 2 1896 and A Biographical History of the Eby Family being a history of the movements in Europe During the Reformation and Their Early Settlement in America, printed in 1889.

Sheila A. Egoff 1918-2005

Sheila A. Egoff was born in Auburn, Maine but moved to Galt, Ontario with her family after the death of her father in 1919. After graduating from the University of Toronto's Library School, Egoff was a librarian at the Galt Public Library until 1942 when she moved to the Toronto Public Library. When the School of Librarianship was established at the University of British Columbia in 1962, she became one of its founding faculty members, teaching courses in Children's Literature and Librarianship until her retirement in 1983.

Her love of children's literature is evident in the many books she has published on the subject. She has received numerous awards including the Robert Shaw award for Excellence in Library Literature, the Alumni Jubilee Award of the University of Toronto Faculty of Library Science Alumni Association, the Eliot Landau Award and the Claude Aubry Award for Distinguished Contribution to Children's Literature.

Egoff was awarded a Doctor of Laws from the University of Alberta and a Doctor of Letters from the University of New Brunswick. In 1994, based on her outstanding work in education and dedication to Canadian children's literature, Sheila was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Earl Einwechter 1902-1998

Earl Einwechter, director of New Dundee's Little German Band, was one of that Village's most colourful citizens of the past century. A lifelong resident of the area, he and his twin brother Emmerson were born on a farm, the first of two sets of twins in a family of seven sons. Einwechter was one of the early cream haulers for the New Dundee Creamery beginning in 1922, often rising at 3:30 a.m. in the winter to start his long route to Galt with a team of horses and sleigh. He also owned and operated the New Dundee Hotel from 1954 to 1957.

He was the leader of the Little German Band from 1948 to the late 1980s. At the band's first performance in 1947, he pulled a live piglet from his horn, much to the amusement of the audience. He directed the band "with dignity" in black top hat, tails, flippers, and a dish mop for his baton. The band played for family reunions, fall fairs, nursing homes, conventions, the Preston Old Boys' Reunion, at Oktoberfest, and in many Santa Claus parades in Kitchener and New Hamburg. When he was no longer able to walk a great distance in parades, he directed the band from a float or truck. He was awarded a life membership in the Musicians Union, after the band's 25 year affiliation with Local 226 in Kitchener.

On his 93rd birthday, five members of the original band of eight came to his home to play several selections, while he directed. Einwechter passed away January 7, 1998 in his 96th year. His wife of seventy years, the former Ella Scheel, died a few months later.

Bringing smiles to the faces of young and old for 46 years was Earl's gift to Waterloo County.

Eva Croll Elliot 1869-1952

Eva Elliott was one of the founders of the Women's Institute for South Waterloo, being appointed secretary-treasurer when the group was formed in 1903.

Born in Clinton, of Scottish-Irish parents, before her marriage she was engaged in newspaper work with the Galt Reformer. 

Elliott arranged for speakers sent out by the Department of Agriculture to hold meetings with rural and urban women. She was always present, enrolled members, and became a most valuable source of information and guidance.

Elliott served as president of the Central Dumfries branch of the South Waterloo District and also of the London area. She was an excellent singer, held offices in Knox's Presbyterian Church, Galt, started the Young Women's Association which later became the YWCA and for forty years was a director of the South Waterloo Agricultural Society. She also helped create and support a Country Women's Rest Room in Galt.

Andrew Elliott 1843-1927

Andrew Elliott, a son of a Scottish immigrant to North Dumfries Township, was a great reader, which helped to prepare him to be a particularly competent lecturer on agricultural subjects.

He was an expert in livestock judging and judged in many parts of Canada and the United States. Greatly interested in Farmers' Institutes, he lectured for them in every province and twelve American states.

Elliott retired from farming in 1904 but continued judging livestock and lecturing until 1920. He also supervised twelve demonstration farms in Eastern Canada for the Dominion Department of Agriculture. A number of wealthy New England farmers commissioned him to go to Great Britain to purchase purebred sheep to improve their flocks.

He was an active member of the South Waterloo Agricultural Society for forty years, a member of the Kirk Session of Knox Presbyterian Church, Galt and a staunch Liberal.

Hugh Croll Elliott b. 1899

Hugh C. Elliott was born on February 7, 1899, and operated the family farm in North Dumfries Township which had been settled by his grandfather in 1832.

After attending the Galt Collegiate Institute, he graduated from the Ontario Agricultural College with a B.S.A. degree. In 1918-19, he was in the advance party of the 16^th Field Company, Canadian Engineers, C.E.F., Siberia in Vladivostok.

He was active in the municipal affairs of North Dumfries serving as Clerk and Treasurer from 1933 to 1971, secretary-treasurer of the Area School Board from 1946 to 1952, and of the High School District Board from 1929 to 1967. In 1945, he was President of the South Waterloo Agricultural Society and the Secretary-Treasurer from 1946 to 1952, as well as being a charter director of Doon Pioneer Village.

His experience in municipal affairs, farming and his concern for conservation work led to various offices on the Grand Valley Conservation Authority from 1966 to 1974, and was appointed to the G.R.C.A. Honour Roll in 1976.

William Elliott 1872-1944

William Elliott was born in North Dumfries Township. He took over the family farm in 1904 and was well known as a breeder of Clydesdale horses and Tamworth hogs.

He was educated at Stone School, S.S. No. 19, Galt Collegiate Institute, and the Ontario Agricultural College and became a Farmer's Institute lecturer, and a livestock judge at fairs throughout Canada. During 1913-14 he was a member of a Board of Adjudicators appointed to assess damage to crops caused by smelters at Sudbury.

As a member of North Dumfries Township Council and reeve in 1921 he ran for Parliament and served for South Waterloo from 1921 to 1925, representing a Farmer-Labour coalition formed in protest against the Union Government which had survived the World War I.

In an executive capacity he served the Ontario Agricultural and Experimental Union (1924), the South Waterloo Liberal Association, the Central Dumfries Farmers Club and the North Dumfries Plowmen's Association. He was also a member of the Galt Suburban Roads Commission.

Dana Ellis b. 1979

Dana Ellis began competing as a gymnast at age four, eventually becoming a member of the Canadian National Gymnastics Team. At age 17 an injury forced Ellis to retire and she took up pole vaulting.

As a student at the University of Waterloo, Ellis was a member of the university track team. She was 1999 rookie of the year and 2002 athlete of the year.

In 2004 and 2005 Ellis won a gold medal at the Canadian National Track & Field Championships; she established a Canadian pole vault record of 4.51 metres in 2005. In 2004 she qualified for the Olympic Games in Athens, placing sixth overall in pole vault. Ellis placed sixth in the Helsinki World Championship in 2005; fifth at the Monte Carlo World Games; and fourth at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia.

In 2004, Ellis was named Canadian Field Athlete of the Year. In 2005/06, she was the seventh ranked pole vaulter in the world and is currently the indoor and outdoor Canadian national record holder in the women's pole vault at a height of 4.52 metres.

Ellis graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Honours Kinesiology (Pre-Health Professions Option). She is currently completing her medical degree at St. Matthew's School of Medicine in Grand Cayman.

Ted Elsby 1932-1985

An outstanding lineman with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in their glory days of the 1960s, Cambridge native Ted Elsby was a key player for twelve years with the Alouettes when the league was amply loaded with imported American talent. He played on the line, mostly at defensive tackle and was six feet, 255 pounds.

He was nominated by his team for the CFL outstanding player award in 1964, the outstanding Canadian in 1957, 1963, and 1964 and the outstanding offensive lineman in 1964. He played in three Grey Cup games, 1954, 1955 and 1956 and was named to the CFL Eastern All-Star team in 1964.

Prior to joining the Alouettes, Elsby played and was a league All-Star with Brantford in the Ontario Rugby Football Union, playing both offence and defence.

He died in 1985 at the age of 52.

Abraham Erb 1772-1830

Abraham Erb was one of the first settlers near what became the village of Waterloo. He cleared land south of Erb Streets in 1806 and eventually owned 900 acres. He built a sawmill in 1808, a distillery, and in 1816 a gristmill, the complex of which remained in operation until 1927. Abraham and Magdalena Erb had one child who died at the age of six years. They then adopted Barnabass Devett.

Erb deeded land for the first school built in 1820 in Waterloo and also left an endowment, the interest on which was used for school supplies.

Erb's widow married Bishop Benjamin Eby.

Irvin E. Erb  1897-1991

Irvin E. Erb, who was born in Elmira, lived in Berlin from age two, became interested in rugby, hockey and baseball as a participant at an early age and played on Frank Selke's Union Jack Junior Hockey team in Berlin in 1914. Through the years, as a player and promoter, he made a tremendous contribution to amateur sports.

Following service with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force in World War I he established an insurance agency in Kitchener.

He directed the first Poppy Day and was partly responsible for the erection of the cenotaph, now located at the corner of Duke and Frederick Streets in Kitchener. In 1929 he was a co-promoter with C.D. "Buller" Pequegnat in the building.

John Erb 1764-1832

The town of Preston, originally called Cambridge Mills, was founded in 1806 by John Erb. In that year he built a sawmill on the river and in 1807 constructed a gristmill. These two enterprises formed a nucleus around which a small community rapidly developed.

Erb was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the third son of Christian Erb whose ancestors had immigrated from Switzerland to the American colonies early in the eighteenth century and settled in Pennsylvania among the numerous Mennonite communities there.

The mills established by Erb hold the record for the longest period of continuous business, as of 1972, in Waterloo County. 

Vernon Erb 1935-2020

As a young man growing up on a farm near Wellesley, Ontario, Vernon Erb dreamed of owning a truck and business related to transportation.

In 1959 Erb used his first dump truck to haul gravel for a local highway construction job. After operating for one week with many breakdowns, he returned the truck to the dealer. With another contract offer and the encouragement of his wife, Viola, he picked up the truck and set out with new determination. A year later Erb bought the second truck and several years later began hauling eggs from farms to chain stores in Toronto.

In 1965 Erb purchased his first refrigerated truck to haul frozen turkeys for a processing plant. In 1970 Erb was successful in the purchase and transfer of a Public Commercial Vehicle license authorizing the transportation of food products requiring temperature control. This was the key that triggered the tremendous growth Erb experienced in the following years.

Today the Erb Group of Companies with head office in New Hamburg, Ontario is one of the top refrigerated transport companies in Canada, employing more than one thousand people with more than 600 trucks and 800 refrigerated trailers. The Company has branch offices and temperature controlled terminals in seven Ontario communities, plus Manitoba, Quebec and Pennsylvania.

Erb is also associated with local philanthropy reflecting his commitment to share whenever he can make a difference. When the need arises, few worthy causes progress in this region without his support and that of his company.

John Price Erichsen-Brown 1906-1997

Born in Galt, John Price Erichsen-Brown graduated from the University of Toronto Schools in 1924, the University of Toronto in 1928. He served as Curator of the Hart House Library at the University of Toronto from 1926-28. He attended Osgoode Hall Law School, served as a Solicitor with the Ontario Supreme Court and he was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1931.

Erichsen-Brown practiced law in Toronto and Ottawa before joining the Department of External Affairs in 1948. He was a member of the Canadian Delegation to the United Nations (1950-52), Councillor in the Canadian Embassy in Belgium (1953), and Chargé d'Affaires, Warsaw, Poland (1958). He was appointed Canadian Commissioner on the International Supervisory Commission for Vietnam in 1958. In 1960 he was posted to New York as Consul.

After retiring from the Department of External Affairs, Erichsen-Brown became a senior solicitor with the Ontario Water Resources Commission. In 1972 he went to Afghanistan as a legal representative with a Canadian engineering company building a water and sewage system in Kabul.

He was also a beef farmer, forester, nut grower, naturalist, painter, photographer and chess master.

James Esson 1854-1934 

James Esson of Preston was one of Canada's best known and most accomplished portrait photographers. His father, George Esson, was one of the first photographers in Canada in the 1840s.

His first studio was in the old family homestead, 113 Queen Street. In 1884 he built at 105 King Street one of the finest portrait studios in Canada at that time. He travelled to many parts of Ontario taking architectural and scenic views for stereopticons.

Before the days of the automobile, distinguished people of many professions came to have their portraits taken by him. He also did miniatures on ivory for lockets and brooches after the style of the seventeenth century.

He photographed the Marquis of Lorne and the Princess Louise while the Marquis was Governor- General of Canada and while they were visiting at Cruikston Park. Esson retired in 1916.

William Daum Euler 1875-1961

When William Euler and W.L. MacKenzie King played together as schoolboys in Berlin, in the 1880s, neither realized the important place they would occupy in Canadian politics. King became Prime Minister and Euler a senator.

Born in Conestogo in 1875, Euler taught school for six years before opening a very successful business college. He was a school trustee, alderman, reeve, county councillor, and mayor in 1913-14. He was elected Federal member for Waterloo North in 1917 and was re- elected in 1921, 1925, 1926, 1930, 1935 and 1940, serving in Ottawa for twenty-three years.

In 1926, Euler was chosen as Revenue Minister to correct scandalous conditions in the Customs Department. Minister of Trade and Commerce, from 1935, he led trade missions to Europe and concluded many agreements beneficial to Canada. A senator from 1940 to 1961, Euler was one of Canada's finest public servants.

Helena Feasby 1888-1956

Helena Feasby was born in York County. A rural school teacher for thirty-four years, she recognized the need for education for adults as well as children, and promoted the formation of branches of the Women's Institute. She founded and was the first president of the Centreville WI in 1936, and while serving as president of North Waterloo District WI's from 1944-49 assisted with the organization of several branches. Following her death, the district WI's set up the Helena Feasby Memorial Award for students pursuing higher education.

Feasby actively promoted improvements in the community. She served on the committee for Waterloo County's 100^th anniversary celebrations in 1954, fostered interest in history among students and adults, and was the WI Tweedsmuir history convenor. Active in Trinity United Church, she taught the women's Friendly Bible Class for many years, and served on the board of the Children's Aid Society and the Humane Society.

Carolyn Spellman Fedy b. 1934

Carolyn Fedy joined the K-W Skating Club in 1939 at five years of age and advanced quickly through the ranks to achieve her gold medal in figures and free skate at the age of sixteen. She set a Canadian record by passing four senior tests in ten months. After graduating from teachers' college and a brief teaching career, she rejoined the K-W Skating Club as a professional coach.

For several years she directed and choreographed Kitchener-Waterloo's annual ice show which is remembered for being in the league with the Ice Capades. In the 1964-65 season she developed the first Canadian pre-school/mother skating program which still exists today. During several years of coaching, Fedy continued to develop skill sets and progression levels in conjunction with the National Testing Program. The Canadian Figure Skating Association recognized the value in the technical program that she and fellow coaches were using at the Kitchener-Waterloo club and requested that she develop the Canskate/Canfigureskate program to be used throughout the many clubs in Canada.

In 1983, Fedy received the title of Master Conductor of the National Canskate Program. This necessitated that she conduct clinics for coaches, trainers, and administrators across Canada. Every child that has progressed beyond the Learn to Skate programs in Canada has received the benefit of her knowledge and training since that time. In 1985 Fedy took on the responsibility of Technical Director in charge of the content and delivery of each and every program at the K-W Skating Club.

She was named Coach of the Year for the Western Ontario Section in 1990, Female Coach of the Year for the Province of Ontario in 1992 and in 1996 received the CFSA Volunteer Award of Excellence. At her retirement gala in 1999, the City of Waterloo honoured her with the renaming of Rink in the Park to the Carolyn Fedy Skating Centre.

Joseph (Joe) E. Fehrenbach 1904-1981

Joseph E. Fehrenbach, a native of Kitchener, influenced the growth and development of many citizens in various fields of endeavour. A devout Roman Catholic, he practiced ecumenism, believing that "we are all God's children."

Active in several fields of community endeavour, he encouraged others to become involved in scouting, career counselling, community programmes, and many other activities.

In 1941, during a scout leaders training course, Fehrenbach hiked through a wooded area on the Eramosa River, near Everton. He recognized its possibilities as an excellent camping area and through his influence it eventually became Everton Scout Forest. Thousands of boys and leaders later benefited, thanks to his foresight and influence.

Associated with the K-W Record for many years, his interest in the development of youth in business ethics as newspaper carriers is reflected in the large number of youths under his direction who eventually became successful in their chosen fields of endeavour. He deserves a place in our memory for what he did for others.

Adam Ferrie Jr. 1812-1848

Adam Ferrie, Jr., the founder of Doon, was the first officially appointed postmaster in Preston, receiving the appointment on February 6, 1837. The post office was situated at the corner of King and Lowther Streets, where the Henning store was located. Emphasizing changing conditions through the years is the fact that when Ferrie was postmaster the office was open until 11:00 p.m. and no holidays were permitted to the staff.

Ferrie had ambitions to build mills and become an industrialist. In 1834, unable to obtain a site on the Grand River in Preston, he purchased 300 acres on which he erected a grist mill, sawmill and distillery. This developed into the community of Doon.

The 1839 Doon Mills operated under the name of Adam Ferrie and Company until taken over by his brother Robert. Adam Ferrie, Jr., died in the prime of life at the age of thirty-six.

Robert Ferrie 1823-1860

Robert Ferrie's great interest in politics and Ontario led to his election as a Reform candidate for South Waterloo in 1854. He represented the riding for four years.

Ferrie was a son of Sir Adam Ferrie, Sr., a financier of Montreal. Following service in a bank where he obtained a good basic training in finance, he succeeded his brother, Adam Ferrie, Jr., as manager of the manufacturing firm of Adam Ferrie Company at Doon.

Ferrie was keenly interested in all the activities of the community. He donated lands for a community cemetery and for the erection of a new Presbyterian church. He raised purebred cattle and was the first secretary of the Waterloo County Agricultural Society in 1853 and president in 1854.

He was required to do much traveling, and the poor transportation facilities in pioneer days undermined Ferrie's health. He was only thirty-seven when he died.

Charles Miller Fisher MD 1913-2012

Charles Miller Fisher was born in Waterloo in 1913 and attended K-W Collegiate. After taking his medical degree at the University of Toronto in 1938, he became a Surgeon Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Canadian Navy.

He spent most of the war years in a prisoner-of-war camp and this experience was influential in stimulating his interest in the nervous system which led to pioneering research in brain strokes of all types.

He lectured at McGill University, Montreal (1950-54) and then became Harvard University= s neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston.

Fisher was a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and was awarded the gold medal in medicine in 1952. He was honoured with an L.L.D. by Waterloo Lutheran University (1971) and D.Sc. by McGill University (1984), won the Jacoby Award of the American Neurological Association (1982) and the Mihara Prize, Japan (1993).

George D. Forbes 1860-1934

When Hespeler was incorporated as a town in 1901, one of the leading industrialists, George D. Forbes, became the first mayor, serving until the end of 1913.

Forbe's distinguished father, Robert Forbes, who came to Canada from Scotland in 1836, had founded a woollen mill, the R. Forbes Company Limited in 1870. George Forbes succeeded him as president in 1888 and developed the industry into the largest woollen mill in Canada. The business was sold to Dominion Woolen and Worsteds Limited in 1928.

Forbes donated Victoria Park and Forbes Park to the community. He was an ardent Presbyterian and it was while he was a member of the board of managers that the present Presbyterian Church was built. He was a generous supporter of Freeport Sanatorium and other worthy organizations.

His business interests were many and varied and he served on the boards of several financial and industrial institutions.

Gerald "Gerry" Forler b. 1936

After years of playing minor sports in New Hamburg, Gerry Forler started coaching baseball and hockey at age seventeen. For the next thirty-five years, he coached minor sports without taking a break. During these years, Forler coached baseball, softball, T-ball, minor hockey, ringette and Junior A, B, C and D hockey.

Forler was the founding coach of the New Hamburg Junior D Roth Transport, Junior C Hahns, and Elmira Sugar Kings, as well as coaching the Kitchener Rangers. He led the New Hamburg Midgets and Junior Ds to Ontario championships in the same week in 1961; the Midgets again in 1962 and the Ontario Champion Junior C Hahns in 1963 and 1967. Some years he combined coaching two baseball teams in the summer, two hockey teams in the winter, along with his job as a teacher.

Other than two years in Niagara Falls as Educational Counsellor to the Junior A Niagara Falls Flyers, and coach of the Junior B Stamford Bruins, all of Forler's sports years were spent in Waterloo Region.

In the early 1960s, Forler was chosen to attend the first Canadian Amateur Hockey Association coaching clinics in Kingston and Montreal. He later organized and instructed at several coaching clinics in Waterloo Region.

Forler retired as an elementary school principal in 1994. His thirty-six years of teaching, including twenty-five years as a principal, combined his respect for young people with his talent for educating them. However, his passion for sports was never far behind.

David Forsyth 1852-1936

David Forsyth, a distinguished educator and sportsman, taught in the Berlin High School from 1876, and was principal from 1901-1921.

He originated the method of teaching science by requiring each pupil to perform the experiment and deduct his own conclusions - a method that was later compulsory. His valued contributions to education included membership on the Royal Commission on Industrial and Technical Training.

Known as "The Daddy of association football or soccer," he was one of the best players in Canada and was responsible for organizing, in 1880, the Western Football Association, the oldest football association in America. Soccer or association football, grew from his expert coaching in the Berlin High School. Boys coached by him joined the "Berlin Rangers," a team that became internationally famous, winning half of the games played in the British Isles.

Forsyth was also an expert lacrosse and cricket player and an accomplished cyclist and canoeist.

Levi Frey 1877-1956

Levi Frey was a Mennonite blacksmith who received special training in Cleveland, Ohio. For some time he did blacksmithing for construction workers in Northern Ontario, later operating a shop of his own in Hawkesville.

History remembers him not as a blacksmith but for his unique lifestyle as an Old Order Mennonite, a group that has remained very conservative in its association with the changing life of the twentieth Century.

He had the courage to frequently leave the closely-knit church society to increase his personal knowledge in a wider world, but he always returned to his home group where he became a highly esteemed layman who, because of his knowledge and wisdom, was consulted on many subjects by his fellow churchmen.

Frey had the distinction of being visited by the Queen's representative in Canada, Sir Archibald Nye, and Lady Nye, who were very much impressed by the knowledge and personality of this distinguished member of the Old Order Mennonites.

Paul Frey b. 1941

Paul Frey was born on a farm near Heidelberg, Ontario.

Although he sang in a church choir in St. Jacobs and in the Glad Tidings Quartet and for ten years with the Schneider Male Chorus in Kitchener, Frey did not seriously pursue a career in music until he was thirty-one years old.

In 1972 Frey left his father's trucking business and studied music at the University of Toronto. He made his operatic debut in Toronto in 1976 in Massenet's Werther.

Frey is a Heldentenor [German for heroic tenor] and has been especially identified with the title role in Richard Wagner's Lohengrin. He made his Bayreuth Festival debut in a new production of the work in 1987 and returned to the Festival to sing the role thirty-eight times over a seven year period, more than any other tenor to date.

Frey has performed on most of the big opera stages of the world including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Vienna State Opera, Covent Garden in London, and at La Scala in Milan. He has sung on all seven continents of the world.

In addition to Lohengrin, Frey's repertoire includes the Wagner opera's Der Fliegende Holländer, Die Meistersinger, Parsifal and the four opera's of the Ring Cycle, the opera's of Richard Strauss, Beethoven's Fidelio, as well as many others.

Frey has also sung with many of the great orchestras of the world, including the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, as well as all the main Canadian orchestras.

Recording credits include Beethoven's Ninth Symphony under the direction of Sir Colon Davis (Philips Classic Label), Bacchus in Ariadne under Kurt Masur (Philips), Bacchus in Ariadne under Kurt Masur (Philips), Lohengrin with the Bayreuth Festival (Philips), Schoenberg's Gurrelieder and Mahler's 8th Symphony on Denon.

Video's of Lohengrin and Die Meistersinger are also available.

Frey has been generous in his support for charities. In 1994, he took part in a recording production of the Messiah with proceeds going to the Mennonite Central Committee. In 1998 and again in 2000, he performed as tenor soloist on two CD recordings, proceeds from the sale of these CDs going to those affected by landmines around the world.

He received an Honourary Doctor of Letters from Sir Wilfrid Laurier University in 2002.

Frey is married to the former Linda Horst of St. Jacobs and they have one son, Benjamin. He maintains homes in Switzerland and in Waterloo, and has a farm near St. Clements, Ontario.

Murray Fried 1931-2005

Murray Fried, a lifelong resident of Kitchener, devoted his life to working with youth. Fried began coaching ice hockey in the early 1950s and in 1959 started the first Atom hockey team in Kitchener, later known as the Bauer Krauts which gained fame across North America for its competitive play and good sportsmanship. Fried coached the team for twenty-one years and managed the team for nine years, encompassing 2,020 games and winning 79 tournaments, Ontario Minor Hockey Association and league championships. Currently he keeps track of 600 Kraut Alumni members.

In 1975 he received a Life Membership in Kitchener Minor Hockey Association and in 1976 Fried was selected Waterloo Region Sports Executive of the Year. In 1984 he received twenty-five year Service Awards from the Kitchener Minor Hockey Association and the Ontario Hockey Association.

Fried was also a member of the Scouting Movement for over thirty-five years, including being a Cub and Scout Leader at the 11th Kitchener for twenty years. He was awarded a thirty-five year service pin, the "Medal of Merit", and the "Bar to the Medal of Merit" for outstanding service to Scouting.

Fried also coached boy's softball beginning in the 1950s and started Kitchener's first Squirt Softball team in 1967. He started Kitchener Minor Softball in 1969 and he was their founding President. He coached the Kitchener Bantams to an Ontario Championship in 1970.

In 1996 Fried received the Sertoma Club "Service to Mankind Award" for significant and meritorious service to mankind. He was also a founder of the Don Hayes Hockey School; he serves on the Parade of History executive at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium; and he was a member of other sports and Scouting committees.

His working career in plastics spanned fifty years and he was awarded a Half Century Citation by the Plastic Pioneers of Canada.

Louis Funcken CR, DD 1833-1890

The Rev. Louis Funcken founded St. Jerome's College in 1865 in the small Waterloo County village of St. Agatha.

A native of Holland, he studied to become a druggist, but decided to change his occupation and chose the priesthood. He entered a seminary and obtained his Doctor of Divinity degree in 1864. He came to St. Agatha in the same year.

St. Jerome's was moved in 1866 to Berlin where the larger population seemed to promise faster progress. Father Funcken guided the College through years of great struggle and from 1871 to 1878 was the only priest at the institution. To ease its financial burdens he went on a six month lecture tour of the northern United States, raising a very substantial sum. He overcame great difficulties that would have intimidated a lesser man.

In later life, for health reasons, Father Funcken returned to Holland where he died.

Galt Curling Club - 1948 Brier Rink

The province of Ontario was divided into eight districts; each district had an elimination play-off to declare a winner. The eight district winners then met in a knockout competition to declare the provincial winners to represent Ontario in the National Finals for the MacDonald Brier trophy at Calgary, Alberta in 1948.

The Galt Curling Club rink won their district. There were seventeen rinks entered in the district play-offs. (Galt, Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, Fergus, Ayr and Plattsville). All games were twelve ends.

The eight district winners met at the Thistle Curling Club in Hamilton for the elimination play-offs to declare the Ontario Champions. The Galt rink eliminated Oshawa, Sarnia and Hamilton Thistle rinks and were Ontario's representative in the National finals.

The rules in the Dominion finals were a round robin play-off, playing each province once. The Ontario rink, as the Galt rink was then known, finished third. British Columbia won the 1948 Championship.

Angus Oliver - Lead, Walter MacGregor - Second, W.A. Meyer - Third, Jack Patrick - Sr., Skip.

Galt Country Club Seniors Ladies Curling Team

The Galt Country Club Seniors Ladies Curling Team holds numerous provincial, national and international championships, including Ontario Senior Ladies Champions in 2001, 2002 and 2004; Canadian Senior Ladies Champions in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2006; and World Senior Ladies Champions in 2002 and 2004.

Skip: Anne Dunn
Vice: Lindy Marchuk
Second: Gloria Campbell
Lead: Fran Todd
Fifth: Carol Thompson

1904 Galt Football Club

The Galt Football Club won the gold medal in soccer at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Galt Football Club competed against two American teams. They beat the Christian Brothers' College team 7-0 and St. Rose team 4-0.

Photograph Courtesy of Waterloo Region Museum.

Mary Ann Gaskin

A lifelong resident of Cambridge, Mary Ann Gaskin began playing tennis at age 10. At age 14, she started training at the Galt Tennis Club (now Cambridge Tennis Club). Mary Ann achieved early success as a junior at both the provincial and national levels.

Attending the University of Waterloo, Mary Ann continued to excel in both tennis and basketball. In 1969, she won the Ontario University tennis championship, was MVP of the Ontario-Quebec championship basketball team, and was awarded the prestigious Dean of Women Award for athletic and academic excellence.

In honour of her athletic accomplishments, Mary Ann was among the first inductees into the University of Waterloo Sports Hall of Fame.

After graduating, Mary Ann entered the work force but continued to play tennis, competing in senior level tournaments. She has won numerous provincial singles and doubles (including mixed) titles. At the national level, Mary Ann has won over 30 outdoor championships and over 25 indoor titles. She has achieved a top 10 world doubles ranking and a top 20 world singles ranking.

As a result of her success at the national level, Mary Ann has represented Canada in the World Team Championships. She has been on over 20 national teams, captaining many of them, while competing around the world.

Mary Ann was treasurer of the Regional Interurban Tennis League for over 20 years, and currently volunteers as treasurer for the Cambridge Tennis Club.

Mary Ann was inducted into the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.

Glen Gaudet

Coach Glen Gaudet has played a major role in the development of ringette at the national and international levels throughout his 30 years of involvement with the sport.

Starting his long association with ringette in 1986 in Edmonton, Glen moved to Cambridge in 1989 and continued by coaching his daughters. In 2004, Glen helped to found the National Ringette League.

As head coach of the Cambridge Turbos in the National Ringette League between 2004 and 2014, Glen helped the Turbos capture three gold and three silver medals. In 2008, the Turbos were undefeated and won a gold medal at the first ever World Club Championship. Since 2015, Glen has been the Turbo’s general manager.

At the provincial level, Glen coached Team Ontario to three consecutive gold medals at the 1999, 2003, and 2007 Canada Winter Games.

He also guided Team Canada East to a silver medal win at the inaugural U19 World Ringette Championships held in Prague, Czech Republic in 2009.

In 2011, Ringette Canada appointed Glen as the head coach of its’ senior national team. At the same time, he also served in a leadership capacity in the development of Ringette Canada’s junior national team.

For his achievements, Glen received Cambridge’s Sports Contributor of the Year award in 2009 and was inducted into the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

Frederick Gaukel 1785-1853

In 1800 Frederick Gaukel of Wurtemberg, Germany, arrived at Amsterdam too late to join a whaling expedition to the Arctic. Finding a sailing vessel going to Philadelphia, he allowed himself to be sold under the hammer to the highest bidder for a service period of three years, to pay for the voyage across the ocean. Eventually he was sold to a farmer.

Gaukel immigrated to Canada, arriving at Preston where he worked in a distillery. Later he moved to a small farm near Bridgeport and erected a log cabin and barn and a small distillery. In 1819 he moved to Berlin and in 1833 started Gaukel's Tavern, later the site of the Walper House.

Gaukel was a civic-minded citizen and donated the property bounded by Queen, Weber and Frederick Streets on which the 1852 County Building was erected. This building was demolished when the present County Building was erected in 1965. Two of Kitchener's streets, Frederick and Gaukel, bear his name.

Mary Gay 1931-2000

Mary Gay was born in Toronto on September 16, 1931 and showed an early aptitude for golf. She started playing at the Waterloo County Golf and Country Club, Galt, at the age of thirteen. She won the ladies' club championship at age sixteen in 1947, and the Hamilton and district championship in 1951. She played tournament golf for the next eight years.

Gay was Ontario champion in 1952 and runner-up three times. She was runner-up three times in the Canadian Close Championship and five times in the Canadian Open Championship. She was an inter- provincial team member for Ontario (three times) and Alberta (twice). She represented Canada on ladies' golf teams in international competition in Great Britain in 1953 and 1959. In 1952 she was runner-up to Marlene Streit for the Canadian Female Athlete of the Year award.

In curling, Gay skipped the winning rinks in 1962 and 1963 in the Ontario Business Women's championship.

Gay worked for Mutual Life Assurance Company of Canada. She was a member of the Westmount Golf and Country Club since 1952.

Eugene George 1930-2015

Eugene George was born in Kitchener in 1930.

In 1963 the New York Rangers approached George about moving its junior farm team from Guelph to Kitchener. George spearheaded a community campaign that successfully brought the Kitchener Rangers to the community. In 1967, the National Hockey League ended its sponsorship of junior teams, and the Kitchener Rangers team was offered for sale to George for one dollar. George bought but transferred ownership of the team to a not-for-profit corporation, which still owns the Rangers hockey club today. George is considered the founder of the Kitchener Rangers organization, considered by many as the strongest junior hockey franchise in Canada.

In his professional career, George was the CEO of G&A Masonry, and he operated a building supply company and a manufacturer of rough-terrain forklifts. He served as founding president of both the Canadian and Ontario masonry contractor's associations and he was the first Canadian to be president of the Masonry Contractor Association of America and the International Masonry Institute in Washington, DC.

George's company was international in scope, having been involved in the construction of buildings across North America, including projects at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal and the award-winning National Museum of the American Indian in Washington. In 2008, he was inducted into the Grand Valley Construction Association's Hall of Fame.

George and his wife Patti had eight sons.

John L. Gibson DDS 1870-1954

John Liddle Gibson was born in Berlin in the late 1870s and during his early years lived in the Spring Valley area.

His illustrious hockey career started about 1897 as a player on the Berlin team, the first to win the OHA. Intermediate championship. He later played in the Senior Series. Being then considered one of the game's best players, he was invited to organize a professional league in Northern Michigan. He moved to Houghton to do so and play for that city. Teams were formed in other area cities. Other prominent players were imported from Canada. The area was "hockey mad," the quality of hockey was good and exciting. Gibson proved to be a capable organizer and again a star player in his new environment. He graduated from the Detroit Dental College and opened an office in Houghton where he practiced until moving to Calgary in 1909.

Gibson excelled in other sports. For several years he starred on the famous Berlin Ranger Football (soccer) team, also on the Berlin Baseball team. Amongst the many fine athletes native to this area, he undoubtedly was one of the greatest.

He served in the Canadian Forces during World War I and was wounded in 1916. He died in Calgary in 1954.

Robert Gilholm 1833-1904

Robert Gilholm, a former mayor of Galt, was born in North Dumfries Township in 1833. His parents came from Northumberlandshire and settled on a farm near Galt in 1832.

In 1859 Gilholm and George Hogg purchased a sawmill on Harris Street, Galt, from Andrew Dryden and operated it until 1900.

In 1883 he was appointed to the town council, served as alderman for a number of years, and as mayor in 1893 and 1894. He was also on the County council and was warden in 1892. He was a Liberal.

Gilholm was one of the original members of Central Presbyterian Church and was very influential in having the 1880 church erected. He was held in high regard by all with whom he came into contact.

David Goldie 1832-1894

David Goldie was thirteen when his famous Scottish father, John Goldie, botanist, who had been sent to Canada in 1817-19 by the Glasgow Botanical Society to study the flora of North America, brought his family to Greenfield, near Ayr, in 1844. His diary of his visit to Canada is treasured by botanists and historians.

Like true pioneers John Goldie and his sons had a desperate struggle to make ends meet until they built a small flour mill in 1857. Goldies completed a much larger mill in 1863 which brought financial success and made it possible to build The Gore, a family home, in Ayr.

When Goldie died in 1894, his wife was left with ten children. A very competent woman, she played a vital part in the social and educational life of the village.

John Goldie 1822-1896

When his parents came from Ayrshire, Scotland to settle on a farm at Greenfield, near Ayr, in 1844, Goldie had interests other than those of farming, and his name eventually became part of an internationally known manufacturing firm, Goldie-McCulloch Ltd.

A millwright, he worked in the Dumfries Foundry at Galt, which he and Hugh McCulloch bought in 1859. The firm of Goldie and McCulloch which started with twenty-two employees, grew rapidly and eventually did business in many countries.

He was vice-president of the Hospital Trust for several years and he and McCulloch presented the Trust with enough money to buy the site on which the first hospital in the city was erected.

A member of the Astronomical Society of Ontario, Goldie maintained an excellent observatory fitted with the latest scientific equipment.

John Goldie 1793-1886

John Goldie was born in Ayrshire, Scotland in 1793. He became a renowned botanist, plant collector and introducer of new species to horticulture. Goldie's Fern bears his name. His first botanic expedition to Canada and the United States took place in 1817-1819. Near Lake Simcoe he collected three of the fourteen species which he found that were new to science. He made two botanic trips to Russia before his second North American journey in 1833.

The family immigrated to Ontario in 1844 and founded mills at Greenfield, near Ayr. Goldie established one of the earliest nurseries in Ontario. He sent rare and hitherto uncultivated species to England in exchange for choice or new cultivars. He was in his 90s when his son David built The Gore in Ayr where he planned the landscaping and supervised its installation.

Jeff Goldsworthy b. 1959

Jeff Goldsworthy was born in Kitchener in 1959. In 1965, he started playing badminton at the KW Granite Club. From 1975 to 1978, he was selected to the All Ontario Badminton Team and during this time he was twice Ontario High School Champion in singles and once mixed doubles champion.

Goldsworthy was a member for three years of the All Canadian High School Badminton Team and he was also the Ontario University Amateur Athletics Singles Champion twice. In 1978 he was the Canadian Junior Singles and Doubles Champion. In 1994 he was Canadian Masters Champion in the over thirty-five age category. In 1997 he won the Masters 35+ Singles and Doubles in the Yonex US Open.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo and he graduated as a Doctor of Chiropractic medicine in 1987. Goldsworthy and his wife and their three children live in Waterloo.

Photograph from the Forde Studio, Kitchener, Ontario

William (Bill) Alfred Goldsworthy 1944-199

Bill Goldsworthy played right wing for the minor and junior hockey leagues in Waterloo and then advanced to play Junior A hockey in Niagara Falls, competing twice in the Memorial Cup. He was on the 1965 Memorial Cup championship team.

Goldsworthy began his professional hockey career with the Boston Bruins and was selected in the expansion draft in 1997 by the Minnesota North Stars. He was a member of Team Canada for the 1972 Summit Series against the Russians.

Goldsworthy played 14 years in the National Hockey League, scoring 283 goals and 258 assists for 541 points in 771 games. He was chosen an All-Star player four times. He served as Captain of the North Stars for three years and he is regarded as one of the most popular North Stars of all time. Goldsworthy began a trend with the post-score dance which was coined The Goldy Shuffle. Goldsworthy's No. 8 jersey was retired by the North Stars in 1992.

Goldsworthy passed away in 1996; however his legend has lived on, as he has been selected by the Minnesota Wild as one of the Minnesota Greats. Goldsworthy has three grand daughters and one grandson all who play hockey Goldy style.

Photo courtesy of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Ernst "Ernie" F. Goman 1914-1997

Ernie Goman was born in Renfrew County and graduated from Waterloo College with an honours BA in French and German.

Goman coached and managed in the Waterloo Baseball Association and in juvenile and midget hockey leagues. He became the first president of the K-W Boys' Hockey Association. He ran junior, intermediate and Waterloo Tigers baseball teams and was manager of the Kitchener Panther Senior Baseball Club.

He was general manager of the K-W Dutchmen Hockey Club for seven years and the 1956 and 1960 Canadian Olympic hockey teams. He was general chairman of the 1975 national mixed curling championships of Canada.

Goman served as past president of the Waterloo Baseball Association, the K-W Granite Club, the K-W Athletic Association, the Waterloo Lions' Club and the Waterloo County Life Underwriters. In 1956 he received a gold medal from the International Hockey Association and later a gold stick award from the Ontario Hockey Association.

He was associated with the Equitable Life Insurance Co. for 50 years.

Milton R. Good 1911-2008

Milton R. Good was born in 1911 in Waterloo Township. After completing a commercial course at Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School, he worked for the Royal Bank for twenty-one years. In 1948, he joined H. Boehmer and Company where he became President and General Manager.

His record of service to the community is impressive. He was first chairman of the Board of Governors of Conrad Grebel College on which he served for twenty-one years. He was involved with the founding of Fairview Mennonite Home, Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, Mennonite Mutual Aid, Eastwood Mennonite Community Homes Inc. and the Mennonite Publishing Service. He was president of the K-W Symphony Orchestra and chaired the committee which raised the final $2.5 million to finance Kitchener's Centre in the Square.

Good established the charitable Good Foundation in 1974 and assisted in the management of the Eastwood Community, Kitchener. He was guest of honour at the Mayor's Dinner in 1995.

Photograph by BELAIR, Kitchener

Vera M. Good b. 1915-2019

Vera M. Good was born on a farm north of Waterloo in 1915. She left school at Grade 8 and while working for Kaufman Rubber Co., completed Grades 9-12 by private study. She took Grade 13 at K-W Collegiate Institute and won a scholarship.

After completing a one-year course in teacher education, she taught for two years and worked with the Mennonite Relief Association in India in the 1940s. She earned a degree in Social Work and Education from Goshen College, Indiana and an M.A. in education (gifted children) at Northwestern University, Illinois.

Good was one of the first women principals in Etobicoke and was the first woman supervisor of education in the Province. After completing her PhD at Columbia University, she was appointed an inspector for the Ontario Ministry of Education. She was a department head at TV Ontario for 15 years and after retirement helped set up educational networks in Jamaica and Belize.

Kenneth Goodman, Military Heritage

Lieutenant-Colonel Kenneth Goodman was a leading figure in the military history of Waterloo Region. While in New Hamburg, Kenneth raised a volunteer militia company, leading them on active duty against the Fenians in 1866. Kenneth was chosen as the first commanding officer when the 29th Waterloo Battalion of Infantry was formed. The Waterloo battalion remains today as the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada.

Arthur Russel Goudie 1884-1960

A.R. Goudie was founder of one of western Ontario's largest family-owned department stores, Goudies, Ltd. He was among the first in Canada to encourage employees to be shareholders.

A charter member of the Ontario Pioneer Community Foundation, he donated the Dry Goods and Grocery Store to Doon Pioneer Village.

A native of Hespeler, he began his career as an apprentice to the Forbes woollen mills. He later travelled for the Ontario Button Company.

In 1909, he became manager and vice-president of Weseloh-Goudies, Ltd. When the store was destroyed by fire in 1918, Mr. Goudie rebuilt it as Goudies, Ltd.

He served as Ontario and national president of the Ontario Retail Merchants Association. An active supporter of many community organizations, Goudie's generosity made possible the building of the A.R. Goudie Eventide Home in Kitchener.

Harvey John Graber 1888-1954

Harvey John Graber was born in Berlin (Kitchener) in 1888. He was elected a commissioner of the Public Utilities Commission in 1936 and served for eighteen years. He was chairman from 1938-1946 and was again chairman at the time of his death. While he was chairman, the first trolley bus service was instituted in Kitchener-Waterloo and the east end transit terminal was built.

In 1949 he ran unsuccessfully as a Conservative Party candidate in the provincial election.

In 1954 the opening of the Harvey J. Graber transformer station hailed Kitchener as the first municipality in Ontario to transform its own high tension power. A leader in the Lutheran Church, he was a member of the Canada Synod ' s executive committee, president of the Lutheran Brotherhood and a member of the board of governors of Waterloo College and Seminary.

Frendy Graham 1898-1969 Wilbur Kress 1901-1963

Graham and Kress were considered two of the best baseball pitchers in Canada in the 1920s when playing for the Galt Terriers in an era in which Senior Baseball in Ontario was of high calibre. The Terriers won the Senior Inter-County and Ontario Association Championships in 1922 and 1923 behind the effective pitching of these two players.

Graham was born in Petrolia, Ontario in 1898. He moved to Galt when a young boy where he played all his baseball and where he died in 1969.

Kress was born in Preston in 1901. His entire baseball career was spent in Preston as a member of a championship junior team and then with the Galt Senior Club.

Charles E. Greb 1929-2009

Charles E. Greb was born in Kitchener. He started his business career with Greb Shoes Limited, a family company that grew into Canada's largest shoe manufacturing company by the time it was sold in 1976. Greb later became CEO of Musitron Communications which under his presidency became part of Grebco Holdings Ltd. He was also director and chairman of Skyjack Inc. of Guelph; director and chairman of Virtek Vision International Inc. of Waterloo; and managing partner of Woodside Fund, a California Venture Capital Partnership.

Greb was a life member and former chairman of the National Council of YMCAs of Canada; a director for 50 years and President of the YMCA of Kitchener-Waterloo; an Honourary Life Member of the K-W Hospital Foundation; president of Kitchener Chamber of Commerce; a founding director and secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of Kitchener & Waterloo; chairman of the Ontario Summer Games; a founding member and president of K-W Oktoberfest; vice-chairman of CAA Ontario; chairman of CAA Mid-Western Ontario; president of Junior Achievement of the Waterloo Region; chairman of Junior Achievement of Canada; founding chairman Rotary Community Resource Village; a member of the Board of Governors of St. Paul's College, University of Waterloo, and member of the Board of Regents of Luther College, University of Regina; chairman of Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Board of Management; chairman of Kitchener Economic Development Board.

He received many awards including Kitchener Citizen of the Year; Province of Ontario Bicentennial Medal; Ontario Volunteer Service gold award; Canada 125th Anniversary medal for contributions to Canada; Companion of the Fellowship of Honour YMCA Canada; Lou Buckley Award - K-W YMCA; and Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International for work with youth.

Photograph Courtesy of Forde Studio Photographers, Kitchener

Harry Douglas Greb 1916-1998

Harry Douglas Greb was born in Kitchener. For more than thirty years, he guided Greb Industries Limited, the family business founded by his father Erwin Greb in 1912. Greb began his career as a bookkeeper with the company in 1932. His father retired in 1940, and Harry took over active management of the company. He became President of the company in 1954, upon the death of his father. When he sold the company in 1975, it was the largest independent shoe company in Canada.

Greb is credited as the first manufacturer in the Region to give his employees two weeks holiday with pay. He acquired plants in across Canada and in the USA. He developed the Kodiak Boot, was Canadian licensee for Hush Puppies, supplied footwear to the Ontario Provincial Police, farmers in Western Canada, and thousands of pairs of boots for the Canadian and British military.

He was Director of Equitable Life Insurance Company for twenty-six years. He was a lifetime and active member of St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Kitchener. A man of great energy, Greb served ten years as Chairman of the Board of Waterloo Lutheran University. He was honoured with an LLD degree in 1971. He served as President of the Shoe Manufacturers of Canada, President of the Shoe Information Bureau, and President of the Shoe and Leather Council of Canada. Greb was a member of the Waterloo County Shrine Club, Mocha Temple for fifty-five years; Grand River and Scottish Rite Masonic Lodges for sixty-two years; Kitchener Rotary Club for fifty-five years; and ex-officer of Sea Cadet Corps RCSCC Warspite - Kitchener.

Greb married Dorothy Spain of Galt in 1938. They have one son, Douglas, a daughter Barbara, and nine grandchildren. Greb was an active sailor all his life and skippered five different vessels.

Photograph by BELAIR, Kitchener

Harry Greenan

Harry Greenan was born in Scotland, but grew up in Galt (Cambridge).  As a youth, Greenan won a bicycle rodeo - and although he preferred playing soccer, the rodeo's first prize was tennis lessons at the Galt Tennis Club.

In 1960, Greenan started playing tennis competitively, ranking in the top 10 in Ontario Under-18 when he was 17 years of age.  Throughout the 1970s, he was ranked as high as third in Ontario in the open division.

In 1983, he won the Over-35 National singles title as well as the doubles title, and the next year was the National Over-35 indoor singles champion.  In 1993, Greenan won the Over-45 Eastern indoors title.

Greenan is considered one of the top tennis coaches in Canada.  He coached his son, Mark - one of the country's best doubles players - to Canada's Davis Cup team.  Many other athletes he has coached are athletes and coaches in Canada and the US.  He coached Canada's first Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships winner, Erin Routcliffe, in 2012.  Greenan was awarded a Distinguished Service Award by Tennis Canada in 2012. 

He became a course conductor presenting certification courses in 1974 and he was a head course conductor for 27 years for Tennis Canada.  Greenan served on several committees and on the board of the Ontario Tennis Association.

For more than 20 years, Greenan owned and operated a tennis club in Cambridge and he is part owner of the Royal City Tennis Club in Guelph.

In 2010, Greenan was awarded the Don and Benita Rope Award by the City of Cambridge as Sports Contributor of the Year, and he was inducted into the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

Mark Greenan

A tennis player of national renown, Cambridge native Mark Greenan was on Canada's Davis Cup team in 1985, 1986 and 1987 and he was National doubles champion in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1992.

Greenan honed his skills at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina where he played Number One, earned All-American recognition and was Atlantic Conference Most Valuable Player in 1988.

He was Ontario Junior Champion in 1983, Canadian International Junior Doubles Champion in 1984 and Canadian Junior Doubles Champion in 1983 and 1984. Also in 1984, he was Rolex USA Junior International Doubles Champion.

Named Cambridge Athlete of the Year in 1987, he continues his association with tennis as a teaching pro with the "Harry Greenan Tennis Academy".

Andrew Groff 1793-1877

The name of Groff in Waterloo in the 19th century was associated with the raising of Shorthorn cattle.

Andrew Groff of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, settled in 1822 on 170 acres at the location of the Galt Country Club. He later owned a grist mill, general store, tavern and a distillery. In the 1840s the family moved to Waterloo where his sons and grandsons, with outstanding success, bred and raised Shorthorn cattle.

A Knight of Warlaby, imported from Scotland, proved to be an outstanding sire. A son, A Baron of Waterloo," in 1882 was Grand Champion at the leading Canadian show at Kingston. In 1886 he was champion at Guelph. He was then sold to the Hon. George Brown. This bull sired what was probably the best show herd in Canada, winning awards on the American and Canadian show circuits. The Groffs were justifiably proud of their reputation as Shorthorn breeders.

Friedrich Guggisberg 1818-1888

Friedrich Guggisberg (referred to as "Frederick" Guggisberg in commercial business directories) was the founder of one of Preston's earliest furniture works. Born in Uetendorf, Canton Bern, Switzerland in 1818, he came to Canada in 1834 with two older sisters and their families. In Preston, they joined two older brothers, Johann and Samuel. In 1838, Frederick started his own cabinetmaking shop, which grew from making chairs to a diversified manufacturing concern, making desks, tables and some of the first barrel type patented revolving drawer desks and high roll-top desks in Canada. The finest designs were sent to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. At one time, the Guggisberg furniture works was the largest employer in Preston. Involved in community affairs, in 1852, Frederick was a member of Preston's first village council. He is buried in the Old Preston Cemetery on Fountain Street, Cambridge.

After Guggisberg's death in 1888, his three sons took over the business and later sold out their interest. The business became the Preston Furniture Company, manufacturing office desks. This company was sold to Percy Hilborn in 1919, and became consolidated with Hilborn's Canadian Office and School Furniture Company in 1928.

Jean Haalboom, Heritage Advocate

Kitchener’s Jean Haalboom has been a leading figure in the heritage preservation of Waterloo Region for decades. Working with the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation, the Friends of the Governor’s House and Gaol, Kitchener LACAC, and many other organizations, evidence of Jean’s commitment to saving historic structures can be found across Waterloo Region.

Walter Hachborn 1921 - 2016

As cofounder and president of Home Hardware, Walter Hachborn built this successful Canadian company by making people his business. Hachborn was born in Conestogo, Ontario and he has lived in St. Jacobs most of his life. With two other businessmen, he purchased Hollinger Hardware in 1950, from which evolved Home Hardware (established in 1963) as a network of independent hardware dealers across Canada.

Hachborn was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2000 honouring his many achievements to the betterment of business and community life in Waterloo Region. He was a Director of the Asthma Society of Canada, and a member of the Waterloo Historical Society, the St. Jacobs Horticultural Society, and the Woolwich Community Health Centre. He is a volunteer for the Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO) and has served in Panama, the Czech Republic and in Canadian native communities.

He was named Citizen of the Year of Woolwich Township in 1976. He received an Honourary LLD degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1985. His other honorary awards include Distinguished Canadian Retailer of the Year (1988), Master Entrepreneur of the Year (1996), Inaugural Corporate Partnership Award of the Asthma Society of Canada (2000), and he was named to the Canadian Hardware Housewares Hall of Fame (1989). Canada Business Magazine, Hardware Merchandising recently named him Retailer of the Century.

His past services include three years in the Canadian Armed Forces, Vice-President of the Woolwich Township Planning Board (1957-1972), four years on the Board of Governors of Waterloo College, ten years on the Board of Governors of Wilfrid Laurier University, six years on the Executive Board of the Lutheran Church of America (Canada Synod). He was founding President of United Hardware Wholesalers and founding chairman of Interlink International. He was a director of J.M. Schneider, Inc., and Chairman of the Energy Section of the Distributive Trades Consultative Committee (Ministry of Industry, Trade and Commerce).

J. Gerald Hagey 1904-1988

J. Gerald Hagey was born in Hamilton. He graduated from Waterloo College (of the University of Western Ontario), joined B.F. Goodrich, Kitchener, where he became advertising and public relations manager. In 1953, he was appointed president of Waterloo College (Wilfrid Laurier University). When the University of Waterloo was founded in 1957, he became its first president and vice-chancellor. He retired in 1969 and was appointed president-emeritus.

Hagey received an honorary doctor of law degrees from Susquehanna University, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Sir George Williams University, Montreal, the University of Western Ontario, Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo. He was president of the Association of Canadian Advertisers (1951) and a charter member of the K-W Sales and Advertising Club. He was named K-W Citizen of the year (1968) and a member of the Order of Canada (1986). The J.G. Hagey Hall of the Humanities at the University of Waterloo is named in his honour.

Jacob Hailer 1804-1882

Jacob Hailer, a pioneer furniture manufacturer, was deeply religious and was very active in establishing the Evangelical Church in Canada. It is recorded that Sunday School was held in his A Spinning Wheel Shop at the corner of what is Scott and King Streets in Kitchener and that members of Canada's First Nations often dropped in to observe what was going on.

Hailer was born in Wilfredingen, Baden, Germany and came to Canada when he was twenty-seven, locating in Berlin. He bought an acre of land from Bishop Eby and started to manufacture furniture, being one of the earliest furniture manufacturers in the County.

George Hainsworth 1895-1950

Setting a record of shutouts that has never been equalled, George Hainsworth played eleven years in the NHL and five in the Western Canada League before ending a great career.

Hainsworth was born in Toronto on June 26, 1895, but played his amateur hockey in Kitchener, where he moved as a young boy. He went through the OHA ranks winning Junior, Intermediate and Senior titles as well as the Allan Cup in 1918.

Turning professional with Saskatoon in 1924, he played three seasons in the west before joining Montreal Canadiens in 1926 to make hockey history. During the 1928-29 season he registered twenty-two shutouts in forty-four games, allowing only forty-three goals over the entire schedule. But it was not until the next year, and the following one, that Canadiens captured the Stanley Cup. Between 1926 and 1929 George Hainsworth won the Vezina Trophy three straight years.

When the Canadiens ran into difficulties in 1932, Hainsworth was traded for Lorne Chabot of Toronto, and played four seasons with the Maple Leafs. He was replaced by "Turk" Broda for the 1936-37 season and retired. The Canadiens brought him back but after a few games he retired.

He died October 9, 1950.

Katherine Hale 1874-1956

Her mother's Christian names, Katherine Hale, were chosen as the pen name of the distinguished Canadian writer and lecturer on current literature, Amelia Beers Warnock, who was born in Galt in 1874.

She attended Glen Mawr School in Toronto, studied singing in New York, and became literary editor of the Mail and Empire. In 1912 she married John Garvin, a Canadian critic.

A famous poem, Grey Knitting , and two collections of verse established her as a lyric poet. Of her prose works, This is Ontario is considered an extremely fine example of Regional writing and carried her fame far beyond the borders of her native province. Other writings included: Canadian Cities of Romance in 1923 and later Canadian Houses of Romance.

The sensitive treatment given the native legends of the regions bordering the St. Lawrence River led L'Institut Historique et Heralique of France to enroll her name on its list of Honourary Members.

Monsignor Reuben Michael Haller CP 1889-1979

Monsignor R.M. Haller built a record of long and distinguished service for God, his church and his country. Educated at St. Clement's Separate School, Preston, St. Jerome's College and the Grand Seminary of the University of Montreal, he was ordained in 1912, serving at Mildmay, Macton, St. Clements, New Germany (Maryhill), Walkerton, Deemerton and Hanover.

His great achievement was establishing St. Joseph's parish, Kitchener, and the building of a church during the depressed thirties. He continued as a very revered pastor until his retirement in 1968.

An army Chaplain during the Second World War, he was a member of the K-W High School Board for twenty-three years and Chairman of the Catholic High School Board for ten years.

He was raised to the dignity of Monsignor, a Domestic Prelate on appointment by Pope John XXIII in 1959. In 1972 the Waterloo County Separate School Board named a Kitchener elementary school, Monsignor R.M. Haller School, in his honour.

A.C. Hallman 1858-1918

A.C. Hallman, a native of New Dundee, is remembered as an expert in the breeding and raising of Holstein cattle. When Shorthorns were the leading breed, he had confidence that eventually Holsteins would develop into much smoother and more attractive animals, and command good market prices.

To this end, in 1882 he imported Holsteins from New York State. Around 1895 he purchased Springbrook Farm, near Breslau, and developed a large herd. Many were sired by an important bull considered one of the finest sires of the era. Hallman was judge for the Holstein breed at large fairs in Canada and the United States. He served as president of the Holstein-Friesian Association of Canada and was a founder of the Waterloo County Holstein Breeders' Club, and president until his death in 1918.

Hallman was also reeve of Waterloo County for two years.

Lyle S. Hallman 1922-2003

Lyle Shantz Hallman was committed to the betterment of his community.

Hallman was a land developer, home and apartment builder and philanthropist, who was awarded the Canada 125 Medal, an Honourary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Waterloo, and he was invested in the Order of Canada.

Hallman was born in Preston in 1922. After serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, he started his construction business by excavating a basement with a team of horses and a scraper. Hallman Construction Ltd., founded in 1945, grew into the Hallman Group of Companies, builder, owner and manager of seventy-five apartment buildings, comprising 3,500 rental units as well as a major land developer.

Hallman made major lead gifts to numerous fund-raising campaigns throughout the Waterloo Region, including: the Lyle S. Hallman Swimming Pool; endowing the Lyle S. Hallman Fund of the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation; gifts to the Grand River Hospital Foundation including funding the first MRI in the Waterloo Region; and also to the University of Waterloo for the Lyle S. Hallman Institute for Health Promotion and Wilfrid Laurier University for the Lyle S. Hallman "Chair" in Child and Family Development.

He was a founder of the local Home Builders Association in 1946. He was Treasurer of the National Home Builders Association from 1980 to 1985, as well as National Chair of Housing and Urban Development Association of Canada, Multi-Family Council. His expertise and knowledge were in constant demand by local elected officials, regional committees and provincial organizations, seeking information on property management and apartment procedure.

Photograph courtesy of Forde Studio, Kitchener 

Peter Hallman 1950-1999

Peter Hallman was born in Kitchener, and was a life-long resident of Waterloo Region, primarily living near Breslau. Hallman's passion was sports, notably softball, both as a volunteer manager in Kitchener and Waterloo, and as a corporate sponsor. His generosity and foresight were prime reasons why the Waterloo Twins have been Canada's longest established senior men's fastball team. The Waterloo Twins acted as the host team of the International Softball Congress World Championships several times during the early 2000s. The Peter Hallman Ball Yard in Kitchener was named in his honour.

Hallman was a driving force in many of the community's not-for-profit organizations and charities including United Way, the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation, Grand River Hospital, and as a co-founder of the Centre for Family Business. He led the transition committee when Kitchener-Waterloo and Freeport hospitals merged in 1995 to become Grand River Hospital.

In the corporate world he served with the Economical Insurance Company. He was also active in the Breslau Recreation Association and the Breslau Mennonite Church. In his work with the Hallman Group of family-owned companies, Hallman served as president of Hallman Eldercare, operating three retirement homes in Waterloo Region and one in Brantford. Hallman was honoured posthumously at the 13^th annual Mayors' Dinner in Kitchener in 2000 for his outstanding contributions to the community.

Edward Halter 1834-1917

Edward Halter, for many decades a leading citizen of New Germany, Waterloo County, was a staunch and very impressive looking farmer, who refused to don formal dress, but wore tweeds when being presented to the Pope.

Halter, born in Lower Alsace, and fluent in both English and French, long remembered the ruggedness of the family's 42 day journey to this continent in a sailing vessel and the early struggles of the family who lived in a small log cabin.

Halter's municipal career included service as a member of the township council 1874-1877, deputy reeve in 1877 and 1878 and reeve in 1879. In 1880 he promoted the Hopewell Creek Fire Insurance Company of New Germany and was president for six years. In 1874 he was appointed Justice of the Peace, and for forty-five years was a notary public and commissioner of the High Court.

Gordon Hamblin 1896-1979

Gordon Hamblin, a native of England, came to Kitchener with his family in 1917. An industrialist, he was president of Smiles < n Chuckles Limited, a manufacturer of candy.

For his extremely extensive community and national service, he was given a large number of awards, including the City of Kitchener Award of Merit; the Jaycees' Award as Citizen of the Year for 1960; Federated Charities Award for thirty-seven years' service; fifty years' service award from the National Council, YMCA as a director of the Kitchener Y for fifty-five years; Centennial Award and Good Servant Medal, Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, for twenty-six years' national and local service; recognition as a member of the Kitchener Public Library Board for thirty-four years, and Chairman of the Building and Budget Committees; Trinity United Church recognition for service as Church School Superintendent, elder and an active member of the Official Board; and an Honourary Certificate from the Interfaith Pastoral Counselling Centre.

Hamblin also received the Queen's 25th Anniversary Medal from Governor Jules Leger.

Deborah Glaister Hannay, M.D. 1906-1986

Glaister graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School in 1932 and did post-graduate work in England. In 1936 she returned to Wellesley, Ontario to assist her ailing father with his medical practice. For several years, Dr. Debbie, as she was known, took on a busy rural caseload and she was Wellesley Township's first female physician. Her deep compassion and professionalism made her very popular with her patients.

In 1943 the recently married Glaister-Hannay joined the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps where she qualified as Captain. After the war Glaister-Hannay had a full medical practice as Kitchener's first female specialist. She later joined Freeport Hospital, eventually becoming the hospital's chief of staff.

In 1999, Wellesley Township honoured its first female doctor by naming a road Deborah Glaister Line.

Robert Munro Hannah 1925-2001

Robert "Bob" Hannah was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in 1925. He served in the Canadian Infantry Corps from 1943 to 1946 after which he attended McMaster University where he was the Basketball Team Captain in 1948. Hannah taught high school in Haileybury, Ontario for two years and then moved to Kitchener Collegiate Institute where he taught for 34 years from 1951 to 1985.

As a teacher, basketball coach, cheer leader and sports announcer, Hannah earned the designation among area basketball enthusiasts as "Mr. Basketball" . At his home school, he was known as "Mr. KCI". Hannah symbolized participation, vitality and the ongoing effort to improve.

Hannah was the recipient of the Stewart Award for Teacher Excellence in 1977.

Hannah was married for forty-six years to Ruth and they have two children and five grandchildren. He was active in his church community and continued his love of teaching and sports after retirement, by coaching grades seven and eight boys' basketball.

John “Jack” Mickle Harper - 1917-2008

Harper was born in Kitchener and served in the Second World War, where he was decorated for his role in the invasion of Normandy. 

His extraordinary law career began in 1948, when he co-founded the law firm McGibbon & Harper in Waterloo. Harper was appointed to the rank of Queen's Counsel in 1958. He retired in 2007 as General Counsel of Gowling, La Fleur & Henderson, now known as Gowling WLG with offices around the world. 

Harper volunteered with numerous organizations including: St. Mary's Hospital Foundation; Campaign Waterloo; Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation; Waterloo Chamber of Commerce; Waterloo Law Association; United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo; Kitchener­ Waterloo YMCA; and the RIM Park Campaign. In 1975, he was named the Kitchener-Waterloo Citizen of the Year. 

Harper was also a member of Wilfrid Laurier University’s Board of Governors, the Chancellor's Club, and the William Ross MacDonald Society. He was a proud Senate member with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, and an Honorary Colonel of the Royal Highland Fusiliers. 

His community contributions have been recognized by the City of Waterloo, where the newest library branch (John M. Harper Branch) was named in his honour.

Photograph courtesy of Forbes Studio.

Donald Hayes 1935-1977

Don Hayes, a native of Ottawa, graduated from Springfield College, Massachusetts with bachelor degrees in science and physical education, and in 1971, his doctorate in physical education. He taught at University of Guelph before joining the University of Waterloo department of kinesiology, specializing in sports' medicine.

Hayes coached the Waterloo Warriors hockey team from 1964-1969 when they were perennial championship contenders. One of his players, Bobby Murdock, went on to play and coach in the National Hockey League.

His research and publications centred on athletic injuries and rehabilitation, protective sports equipment and life saving water vests. He was a member of the university senate, chairman of the sports' medicine section of the national coaching development program and a member of the American Medical Association sub-committee on the medical aspects of hockey. He developed the Don Hayes Hockey Schools in Canada and the United States.

Hugh J. Heasley 1882-1973

Hugh J. Heasley, through unstinting service to God and his fellow man, made a great impact on the life, culture and welfare of his home community, Canada and internationally.

He was awarded the Canadian Armed Forces Distinguished Service Order, the Victoria Decoration by the Canadian Army Service Corps, which he represented at the 50^th anniversary ceremonies at Vimy Ridge, the Canada Service Medal, and the Croix de Guerre by the French government.

Heasley was named K-W Citizen of the Year in 1959, was awarded three of scouting's top honours, and a promontory at Everton Scout Forest was named after him. He served on the board of Rotary International as director from Canada and a park in Lakeshore Village was named Heasley Park by the Rotary Club. He served in an executive capacity the Canadian Arthritis and Rheumatism Society, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Red Cross, the K-W Federated Charities, the K-W YMCA, the Art Gallery, the K-W Symphony Orchestra Association, the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, and his service on the Advisory Board of St. Mary's Hospital led to the naming of Heasley Hall in his honour.

Paul Heinbecker b. 1941

Paul Heinbecker has had a distinguished career, serving as Minister (Political Affairs) at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, Ambassador of Canada to Germany and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations.  He has also been Assistant Deputy Minister in the Department of External Affairs, Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet for Foreign Policy and Defence and Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Mulroney.

Heinbecker was an architect of Canada's human security agenda, helped negotiate an end to the Kosovo war, headed the Canadian delegation to the Climate Change negotiations in Kyoto and represented Canada on the UN Security Council where he was a leading opponent of the Iraq war, and an advocate of the International Criminal Court.

Heinbecker graduated from Waterloo Lutheran (now Wilfrid Laurier) University in 1965.  He received honorary doctorates from Laurier in 1993 and St. Thomas University in 2007.  He was named Laurier Alumnus of the Year in 2003 and selected one of 100 Alumni of Achievement on Laurier's 100th anniversary in 2011.

In 2004 he was appointed the inaugural Director of the Centre for Global Relations at Laurier and a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo.  A frequent commentator on radio and television, he has also written numerous articles and edited several books on international relations, and authored Getting Back in the Game: A Foreign Policy Playbook for Canada.

Growing up in Kitchener-Waterloo, Heinbecker played football for WLU and the K-W Dutchmen, hockey for WLU and the Waterloo Siskins, basketball for WLU and baseball for the Kitchener Dodgers.

George Heggie 1908-1990

George Heggie was born in Dundee, Scotland in March 1908. In 1910, his family moved to Cambridge (Galt). He was one of the organizers of the Galt Public School skating races which began in 1931 and continue to the present. As the official starter for 57 years, he used a pair of wooden clappers to start each race.

Heggie was a superb shortstop for the Galt Terriers, being named a league all-star several times. He was also a quarterback for the Ontario R.F.U. Galt Juniors. He was President and coached in the Galt Minor Baseball Association, as well as a founder of Little League Baseball in Galt. An avid curler, Heggie was a founder of the Tri-County Masters Curling League and helped to organize numerous Provincial curling competitions.

Heggie was the recipient of the Cambridge Sports Contributor Award in 1982 and he received the "Celebration 88" Medal for his contributions to sport in his community.

Court Heinbuch 1940-1985

Court Heinbuch was born in 1940 and lived in Kitchener his entire life.  As a youngster, Heinbuch excelled at hockey and baseball.  He was an overpowering left handed pitcher and led Kitchener minor baseball teams to Ontario titles at the Peewee, Bantam, Midget, Junior and Senior levels.

Heinbuch pitched his first no-hitter as an 11 year old Peewee and again in 1961 when the Junior Dodgers won the Ontario Championship.  Heinbuch's senior career with the Kitchener Panthers spanned a decade from 1962 to 1972; they won the Intercounty Championship in 1967 and 1968.  At the national level, he was a member of Team Ontario that won the 1969 Canadian Championship at the Halifax Summer Games.

Heinbuch was also a talented basketball player and played on championship teams at Eastwood Collegiate, McMaster University and Waterloo Lutheran (Laurier) University. He was a member of the 1965-66 Coronets team that won the Canadian Senior Basketball Championship.

He was an outstanding basketball coach at the high school level, building a basketball dynasty at Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute in Kitchener.  During the 1982-1983 season, the Gaels won six tournaments and the All Ontario AAA Championship.  During his coaching career, Heinbuch amassed six City and six County Championships and had an 80 percent winning record.  He was an assistant coach at the University of Waterloo when the team won the 1974-75 Canadian University Championship.

Heinbuch led the Kitchener Panthers Baseball School for several years and initiated one of the most prestigious basketball tournaments in Ontario that continues today and bears his name - the Heinbuch Classic.  An athletic scholarship in his name is awarded each year at Cameron Heights.

Photo by Belair Studio

William H. Heise 1887-1950

William H. Heise was born in Preston in 1887. He received his education at Preston Public School and Galt Collegiate and then learned the trade of a watchmaker and operated a store in Preston. He enlisted in 1915 in World War I and was wounded in action in 1916.

He devoted many years in the promotion of sports in Preston and district which was the forerunner of his later service in wider fields. He became an executive member of the Inter- County Baseball Association, as well as being Secretary-Treasurer of the Preston Athletic Association. In 1947 he was honoured with the presentation of a gold hockey stick emblem by the Ontario Hockey Association for meritorious service to that organization.

From the early 1920s to the time of his death in 1950, Heise's name was synonymous with fine sports leadership and promotion, in Preston and beyond.

Ott Heller 1910-1980

Born in Kitchener in June 1910, Heller played his early hockey with the Kitchener Junior team in 1927 and 1928 which won the Ontario Championship in 1928.

He turned professional in 1929 with the New York Ranger organization, playing his first two years with Springfield of the American Hockey League, Rangers farm club. He advanced to the parent club in 1931 where he played fifteen consecutive years. During this lengthy period he was one of the best players in the National Hockey League and earned the distinction of playing on two Stanley Cup winning teams.

After leaving the New York Rangers, Heller played and coached for several years with minor professional league clubs followed by several years coaching in the Ontario Hockey Association.

As a player and coach for over a quarter of a century, Heller made a valuable contribution to the development of Canada's national game.

William Hendry 1834-1917

William Hendry, who was deeply involved in the beginnings of the Mutual Life of Canada, was born in Scotland and came to Winterbourne, Ontario, as a child. He eventually started a business at Neustadt where he also operated a flax mill and a farm.

In 1870 Hendry was appointed Manager of the Ontario Mutual Life at a salary of $1,000.00 a year. He went to Boston to consult a noted actuary and to obtain a table of sound premium rates. He later toured Western Ontario, giving lectures on the value of mutual insurance. At the end of the week he returned to Waterloo to do bookkeeping and banking. He was a man of strong convictions, courageous and kindly, whose chief aim was the best interests of the policyholders. He resigned in 1898 at the age of 64 for reasons of health.

Hendry also served as a member of the first Berlin-Waterloo Hospital Board of Trustees and at one time was a member of the town council.

August Herchenratter 1919-2017

August "Augie" Herchenratter is a veteran who served with distinction in the Second World War.  He is a recipient of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) - Commonwealth's second highest award for gallantry in action. 

Prior to his military service, Herchenratter, a lifelong resident of Waterloo Region, excelled in hockey and baseball.  During the 1930s, he caddied at Kitchener's Westmount Golf and Country Club and although having never golfed, within a year he achieved a zero handicap and was hired by the club as an assistant professional.   

He was recruited by the Eastern Amateur Hockey League in 1939 and played three seasons professionally with the American Hockey League. 

In 1942 Herchenratter was called up for active military service with the Kitchener-based Scots Fusiliers of Canada.  He qualified as a commando and was promoted to corporal and trained recruits at Camp Ipperwash, Ontario. 

Herchenratter shipped overseas in 1943 as a sergeant.  He was a platoon leader with the 1^st Battalion of the Cambridge (Galt) based, Highland Light Infantry of Canada which took part in the D-Day amphibious landings on Juno Beach, Normandy on June 6, 1944. On July 8, he led his 28-member platoon in a fierce and successful frontal assault against a larger enemy force defending the French village of Buron.  He organized the attack each time a machine gun nest was encountered, one of which he alone destroyed.  When the battle ended, 23 members of his platoon had been either killed or wounded. 

King George VI presented the DCM to Sgt. Herchenratter in March 1945 during an awards ceremony at Buckingham Palace. 

Following the War, Herchenratter worked at Seagram's in Waterloo until his retirement in 1985.  His interest in sports continued and he was coach of the Waterloo Siskins in 1954 when they won the Ontario Junior 'B' hockey championship. He also played right field for the Waterloo Tigers baseball team. 

In 2014, to mark the 70^th anniversary of D-Day, Herchenratter was among a select group of Canadian veterans who received the Légion d'Honneur from the Government of France - that country's highest honour - in gratitude for his service in helping to liberate France.

Heritage Cambridge

Sustained by the drive and devotion of community-minded volunteers, Heritage Cambridge is in its fifth decade of advocating for heritage conservation.

In 1970, Central School in Galt, and the following year the Gore Insurance Company, were demolished without any consideration for their history or unique architecture. Alarmed at the loss, a small group of citizens under the leadership of Pat Rosebrugh advocated for the preservation of the unique character of the community. What began as a handful of concerned individuals grew to become a visionary organization of volunteers, championing the preservation of the rich stock of built and natural heritage in the southern part of Waterloo Region.

The organization's first major coup was saving Preston School which faced the wrecking ball in 1974. Heritage Cambridge's leadership resulted in the retention and conversion of the school into senior citizens' apartments.

In the following decades, Heritage Cambridge, among many activities, bought and protected McDougall Cottage, including a unique interior frieze painted by a brother of one of the original owners; published heritage walking and driving tour booklets; hosted annual house tours; advocated for Heritage Conservation Districts, including Main Street, Dickson Hill and Blair; bought and restored the provincially significant Sheave Tower in Blair; and provided a mould to recreate the period street lamps in older parts of the city.         

The effect of constant advocacy and education has resulted in enlightened heritage policies enacted by local governments and the saving of a number of public and private buildings which define our community. There are still losses but also a growing appreciation of the rich history which has been preserved. 

Originally called the Galt Architectural Conservancy when it formed in 1974, Heritage Cambridge, as it came to be known, is now a branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario.

Robbyn Hermitage b. 1970

In 1994, Hermitage won the Canadian National Doubles championship in badminton. She represented Canada at the Pan American Games in 1995, winning silver in doubles competition and bronze in singles. From 1996 through 2003, Hermitage won the Canadian National Doubles championship, and she won gold in doubles at the 1997 and 1999 Pan American Games. Hermitage competed for Canada at the Olympic Games in 2000.

Hermitage lives and coaches athletes in British Columbia.

Jacob Hespeler 1810-1881

The name of Hespeler honours a hard-working, imaginative builder, Jacob Hespeler.

Born in Germany and educated in France, for some time he was a fur trader in Illinois. He came to Preston in 1835, and erected a store, grist mill and a distillery, but finding power and space inadequate for his ideas and means he bought in excess of 145 acres in the nearby village of New Hope. In twelve years he built and operated many mills, industries, stores and residences.

When in 1858 the Great Western Railway was built as an extension from Galt to Guelph, Hespeler took advantage of the presence of the increased population caused by the influx of railway construction workers to secure a sufficiently large census to warrant incorporation as a village. The new village was named Hespeler and he became its first reeve, holding office until 1862.

Carl Hiebert 1947-2023

Carl Hiebert has his roots in a Mennonite farming community in Port Rowan in Southern Ontario. It was an unlikely beginning for a man who has become an adventurer, author entrepreneur, photographer and aviator. In 1981, Hiebert's life took a drastic turn when he broke his back in a hang-gliding accident. Dealing with that tragedy became his biggest challenge ever.

Within two years, Hiebert opened a flight school and became Canada's first paraplegic flight instructor. In 1986, he fulfilled an ambitious dream when he became the first person to fly across Canada in an open-cockpit ultralight aircraft. For fifty-eight days, his plane's 47 horsepower engine pushed him westward. Despite riding out head-winds, storms and an engine failure, he took over 14,000 pictures en-route. He had honed a knack for photography years earlier when he worked as a reporter and photographer at a small weekly newspaper in Grimsby, Ontario. His epic flight, conducted on behalf of the Canadian Paraplegic Association, raised over $100,000 for the organization and drew national media attention.

Hiebert is a dynamic and enthusiastic speaker who motivates by example. From association dinners to national sales conferences, he has spoken to hundreds of audiences across Canada, the USA, and England.

Hiebert is the author of the best selling book Gift of Wings: An Aerial Celebration of Canada based on his flight across Canada. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Vanier Award, Paul Harris Fellow and an Honourary Law degree from Wilfrid Laurier University for his historic flight, and his contributions to Canada.

His photographs have appeared in Photo Life, Canadian Geographic, en Route and many other publications. Additional books include Where Light Speaks, celebrating the people of Haiti, and This Land I Love: Waterloo County and The Grand River: An Aerial Journey.

Hiebert has set a new goal for himself. Before he dies, he wants his photographs and projects to raise one million dollars for charity; he has already raised $800,000.

Hiebert, who lives in Linwood, presently divides his time between motivational speaking and volunteering as a photographer in developing countries.

Ann Klager Higgs b. 1949

Ann Klager, a native of Hespeler, became Canadian Womens Overall Champion Water Skier in 1969-70.

Water Skiing is divided into three categories - jump, slalom and tricks. Jumping consists of the skier riding over a ramp. The distance travelled from the top of the ramp to the water is recorded. Slalom skiing consists of skier negotiating six buoys in a standard course with boat speed and rope length variances. The total number of consecutive buoys is scored. Trick skiing is the performance of various figures or tricks on one or two skis within two twenty- second runs.

Participating in the first Summer Games in Canada in 1969 at Halifax, Higgs won gold medals in slalom and tricks and a silver in jump. Following the Games she won the overall Canadian Women's Championship. The following week she tricked a record 3,006 points at Morrisburg, Ontario.

In August of 1970, Higgs won her second overall Canadian Women's Championship. She then represented Canada at the North and South American Group I Championships in Mexico and won a silver medal in tricks.

She was forced to retire in August 1971 with severely pulled shoulder muscles, ligaments and tendons. These injuries occurred in practice at Puslinch Lake where she was preparing for the World Team Trials and the Nationals.

Percy Richard Hilborn 1886-1974

Percy R. Hilborn was born in Berlin and graduated from McGill University in mining and metallurgy. He became a prominent industrialist in Waterloo County.

After working at Clare Brothers Engineering, Preston for ten years, he bought the Preston Furniture Company in 1919. Later he added the Canadian Office and School Furniture Co. Ltd. and the Schmidt Furniture Co. to his holdings.

In 1931 he organized Canada Sand Papers Ltd. of Plattsville.

The Grand River Conservation Authority named him to its honour roll and he donated 120 acres for a park on Highway 24. He received the Silver Acorn, one of Scouting's highest awards.

Hilborn was charter president of the Rotary Club of Preston-Hespeler, president of the Preston Planning Board and associated with the Freeport Hospital, the Victorian Order of Nurses, Preston, the Stratford Shakespearian Festival, Waterloo Trust (Canada Trust) and Equitable Life, Waterloo.

He was a charter member of the associated faculties of Waterloo College and a charter governor of the University of Waterloo.

Wilbert Carl (Wib/"Dutch") Hiller 1915-2005

Before joining the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1937, Wib Hiller played amateur hockey in Kitchener, Sudbury and England.  His Sudbury teams were Memorial Cup finalists in 1935 and Allan Cup finalists in 1936.  

Hiller was known as a tough, defensive forward and it was said that he was the fastest man on skates.  

On left wing for the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens, he played 385 regular season games (91 goals / 113 assists) and 48 playoff games (9 goals / 8 assists).  He assisted on the Stanley Cup winning over-time goal for the Rangers in 1940, and in the Cup winning game with the Canadiens in 1946, earning a goal and an assist.   

The nickname "Dutch" was acquired while playing on the Rangers' "Roughneck Line" to better reflect its character and the Pennsylvania-German roots of his hometown.  

Hiller was also instrumental in organizing the K-W Senior Dutchmen in 1947, and from 1948 to 1950 he was head coach with the Los Angeles Monarchs of the Pacific Coast Hockey League. 

His entire career took place during the radio era - hockey games were first broadcast in 1923 and Hockey Night in Canada television broadcasts did not begin until 1952.  However, the NHL made its television debut on an experimental broadcast from Madison Square Garden on February 25, 1940.  Among the Rangers playing in that game were "Dutch" Hiller and "Ott" Heller - both from Kitchener.  The Rangers beat Montreal six to two. 

Photograph courtesy of the Hockey Hall of Fame/Imperial Oil-Turofsky.

Thomas Hilliard 1841-1936

Thomas Hilliard was born in Northern Ireland and came to Canada in 1847. He became a teacher, a newspaperman and published the Waterloo Chronicle. He was the Waterloo School Inspector for twenty-five years.

Hilliard founded the Dominion Life and raised the $250,000.00 required to start the stock company, and sold the first 520 policies. He was President of the company from 1905 to 1929. During his long career he served the company with great distinction. His unshakable belief in the need for insurance and its benefits to families in need drove him on. He was President of the Canadian Life Insurance Officers Association.

Hilliard served St. James's Methodist Church in Waterloo (now First United), was recording steward for fifty years, attended the General Conference of the Methodist church and the Supreme Council of the United Church.

Norman Himes 1900-1958

Norman Himes was born in Galt in 1900. During his late teens he gave ample evidence that he possessed all the attributes characteristic of an outstanding all-round athlete. By his early twenties he excelled in various sports and particularly in baseball and hockey. He played shortstop on the famous Galt Terrier Baseball Team, Champions of the Inter-County and Ontario Baseball Association, in 1922 and 1923, an era in which the quality of baseball in Ontario was at a very high level. Himes, who had opportunities to go higher, was considered one of the best players in the Province.

During the same period of time he excelled as a hockey player with the Galt Club, which won the Ontario Hockey Association Intermediate Championship in 1921. His ability attracted the attention of National Hockey League scouts which resulted in a contract with the New York Americans, later the New York Rangers. He starred for the New York team from 1928 to 1938.

In later years Himes turned to golf and was a Professional at the Westmount Club in Kitchener for some years prior to his death in 1958. In 1951 he won the Millar Trophy, emblematic of the Ontario Professional Golfers Championship.

Sergeant Frederick Hobson VC 1873-1917

Born in England, Frederick Hobson immigrated to Canada in 1904 after serving in the South African War. He settled in Galt, Ontario with his family. In 1914, when war broke out, he enlisted with the 20th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his brave action at Hill 70, near Lens, France on August 18, 1917. While under attack, Frederick rushed from his trench, reactivated a buried Lewis gun, and engaged the advancing German soldiers single-handedly.

Bob Hodges b. 1944

Bob Hodges, a lifelong resident of Cambridge (Hespeler), played minor hockey and was the goaltender of two championship teams including the Hespeler Juveniles in 1963-64 and the Hespeler Jr. C Shamrocks in the mid-1960s.

Hodges began officiating minor hockey games in 1968. He progressed to the Ontario Hockey Association in 1969 and was picked to work the Memorial Cup in Ottawa in 1971. That same season he was scouted by Frank Udvari of the National Hockey League and was asked to work in the American Hockey League on weekends. Hodges worked 52 games that season while still maintaining his job in a local machine shop.

Hodges graduated to the National Hockey League (NHL) at the age of 28 in 1972, and over the next 25 years he officiated in 1,701 regular season games, 157 playoff games, three All Star Games and three Stanley Cup Finals. He also worked some international hockey games. Following his retirement in 1997 he supervised in the OHA for eight years, to help young officials.

Hodges' longevity in the NHL is testimony to his conditioning, ability, and dedication. Officials are "always on the road", "on the ice for every shift" and "involved in every fight".

Hodges was inducted into the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

Hodges' only regret is that family life suffers. However his dedicated wife Gail raised their two children, Michelle and Shawn, "alone in the winter". The Hodges continue to live in Hespeler and remain dedicated to their community.

John Hoffman 1808-187

John Hoffman, who, like many other Waterloo County pioneers was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1837 had the unique distinction of erecting in Berlin the first furniture factory operated by horsepower. A few years later he built a furniture factory in which steam replaced the horses as a source of power.

A pioneer in many areas, Hoffman was a forerunner of modern town planning. In 1854 he and his son-in-law, Isaac Weaver, bought 400 acres of land between the K-W Collegiate Institute on King Street in Kitchener and the corner of Erb and King Streets in Waterloo and developed a town plan that they hoped would become a reality. He gave one acre to Mount Hope Cemetery.

Hoffman also established cattle, grain and produce markets in Waterloo.

Elmer Hohl 1919-1987

Elmer Hohl, born in 1919, and raised on a farm near Wellesley, won the World's Horseshoe Pitching Championship in the years 1965, 1968, 1972, 1973, and 1977, and was runner-up six times. He pitched a perfect game in the world tournament of 1968.

Hohl started pitching horseshoes at an early age. At thirteen he defeated all comers. He began pitching tournaments in 1957 and won the Ontario and Canadian championships the first time he entered. He has been champion of both groups fifteen times. The secret of his technique was that he pitched a one and three-quarter turn show.

He travelled hundreds of thousands of miles through North America, held several world records and won over 200 trophies and plaques.

Hohl won a gold medal in the Ontario Summer Games in 1977 and received the Queen's Anniversary Medallion in that year in recognition of his accomplishments.

Karl Homuth 1893-1951

Born in Preston in 1893, Karl Homuth led a distinguished career as a textile manufacturer and politician.  Educated in Preston and Galt, Homuth joined textile manufacturer George Pattinson and Company in 1910.  In 1917, he joined his father's firm, Otto Homuth Wool Stock Co. In 1928, following the death of his father, he took over full control of the company.

Homuth had a long and distinguished career in elected office, serving at the municipal, provincial and federal levels for more than three decades.  In 1917, at age 22, he was elected to the Preston Town Council.  In 1919 he was elected to the Ontario Legislature representing Labour and the United Farmers of Ontario in the riding of Waterloo South.  He won re-election three times serving until 1930 when he made an unsuccessful bid for a federal seat.  In 1927 he switched from Labour to the Progressive Conservative party.  In a federal byelection in 1938, he won Waterloo South for the Progressive Conservatives.  He subsequently won re-election in 1940, 1945 and 1949.  He died in office in 1951.

Homuth was one of the most respected members of parliament.  He was instrumental in establishing political clubs for young people as a way to encourage them to become involved in public life.  His election slogan The Door is Always Open reflected his willingness to listen to anyone regardless of race, religion or political affiliation.  A gifted public speaker, he was in demand as a speaker throughout the country and gave generously of his time.

Following his death, Progressive Conservative Leader George Drew described Homuth as "a good citizen in all that those words mean." The Karl Homuth Arena in Cambridge is named in his honour.

Photo by abc News Pictures

Lieutenant Samuel Honey MM, DC, VC 1894-1918

Samuel Lewis Honey was born in Conn, Ontario and was a schoolteacher before enlisting in the army. He was the only member of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada, now the Highland Fusiliers of Canada, to be awarded the Victoria Cross. Lieutenant Honey was awarded the medal for his actions at Bourlon Wood near Cambrai, France. At Bourlon Wood, Honey was severely wounded and died just two weeks before the war ended. He is remembered locally with a plaque in Valour Place at the Cambridge Armoury.

Jerome F. Honsberger MD 1859-1937

Dr. Honsberger's outstanding contribution to welfare was made with Rev. Dr. F.E. Oberlander, Dr. G.H. Bowlby, Dr. H.G. Lackner and W.H. Schmalz in establishing Freeport Sanatorium in 1916.

After graduating from Trinity Medical College in 1882 he began his medical career at Delhi and during forty years of practice in Berlin from 1895 vigorously supported every movement for the betterment of the people. An alderman, he pioneered the first septic tank and sand filtration plant. In 1907 he was appointed medical officer of health. He was medical director of the Mutual Life for several years.

Honsberger helped organize and was a director of the YMCA was president of the Berlin Orphanage Board, and was responsible for Kitchener's first League of Nations Society. He was an education board member from 1911 and from 1923 was a member of the High School Board, including several years as chairman. He faithfully served Trinity Church in many capacities.

Henry Fletcher Joseph Jackson 1820-1895

Henry F. J. Jackson, grandfather of A.Y. Jackson, noted Canadian painter, was born in England and educated in King's College, London. He came to Canada in 1844 on a sailing ship, a journey that took eight weeks, and worked in Ottawa and Montreal.

He chose railroading as an occupation and became general agent of the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway. He then became a subcontractor for the laying of a section of the main line of the Grand Trunk Railway through Waterloo County, coming to this area by steamboat and stagecoach. After the building of the railway Jackson represented the Canada Life, Provincial Fire and other companies, and was a founder of the Economical Insurance Co. He was superintendent of schools for three years and a magistrate for ten years.

He later moved to Montreal and became vice-president of the Jacques Cartier Bank. Jackson was a man of many talents, a fine linguist and a patron of painting.

Peter Jaffray 1800-1864

The newspaper business was always part of the life of Peter Jaffray, at one time an editor of the first English newspaper published in Waterloo County, the Dumfries Courier.

Born in Throsk, Scotland, he apprenticed with an Edinburgh printing firm soon after his graduation from Glasgow University. He then became editor and owner of the Chronicle of Shrewsbury, England.

Soon after emigrating to Canada he became editor of the Dumfries Courier. In 1846 Jaffray founded the Galt Reporter and Dumfries Mercantile and Agricultural Advertiser. Continuing the family tradition, one son became editor of the Berlin Chronicle, another editor of the Galt Reporter and still another business manager of the Galt Reporter.

Josie France Jamieson b. 1960 (see also Paul Mills, b. 1958)

Josie France Jamieson and Paul Mills, through the Preston Skating Club, rose to become pairs figure skating champions.

In 1976 they won the novice Canadian title. In 1977, coached by Kerry Leitch, they won the Canadian Junior Pairs competition and went on to win the World Junior Pairs competition that same year in France. After winning the world title, they were named Cambridge Athletes of the Year.

Henry Louis Janzen 1845-1927

Henry Louis Janzen built the first greenhouses in this area - Berlin Commercial Nurseries - in 1879, and was largely responsible for convincing the Ontario Sugar Company to open the first sugar beet factory here in 1902.

A native of Germany who resided for a period in the USA, Janzen went to New Hamburg as a nurseryman in 1877, and two years later moved to Berlin to establish a business at King and Wellington Streets.

His civic service was extensive: membership on the Public School Board, during which time through his influence a second public school, now King Edward School, was built; town councillor; reeve; first deputy reeve; mayor in 1890; a founder of the Kitchener Horticultural Society; director of the Economical Mutual and a founder and board member of the News Record.

Janzen retired to Springbrook Farm, Breslau, in 1919, where he continued his greenhouse and nursery activity.

Francois Charles Archile Jeanneret Des L, LLD, OA 1890-1967

F.C.A. Jeanneret was born in Elmira on November 18, 1890. He graduated with honours from Berlin Collegiate and played on the Rangers soccer team which won the Dominion championship.

Following graduation from the University of Toronto, he studied at the University of Chicago and the Sorbonne, Paris. He was head of the department of modern languages at Upper Canada College 1912-13. He was on the staff of University College from 1913, being chairman in the School of Graduate Studies 1947-51, principal of University College 1951-59 and Chancellor of the University of Toronto 1959-67.

He was the author of fifteen textbooks, including French texts used in Ontario high schools. From 1926-41 he directed the Ontario department of education's oral French course for teachers at Quebec City and was honoured by Laval University.

Jeanneret was named an Officer d'Academie by France in 1940, was awarded a medal by the French government in 1959 and the Chaveau Medal by the Royal Society of Canada.

He was Canadian delegate to the Commonwealth Education Conference, Oxford, 1959 and in Delhi, India, 1962.

Andrew Jenkins 1844-1924

At Waterloo Region Museum there is a unique bicycle on which Andrew Jenkins, owner of the Branchton Inn, crossed Niagara Falls in 1869. A long balancing-pole, with a weighted ball at each end, lashed across the bottom hoop at right angles to the stout tightrope, made the vehicle very stable. Jenkins peddled with both hands and feet. A friction brake that closed on the rope immobilized the vehicle for rest periods.

In 1871 Jenkins received a gold medal for his exploits at a wider gorge at Rocky River, Ohio. He also performed indoors at Montreal and other cities. He later became a skillful photographer.

His father was Benjamin Jenkins, the contractor who built the Great Western Railway line from Harrisburg to Galt. The Branchton Inn was later occupied as a residence by descendants of the Jenkins family.

Lorne Johannes 1902-1984

Lorne Johannes, born in Blair, became one of South Waterloo's best known personalities through his sports and humanitarian activities and organizational abilities.

The Blair Hornets hockey team, of which he was captain, and later manager, repeatedly won hockey championships. Johannes conceived the idea of a rural hockey association and in 1931, founded the Ontario Rural Hockey Association, which eventually had 2,500 players, and the Ontario Rural Softball Association one year later. He was made a life member of both organizations.

Both organizations included teams from most village-sized Ontario communities.

Circulation Manager for the Galt Reporter for forty-five years, Johannes managed 5,000 carrier boys. He served the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship's Pioneer Camp in Muskoka; the Christian Businessmen, the Gideons, the Guelph Correctional Centre Chaplaincy service, the Forward Baptist Church and Knox Presbyterian Church, Cambridge. He actively promoted the Knox Presbyterian Golden Hour, an extremely successful radio programme. He also served the international Christian Nationals' Evangelism Commission which works in many Third World Countries.

Mary Johnston 1930-2017

Mary Johnston is a well-known and respected educator in Waterloo Region, whose career spanned 37 years until her retirement in 1987.

Johnston attended Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate, Waterloo College and the Stratford Teachers' College. She earned Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Western Ontario.

Johnston's teaching career began in 1950 at Bearinger School, moving to MacGregor School two years later. In 1965 she became Vice-Principal of Empire School, and was the only woman public school Vice-Principal in the area. She was appointed Principal of Brighton School in 1968, becoming the first woman Principal of a public school in the City of Waterloo. Johnston's contributions to local education were recognized in 1987 when the Waterloo County Board of Education named a new school in west Waterloo after her. During her teaching career, Johnston was active on many local, regional, provincial and national committees concerned with education issues and policies.

Johnston's honours include the Diamond Jubilee Award, a one-time recognition by the Federation of Women Teachers' Association of Ontario as the most distinguished woman elementary public school teacher in Ontario. She was also named Oktoberfest Woman of the Year (Professional Category) in 1975 and received Her Majesty's Silver Anniversary and Golden Jubilee Medals.

After her retirement, Johnston contributed to the community by her work with The Waterloo Region Social Resources Council. She also continues to be an active member of the Waterloo Historical Society, the Canadian Federation of University Women (Kitchener-Waterloo), the Probus Women's Club of Kitchener-Westmount, and the Retired Teachers' Association of Waterloo Region.

Johnston is a faithful member of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Kitchener where she is an elder and actively participates in the Women's Missionary Society. In the wider church, she has been very involved in the National Presbyterian Museum and Oikocredit, which is the worldwide cooperative society that empowers disadvantaged and marginalized people through financial support.

Photo courtesy of Bob Rogers.

Vernon "Tex" Kaiser 1926-2011

Vernon Kaiser was born in Preston on September 28, 1925 and began his hockey career with the Preston Riversides of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association in 1941. Kaiser joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1943, to join the Winnipeg Navy hockey team for the 1944-45 season.

Over the next five years, Kaiser played in the minor leagues, including the Fort Worth Rangers where he earned the nickname of "Tex". During this time, Kaiser's player rights with the National Hockey League were owned by Eddie Shore who prevented him from playing in the NHL. Kaiser finally got his shot at the NHL, joining the Montreal Canadiens during the 1950-51 season. Unfortunately, Shore bought back Kaiser's player rights and he again faced the prospect of life in the minor hockey leagues. In the early 1950s, Kaiser played hockey for the Buffalo Bisons, the Montreal Royals and the Syracuse Warriors, retiring from hockey in 1955.

Kaiser was also an accomplished Inter-county baseball player, helping the Galt Terriers win the 1949 pennant. He led the league in home runs during the 1949 season. Kaiser is considered by many to be one of the best hockey and baseball players to ever come out of Cambridge.

Kaiser and his wife Bette were married in 1945. They have three sons and a daughter.

Photograph Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto

Anna Kaljas CM 1912-2010

Anna Kaljas, born in Estonia, was a teacher and a nursing aid during WWII. After spending five years in a German Refugee Camp in Augsberg, she came to Canada, eventually arriving in Kitchener where she completed her training as a Registered Nursing Aid (RNA) and spent the next nine and a half years at the K-W Hospital.

In the 1950s she bought a house on Frederick Street to help refugees who had nowhere to stay. The refugees were followed by teenage law breakers who had been sent to correctional institutions.

The opening of group homes for teenagers allowed Anna, at first, to help ex-convicts. The opening of halfway houses, in the early 1970s allowed her to offer help to patients from some mental institutions.

In the mid 1970s she expanded her facilities to include two adjacent houses.

In May 1980, the Anna Kaljas Award was established for her more than twenty years of unselfish service as "mother hen" to these adult orphans, ex-psychiatric patients, alcoholics, addicts and other seemingly hopeless people.

In June 1983, Kaljas was enrolled in the Order of Canada.

Johnny Kalbhenn b. 1963

Johnny Kalbhenn was born in Kitchener but his family moved to New Hamburg where he attended Waterloo-Oxford District Secondary School. Kalbhenn started boxing at the age of six at the Dorion Boxing Club, winning his first provincial title in 1971 and reigning as the provincial champion from 1971 to 1977. 

In 1978 he moved to the Waterloo Regional Police Boxing Club winning Golden Gloves Tournaments in 1979 and 1980. In 1981, Kalbhenn won his first national title and began representing Canada at international competitions including the Commonwealth Games.

Kalbhenn was a member of the Canadian team at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles where he finished in ninth place. The same year he won the Boxing Ontario Boxer of the Year award.

Following the Olympics, Kalbhenn retired from amateur status and forged a career in professional boxing, winning Canadian Championships in 1989 (Lightweight Title) and 1990. In 1993 he was inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame. Kalbhenn's amateur record is 140 wins to 18 losses, with 68 knock outs. His professional record is 20 wins to 6 losses and 2 draws, with 8 knock outs.

When Kalbhenn retired as an athlete, he focussed on coaching, achieving national coaching certificates in both boxing and soccer. He coaches at the Cabbagetown Boxing Club in Toronto and has been a spokesperson for KidSport raising funds for disadvantaged children to participate in organized sport.

Kalbhenn has appeared in several movies including Rocky Marciano (1999), Against the Ropes (2004), Cinderella Man (2005), and The Phantom Punch (2008).

Alvin Ratz Kaufman 1885-1979

A.R. Kaufman, of Kitchener, one of Canada's outstanding industrialists and philanthropists, had personal experience in the rubber industry through association with his father, Jacob Kaufman, which led to the founding and successful development of the Kaufman Rubber Company in 1908 (later the Kaufman Footwear Industries) and the Superior Box Company.

He made a unique contribution to humanitarian work throughout Canada by the founding and sustained support of birth control projects, especially the Parents Information Bureau.

He also gave invaluable service to Kitchener through city planning, which he initiated and guided for decades, and to the local branch of the YMCA which he established and to which he gave continuous moral and financial support.

He served the Kitchener Parks Board and boards of many local organizations and institutions, and was a member of the Board of Governors of the University of Waterloo.

In 1964 he was chosen Citizen of the Year by the Kitchener Junior Chamber of Commerce. In 1973, a new Kitchener school "The A.R. Kaufman School," was named in his honour.

Emma R. Kaufman 1881-1979

Emma R. Kaufman, born in Berlin, Ontario, served the Young Women's Christian Association in Japan for thirty years, in Canada, and throughout the world. She joined the Tokyo YWCA staff where she supported physical education. She sent promising Japanese women to study abroad, and brought to Japan many Canadians who contributed to the "Y" work.

During the war she devoted herself to the work of the YWCA in Canada and helped Japanese Canadians interned as enemy aliens and escapees from the Nazis, who were interned here. She set up an endowment fund for students to study outside of North America and helped bring individuals from Third World nations to study in Canada.

A bronze statue of Kaufman stand in the foyer of the Tokyo YWCA - a tribute to her outstanding work. During the 60^th anniversary of the association in 1965 the Emperor of Japan presented her with a memorial cup. In the same year she was presented with the International Cooperation Year medal in Montreal.

Jacob S. Kaufman 1847 - 1920

Jacob S. Kaufman was born July 15, 1847 on a farm near New Hamburg, Ontario and died in Kitchener on April 20, 1920.

He started his career in the lumber industry in Gadshill. He married Mary Ratz in 1877 and moved to Berlin where the larger community offered more opportunity for this aggressive, pioneering manufacturer.

He built a mill for the manufacture of doors and window sash, and eventually incorporated this company as Jacob Kaufman Limited. In 1899 he encouraged George Schlee in the organizing of The Berlin Rubber Company and was heavily involved financially. In 1903 Jacob Kaufman was instrumental in the organization of the Merchants Rubber Company, assisted in this venture by the dynamic management of T.H. Rieder.

When Merchants Rubber was absorbed by the Canadian Consolidated Rubber Company in 1907, Jacob Kaufman established and built in 1908 the Kaufman Rubber Company which was ably directed by his son, Alvin R. Kaufman.

In addition to his intense activity in manufacturing, he was conscious of civic responsibilities, being a member of the Water Commission, a member of the Light Commission and the donor of a grant to the Twin Cities in 1920 to build the original nurses' residence of the K-W Hospital.

Mary Ratz Kaufman 1856-1943

Mary Eidt Ratz was born in 1856, the eldest of thirteen children, at the family's sawmill in Gad's Hill, Ontario. In 1877, she married Jacob Kaufman who eventually became a very successful local business entrepreneur. The couple moved to Berlin (Kitchener) where they raised four children.

Kaufman's life demonstrated her dedication to improving the lives of women and children. She began her community service by joining the women's organization of Zion Evangelical Church where she served three terms as President. She also participated in the young women's missionary society by opening her home to visiting missionaries and offering generous financial support. Committed to the concepts of social justice and social reform, she helped to found (1894) and was a life member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, a member of the founding board of the Berlin Orphanage (1896), a board member of the Children's Aid Society (1909-1938), and Honourary President of the Organized Social Workers. She was actively involved in the building campaign of the Berlin-Waterloo Hospital (1895), and was head of the women's auxiliary which raised substantial funds for both the hospital and the nurse's residence.

The organization that benefited most from Kaufman's energy and generosity was the YWCA. She helped to organize and was the first president of the Berlin YWCA in 1905. Initially, the YWCA operated out of a church owned by Jacob Kaufman. Room and board for up to 18 young women, who were moving into the city from their rural homes to work in the factories, was available along with sewing, cooking, conversational German and Bible Study. Kaufman continued as president of the board until 1914 and worked tirelessly for many years to raise funds so that the YWCA could purchase its own building.

In May of 1915, the YWCA opened the doors of a new building with accommodation for fifty women, meeting rooms, offices and a large dining room. Another wing was added in 1937, with funds donated by Kaufman and her son Alvin. She remained active with the YWCA throughout her life, as a generous donor, serving on committees and on the board. Eventually, she was named Honourary President. In 1990, the YWCA renamed their shelter Mary's Place in recognition of Kaufman's extraordinary contribution.

Jean Kellerman 1919-2010

Jean Kellerman graduated from Waterloo College (Western University) in 1940. She worked at Dominion Life Assurance Company for five years when she answered the call to become a Missionary to China from the Evangelical United Brethren Church. She attended the United Church Training School (1945-46) and Yale University (1946-47) where she studied Chinese. Her first posting in China was in the small town of Liling, Hunan Province. In the spring of 1949 the Communist government/army of Mao Tse Tung gained control of that area causing a co-worker and Jean to evacuate to the larger city of Changsha. There they carried on some work until being forced out of China in the fall of 1950. She very reluctantly returned to Canada.

Two years later Jean went to Japan, studied Japanese, taught Bible classes in Tokyo until she was appointed the pastor of a church on the island of Hokkaido. Her service in Japan then stretched over 25 years. After returning to Kitchener in 1977, she became the Associate Minister at Calvary Memorial United Church, responsible for pastoral care, later being named Minister Emeritus.

Photograph by Belair, Kitchener.

Ernest W. Kendall 1908-2010

Ernie Wakefield Kendall was born in Guelph in 1908. He attended and graduated from the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph in 1932. Ernie won the Track and Field Championship in 1930 and the Aquatic Championship four times. He broke four records in aquatics, as well as the record for the mile race and one for the Harriers (long distance running).

Kendall taught at Elmira High School from 1933 until his retirement in 1970. From 1946 to 1967, he formed and supervised the local high school Teen Town for young teens 16-19 years of age and was the leader of the Cadet program from 1946 to 1969. His teaching career was interrupted from 1942-1946 while he served as an active member of the Canadian forces, eventually attaining the rank of Major.

He loved his 100 acres of bush property, and with the help of his students was awarded the responsibility of marking trees for the Department of Lands and Forests. He was heavily involved with his community as a Scout Master, working with mentally-challenged children at the local swimming pool, visiting shut-ins and taking flowers and fruit from his own garden. He canvassed for the Canadian Cancer Society and the Heart & Stroke Foundation for more than 30 years.

In 1973 Kendall was named one of the local citizens who had contributed the most to Elmira in the past 25 years. In 1978 he was named Citizen of the Year by the Elmira and Woolwich Chamber of Commerce. He was also named the Citizen of the Year for Woolwich Township and received the Governor General of Canada Award for the 125th Anniversary of Canada. 

Captain George Fraser Kerr MM, VC 1894-1929

Born in Desoronto, Ontario, George Kerr attended the Galt Collegiate Institute from 1908 to 1913. George enlisted with the 3^rd Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1914. While recovering from earlier wounds, Kerr won the Victoria Cross at Bourlon Wood, near Cambrai, France, when he rushed a stronghold and single-handedly captured four machine guns and thirty one prisoners. Locally, a plaque in Valour Place at the Cambridge Armoury commemorates his achievements.

Robert Kerr 1929-2010

Robert Kerr was born in Galt in 1929 and was educated at Galt Collegiate Institute where he started a student newspaper.  Following graduation he joined with his father to form John Kerr & Son, which specialized in printing reserved seat tickets.  Customers included Maple Leaf Gardens and the Stratford Festival.

Always interested in politics, Kerr was elected to Galt City Council in 1957.  In 1964 he was elected the youngest mayor in Galt's history, an office he held for four one-year terms.  In 1975-76 he served one two-year term as Mayor of the amalgamated City of Cambridge.

In 1965 Kerr joined with his high school friend Graeme Ferguson, to form Ferguson Kerr Ltd., which produced the multi-screen film Polar Life for the Man and the Polar Regions pavilion at Expo 67.  Building on that experience they joined with Roman Kroitor and William Shaw and founded a revolutionary new motion picture system, which they called IMAX.  For 20 years Kerr was the chair of the company.  Ferguson and Kroitor were the film makers, and Bill Shaw was the engineer.

The first permanent IMAX theatre was built at Ontario Place in 1971. In 1976 the Smithsonian Institute incorporated an IMAX theatre into its National Air and Space Museum.  There are now 500 IMAX theatres in 45 countries.  The company was subsequently sold by its founders.

In October 2010 the City of Cambridge unveiled a memorial in Kerr's honour in Mill Race Park.

Gerry Kesselring 1928-2015

Born in Kitchener on November 19, 1928, Kesselring started golfing at an early age. Lloyd Tucker, then Pro at the Kitchener Rockway Golf course, assisted him, giving playing privileges for picking chick weeds out of the greens. He caught on rapidly and won the Ontario Junior Championship in 1945, 1946 and 1948. He missed out in 1947, losing to Bob Fair by one stroke.

He won the Canadian Junior Championship in 1946 and 1947 and was the only one to win it twice. He was on the Ontario Provincial team for the Willingdon trophy from 1949 to 1953.

Kesselring turned professional in October 1953 and in 1960 applied for a return to amateur ranking. Six years later in 1966, his request was granted. 

Included in his achievements are the Ontario Open in 1952 and 1953; Ontario Open as a Professional in 1956 and 1957; Kitchener Rockway eleven times and Kitchener Westmount four times; the Ontario Amateur Championship in 1949, 1951, 1952 and 1953. He was chosen Ontario's most outstanding athlete in 1952 by the Ontario Sportswriter and Broadcasters Association.

Tom Kieswetter

In 1972, he was a member of the Canadian National Basketball Team and competed in the pre-Olympic tournament in Germany. 

Kieswetter became a coach at St. Jerome’s, where his teams won three Regional Championships and a Provincial Championship in 1987. He also co-founded and was player/coach of the K-W Titans Senior Men’s Basketball Team. 

In 1992, he became Head Coach of the University of Waterloo Warriors, leading them to 325 wins and two trips to the National Championships. Kieswetter focussed on the education of his players and, at Waterloo, had an exceptional number of Academic All-Canadians and a graduation rate exceeding 99%. 

Kieswetter also gave back to the community by helping to create the Community Basketball Camp with Kitchener Parks and Recreation (1977), the Ultimate Warrior Basketball Camp at the University of Waterloo (1993), and the K-W Chapter of KidSport (2013). Throughout the decades, these organizations have provided thousands of youth in the region the opportunity to participate in sports. 

August John Kimmel 1865-1930

A.J. Kimmel was a noted industrialist in Berlin, Ontario who greatly aided in the development of the city. He was associated with the Berlin Felt Boot Company for fifteen years and in 1900 organized the Elmira Felt Company. In 1907 he built the Kimmel Felt Company at Berlin. When the Canadian Consolidated Felt Company was formed in 1909, consolidating the Elmira company, the Kimmel company and the Berlin Felt Boot Company, he became vice-president and general manager of the new organization. He also became associated with the large rubber interests in Canada which later merged to become the Canadian Consolidated Rubber Company Limited.

Kimmel became a director of many industrial organizations in Berlin and throughout Ontario and Quebec. With T.H. Rieder he founded the Dominion Rubber Company which became a very successful national organization.

Rt. Hon. William Lyon Mackenzie King 1874-1950

W.L. Mackenzie King, Prime Minister for more than twenty-one years, is Waterloo County's most widely known son. His grandfather was William Lyon Mackenzie, leader of the Reform Movement that culminated in the Rebellion of 1837. His boyhood home in Berlin at 528 Wellington North, has been restored as a national historic site.

He attended Berlin schools and had a brilliant career at the University of Toronto, graduating with a B.A. in 1895, an LL.B 1896, and M.A. from Harvard 1898 and a PhD 1909. While studying at Chicago he lived in Hull House founded by Jane Adams and social ideas planted at this time grew into a program of social welfare for all Canada. As a reporter, he investigated sweat shop conditions of workers on government contracts, which were later corrected by Acts of Parliament. He accepted a position with the Minister of Labour in spite of the fact that the salary was smaller than that of a Harvard teaching position.

He joined the civil service at Ottawa as Deputy Minister of Labour in 1900. King was elected to Parliament as a member for Waterloo North in 1908, was appointed Minister of Labour by Sir Wilfrid Laurier and on the death of Laurie in 1919 he was elected Liberal leader. He became Prime Minister of Canada in 1921 and held that high office for three separate periods totalling twenty-one years and five months.

Dave Kipfer b. 1964

Dave Kipfer had a great career as a basketball star at Cameron Heights Collegiate in Kitchener, participating on teams that won many provincial tournaments, four league championships, two regional championships and the 1983 All-Ontario championship. That year, Kipfer averaged 25 points per game and 12 rebounds, as he led the Gaels to a combined overall record of 54 wins and four losses.

Kipfer accepted a basketball scholarship to attend Providence College in Rhode Island, graduating in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in business. In his senior year, as co-captain of the Friars, Kipfer and his team-mates advanced to the NCAA Final Four. That year, Kipfer averaged 12 points and six rebounds per game. He was named a third-team All-Star in the Big East Conference.

Kipfer also played for Team Ontario and Canada's National Jr. and B teams from 1983 to 1986. After graduating from Providence College, Kipfer played professional basketball in the USBL and T-71 Dudelange, Luxembourg.

He currently resides in Connecticut where he works in the printing and publishing industry. Kipfer volunteers for several organizations including the Milford Hospital, where his wife Karen is the Executive Director. The Kipfers have two children.

Photo by Thomas F. Maguire Jr.

James R. H. Kirkpatrick 1916-1997

James Kirkpatrick was born in New Hamburg and graduated from Royal Military College with honours in 1938. He entered law school that same year.

In 1939, he joined the Navy and was overseas by June 1940 on loan to the Royal Navy where, as a Lieutenant-Commander, he led one of two flotillas of motor torpedo boats crewed by Royal Canadian Navy ratings, patrolling the English Channel and the North Sea. He was awarded the D.S.O. and remained active with the peacetime Navy, attaining the rank of Captain.

In 1942, he married his English war bride, Winifred, who predeceased him by one year. He graduated from Osgoode Hall in 1945 and practised law briefly in Kitchener before being appointed a magistrate in 1950. He served as a judge of the Ontario Provincial Court (Criminal, Juvenile and Family Divisions) until 1991. He was concurrently a member of the Kitchener-Waterloo, Galt, Preston and Hespeler Police Commissions and of the Waterloo Regional Police Service Board for 42 years.

His volunteer work included serving as a Member and Chairman of the Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation; as President of the Juvenile and Family Court Judges' Association and the Association of Municipal Police Governing Authorities; he was also the Honourary President of the Big Brothers Association of Kitchener-Waterloo, the K-W Naval Veterans' Association and the Galt Naval Veterans' Association.

In 1991, his contribution to the community was recognized when the new J.R.H. Kirkpatrick Building, headquarters of the Waterloo Regional Police, was named after him - for which he was greatly honoured. He's been described as wise, fun, sportsmanlike, fair, supportive and, as one colleague said, "the clearest person with words I have ever known."

Kitchener Kieswetters 1971 Ontario and Canadian Women's Senior A Softball Champions

Back Row (L-R): Eugene Miller - Statistician, Yvonne Denomme - Captain, Norma Wood, Lynne Vanstone, Russ Habkirk - Coach, Jackie Logie, Janet Thorne, Evelyn Weatherstone, Kevin Nugent - Manager.

Middle Row: Pat Gilmour - Ass't Manager, Marienne Izzard, Charlene Shaule, Lynn Spafford, Luanne Izzard, Kathy Kaugas.

Front Row: Debbie Hoy, Lynne Hyde, Janet Stroh.

Kitchener Kieswetters 1975 Canadian Champions

Back Row (L-R): Maurice Ambeau - Assistant Manager, Roberta Awde, Norma Wood, Diane Warriner, Don Cameron - Coach, Georgina Reynolds, Luanne Izzard, Sue Scherer, Pat Gilmour - Manager.

Front Row: Lynn Hyde, Sharon Naumann, Kathy Helm, Kathy Sheridan, Jan Stroh, Shirley Kirck, Loiey Moir.

Kitchener Rangers 2002-03 Season

From left to right

Row 1

Row 2

Tayler Hill, Rolly Fortin, Michael Richards, Chad McCaffrey, Thomas Harrison, Rafal Martynowski, Petr Kanko, Nathan O'Nabigon, Marcus Smith, Adam Keefe, Andre Benoit, T.J. Eason, Matt Grennier, Dan Lebold

Row 3

Brad Sparkes, Jesse Boucher, Matt Manias, Nick Duff, Paul McFarland, David Clarkson, Evan McGrath, George Halkidis, Neil Hoch, Jeff Young

The 2002-03 season in Kitchener Rangers history is one to remember.

After an impressive regular season that saw the Rangers finish as the Ontario Hockey League's number one team with a record of 46 wins, 14 losses, 5 ties and 3 over-time losses, the Rangers moved on to post-season play.

In four playoff series the Rangers eliminated the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in four games before moving on to eliminate the Guelph Storm in five games. Following that, they defeated the Plymouth Whalers in seven games in the Western Conference final and finally the Ottawa 67s in five games to capture the J. Ross Robertson Cup as champions of the OHL. With the victory, the Rangers secured a berth in the Memorial Cup Tournament in Quebec City.

While at the Memorial Cup, the Rangers cruised through round-robin play with a perfect 3-0 record. The round-robin included a win over the host Remparts Québec in the opening game, followed by wins over the Kelowna Rockets and the Olympiques Gatineau.

With the perfect 3-0 record, the Rangers earned a buy into the Championship game against the Olympiques Gatineau, champions of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In the final game the Rangers were not to be denied, winning in convincing fashion 6 to 3 before a sold-out crowd of more than 15,000.

As newly crowned kings of junior hockey, the Rangers had five players named to the Memorial Cup All Star Team: Gregory Campbell, Scott Dickie, Steve Eminger, Michael Richards and Derek Roy. Campbell led all scorers in the tournament with seven points in four games and Roy was named MVP of the tournament.

Photo - Forde Studio

Kitchener Rangers 2007-2008

Top Row (Left-Right) Tanner Pearson, Brad Sparkes, Jason Akeson, Scott Timmins, Mikkel Boedker, Dan Kelly, Nazem Kadri, Jordan Hardy, Mike Mascioli, Rolly Fortin, Dave Tennant

Middle Row - Michelle Fortin, Barry Hoch, Jim Brown, Alexei Dostoinov, T.J. Battani, Spencer Anderson, Myles Barbieri, Robert Bortuzzo, Brandon Mashinter, Josh Schram, Scott Tregunna, Alex Dzielski, Troy Smith, Tayler Hill, Adam Bramhill, Dan Lebold

Front Row - Josh Unice, Yannick Weber, Justin Azevedo, Mike Duco, Stephen Spott, Steve Bienkowski, Matt Pepe, Ted Scharf, Peter DeBoer, Matt Halischuk, Nick Spaling, Ben Shutron, Steve Mason

The Kitchener Rangers Major Junior hockey team achieved a record-setting season in 2007-2008, emerging as champions in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and hosting the 2008 Memorial Cup Championships.

The Rangers finished the regular season in first place overall in the 20-team league, establishing a team record of 53 wins, 11 losses and four overtime/shoot-out losses for 110 points.

In the playoffs, the Rangers swept their way to the 2008 Championship, winning 16 games while losing only four.

As Ontario Hockey League champions, the Rangers participated in the Memorial Cup championship, which they also hosted. The team qualified for the final game of the championship, losing to Spokane, WA and ended the season as Memorial Cup finalists.

The Rangers' successful season captivated the community, with crowds of more than 6,000 fans attending all games at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. As well, the community embraced the opportunity to host the Memorial Cup national championship.

Complementing the superb team success, centre Justin Azevedo's superb playmaking resulted in his winning the triple crown of scoring, as the top scorer in the OHL regular season, the playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament. In addition, Azevedo won the Red Tilson Award as the OHL's Most Valuable Player, and the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the OHL playoff MVP. As well, he was named the Canadian Hockey League's player of the year.

Forward Matt Halischuk, the OHL's Most Sportsmanlike Player for the season, was a member of Canada's National Junior Team and scored the winning goal in overtime in the gold medal game against Sweden at the IIHF world championships in the Czech Republic.

Kitchener Hallman Rivershark Twins International Softball Congress Champions - 2008

Front - Steve Mullaley, Todd Martin, Jeff Ellsworth, Evan Boyd

2nd row - Ryan Wolfe, Matt Lynch, Blair Ezekial, Frank Cox, Larry Lynch (Coach)

3rd row - Greg Nydick (Statistician), Dan Loney, Blake Miller, Ian Fehrman, Jody Eidt

4th row - Patrick Shannon, Dave Bailey, Don Scott, Jason Sanford
Back - Denny Bruckert (Field Manager), Bob Nydick (Sponsor and GM), Jim Hallman (Sponsor), Derek Shackleton, Meg Smith (Trainer)
Absent - Cyril Moss (Strength Trainer), Todd Evans (Website Manager)

The Kitchener Hallman Rivershark Twins reached the pinnacle of success in 2008, winning the prestigious International Softball Congress (ISC) World Championship.

In the 2008 ISC Championships hosted in Wisconsin, the Hallman Twins sported a perfect record of six consecutive wins, defeating teams from Oregon, North Dakota, Iowa, New York and Saskatchewan. In the final game, it was the first time that two Canadian teams (the Twins and Saskatoon Aspen Interiors) competed, and the Twins were only the second Canadian team to earn the title of ISC World Champions in the 62-year history of the event.

The Twins are the longest continuously operating senior men's fastball team in Canada.

In the inaugural 1967 season, the team was sponsored by Waterloo Bridge Sports. In the 1970s and 1980s, sponsored by CHYM radio, the team gained prominence as the Waterloo CHYMrs.

In 1991, the team changed to become the Waterloo Twins, sponsored by Twin City Trophies and later by the Brick Brewing Company. In 1997, the Hallman family became involved, initially through Peter Hallman, and following his untimely death in 1999, Jim Hallman assumed the sponsorship and the team became known as the Kitchener Hallman Twins.

Provincially, the team has won five Ontario championships and collected six medals at the national Softball Canada Championships.

In ISC competition, it took 17 appearances over 19 seasons for the Twins to win the World Title, amassing a 57-31 record.

The 2008 season will be long remembered as the year that the Kitchener Hallman Rivershark Twins were crowned World Champions.

Kitchener Senior hockey Club 1918 Worlds Amateur Champions

Top Row (L-R): G. Hainsworth - Goal, F. Trushinski - R. Defense, G. Karges - L. Defense, G. Hiller - Centr & Capt., E. Parkes - R. Wing, O. Soloman - L. Wing.

Middle Row: H. Wismer - Mgr., A. Leroux - Sub, F. McAvoy - Trainer, A. Ferriman - Sub, E.L. Roschman - Sec'y. Tres.

Bottom Row: Dr. F.H. Kalbfleisch - Club Physician, E.W. Voelker - Executive, E.O. Ritz - Pres., P.S. Pearce - Vice Pres., H.E. Wettlaufer - Hon. Pres., E.C. Kabel - Hon. Pres.

Garnet "Bud" Koehler b. 1931-2020

Garnet Koehler was born in 1931 in New Dundee and purchased his first motorcycle at age 16. Two years later in 1949, Koehler won his first trophy for motorcycle racing. Throughout his career, he participated in road and drag races, dirt and flat-track scrambles, hill climbs and ice racing.

In 1952, Koehler raced in his first Canadian Motorcycle Association (CMA) sanctioned event.  And in 1957 he won the CMA's White Trophy, awarded for the most points earned annually in all types of motorcycle racing in Canada.  In 1958, he also began racing competitively in the US, wining dirt track and road races in both countries.

He was the first Canadian to win the American Motorcycle Association 50-mile national amateur race in 1960.  In 1962, Koehler won the Ontario half-mile championship.

Koehler won the Canadian national dirt track championship in 1963, but crashed later that year in the provincial championship, suffering severe back injuries that forced him to retire from competitive racing. Koehler was inducted into the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2008.

Helen Koepke and Margaret Dickson

Helen Koepke and Margaret Dickson, both from Waterloo, have individually and together contributed to education in Waterloo Region.

In their careers, both women worked for the Waterloo Region District School Board as Primary Education and Early Years consultants.

In their retirement, Koepke and Dickson continued their focus on education - of both children and adults.

In 1996, they founded and developed the Victorian Classroom, located in Suddaby School in Kitchener.  Re-creating a classroom in the year 1900, Koepke and Dickson wrote education programs for elementary grades, so that students could experience a school day from a century ago.  With the support of the Waterloo Region District School Board, hundreds of students visited the Victorian Classroom and gained a better understanding of education in the past.

Working together for more than 20 years, Koepke and Dickson have researched, organized and guided one-day heritage bus tours in Southern Ontario, enriching the historical literacy of residents in Waterloo Region.  The popularity of these tours, showcasing agriculture, industries, geography, geology and history of the Grand River watershed, led to the publication of several historical guides based on the tours.  Funds collected from the tours were donated to the Victorian Classroom, the Waterloo Historical Society and outreach projects in the region.

Koepke and Dickson have conducted workshops for museum educators on the topic of how children and adults learn.  They have also given numerous heritage presentations to local community groups.

In 2005, Koepke and Dickson were jointly awarded the Dr. Jean Steckle Award for Heritage Education by the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation.   

Photograph courtesy of the University of Waterloo Library, Kitchener-Waterloo Record Photographic Negative Collection.

K-W Civitans Junior Women's Softball Club

From 1982 to 1990, the K-W Civitans Junior Women's Softball Club was one of the most dominant junior women's softball teams in Canada. During that stretch, the team won four National Championships including 1983 in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan; 1987 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan; 1989 in Kitchener; and 1990 in Kamloops, British Columbia. The team also won a silver medal in 1982 in Kitchener and a bronze medal in 1988 in St. Catherines, Ontario.

In the four years the Civitans won National honours, they lost only one game. They went undefeated in Lloydminister, Moose Jaw and Kitchener, while losing only one game in Kamloops. Their overall won/lost record was an amazing 35 to 1.

The Kraut Line 

The players pictured here, left to right, Woody Dumart, Bobby Bauer anad Milt Schmidt, were three of the most famous hockey players produced in this area. When teenagers, their skills attracted National Hockey League scouts which resulted in contracts with the Boston Bruins for Bauer and Dumart in 1935 and for Schmidt in 1936.

By the end of the 1937 season all three had been called up by the Bruins where they starred for many seasons as a unit and individually including 1938-39 and 1940-41 when the Bruins won the Stanley Cup.

While playing for Providence in 1936, a Boston farm club, they were given the name "The Sauerkraut Line" shortened later to "The Kraut Line" now considered one of the finest in hockey history.

Bauer, who died in 1946 was born in Waterloo in 1915. Schmidt was born in Kitchener in 1918 and Dumart in Kitchener in 1916. Dumart died in 2001. Schmidt currently (1972) lives in the Boston area.

K-W Dutchmen Allan Cup Champions 1952-1953

Back Row (L-R): Harvey Jacklin, Charlie Brooker, Jack McKenzie, Harry Psutka, Don Rope, Howie Lee.

Middle Row: Bill Tscherhart - Ass't Trainer, Ray Bauer - Sec. Treas., Bobby Schnurr, Paul Oliver, Keith Woodall, Bucky Buchanan, Maurice Levesque, John Rumpel - Executive Member, Harry Wharmsby - Trainer.

Front Row: Don Bauer, Art Hursst, Frank Neibert - Executive Member, Bobby Bauer - President, Clare Martin, Bob Rafferty - Coach, Dr. J. Spohn - Club Physician, Doug Verity, Greig Hicks.

K-W Dutchmen Allan Cup Champions 1954-55

Back Row (L-R): Jim Logan, Clare Martin, Jack McKenzie, Charlie Brooker, Don Oberholtzer, Pete Kowalachuk, Howie Lee.

Middle Row: Geo. Lawson - Ass't Trainer, Buddy Horne, Joe Schertzel, Geo. Scholes, Bob White, John Rumpel - Club Executive, Mike Delich, Jack White, Jack Hamilton, Harry Wharmsby - Trainer.

From Row: Kieth Woodall, Ernie Goman - Manager, Gerry Theberge, Pat Boehmer - President, Bud Kemp - Captain, Bobby Bauer - Coach, Ken Laufman, Dr. Jim Spohn - Club Physician, Dennis Brodeur.

K-W YMCA Volleyball Team Ontario Senior Open Champions 1932 to 1946

Carl Dunke, Jim McLeod, Alson Weber, Delton Kropf, Henry Ehns, Arthur Youngman, Tom Armour - Physical Director YMCA, Lloyd Current, Morton Devitt.

This team represented the K-W YMCA for the period 1934 to 1940. During that period, along with winning the Ontario Senior Open Championship each year, they won the Eastern Canadian Championship on the 3 occasions that it was held. They also won numerous International Tournaments involving Ontario and New York State teams, and in 1939, they competed in the United States National Championships in Detroit. They were defeated by Houston, Texas, the team that eventually won the USA National Championship.

Other persons who played on this team for short periods during the championship years 1932 to 1946 were: Karl Hoffman, Ed Wackett, Herb Schaus, Harold Ballantyne, Jack Hemphill, Ira Good, Lou Anderson, Nelson Beilstein, Russ Bricker and Jim Detweiler.

George Klinck 1862-1944

George Klinck, a native of Elmira, publisher, merchant and educator, had the distinction of being the founder in 1893, producer and editor of the highly regarded weekly newspaper, The Elmira Signet. He was the author of a book Early Days in Elmira.

At seventeen he had been apprenticed to the Pequegnat Clock Company in Berlin as a watchmaker. In 1881 he opened a watchmaking and jewellery business of his own in Elmira, and built a chopping mill as a service to farmers.

In 1885 he founded the Mechanics' Institute Library for workers; was instrumental in having electric street lights in Elmira in 1886; established St. Paul's Lutheran Parochial School in 1911; organized and played in the Elmira Band; served as reeve of Elmira; was the first chairman of the High School Board, secretary of the Public Library Board and a member of the Trustees and Ratepayers Section of the Ontario Educational Association.

Otto Klotz 1817-1892

The first free public school in Upper Canada was established in what had been Preston's 1839 school on Queen Street, Preston by Otto Klotz, in 1848. This native of Kiel, Denmark (later West Germany) came to Preston in the early 1830s, became a Provincial Land Surveyor, and later a magistrate.

He was a fervent advocate of a free public school system and was secretary of the school board from 1847 to 1892. In the 1850s he was School Commissioner of the District of Wellington. He prepared German grammar and test books which were used in the public schools of Berlin and Preston and later translated into English.

Klotz also operated the Central Hotel and a distillery. He was elected Honourary Grand Master of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Ontario.

Otto Julius Klotz 1852-1927

A Preston native, Otto Julius Klotz, scientist and surveyor, at one time journeyed 2,000 miles in a canoe, making eighty-seven portages, while conducting a survey of ice and weather conditions along Hudson Strait and in Hudson Bay. With others, he was investigating for the government, the feasibility of a Hudson Bay route to Europe. He also made an Alaska- British Columbia boundary survey, and a survey of lands granted for the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. He completed the first longitudinal girdle of the earth, was an expert in the sciences of earthquakes, and published ninety-nine papers on his work.

His diaries, which he maintained every day for more than fifty-seven years, are in the Dominion Archives.

Klotz, whose father was a famous Preston pioneer, attended Preston, Berlin and Galt schools and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1872. Following surveying for the government, he was appointed Dominion Astronomer in 1917.

J. Stanley Knapp 1892-1967

He had a deep interest in good livestock which led to the establishment of the Holstein- Friesian and a Shorthorn breeder's associations in the county. He purchased a farm in the Galt area where he developed one of Ontario's top Ayrshire herds.

He was a member of the North Dumfries council from 1947 to 1956, serving as reeve and warden of the county in 1955-56. He was president of the South Waterloo Agricultural Society, president of the Central Dumfries Farmers' Club and secretary of the Galt Milk Board. Knapp was an elder of Wesley United Church.

David "Tuffy" Knight

The architect of successful football programs at both Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo, West Virginia native Dave "Tuffy" Knight went on to become the coach with the most wins in Canadian university football history.

Coming from a successful high school football scene in Ohio, Dave joined the Waterloo Lutheran University as Director of Athletics and basketball coach in 1965. Taking over as football coach in 1966, he made an early impact and won five league championships with the Golden Hawks from 1966 to 1978, and was National Intercollegiate Coach of the Year in 1972 and 1979.

Switching to the Canadian professional football scene with the Toronto Argonauts as Director of Player Personnel for a few years, Knight returned to the University coaching ranks, this time with the University of Waterloo in 1988. After a few losing seasons he built the Warriors into contenders, and won the league championship in 1997, was named CIAU coach of the year in 1989 and finished his coaching career in 1997 as the coach with the most wins in Canadian university football with 158 wins.

Rev. Robert E. Knowles 1868-1946

The eloquence of the Rev. Robert E. Knowles was largely responsible for building Knox's Presbyterian Church, Galt, into the largest Presbyterian congregation in Canada during his incumbency.

The son of an Irish minister, Robert E. Knowles of Ballymena, he was born at Maxwell, Grey County, on March 30, 1868. He was educated at Dr. Tassie's School, Queen's University and Manitoba College, where he studied theology.

Ordained in 1891, he held two pastorates during his lifetime - Stewarton Presbyterian Church at Ottawa and Knox's Presbyterian, Galt. A distinguished traveller and lecturer, Knowles also became a writer. The best known of his literary works were: "The Attic Guest," "The Undertow," "St. Cuthberts," "The Dawn of Shanty Bay," "The Web of Time" and "The Singer of the Kootenay."

Knowles at one time preached a sermon on temperance that was believed to be largely responsible for the passing of the local option in Galt.

Hugo Kranz 1834-1902

Hugo Kranz was, in 1871, a founding member and director of the Economical Mutual Fire Insurance Company, manager for twelve years and president for three.

Born at Lehrbach, Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, his father had been treasurer for a noble German family and brought his family to the USA in 1850 and to Berlin in 1855, where he opened a general store in partnership with Henry Stroh.

Kranz joined his father's business in 1858 and operated it after his father's death in 1875 until 1893.

A very public-spirited man, he became secretary of the fire department; high school board member for thirty years (twenty as secretary-treasurer); town clerk from 1859 to 1867; justice of the peace; member Board of Trade (president in 1890); reeve in 1869-70 and mayor from 1874 to 1878. He was a federal member of parliament under the Conservative banner from 1878 to 1887.

Hartman Krug 1853-1933

Hartman Krug, born in New Dundee, a son of Henry Krug who came to Canada in 1848, first established the famous Krug reputation as manufacturers of fine furniture.

He became an expert carpenter and joiner (cabinet maker) in New Dundee, and came to Berlin in the late 1870s. With great ability, zeal and energy, he started his career as a furniture manufacturer dedicated to quality and established a pioneer industry that became a leader in its field.

In the 1880s he founded the H. Krug Furniture Company and built the first section of the plant which eventually occupied two city blocks. In 1916 he purchased a Doon twine and cordage company which was moved to Kitchener and named Doon Twines Limited.

At his death in 1933, three of Krug's sons were executive officers of his companies and, like their father, were active in community affairs, supporting many worthy civic projects.

Mabel Emlie Krug 1902-1984

The contributions of Mabel Krug to civic, provincial and national life encompass all humanity. Coming to Canada from the USA in 1912, she married Henry Krug in 1924, a Kitchener industrialist.

Krug was given a special citation in 1975 for her outstanding service, locally, provincially, and nationally, to the Canadian Cancer Society, of which she is a National Honourary Life member.

Krug also held executive positions with the Canadian Opera Company; the Canadian Opera Guild; the Dominion Drama Festival; the Edward Johnson Music Foundation; the K-W Symphony Orchestra Association; the Carmel of St. Joseph Guild; the K-W Art Gallery; the Catholic Women's League and the Sunbeam Home for Retarded Children. She also served on the Board of Wilfrid Laurier University.

Krug was named Woman of the Year by the K-W Quota Club in 1958, and Citizen of the Year by the K-W Jaycees in 1963; was awarded the Centennial Medal of Canada in 1967; the Kitchener Medallion in 1969 and was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1972.

Glenn Kruspe 1908-1983

The name of Glenn Kruspe has always been synonymous with music in the Region of Waterloo. In 1949 he received his Doctor of Music degree from the University of Toronto. He spent a year at the Royal College of Music, London, England, and graduated as an associate of the college and associate of the Royal College of Organists.

The Tavistock native was an organist at Wesley United Church, Brantford, for four years and at the Zion Evangelical Church (now Zion United) from 1933 to 1969. He was founder-conductor of the K-W Symphony Orchestra and served as conductor from 1945 to 1960. He directed the K- W Philharmonic choir from 1941 to 1960.

During his musical career, Kruspe composed a symphony in four movements and several choral numbers for choirs. He always adhered to the highest standards of musicianship and his work has personally benefited countless young musicians and adults through the years. Few musicians in Canada have contributed as much to a community's musical development as has Kruspe.

Katherina Kubenk b. 1970

Katherina Kubenk was born in Toronto in 1970 and grew up in Kitchener, attending Eastwood Collegiate.

Kubenk trained for freestyle skiing and competed internationally starting in 1987 at the International Youth Championships in Finland. She was a member of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Team from 1988 to 1998.

From 1990 to 1996, Kubenk competed regularly in World Cup international competitions of the Fédération Internationale de Ski, and had top three placings 32 times, including 10 gold medals, earning her World Champion status. She won the FIS World Cup Overall Title in 1993 and 1996, and Kubenk was World Champion in 1993.

As an accomplished Freestyle Skier, Kubenk competed in Moguls and Aerials for Canada at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer.

In 2008, Kubenk was appointed as the Technical Director of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association in Vancouver.

Robert John "Bobby" Kuntz 1932-2011

As an outstanding Canadian football player for ten seasons, Bobby Kuntz began his career in 1953 with the Kitchener Dutchmen in the Senior Ontario Rugby Football Union. This team won two provincial championships.

He turned professional with Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. After five seasons with Toronto he joined the Hamilton Tiger Cats and concluded his football career at the end of the 1966 season.

Kuntz was a sensational two-way player, performing at full back or line backer with equal ability. His enthusiasm and electrifying style of play led to nine consecutive selections as a member of the Canadian All Star Team. He was a member of two Hamilton Grey Cup championship teams (1963 and 1965) and on two other occasions (1962 and 1964) was on the losing side in the Canadian final.

Kuntz was born in 1932 in Detroit and came to Kitchener with his parents at an early age. After his retirement from football in 1966 he was associated with the family business, Kuntz Electroplating Ltd. in Kitchener.

Henry George Lackner MD, CM 1851-1926

Dr. Henry George Lackner, whose father was a German pioneer farmer, was an early general practitioner who had the esteem and affection of countless patients throughout Western Ontario. He served two generations with immense ability, tireless energy, keen insight and understanding.

Born in Hawkesville in 1851, he graduated from the Toronto School of Medicine in 1876. On graduating from the University of Toronto he was awarded the Starr gold medal and the first silver medal - the only doctor in Ontario at that time to win both medals on graduation. He practiced in Berlin for almost half a century, was for many years Medical Officer of Health and physician to the House of Refuge.

He was a member of the town council and mayor for six years. A Conservative, he represented North Waterloo in the Ontario Legislature. He was sheriff of Waterloo County from 1912 until his death.

Four generations of Lackners have been outstanding members of the medical profession.

Ladies Art Committee

The Ladies Art Committee, or Kitchener Art Committee, was a group of four art enthusiasts who lived in Berlin (now Kitchener) in the early 1900s.

Sarah Williams, Geneva Jackson, Florence Sims, and Ida Cram endeavoured to create an art gallery within the city. Though they were unsuccessful in creating a bricks-and-mortar facility, their dedication and hard work provided the foundation for the later development of a gallery.

Geneva Jackson was the aunt of Group of Seven painter, A.Y. Jackson, and, in 1921, the Ladies Art Committee mounted one of the first art exhibitions to feature their work. Over the next 22 years, the Committee arranged lectures and exhibitions for local residents.

The Committee purchased five paintings by Group of Seven members and one by Tom Thomson with the proceeds of the lectures. These paintings were intended to be the core collection for the permanent art gallery. Another four paintings were added to the collection and were displayed in different venues throughout Kitchener until 1943.

By this time, Ida and Florence had passed away and plans for the art gallery had not progressed. The controversial decision was made to donate the paintings to the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

The Ladies Art Committee members’ dream was eventually realized in 1956 with the opening of the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery.

Photo: Geneva Jackson (right side); Florence Sims, Sarah Williams, and Ida Cram (left side, top to bottom)

Photo courtesy of University of Waterloo Library, Special Collections and Archives. Clement & Bowlby family fonds, and George DeKay 

Kathryn Hansuld Lamb b. 1928-2020

Kathryn Hansuld Lamb was born in Toronto and grew up on the Oxford County farm where her family has lived since 1862. After attending Woodstock Collegiate Institute, she graduated from the University of Western Ontario with Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism.

Lamb was hired by the Kitchener-Waterloo Record in 1951. One of her long-standing assignments was her weekly column called "Party Line" which ran from 1951 until 1991. Originally intended as a forum for Women's Institutes, the column expanded to include rural issues throughout the Region of Waterloo and southwestern Ontario. Using her weekly column, she enlightened readers about the many fascinating people and places in the Region of Waterloo. She is the author of The Quiet Hobby.

Lamb was President of the Waterloo Historical Society in 1972-73, and she is currently the Chairman of the Society's Publication Committee which is responsible for their Annual Volume of historical research. As well, she was a founding member of the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society and the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation. Serving as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Waterloo County Hall of Fame from 1988 until 1992, Lamb was also a member of the Hall of Fame's research committee for many years. She held offices in the United Church of Canada on congregation, presbytery and conference levels.

A life member of the Helena Feasby Women's Institute, Lamb served as President and contributed articles for the Tweedsmuir History. She was a founding member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Garden Club. As well, she was a member of the founding executive committee of the Kitchener-Waterloo area chapter of The Thyroid Foundation of Canada. Lamb's commitment to community service has been recognized by a 1981 Oktoberfest Woman of the Year Award; a 1983 Kitchener Award of Merit and an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation in 1996. Lamb lives in the Bridgeport area of Kitchener with her husband Richard.

Photograph by Forde Studio Photographers.

Gertrude Lang 1875-1968

Lang, the former Gertrude Dietrich, was born in Galt. As a teenager she founded the Silver Star Society in 1891, a Galt philanthropic organization, serving as its treasurer for sixty-three years.

In the Girl Guide association, she was a district commissioner for twenty-four years and a member of the Ontario executive for twenty-one years, being awarded the Medal of Merit and the Bronze Beaver, the highest award in Guiding.

Lang was very active in the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire at the provincial and national levels. She was one of the founders of the Galt Shakespeare Club and later became a patroness of the Stratford Shakespearean Festival.

Lang was active in the Red Cross Society, the hospital auxiliary, the Children's Aid Society, the Galt Family Service Bureau, the South Waterloo Humane Society and the Canadian Cancer Society.

Louis Lacourse Lang 1880-1965

Louis LaCourse Lang, a native of Kitchener, was educated in Kitchener and at De La Salle Institute, Chicago. He became a leading figure in civic, business, church and welfare activities in Waterloo County and was well- known throughout Canada.

Lang was associated with Mutual Life Assurance Company from 1921, becoming president in 1943; chairman of the board in 1958 and honorary board chairman in 1965. He was a vice-president and director of Lang Tanning Co., Ltd. founded by his grandfather, Reinhold Lang.

On the national scene, Lang was senior vice-president of the Bank of Montreal and a director of the CPR. He served as president of the Canadian Manufacturers' Association.

Lang was co-founder of the Freeport Sanatorium, honorary president of the Ontario division of the Canadian Cancer Society and a member of the board of governors of the Ontario Research Foundation. He contributed to the building of Canadian youth through his keen interest in the Boy Scouts Association, both in local and national activities. He held the Silver Wolf Badge. He was the first in the Hamilton diocese to become a Knight Commander of St. Gregory, the highest honour bestowed on laymen by the Roman Catholic Church.

Reinhold Lang 1817-1883

Reinhold Lang came to Berlin from a small village in the German Rhineland and, in 1849, with his eldest son, George, established a small tannery.

Lang's tannery was located on Foundry (now Ontario) Street in Berlin. He later moved it to an area with a natural spring between Wilmot (now Victoria) and Francis Streets, on which no buildings had previously been erected. This area was chosen because an adequate water supply for the tannery was obtained by digging a twelve feet by twelve feet hole.

The Lang Tannery became the largest sole leather producer in the British Empire.

Lang was a member of the Berlin Council in 1859 when it was decided to dispense with remuneration to councillors because village finances were very low.

James Campbell Law 1912-1992

Born on February 4, 1912, this native of Galt amassed an exemplary record of local, provincial, national and continental bowling titles.

Starting at the George Street Lawn Bowling Club, Law began to show his skill at the age of 15 when he won his first tournament at Dundas. He won the Ontario District #7 championship thirty-four times and the Ontario title ten times, once as a singles player, once as a skip of a pair team and the other times as vice-skip or skip of a four team.

In doubles pair and fours team events, Law won the Canadian title four times and was runner-up on four occasions. Awarded a gold medal in the USA National Open tournament in both the doubles pair and fours team. He also won a gold medal at the Ontario Summer Games in Ottawa. He received an athletic award from Kitchener and was the first Cambridge Athlete of the Year.

Rial George Rutter "Barney" Lawrence 1925-2011

Barney Lawrence was born in Ottawa in 1925 and came to Kitchener in 1951 to practice law.

During his college days he was a member of the University of Toronto intercollegiate team and was later a nationally ranked squash player in both doubles and singles. He was Ontario amateur squash champion in 1962.

He played on the Canadian Lapham Cup Team against the United States about seventeen times between 1950-1984, and was captain in 1967 and 1981. He is the holder of many Canadian, Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Western Canadian titles.

In 1962 Lawrence established the Kitchener-Waterloo Racquet Club, the first in the area, and served as president for seven years. Since the opening of the physical education complex at the University of Waterloo, where he was instrumental in having the first glass-walled courts for spectator viewing, the squash program has been aided by Lawrence. He was coach of the college team which has won many championships.

Lisa Bauer Leahy b. 1960

Lisa Bauer Leahy was born in Kitchener in 1960. A daughter of a famous Waterloo athletic family, Leahy earned her recognition as a field hockey player at the University of Waterloo. She was the University of Waterloo's all-time leading scorer, co-captain for three years and Most Valuable Player for two years and she was named a first-team All-Canadian in 1983.

Leahy was named the University of Waterloo's Female Athlete of the Year in 1984 and served as a student representative on the University's Athletic Directorate. She was inducted into the University's Hall of Fame in 1984. Lisa was a member of Canada's Olympic Team that competed at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984.

Leahy successfully co-chaired the campaign to raise funds for the Waterloo Recreation Complex.

She and her husband Frank Leahy live in Waterloo with their five children.

James Paris Lee 1831-1904

The famous Lee rifle and the first Remington typewriter were invented by James P. Lee, son of a Scottish immigrant who came to Galt in 1836.

Lee showed a great interest in firearms and while experimenting in Dickson's Bush injured his foot, causing a permanent limp.

At 19 years of age he went to Milwaukee and there invented the Lee rifle. He was asked by the British government to consult with a certain Mr. Metford who had been commissioned to produce a gun suitable for the infantry and cavalry. Metford chose Lee's gun and it became known as the Lee-Metford rifle.

Lee also invented the Lee-Enfield rifle that was used by the British in the Boer War, and in the First and Second World Wars. The rifle was also used by the USA, China, Spain, Denmark and Mexico.

Ian Donald Leggatt b. 1965

Ian Donald Leggatt was born in Cambridge in 1965. Leggatt become involved in speed skating at age seven, winning many National and International Awards while representing Canada. He also became a member of Puslinch Lake Golf Club at age seven, and won the Club championship four times. Moving to the Galt Country Club, where he played for several years, Leggatt won the Club Championship three times.

Leggatt attended Texas Wesleyan University, graduating in 1990 in Sports Management, and attained National Association Intercollegiate Athletes All-American in 1988-1989. He won Ontario Matchplay in 1988 and he qualified for the Professional Golf Association in 1990. Through the 1990s, Leggatt played the Canadian, South African, South American, Asian and Australian Professional Golf Tours. He was a rookie member of the Buy.Com Tour in 2000 finishing fifth, and he won the Buy.Com Dayton Open U.S. PGA Tour as Rookie in 2001.

He won the 2002 Touchstone Energy Tucson Open and tied for eighteenth at the Bell Canada Open. He finished twentieth in the U.S. Open in 2003. Leggatt was a member of the Canadian World Cup Team 1998 at New Zealand finishing individual sixth overall.

Leggatt works with children with disabilities through Ronald McDonald's Children's Charities. He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife Lori and their daughter Mia.

Photo - TaylorMade

"Hughie" Lehman 1885-1961

Twenty-one years between the posts, with nineteen of them in the pro ranks, rates Hughie Lehman a merit award alone. He was one of the outstanding goalkeepers of his day, and though slight in build, was a fiery competitor.

Born in Pembroke in 1885, he broke into hockey in his hometown, his team winning the Citizen Shield in 1906. The next year he was at Sault Ste. Marie in the old International League. He returned to Pembroke in 1907 to play semi-pro but moved to Kitchener in the Trolley League.

When the Patricks formed the Pacific Coast League, it was Frank who was quick to sign Lehman for New Westminster, for three years before joining Vancouver. From 1911 to 1926 he guarded the nets and played in five Stanley Cup series, winning one in 1915. He played for two Stanley Cup challengers within two months, being the only other man to do so. He played for Galt against Ottawa and then Kitchener against Wanderers, losing both of them.

He died in Toronto in April of 1961.

Kerry Leitch b. 1941

Kerry Leitch was born on March 5, 1941 in Woodstock. He wanted to be a professional hockey player and joined a skating club to improve his skating. He played baseball for two years on the farm teams of the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals.

He started teaching figure skating when he was seventeen. Since taking charge of the coaching at the Preston Figure Skating Club in 1964, he has coached many students to national and international championships. When the Leitch team won eleven medals at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Regina in January 1984, the Preston Club was acclaimed for establishing a national record.

The grand total of competitions his skaters have won include 204 gold medals, 193 silver medals and 165 bronze medals.

He operates the Kerry Leitch Figure Skating Schools Inc.

Lennox Lewis b. 1965

Lennox Lewis, a native of England, was raised in Kitchener. At Cameron Heights Collegiate he excelled in football and basketball. He was a member of the starting team that won the Ontario Basketball championship in 1983.

His interest in boxing was nurtured in local clubs. He won his class in the British Commonwealth Games in 1986, the Canadian amateur title in March 1988, and the North American championship in August 1988. His biggest win was the Olympic Gold Medal for Canada in the super heavyweight division at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea. He was named to the Order of Canada in January 1989, and he was a 1989 recipient of the Harry Jerome Award given to Black Canadians for outstanding achievement.

Lewis began fighting as a Briton after returning to England when he turned professional shortly after the Olympics. Lewis won the European heavyweight title in 1990, the British heavyweight title in 1990, the Commonwealth heavyweight title in 1992, and he was named the WBC champion in 1992. He regained the WBC title in 1997 after losing it in 1994, and he captured the undisputed world heavyweight title in 1999. He regained his WBC and IBF heavyweight titles in 2001.

He was named to commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2002 New Year's Honour List. Lewis retired as the reigning heavyweight champion in February 2004 with a 41-2-1 record.

Carl Liscombe 1914-2004

Carl Liscombe was born in Perth, Ontario and arrived in Galt a year later. He became proficient in all sports and was outstanding in hockey. He played OHA hockey with Galt junior and intermediate teams and senior with Hamilton Tigers where he was the leading scorer. Liscombe then played nine full seasons with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League.

In his first full season with Detroit, Liscombe led the club in scoring and was runner-up in the selection of the league's "Rookie-of-the-Year" award. In 1939 he set an NHL record which stood for fourteen years for the fastest "three goals scored." Liscombe set another record, which he held for three years, when he accumulated seven scoring points in a single game. In 1934 he was selected as the most valuable player for the Red Wings.

Liscombe finished fifteen years of professional hockey with the Providence Reds of the American Hockey League. He was twice elected the league's most valuable player. On one occasion, he set a league record by getting 118 points.

Peter Litwiller 1809-1878

This minister of the Amish congregation in Wilmot Township, ordained in 1845, came from Alsace in 1829 and was made bishop in 1850. Early settlers of all faiths found him A a tower of strength in times of tribulations. His ecumenical spirit was shown in relations with other denominations.

When Peter Litwiller's funeral procession of 200 carriages and a multitude on foot passed through St. Agatha, Father Eugene Funcken, R.C. parish priest, tolled the bells of his church and he penned the following tribute: A People from almost every walk of life were present at his funeral service, which should prove that in the eyes of those who did not share his beliefs he must have been considered a Christian in the finest sense of the word.

James Livingston 1828-1921

James Livingston arrived penniless from Scotland in the 1860s but eventually became a leading industrialist known as A The Flax and Linseed Oil King. He also manufactured Livingston cars but produced only five.

After a year at the trade of weaving he became foreman for the Perine Conestogo flax mill and later processed flax for linen and linseed oil in his own plant at Baden, owning most of the village in 1877. He bought out competitors, forming Dominion Linseed Company, and had plants throughout Canada and holdings in industries producing linen and hemp in the USA and England.

He was reeve of Wilmot Township for several terms. In 1879 he was Liberal member of the Ontario Legislature for South Waterloo, and later, as a federal member, served as Minister of Mines and Northern Affairs in Sir Wilfrid Laurier's cabinet.

Always community-minded, he promoted the Baden Band and built the Livingston Presbyterian Church.

Gordon Loney 1902-1990

Distinguished service as a Director of Doon Pioneer Village and as a member of the Selection Committee for the Hall of Fame was given by Gordon Loney, born at Metcalfe, Ontario, who had an outstanding career in the educational field.

His 50 years of service to scouting brought him the Medal of Merit and the organization's highest order, the Silver Acorn. He was district Commissioner, and in 1945 organized and conducted leadership training courses for Boy Scout leaders in Alberta and British Columbia. He was awarded the Centennial Medal in 1967.

Graduating from the Ottawa Normal School, he taught at several local schools, including Courtland Avenue, Victoria and Suddaby in Kitchener. He was principal at Courtland, Preuter, and Smithson Schools, retiring in 1967. He served the local and provincial Men Teacher's Federation, was Provincial President for two years and a member of the first Board of Governors.

Loney was a director of the Red Cross Society and Warden at St. John's Anglican Church.

Jim Lorentz b. 1947

Jim Lorentz was born in 1947 and lived in Waterloo as a youth.  He played minor hockey, including on the Sutherland Cup winning Waterloo Siskins in 1964.  At 17 years of age he left home to play Junior "A" hockey for the Niagara Falls Flyers for three seasons, playing on the Memorial Cup winning team in 1965.

Lorentz turned professional with the Oklahoma City Blazers, winning the Central Hockey League rookie of the year honours in 1966-67 and league MVP the following season.

In 1968-69, Lorentz joined the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and was a member of the 1970 Stanley Cup Championship team.  In ensuing years he was traded and played for the St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres where he established himself as a bona-fide NHLer and retired from the Sabres following the 1977-78 season.  His ten year career in the NHL included more than 700 regular-season and play-off games where he amassed more than 400 points in scoring.  Lorentz was twice the winner of the Unsung Hero award with the Buffalo Sabres.

Lorentz was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.  Following his retirement as a player, Lorentz became a sports telecaster, joining the Buffalo Sabres broadcast team for 27 years.  He has recently completed a book on Atlantic salmon fishing, and has won several writing awards for magazine stories and articles about fly fishing.

Photo by Robert Shaver.

Larry Lynch

Larry Lynch, born in St. Thomas, Ontario in 1954, has been a sports builder and enthusiast in Waterloo Region for nearly four decades. He was active in the local fastball community for more than 30 years as a player, coach, field manager, general manager, tournament organizer and community volunteer. 

Teams that Lynch has guided have been dominant forces in local and international competition, competing for more than 20 years at International Softball Congress (ISC) tournaments. As well, teams that Lynch has coached and managed have won nine provincial, nine national and five ISC World Championships. He also won a Gold medal in the elite division of the 2013 World Masters Games in Torino, Italy. 

In 2000, it was generally regarded in the sporting fraternity that Lynch was the "saviour" of men's fastball at the elite level in Kitchener-Waterloo.  His tenacity and resourcefulness resulted in the Waterloo CHYM'rs/Twins becoming the longest continuously operating men's fastball team in Canada. The Twins ceased operation in 2015 ending a 48 year run. 

Lynch was a driving force and instrumental in bringing the 2002 ISC World Tournament to Kitchener, resulting in the community hosting this prestigious event three more times.  In collaboration with various groups, Lynch's volunteer leadership has helped realize significant financial donations for many community groups and organizations.  He has been a long-time volunteer and fund raiser for the local chapter of the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada. 

Lynch was inducted into the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame in 2007.  In its 68 year history he remains the only Canadian team manager ever so honoured by the ISC.  He was recognized in 2010 with the Kitchener Sports Association Award of Excellence. 

Larry, a professional engineering manager by vocation was employed for 30 years by the City of Kitchener, and was instrumental in countless streetscape and infrastructure enhancements throughout the community.  He played an integral role in the development of the Peter Hallman Ball Yard, and the design and development of the formal entrance to Victoria Park. 

Photograph courtesy of Highland Camera.

Norman Lynn 1926-1999

Norman Lynn, born in Colborne, Ontario, was a local entrepreneur and community activist who worked throughout his life to bridge the gap between Chinese and Canadian culture.

Lynn was the founding chair of the K-W Multicultural Centre, and worked hard to establish race relations training in schools and social services for newcomers to the community. He also helped to found the Central Ontario Chinese Cultural Centre, and served with national organizations such as the Canadian Consultative Council on Multiculturalism and the Chinese National Council.

In 1948, Lynn and his father opened Lynn's, one of the first Chinese restaurants in Kitchener, and he owned Top's Tavern, a popular restaurant in downtown Kitchener from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Lynn was known for his fund raising efforts. He worked with other local restaurateurs to mark Canada's centennial with a fund raising event for K-W Federated Appeal, and he raised funds for the victims of the 1974 Cambridge flood, the victims of tornados in Woodstock and Barrie, as well as funds for the construction of the Centre in the Square and K-W Hospital.

Upon his death, Lynn was remembered as the most respected man in the local Chinese-Canadian community for his many efforts to better the community. In 2005, the KW Multicultural Centre named their new building in honour of Norman Lynn.

Photograph David McCammon, Photography, Waterloo

William Grant MacDonald MD 1899-1976

William Grant MacDonald graduated from the faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, in 1922 and came to Kitchener in 1925.

He lectured on first aid to employee groups and was medical examiner for several industries and doctor for local sporting teams. Medical Officer with the first Battalion, Scots Fusiliers, he was awarded the Efficiency Decoration. He later went on reserve as major.

His greatest contribution to the community was the invaluable service he gave to the St. John Ambulance organization. He formed the St. John Ambulance Brigade in 1940 and became area surgeon and later divisional surgeon. Through his efforts, a branch house and training centre, The William G. MacDonald House, was opened in Kitchener.

He was made Serving Brother, Officer Brother, and in 1965 Commanding Brother of the Order of St. John. For his great services to the organization, in 1971 he was made a Knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem by Governor-General Michener.

Harry F. MacKendrick MD 1866-1950

Harry F. MacKendrick, a prominent citizen and physician in Galt for many years, brought considerable fame to his city and to himself as a canoeist. In New York in 1890 he set a new record in winning the World Championship and with his brother, John, also won the tandem championship. Previously, when only twenty years of age, he won the American Championship at Sturgeon Point and upon his retirement it was said that he was never defeated in 122 races in "singles" competition.

His father, two brothers and he as a team member won four world titles during that era. He was talented in other sports and was a member of the Canadian all-star team which won the World's Soccer Championship in 1885.

Sylvia Malgadey-Forgrave

As an athlete, Malgadey-Forgrave competed as a hurdler and long jumper in provincial level sports. She participated in the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, competing in the semi-finals of the hurdles event. 

Giving back to her sport, Malgadey-Forgrave has volunteered with Athletics Canada as Team Leader for 20+ years. She has also developed a network that provides over 60 Olympians with the best foot care in Canada, sponsored students to attend sports camps, and has provided quality shoes for athletes. Malgadey-Forgrave has also created a charity that, to date, has provided over 35,000 pairs of gently used shoes to individuals in underdeveloped countries.

As an educator, Malgadey-Forgrave has coached volleyball and track and field, been co-leader of the Athletes Against Drugs program, and helped organize school musicals and productions. 

She has been a volunteer with RunWaterloo for 25+ years, and has recently served on its Board of Directors. Malgadey-Forgrave currently volunteers at the Eastwood Free Store, a facility set up at Eastwood Collegiate to provide new Canadian families with the essentials they need. A nature and wildlife enthusiast, she also volunteers at the Wildlife Haven in Waterloo and the Donkey Sanctuary in Guelph. 

Photograph courtesy of K-W Record Negative Collection, University of Waterloo Library.

Kirk Maltby b. 1972

Kirk Maltby was born in Guelph and moved to Cambridge (Hespeler) in 1976. Maltby played minor hockey in Hespeler, including one year with the Cambridge Winterhawks. He then played in the Ontario Hockey League with the Owen Sound Platers.

Maltby was drafted in the third round of the 1992 Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League. In 1992-93, he played for the Cape Breton Oilers and then advanced to the National Hockey League playing three seasons (1993-96) with Edmonton before being traded to the Detroit Red Wings. In Detroit, he became a key player with the Red Wings winning Stanley Cup championships in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2009. Maltby was also a member of Canada's World Championship hockey team in 2003 and 2005.

Maltby has been acknowledged as one of the top defensive specialists in the National Hockey League. He retired in 2010 and became a scout for the Detroit Red Wings. His NHL statistics over 17 seasons were 1,072 games played, scoring 128 goals and 132 assists for 260 points and 867 penalty minutes. He also appeared in 169 playoff games, scoring 16 goals, 15 assists and 31 points while accumulating 149 penalty minutes. Maltby was inducted into the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

Photo courtesy of the Kitchener-Waterloo Record Photographic Negative Collection, University of Waterloo Library.

Thomas Marshall 1818-1889

Thomas Marshall was born in Roxburghshire, Scotland in 1818. In North Dumfries, he sold his first farm in 1856 to purchase 100 acres of better land.

Because of the nature of the buildings and tallow candles, fire was a constant threat to all farmers. At first, the Canada West Insurance Company offered protection but its rates were considered excessive. In 1856, the people formed their own North Dumfries and South Waterloo Mutual Fire Insurance Company. It is still operating, the oldest of the Ontario Farm Mutuals.

The founder of this Company, Marshall, was secretary-treasurer for twenty-nine years. In addition, he was reeve of North Dumfries for seven years and clerk-treasurer for thirteen years.

Abner Bauman Martin 1913-2003

Abner B. Martin was born in St. Jacobs. He was an outstanding breeder of Holstein-Friesian and Limousin cattle and judged these breeds in Canada, Mexico, Central and South America. He was part owner of the K-W Stockyards and manager for sixteen years. He raced standardbred horses at local tracks and bred and showed Black Minorca chickens.

He was reeve of Woolwich Township 1951-52, director of the Woolwich Agricultural Society, director for fifteen years of the Holstein-Friesian Association of Canada and president 1971-72; president and treasurer of the Limousin Association. He was on the committee that purchased the first bull (Jersey) for artificial insemination in Canada (1941). Thirty years later, he was a partner in Modern Ova Trends Ltd., the first in Ontario to offer embryo transplants.

Waterloo "Farmer of the Year" in 1960, Martin was also first president of the Waterloo Farm Business Management Association and president of the Waterloo-Wellington Milk Marketing Board. Martin is also an inductee of the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame.

Abner Martin 1934-2018 

There are two sides to Abner Martin - choral musician and cattleman.

As a child, Martin was involved in music and, while a teenager, began directing the choirs at St. Jacobs Mennonite Church.

Martin graduated in 1958 with a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from the University of Toronto.  He then taught music at Waterloo Collegiate and later at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick.  In 1967, Martin earned the Master of Music degree in music literature and vocal performance from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

In 1955, at 20 years of age, Martin became the founding conductor of the newly created Menno Singers.  Working with the choir, he pushed the boundaries of choral music with performances of complex pieces.  In 1974, Martin was the force behind the formation of the Mennonite Mass Choir which, along with the Menno Singers, he directed until his retirement in 1979.  Today, the Menno Singers and the Mennonite Mass Choir continue to play significant spiritual and cultural roles in Waterloo Region.

Following his retirement as choir director, the Menno Singers established the Abner Martin Music Scholarship awarded annually to a deserving university music student from Ontario.

Growing up on a dairy farm in Waterloo Township, Martin was active in 4-H.  In 1966, he began breeding Charolais beef cattle, believed to be the first purebred Charolais herd in Waterloo Region.

In 1973, Martin left his career at Mount Allison University and bought a farm and dairy herd in Perth County.  Animals from Martin's Rivendel herd of Holstein cattle were sold to at least six provinces and ten countries around the world.  The farm was considered a demonstration farm for conservation management practices.  In 1993, the farm received the Conservation Award from the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority.

Photograph courtesy of Hunsberger Photography.

Donald B. Martin 1933-2013

Donald B. Martin was raised in a conservative Mennonite family in Woolwich Township. As was common in families in his community, he quit school at age 16 and began working in carpentry and construction.

In his mid-20s he took over the family business, Martin Feed Mills Ltd. , and built it into a significant business and employer in Elmira. Martin was also involved in the creation of more than 30 other businesses including the Elmira Land Development Company, Brox's Olde Town Village and B&L Metals.

Martin held a number of volunteer positions both locally and nationally. He was President of the Elmira Board of Trade in 1965, the year the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival began. He also served on the Elmira High School Board and was a member of the Lions Club for 45 years. He was the recipient of the Melvin Jones Fellow given by Lions Club International Foundation. Some of his most challenging experiences were being involved in search and rescue missions where he volunteered his airplane and piloting expertise. He was also a Mason and Shriner. Martin served nationally as Chairman of the Canadian Feed Manufacturers Association.

He was involved in the creation of many local facilities such as the Lions Sports Park, Kissing Bridge Trail, Lions Woolwich Dam Trail and the Elmira Golf and Country Club. Martin was recognized for his community service with several awards of distinction including being named Woolwich Citizen of the Year in 1992.

Photograph - Calla Studio, Elmira.

Floyd "Butch" Martin b. 1929

Floyd Martin was born in Floradale in 1929. He began his hockey career with the Waterloo Siskins Jr. B., Guelph Biltmore Jr. A and the K-W Dutchmen. Because of his Mennonite upbringing, he wouldn't play hockey on Sundays and in October 1950, he quit the Dutchmen. He also cancelled a contract which he had signed with the New York Rangers.

He resumed his career with intermediate and senior teams in Elmira but returned to the Dutchmen in 1956. He went with them to the Olympics in Cortina, Italy (1956) and Squaw Valley, California (1960) where they won bronze and silver medals. In 1961 he travelled with the Chatham Maroons on a goodwill trip to Russia and Sweden. From 1961 to 1964 Martin played for the Johnstown Jets of the Eastern league, including two years as coach.

He joined the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL as coach for one season. He spent three years as playing coach of the Guelph Regals and coached Guelph Junior B's in 1968 and 1969. He has played Polar Kings old-timers hockey since 1975.

Hon. Lt. Col. John Alexander "Alex" Martin OBE 1880-1959

John Alexander Martin resided in Kitchener for most of his life. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1902. An industrialist, he became vice-president of the Dominion Rubber Company from 1941 to 1947. He served as Rubber Controller for the Canadian government and attended a number of important European gatherings.

He was vice-president of the Equitable Life of Canada, a director of the Economical Mutual, the Waterloo Trust and Smiles and Chuckles; a founder and President of the Ontario Society for Crippled Children, President K-W Rotary Club, Federated Charities, the Red Cross, a director of the Canadian Cancer Society, and Hon. Lieutenant-Colonel of the Scots Fusiliers of Canada.

He was a charter member of the Westmount Golf and Country Club, a member of the Granite Club, and served St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Kitchener, as Chairman of the Board of Managers, elder and Superintendent of the Sunday School.

Isaac "Ike" H. Master 1897-1981

He was born in Plattsville December 20 th, 1897 and moved to Berlin in 1907.

His hockey career started in high school followed by becoming a star player on the Berlin Union Jacks in 1915-1916, one of Ontario's outstanding Junior teams. He enlisted in 1915 and while overseas played for Canadian Army baseball teams. Upon return home in 1919, he arranged a meeting of several baseball enthusiasts from neighbouring towns which culminated in the formation of the Inter-County Association, on which he was an executive member for some years. He played Senior baseball with Kitchener 1919-1925, with Preston 1926, Kitchener 1927-1930. He also managed the Kitchener team in 1928-1930 which always made the playoffs against very strong competition.

In 1919-1920 he organized and then managed and played for the Kitchener Intermediate Hockey Club which won the Ontario Championship in 1922. After another year, this club, being the first Kitchener team called the " Greenshirts," played senior hockey in the strong Big Four Group, which consisted of Stratford, Galt, and Preston. He continued as the manager and a player for several years.

Anthony "Tony" Matlock b. 1928

Anthony "Tony" Matlock, a lifelong resident of Kitchener, learned to caddy at age 8, left school at 14 to help support his family, and went on to distinguish himself in many fields.

A lifelong competitive golfer, Matlock earned numerous victories including the Ontario Junior Better Ball, the George S. Lyon Championship, and the Ontario Senior Champion of Champions. He also represented the country internationally for 14 years as a qualified member of the Canadian Senior's Golf Association.

With an instinct for business, Matlock created, co-owned and operated a successful appliance retail centre for 30 years. He also, with partners, designed and launched the unique Merry Hill Golf Course and challenging Dundee Country Club. In creating these enduring enterprises, Matlock generated employment for many people throughout the decades and fostered more than one million rounds of golf - contributing to the economic vitality and sporting dynamism of Waterloo Region.

Alf Mayer b. 1938

An outstanding member of Canada's Rifle Team for many years, Kitchener's Alf Mayer was thirty-one times Canadian champion in match rifle from 1963 to 1983. In all, he won sixty-three Provincial titles and won a gold medal in the World Cup in 1985.

Born in a small community near Stuttgart, Germany in 1938, Mayer and his family moved to Kitchener in 1957 and shortly afterwards he joined the K-W Concordia Rifle team. He became a member of the Canadian National team in 1964.

He was a member of the Canadian Olympic team in 1968 and 1972 and won an individual gold medal in the 1967 Pan Am Games, setting a record of 598 in the English match.

McClintock Family

The McClintock Family is renowned for its water-skiing achievements

Jason McClintock (b. 1987) is the 2006 Canadian Open Male Champion.

Jeff McClintock (pictured at right) was born in 1962 in Mississauga, Ontario. His family lived in Cambridge at Puslinch Lake during the summer months and he learned to water-ski at age four and began competing at age eight. Over his 30 year career he won many Canadian National titles, several Pan Am titles and has held numerous national records. He was a member of the Canadian National Team from 1979 to 1987 and skied in four World Championships. He is a level 4 coach and was the Junior National Team coach for several years, then went on to coach the National Team from 1995 to 2001. He was named Water Ski and Wakeboard Canada Coach of the Year in 1996, 1998 and 1999. Jeff is the owner-operator of McClintock's Water Ski School, Trailer Resort and Pro Shop in Cambridge since 1986. Although he is no longer competing, he continues to be involved with water ski competitions as a judge, driver or technical control person.

Joel McClintock (b. 1960) learned to water-ski at age three and competed for the first time at age five. He won his first national title at age 11. Joel competed in five world championships and won the world title in 1979. As a coach, Joel led Canada to the world team title in 1991 and 1993, and he won the Coaching Association of Canada's Excellence Award three times. He was inducted into the Water Ski and Wakeboard Canada Hall of Fame in 2004.

Judy McClintock-Messer (b. 1963) competed in water-skiing for the first time at age eight. She won her first national championship at age 10 and was a member of Canada's national team for 19 years from 1978 to 1996. Judy won more than 30 national titles, and she holds 48 national records. In 1995, she was crowned Women's World Overall Champion, retiring one year later. She was inducted into the Water Ski and Wakeboard Canada Hall of Fame in 2004.

Whitney McClintock (b. 1989) is the 2007 Canadian Open Female Champion.

Jerome "Hook" McComb 1917-1981

Jerome McComb was born in Kitchener in 1917 and spent his entire life as a resident of the community.

McComb started boxing at age 12 and also played hockey with the Jr. "B" Greenshirts and the K-W Juniors in the 1930s.  He rounded out his hockey career in senior hockey with the McIntyre Minors in the 1940s.  He then joined the Canadian Army, and following World War II, joined the Kitchener Police Department.  He retired in 1977 after 30 years of service at the rank of Staff Sergeant with the Waterloo Regional Police Service.

When he joined the Police Department, McComb assumed leadership of the Evergreen Boxing Club, which was re-named the Kitchener Police Boxing Club, and later the Waterloo Regional Police Boxing Club.

"Hook", as McComb was nicknamed, was a pioneer in community-based policing and through his job, encouraged youth to become involved with the boxing program.  Many of his young boxers were referred by the courts.  McComb took the challenge and taught these young men more than just boxing; he was responsible for many troubled youth getting a fresh start to becoming good citizens.  McComb stated that the purpose of the club was to get youth physically and mentally fit.

McComb coached boxing for 30 years, mentoring many champions, and he was selected as a coach for Provincial and National Teams.

McComb was also referee-in-chief for Kitchener Minor Hockey and Kitchener public schools for many years, and he officiated in the Ontario Hockey League.

Photo courtesy Region of Waterloo Archives

Don McCrae b. 1935

A native of Guelph, but with a long and distinguished playing and coaching career in Kitchener- Waterloo, Don McCrae warrants the name of Mr. K-W Basketball.

After a University career at the University of Western Ontario where he was on two Ontario University championship teams, he was a member on Canada's national teams in the 1960 Olympics in Rome and the 1959 Pan-Am Games in Chicago. He played on the Livingston's, a Canadian Senior A Championship team; the Coronets, a Senior B team that won two championships in 1964 and 1966; and Kitchener Newtex, an Ontario Intermediate A team that won the championship in 1970.

As a high school coach, his Forest Heights Collegiate team won the All-Ontario title in 1970 and were finalists in 1971; he won five Twin City titles. Moving to the University scene in 1972, his University of Waterloo Warriors won the National title in 1975, had eight appearances in the final eight playdowns and won six Ontario titles. In his twenty-one-year university coaching career, he had 462 wins against 252 losses. During this time, he also coached Canada's National Women's team, where in eighteen international competitions, they earned eleven medals.

Hugh McCulloch 1826-1910

A noted early industrialist of Galt was Hugh McCulloch, a native of Ayrshire, Scotland, who served an apprenticeship in the machinist and millwright trades before coming to Canada in 1850.

He became an employee of the Dumfries Foundry, which he and John Goldie, another industrialist, later bought from James Crombie in 1859. Under their management the business grew from a general foundry to the manufacturing of boilers, engines, flour, sawmill and wood-working machinery, safes and vaults. He became the company president in 1891.

For 26 years McCulloch was Waterloo County's representative on the Galt Collegiate Institute Board. He was also a member of the town council, a president of the Gore Mutual Fire Insurance Company, a director of the Galt, Preston and Hespeler Railway Company and owner with the late Daniel Spiers of the Galt Gas and Electric Light Company, which was subsequently taken over by the town.

McCulloch was inducted into the Cambridge Hall of Fame in 2001.

John J. "Tiny" McFadyen 1885-1956

Born in Galt on April 23, 1885, a son of Hugh and Janet McFadyen, "Tiny" as he was commonly called, enjoyed a long and successful career in sports commencing as a local player in baseball and hockey and later as an outstanding coach, player and executive. One of his finest achievements occurred in 1929-1930 and 1931 when as Club President and Manager he guided the Famous Galt Terriers to the Inter-County Baseball Association Senior Championship and to the Ontario Championship in 1930 and 1931. This team is still considered by many as one of the finest ever produced in Ontario.

He was an active executive member of the Inter-County Baseball Association for some years, being President in 1930-1931 and 1932 and later on the Ontario Hockey Association on which he served as President in 1948 and 1949.

Notwithstanding the time and effort he put into sports activities he contributed a good deal to various community programs and as well, held an important executive position in one of Galt's major industries.

He died in Galt on March 27th , 1956.

Brent McFarlane b. 1948-2019

Brent McFarlane was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1948 and grew up in Sarnia, Ontario. In 1967, he attended the University of Waterloo where he received an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology.

While attending the University, McFarlane was a member of the Outdoor and Indoor Track and Field Teams in 1968, 1969 and 1970. He was on two UW Ontario University Amateur Athletic Championship Track and Field Teams and a member of two varsity record setting relay teams (4x200m and 4x400m relay). The latter stood for twenty years, before it was broken in 1989 by a varsity team coached by McFarlane.

Beginning in 1989, McFarlane was the Head Coach of the University of Waterloo's Cross Country and Track and Field teams. In his first year of coaching cross country, McFarlane coached the women's team to a 3rd place finish at the Ontario Women's Interuniversity Athletic Association (OWIAA) and a 3rd place finish at the National Championships (CIAU) in Vancouver.

In 1996 he coached a nationally unranked University of Waterloo Women's Cross Country Team to surprise upset victories at the OWIAA Provincial and the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU) championships. The Women's Cross Country Team was Waterloo's first national title in twenty years. In 1996 he was named University OWIAA and CIAU Cross Country Coach of the Year - upon which he retired from coaching cross country. In 1997, 1998 and 2000, McFarlane was named OWIAA Women's Track and Field Coach of the Year. In 1991 and 1997 he was named "Coach of the Year" at the University of Waterloo. Upon his retirement in 2005, the University of Waterloo established the 'Brent McFarlane Track and Field Endowment' to support the improvement of the University's Track & Field program.

In his efforts to keep the Kitchener-Waterloo community and Canada informed about current world trends in speed, hurdles and strength, he studied and visited coaches in over 50 countries. His knowledge of biomechanics, speed, strength and current world trends resulted in the publication of over 550 articles around the world, as well as, author of Canada's NCCP Level II and III Sprints and Hurdles. He is the author of four hurdle books, The Science of Hurdling and Speed, which have sold over 12,000 copies world-wide. In 2002 he published The Science of SAC (Speed - Agility - Conditioning , 2nd Edition In 1993, he was awarded the 3M Coaching Award of Excellence by 3M and Athletics Canada for his contribution to education in Canada.

McFarlane has served more than thirty Canadian national teams, and he has coached on four Canadian Olympic teams, including serving as Canada's Head Coach for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

McFarlane has been a volunteer coach in Waterloo Region for more than thirty-seven years with the K-W Track and Field Association. Athletes from his training groups have established: 22 Canadian Records, 37 Provincial Records, 40 National Champions, 185 Ontario Champions (includes 50 OFSSA High School Champions). 43 athletes from Waterloo Region have been on Canadian National Teams. In 2002 McFarlane received the first annual 'Special Recognition Award' from Big Brothers of Kitchener-Waterloo for his contribution to local sport and athletes in the K-W community. He was honoured in 2004 for his volunteer service with the 'Waterloo Award' by the City of Waterloo.

In 2002 McFarlane turned his talents to designing and coaching the Laurier Golden Hawks football team, by providing a unique SAC (Speed, Agility and Conditioning) program keying on speed for football. In 2005, this team had an undefeated season - a 12-0 record, winning the Ontario University Yates Cup. As huge underdogs, this team went on to win the Vanier Cup to become CIS National Champions.

Henriette A. McGarry CBE 1890-1971

Henriette Phillips was born in Merritton and after graduation from St. Joseph's Convent, Toronto, she taught school in Niagara Falls. In 1921 she moved to Kitchener with her husband Patrick J. McGarry who was assistant city engineer. For her work as national president of the Catholic Women's League during the Second World War, she received the Commander of the British Empire Order decoration and the Papal "pro ecclesia et pontifice" citation. She was the first woman to be elected chairman of the K-W High School Board which she served for twenty-five years.

Her warmth, graciousness, sincerity and ability to create good relations between board, staff and students were noted when she retired in 1962. She served the K-W Family Service Bureau, the Kitchener Catholic Welfare Bureau, the St. Mary's Hospital Auxiliary and the Carmel Guild. In 1957 she was named the K-W Quota Club's Woman of the year.

Donald "Pete" McIlwraith 1936-2014

Donald "Pete" McIlwraith was born in Guelph, Ontario. In Guelph he contributed significantly as a founder of the Guelph Boys and Girls Minor Softball Associations.

In 1968 McIlwraith moved to Kitchener and continued his support for sport, initially as a coach of the Kitchener Civitans junior women's softball team. The Civitans earned two provincial titles and an Ontario Summer Games gold medal between 1972 and 1974.

McIlwraith started the Can-American Friendship Games between Kitchener and Nashville, Tennessee in 1975; the Games lasted for more than 20 years. In 1979, he was named Honourary Citizen and awarded the Key to the City by the Mayor of Nashville for his contributions to the Donelson Civitans Softball Program.  

McIlwraith was a founder of Civitan Sports Waterloo Region that organized and hosted many women's softball events, notably the Civitan Sports Fastball Jamboree featuring teams from across North America. In addition, he volunteered for local host committees for the International Softball Congress World and Legends of Fastball tournaments as well as Special Olympics and the Athlete of the Year programs.

His tireless efforts were recognized in 1997 when McIlwraith was inducted into the Guelph Sports Hall of Fame, and again in 2005, when he was inducted into the Softball Canada Hall of Fame.

Photograph courtesy of the Waterloo Region Record/Mathew McCarthy.

Colonel John A. McIntosh DSO, ED 1885-1970

Colonel J.A. McIntosh was one of Galt's outstanding soldiers. In civilian life he was the postmaster for thirty-two years.

A lieutenant in the 29th Regiment, in 1914 he joined the 18th Battalion C.E.F., becoming second- in-command in 1916. He was wounded in that year and again in 1918. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, the Efficiency Decoration, and was twice mentioned in despatches.

Following the war, McIntosh helped reorganize the Highland Light Infantry of Canada, becoming commanding officer in 1937. In 1940 he was the first officer of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada to enlist in World War II. Taking command of 1,100 men, he blended them into a highly competent and proud unit that proved in battle to be one of Canada's finest battalions. In Britain, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and returned home in 1944.

He was an alderman for six years, served Trinity Anglican Church as a Board Member and Warden, and was an active Mason for fifty years.

Duncan McIntosh 1910-1986

Duncan McIntosh was born in Edinburgh on September 9, 1910, coming to Galt with his parents when he was two years old. After completing his elementary and secondary schooling, he graduated from Queen's University in 1934 with a degree in Commerce. After graduation, he joined the Gore Mutual Insurance Company, becoming manager in 1944, a director in 1951, and finally president in 1963, which office he held until his retirement in 1974.

The list of his community activities is a long and impressive one. They include: Trustee of the Galt Board of Education for ten years; Chairman of the Family Service Bureau for several years; Member of the Public Utility Commission for three years; Chairman of the Board to organize plans and build the new Cambridge Memorial Hospital; and serving many years on the Board of Management of Knox's Presbyterian Church.

In 1961, he was named Citizen of the Year and a community centre in Churchill Park was named after him.

McIntosh was very active in sports. He played on the Galt Terriers when they won the Ontario Junior Baseball championship in 1926 and was quarterback on the Queen's University football team. He was also an active curler and golfer.

Donald McKee

Donald “Don” McKee spent 34 years working for what is now the Waterloo Region District School Board, as a teacher, physical education consultant, curriculum superintendent, and principal.

In 1964, Don began to volunteer with the Kitchener Minor Hockey Association, coaching junior hockey teams in Kitchener, Cambridge, and Guelph while maintaining his full-time job as an educator.

Don co-founded the Kitchener Hockey School in 1974, which ran every summer for six weeks until 2004. The school offered high performance hockey instruction from coaches with a teaching and playing background.

From 1985 to 1998, Don served as Head Coach of the University of Waterloo Men’s Varsity Hockey Team. He guided the Warriors to 13 winning seasons, 2 Ontario University Athletic Association (OUAA) West Championships, and 1 Queen’s Cup Championship. In 2006, Don was inducted into the Waterloo Warriors Athletics Hall of Fame.

Since 2010, Don has volunteered as Head Coach with the Canadian Deaf Ice Hockey Federation. In addition to coaching, Don spearheaded fundraising programs to help send men’s deaf teams to competitions around the world.

Don’s accomplishments have been recognized by numerous awards, including: Coach of the Year – Ontario University Athletic Association (1989), Father Kehoe Memorial Trophy (1989), 3M Coaching Canada Award (1997), Gordon Jukes Award (1998), Coach of the Year – Central Professional Hockey League (2001 & 2002), and Volunteer of the Year – Canada Deaf Sports Association (2013).

Photo courtesy of University of Waterloo Library, Special Collections & Archives. Kitchener-Waterloo Record Photographic Negative Collection

Gerald McKee 1920-2009 and Russell McKee 1920-2007

Formal schooling ceased at grade eight for twins Gerald (right) and Russell McKee (left) when their father died in a farm accident in 1933, leaving his widow with nine children to raise. Being among the eldest in the family, much of the responsibility for hand-milking 20 Holsteins and working the farm fell on their shoulders. By 1939, their five younger siblings were able to take over, freeing the twins to leave and learn new skills. Russell pursued machining, while Gerald became a welder. In 1945, Russell opened a repair shop for farm machinery in Elmira. Gerald soon joined him in this venture.

When a local farmer approached them about designing a forage blower, similar to one he had seen in the United States, their inventiveness came to the fore. By 1949, they had designed and tested two blowers, which made it possible to handle a hay crop pneumatically instead of the labour-intensive method of baling. The success of the McKee suction blower led them to experiment with several forage harvester designs. The result was the McKee One Man Harvester, which made it possible for a farmer with one tractor to single-handedly harvest and store a variety of forage crops at very low cost. This was at a time when there existed a critical labour shortage on the farm, as young sons left for more lucrative factory jobs.

In total, more than 10,000 harvesting systems were manufactured. A new factory was built in 1952 and expanded in 1958, and a dealer network was established across Canada and into the United States. Other products included an affordable tractor-mounted snow blower, livestock water bowls, the McKee Harvester and Stacker, a cornhead, a chisel plow and the "Insta-Hitch".

The McKee name disappeared when investors merged with other companies and the brothers sold their shares. However, the entrepreneurial twins were not content to retire. Gerald purchased Gil-Wal Machine Ltd. of Waterloo and Russell joined him soon after to again form a partnership. The machine shop was moved to Elmira and renamed Elmira Machine Industries Inc. The business did custom machining, as well as making pumps for milking machines and liquid waste removal systems. In 1978, the twins purchased the Link Belt Foundry in Elmira and renamed it Procast. The foundry produced custom castings for a wide variety of customers. Procast was eventually sold to an outside buyer. However, the McKee name lives on in McKee Farm Technologies Inc., a business operated by Russell's son, Phillip, who purchased Elmira Machine from the twins upon their retirement.

Community involvement followed their interest in education. Their taffy making demonstration, a popular feature of the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival since 1968, was one such endeavour. It continues to this day, now in the capable hands of Optimist Club members mentored by Gerald to take on the task. Another was the rebuilding of a model of the McKee Harvester by Russell some years ago, now housed at Country Heritage Park in Milton, Ontario.

Photographs Calla Studio, Elmira

Tom McKenzie b. 1942

Tom McKenzie was born April 11, 1942 in London, Ontario. He moved to Kitchener in 1965 and began an outstanding teaching career at Kitchener Collegiate Institute and Eastwood Collegiate. McKenzie is a gifted athlete and coach. He played for twenty-one years in the Major Intercounty Baseball League with the Kitchener Panthers and the London Majors. A two-time batting champion, an MVP award winner in 1970 with a 315-lifetime batting average, he has the most All Star selections in the league history with 18 selections - twelve as a player and six as a manager.

McKenzie played four years for Team Canada, three times in the Pan American Games and in one World Championship. He was captain of Team Canada on two occasions. He was also an accomplished football player. In 1963 he was the leading scorer and the MVP in the ORFU while playing for the London Lords. He has played on six national slo-pitch championship teams.

His coaching record is outstanding - eight high school football championships, six high school basketball championships, one provincial midget baseball championship and three major inter-county baseball championships. Since coming to Kitchener in 1965, he has conducted both player and coaching clinics for minor baseball on a continuous basis.

McKenzie is married to the former Cheryl McDonald; they have two children.

Bob McKillop b. 1942

Bob McKillop, a native of Toronto, played minor baseball in Toronto and at the age of seventeen signed a professional baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox organization. He played in their minor league chain for five years.

In 1965 while attending the University of Waterloo he won the prestigious Carl Totzke Award and was reinstated as an amateur. In his ten years with the Kitchener Panthers he won the Major Inter-County Baseball League's most valuable player award four times, home run crown three times, and was selected to the first all-star team eight times. He excelled as both pitcher and catcher. In 1969 he was a member of the Canadian Senior Championship Team.

As playing manager he led the Panthers to the inter-county championship and an Ontario baseball championship. Twice he coached teams in the Kitchener Minor Baseball Association to Triple A Provincial Championships. He also coached the University of Waterloo Warriors to a national inter-collegiate hockey championship.

Elliot Irwin McLoughry 1884-1987

E.I. McLoughry was born in Grey County and graduated from the Ontario Agricultural College with a BSA degree. During his twenty-seven years as agricultural representative in Waterloo County from 1924 to 1951 he introduced a three-month course for farms at the OAC, set up the first advanced registry swine-testing station in Ontario in the 1930s, was instrumental in launching the first commercial artificial insemination program 1942 and organized the first soil- testing program in Ontario in 1947. He fostered good rural-urban relations.

In 1951 he became associate director of extension, OAC, and then was director of extension of the Ontario Department of Agriculture from 1964 until his retirement. He was secretary of the Ontario Holstein-Friesian Association for 26 years, chairman of the Junior Farmers Establishment Loan Board and a member of the Soil Conservation Society of America, the Agricultural Institute of Canada and Ontario Professional Agrologists. He received a certificate of merit from the South Waterloo Agricultural Society and the Centennial Medal in 1974 from the OAC.

William S. McVittie 1906-1980

William S. McVittie was born in Huron County. He was educated at Hespeler and Galt, and graduated from Victoria College, University of Toronto. He taught at Galt Collegiate Institute from 1930 to 1968 and was coach and manager of rugby, basketball and lacrosse teams. He also managed the Year Book and developed scholarship funds.

McVittie was Hespeler's Mayor from 1950 to 1953. He was President, and later, Chairman of the Board of the South Waterloo Memorial Hospital Corporation. He was particularly successful in raising funds for St. Luke's United Church and manse, the New Hope Cemetery Chapel and the Hespeler Arena, of which he was Chairman of the Building Committee.

McVittie also served actively The Canadian Cancer Society, the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Red Cross and the Canadian Bible Society. A Mason for more than fifty years, he organized the fundraising campaign and guided the construction of the Preston-Hespeler Masonic Temple. He was made a Justice of the Peace for Waterloo County in 1960.

Howard "Howie" Meeker 1923-2020

Born in Kitchener in November of 1923, Meeker has enjoyed a very successful and diversified career. He played Junior hockey from 1939 to 1940 with Kitchener and 1941 to 1942 with Stratford. He served overseas from 1942 to 1946 with the Royal Canadian Engineers, then played eight consecutive years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, four times Stanley Cup winner in that period, followed by coaching a few years in Ontario and the United States, returning to Toronto as Coach and General Manager.

Meeker moved to St. John's, Newfoundland in 1958 to do sports broadcasting. He soon became involved in sports generally.

As a result of his coaching, the quality of sports in Newfoundland was noticeably upgraded. In 1968 he was appointed Chairman of the Royal Commission on youth and sports for the Province and subsequently he became a hockey commentator and analyst for CBC.

Elected in 1951, he served one term as Conservative member for South Waterloo in the House of Commons.

Joe Meinzinger 1892-1962

Joe Meinzinger displayed his abilities as a boxer at an early age; and was later given his start in boxing by Tommy Dwyer, a professional boxer.

Meinzinger built his own boxing club at 396 Wellington Street in Kitchener. The club was such a success that Meinzinger built an outdoor rink behind his boxing club. In the summer he built horseshoe pits. Since there were no government grants at this time, Meinzinger paid for all these facilities himself.

Meinzinger's boxing club produced some great boxers: Gord Schmulz, a member of the Waterloo County Hall of Fame; Harvey Fleet, a Lightweight title holder; Stan Bremner, Norm Downey, Mickey Surzi, and many others were all products of his boxing club.

His club entered a team in the city hockey league and had Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt rise through his organization.

Meinzinger served several terms as Mayor of Kitchener and also served the community as an MPP.

Ernie Meissner 1937-2008

Kitchener's Ernie Meissner achieved national success in diving. Born in 1938, Ernie started out in track and field but switched to diving when he was eighteen. Meissner attended the University of Michigan, taking an engineering course and competing in diving.

Meissner's best showing was in the 1962 British Empire Games in Perth, Australia, where he won a bronze medal. He had earlier placed fifth in the 1960 Olympics in Rome and the 1959 Pan-Am Games in Chicago.

His accomplishments include eleven Canadian championships in springboard and tower events as well as many Ontario titles for three-meter and one meter board diving. He also placed fifth in the US Junior National Championships and was an All-American on the high and low boards at the NCAA Championships in 1959.

Meissner retired from competitive diving following the 1960 Olympics. He made a successful comeback for the 1962 British Empire Games and retired again afterwards. His success in track and field brought him many Ontario High School Championships in the triple jump and took him to the 1956 Canadian Olympic trials where he placed second in the triple jump.

Eve Menich 1929-2011

Eve Menich was born in Kitchener in 1929. As well as raising a family, Menich took time to get very involved with her community of Kitchener-Waterloo.

Menich volunteered with many local agencies including serving on the executive committee of the Parent Teacher Association; the executive committee of the K-W Kinette Club; St. Anthony Daniel Church; the executive of the Catholic Women's League; a board member of St. Mary's General Hospital; the Ontario Hospital Association; a board member of the Waterloo Regional Catholic Community Foundation and the Catholic Family Counseling Centre.

She volunteered as a Teacher's Assistant; with YMCA health and children's programs and at the Joseph Schneider Haus Museum. Menich was a founding board member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Meals-on-Wheels program, and she served as a member and chair of Family Life Education advisory committee.

Menich, married to Stephen, is the mother of Stephen and Richard.

Photograph Courtesy of David McCammon Photography.

Stephen J. Menich 1924-2015

Stephen (Steve) J. Menich was born in 1924 in northern Yugoslavia, formerly Austria-Hungary, and raised in Kitchener from the age of three.

Menich served in the Royal Canadian Artillery during World War II and used his veteran credits to attend the University of Toronto, graduating in 1949 with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree. One year later he was registered as a Professional Engineer.

For more than 45 years, Menich volunteered time, service and commitment to people and organizations in a broad range of activities: education, fund raising, service clubs, sports, health, social service, recreation and the environment.

As the building chair for Cameron Heights Secondary School in Kitchener, he initiated the integration and joint use of facilities for both school and community use, a program then continued as other schools were built.

Menich began a demonstration project using a comprehensive approach to industrial waste management. Supported by the City of Kitchener, the seven Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade in the Waterloo Region, Environment Canada and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, 455 local industries were contacted with 452 supporting the program by identifying 653 individual wastes generated within the Region. Five technical manuals were developed for distribution across Canada.

More than 6,000 people learned about remote and seldom visited places in the world from photo slide presentations by Steve, who traveled extensively over more than 35 years exploring new frontiers.

Menich was initially an employee and eventually president and owner of Sutherland-Schultz, the mechanical engineering and contracting company he had joined. His business philosophy was based on the concept of "one source - one responsibility" for industrial and commercial needs, supported by the stated belief that his most important role as president was to care for the welfare of employees. He pioneered the development of computer aided manufacturing systems and held Canadian and US patents for textile machinery sold to users in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia. The company grew from 35 to 500 employees.

In October 2002, Menich was awarded the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship.

Photograph Courtesy Forde Studio, Kitchener.

Samuel Merner 1823-1908

Samuel Merner, born and educated in Berne, Switzerland, eventually became a Canadian senator.

He came to Wilmot Township with his parents and nine brothers and sisters in 1837. At Preston he learned the blacksmith trade and four years later at New Hamburg opened a blacksmith business which in time branched into a wagon and carriage trade. He sold his business to his brother Frederick and opened foundries in New Hamburg and Waterloo. In 1873 his sons purchased the foundries.

In 1862 Merner purchased the New Hamburg German newspaper, the Volks blatt, which he sold to Otto Pressprich in 1865.

He was reeve of New Hamburg from 1872 to 1878 and was the first New Hamburg reeve to be chosen warden of Waterloo County. In 1878 he was elected to the Dominion Parliament as an Independent. A supporter of Sir John A. MacDonald, he was appointed to the Senate in 1887.

John Meyer 1808-1883

When John Meyer arrived in Canada, he worked at the mills of Jacob S. Shoemaker in Bridgeport. After his marriage he resided one mile east of Heidelberg and he is given some credit for naming the village.

He was the second teacher in charge of the 1840 St. Jacobs school and was on the original Woolwich Township Council. Meyer (several spellings are used in the early records - Meyers, Meyer, Myer) as reeve of Woolwich Township attended the first meeting of the provisional County of Waterloo in 1852.

Meyer kept early records of Woolwich Township and later presented them to the council. He served as a justice of the peace and was a strong supporter of early agricultural societies.

Claudette Millar 1935-2016

Claudette Marie Hall was born in Belleville, Ontario, moving with her family to Kitchener when she was 12 years of age. She grew up talking about political issues with her family around the dinner table. Upon completing university and working abroad for a few years, she returned to Kitchener in the mid 1960s, marrying Clare Millar.

In 1970, Millar attended a Preston Council meeting where a contentious development project was going to be approved without much public consultation. Motivated by this meeting, Millar ran for office and was elected as the last mayor of the former town of Preston.

In 1973, the amalgamation of Hespeler, Preston and Galt into the City of Cambridge took place as well as the formation of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. Millar became the first mayor of the new City, overseeing its creation and dealing with the devastating flooding of the Grand River in 1974. In 1978 Millar was re-elected Mayor of Cambridge, a position she held for the next ten years.

As mayor, Millar served on numerous city and regional committees, commissions and boards. She was particularly involved in urban core revitalization, riverbank development and environmental issues.

In the late 1980s, Millar became a member of the Ontario Municipal Board and travelled across the province for the next ten years hearing appeals on planning issues and assessments.

In 2003 Millar was elected as a Regional Councillor representing Cambridge; she continued in that role until late 2014.

Photograph courtesy of the University of Waterloo Library, Kitchener Waterloo Record Photographic Negative Collection.

Margaret Ellis Millar 1915-1994

An award winning writer of psychological novels, Margaret Millar was born in Berlin, the daughter of Henry and Lavenia Sturm. After graduating from K-W Collegiate, she attended University of Toronto. In 1938 she married Kenneth Millar, who also became a widely acclaimed writer of psychological mysteries, using the pseudonym of Ross Macdonald. When her husband joined the US Navy, she moved to California and has lived there ever since.

The Invisible Worm, her first published novel, was written in 1941, while she was confined to bed with a heart condition. Her early novels were located in Toronto and her first popular detective was a member of the Toronto Police force. Beast in View, won the Edgar Allan Poe award for best novel of 1955 from the Mystery Writers of America, which also elected her to its coveted roll of Grand Masters in 1983. Her only nonfiction book, The Birds and the Beasts Were There, was written in support of her interest in the environment. She also wrote stories and television plays.

Judge William Miller 1810-1891

In 1853, William Miller, a descendant of United Empire Loyalists and a distinguished Galt lawyer, was appointed the first judge of the newly-formed County of Waterloo, and served in that capacity for thirty-five years.

Miller, who was born in Niagara-on-the-Lake, was articled to a law firm in Niagara. He was called to the bar at an early age and practiced in Dundas, later moving to Galt.

He was a community-minded citizen and served as an elder of Knox's Presbyterian Church for twenty-eight years.

Paul Mills b. 1958

(See also Josie France Jamieson, b. 1960)

Josie France Jamieson and Paul Mills, through the Preston Skating Club, rose to become pairs figure skating champions.

In 1976 they won the novice Canadian title. In 1977, coached by Kerry Leitch, they won the Canadian Junior Pairs competition and went on to win the World Junior Pairs competition that same year in France. After winning the world title, they were named Cambridge Athletes of the Year.

Bill Misselbrook b. 1928

Bill Misselbrook was one of the first local boxers to gain international success. Born in 1928, Misselbrook won Ontario and Canadian championships and represented Canada at the British Empire Games.

A native of British Columbia, Misselbrook arrived in Kitchener in October 1949 and soon won the Southwestern Ontario Light heavyweight championship. He won the Canadian Light heavyweight Championship in 1954 and subsequently represented Canada in the British Empire Games, held in Vancouver in 1954. Misselbrook won the bronze medal.

Before he came to Kitchener, Misselbrook won the Vancouver Golden Gloves Championship and while he was in the RCMP, he won the Saskatchewan Heavyweight championship in 1952. He retired after missing a berth on the Canadian Olympic team in the 1956 trials.

During his career, Misselbrook fought George Chuvalo, who went on to become Canadian heavyweight champion and also Gordon Wallace of Brantford, a former British Light heavyweight champion.

J. Melvin Moffatt 1895-1980

J. Melvin Moffatt, born in Brookdale, Manitoba, became widely known in Galt for his achievements and contributions in many fields relating to community life - as alderman for two years and Mayor from 1948 to 1950; Citizen of the Year in 1962; recipient of the Canada Centennial Medal in 1967; and later the Governor-General's Certificate of Merit for his work with the Boy Scouts.

He served the Kiwanis Club, the Canadian Legion, the Masonic Order, Waterloo Automobile Club, South Waterloo Agricultural Society, the Waterloo Historical Society, and the Christian Children Fund of Canada, an international organization. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Doon Pioneer Village for two years, and Administrator from 1968 to 1973.

Moffatt served overseas with the 48 th Highlanders during the First World War, and later was manager of the Galt Dairy. A member of the Kirk Session of Knox Presbyterian Church, he also taught in the Sunday School, and frequently conducted the Golden Hour, a radio service for shut- ins and elderly.

Charles G. Moogk 1848-1924

Charles Moogk was born in Preston (Cambridge), leaving school at the age of thirteen to work as a chore boy and in various dry goods and grocery stores. Moogk trained as a carpenter in Detroit, Michigan, then returned to Preston and worked on several construction projects.

Moogk immigrated to the United States in 1873, returning to Canada the following year and worked for a contractor building the new Waterloo Village Hall, Fire Hall and Market Building. From the early 1880s until 1911, he owned and operated his own construction office in Waterloo. During this time period, Moogk was involved in the construction of civic and commercial buildings, and residential homes.

In 1899, Waterloo Town Council appointed Moogk as the Town's first full-time Engineer. In this role, he oversaw the drilling of municipal water wells and the installation of fire hydrants and fire call boxes. Moogk supervised the conversion of the Town's steam-powered electricity generator to hydro power generated at Niagara Falls. He also conceived of and implemented plans for municipally-funded garbage collection, street numbering of buildings, and the paving of Waterloo's main streets.

Significant surviving structures in Waterloo in which Moogk played a role include: Carnegie Library (1905), Waterloo Post Office (1893 and 1912), Zimmerman Hotel (1890), Mutual Life Building (1890), St. Paul's Presbyterian Church (1888), St. Louis Roman Catholic Church (1890), All Saints Anglican Church (1897), Erb Street Mennonite Church (1902), St. Louis Separate School (1905) and Alexandra School (1910).

Moogk served as a Waterloo Town Councillor from 1886 to 1888. He was President of the Waterloo Music Society, a member of the Waterloo Park Board, and he served as secretary for forty-seven years of Germania Lodge #184 of the Independent Order of Oddfellows.

(Records and architectural drawings of Moogk's work have not survived. It is not always apparent in the building projects in which he was involved whether he drew the architectural plans, supervised construction, or supervised the projects in his role as Town Engineer.)

John Douglas Moore 1843-1917

John Douglas Moore was one of the pioneers born in Canada who received his schooling in the little log schoolhouse in Dickie Settlement. The family farm in North Dumfries was purchased by his English father and Scottish mother from the Hon. William Dickson for only four dollars an acre. Moore eventually owned seven hundred acres and besides being a very successful farmer, also grew hops at Preston for thirty years.

Farming and agriculture were not his only interests. In early life he served on the township council, became reeve, and later warden of Waterloo County. A prominent Liberal, he was MPP for Waterloo South from 1891 to 1898, under Premier Sir Oliver Mowat.

In 1910 he became county registrar. He was a charter member of the Galt, Preston and Hespeler Railway, director of the Brantford Binder Twine Company, and president of the Berlin Robe and Clothing Company, reflecting his executive ability.

Gladys Brandt Morden 1890-1985

Gladys Brandt was born in Petersburg which had been founded by her grandfather Peter Wilker. She graduated from Wingham Business College and the Chicago Teachers' College. She taught school in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Indiana. After graduating from Toronto General Hospital, she held top administrative posts at Utica and Rome, N.Y., Wellesley Hospital, Toronto, and Collingwood. Morden was the first graduate nurse in Canada to head a clinic on birth control and was manager of the A.R. Kaufman- sponsored clinic in Toronto from 1933 to 1939.

She was responsible for getting reforms at Kingston Penitentiary, slum clearance in Atlantic City, N.J., a crackdown on swindlers and organized the League for Race Betterment in Toronto. She organized a branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses, Collingwood and was active in the I.O.D.E. and Red Cross for forty years. When she retired to Elmira, she worked with the Elmira and District Association for the Retarded.

Albert "Ab" Morton 1914-2011

Albert "Ab" Morton was born in 1914 in Galt (Cambridge) and started his running career in 1934. He became an outstanding long distance runner, competing in many national and international championships.

In 1946, Morton captured the International Championship in Quebec. In 1947 he won the Canadian marathon championship. That same year, Morton won two of three Olympic marathon qualifying races. He was denied a spot on the 1948 Canadian Olympic team based on these wins, but instead was required to run a qualifying 10,000 metre race which he lost, ending the opportunity to join the Olympic team. Morton ran the Boston Marathon on four occasions, twice finishing in fifth place. He retired from competitive running in 1950.

In 1947 Morton was first runner-up in the balloting for the Norton H. Crow Memorial Award, presented to Canada's amateur athlete of the year since 1932. In 1997, he was inducted into both the City of Cambridge Hall of Fame and the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame.

Michael "Mike" Moser 1952-1975

Michael Moser, a native of Kitchener, excelled in swimming, football, track and field events in his short life and became the top basketball player in the area, scoring a record fifty-seven points in one game.

At Queensmount Senior Public School he helped the basketball team win the Twin City Championship. He led the Forest Heights Collegiate junior basketball team to the CWOSSA title in 1967 and 1968 and the senior team to the same title twice, as well as the all-Ontario Championship in 1970.

Moser was a member of the Forest Heights senior basketball team which won the Twin City championship in 1968. He studied under scholarship at Brown University, Providence, RI, for one year but returned to help the University of Waterloo team win the Nasmith Tournament in 1973 and 1974. He was chosen for the Canadian National Basketball team for three years. Moser died suddenly in January 1975, while attending a basketball tournament in Florida.

John Motz 1830-1911

John Motz came to Waterloo Country from Diedorf, Germany, in 1848 after an ocean voyage lasting sixty-four days.

He worked for farmers and then completed a three-year apprenticeship as a tailor. He opened tailor shops in Peterburg and St. Jacobs before going to Illinois in 1857. He later returned to Berlin and with Fred Rittinger established the Berliner Journal, a Liberal paper. Motz was the first of four generations of newspaper publishers in the Motz family.

Motz was a founding member of the Separate School Board and the Catholic Cemetery Board. In the 1870s he was elected to the town council; was mayor in 1880-1881; served on the High School and Public Library Boards and in 1900 was appointed sheriff of Waterloo County.

James Gordon Mowat 1851-1906

The first editor of The Canadian Magazine (which later ceased publication) was J.G. Mowat, a native of Galt, whose family later moved to Berlin where he attended Central School and the Berlin High School.

His literary interests and abilities led him to become a journalist and from 1874 to 1881 he was editor of the Galt Reformer . He then joined the staff of the Toronto Globe and in 1893 became associated with the Canadian Magazine. Mowat's humorous sketches, which he published under the pen name of " Moses Oates," were widely read. He also became known as a weather prophet, publishing a number of almanacs.

John Moyer 1913-1987

John Moyer was born in Waterloo in 1913. As a bowler, he won the Canadian Singles Five-Pin Bowling Championship and the Eastern Canada Championship in 1958. He also won the O'Connor Open Five-Pin Bowling Championship in 1959. Was a member of the Waterloo Five-Pin Bowling team which had the highest triple (three consecutive games) score in the mid 1930s.

In May 1963, he bowled on the Five-Pin, five man team which bowled the high score of 1712 for a single game, one of the highest on record.

Moyer was also a baseball player and a star pitcher (1930-1941) for Waterloo in the Senior County Baseball League which team won both the Inter-County and Ontario Baseball Championships in 1939. He pitched two no-hit games that year, one against Kitchener and the other against Port Credit in the play-offs.

As a member of the Royal Canadian Engineers, he played for the Canadian Army team in 1943.

Adolph Mueller 1850-1898

It is seldom that an unknown immigrant is immediately accepted into the life and hearts of his new acquaintances. Such, however, was the case with friendly Adolph Mueller of Schleessel, Hanover, Germany, who came to Berlin in 1869.

Employed as a teacher in the Central (Suddaby) School, he remained in that position until 1877 when he became the Modern Languages Master at the new Berlin high school at Church and Benton Streets.

Mueller served in many spheres of public life: as chairman of the Public Library Board, member of the Concordia Society, the Philharmonic Society, the Berlin Club, the Mechanics' Institute, the Masonic Order, the Odd Fellows and Workmen of the World, and St. Peter's Lutheran Church. He was instrumental in the building of the Berlin and Waterloo Hospital.

A great sportsman, he was a member of the Berlin Rangers and the High School Football (soccer) teams when these organizations won championships year after year. A canoeist, he made trips with Homer Watson, David Forsyth and James Mowat.

Christian Nafziger 1776-1836

Christian Nafziger, pioneer promoter of Wilmot Township, was born in Rheinish Bavaria and came to Upper Canada in 1822 in search of land for his co-religionists where religious freedom was possible. On the advice of Mennonites in Waterloo Township he selected the central part of Wilmot Township and this was designated the German Block. The Governor granted permission for the colony to settle and Nafziger on his return to Europe had the promise of the governor confirmed by King George IV.

Nafziger was unable to return to Canada until 1826, but several Amish families from Europe and Pennsylvania settled in the German Block in 1823 and 1824. These settlers received fifty acres of free land for clearing roads. Three main roads were built: Oberstrasse, Mittelstrasse, and Unterstrasse.- Upper, Middle and Lower Streets. Later these roads became extensions of Erb's, Snider's and Bleam's Roads which greatly assisted the development of Wilmot Township.

Wilhelm Eduard Nassau   1921-2022

Dr. Wilhelm “Willi” Nassau was born in Austria, where he studied fine arts and photography. He worked on various feature film projects in Austria prior to immigrating to Canada in 1959. Here, Willi worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the CTV network.

In 1969, Willi became the founding director of Audio-Visual Resources at Waterloo Lutheran University, now Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU). He taught media related courses at the university and was a co-founder of TELECOLLEGE, one of the first applications of television used in distance education.

Willi was also a key person in the production of WLU’s promotional 16mm film I Chose Laurier, which won a silver medal at the International Film and Television Festival of New York in 1978.

In addition, Willi created a vast collection of historic photographic and technical media equipment, including 500 cameras, while at WLU. The collection is now shared by Ingenium (former Canada Science and Technology Museum), Ryerson University, and Niagara College.

Willi has been an enthusiastic member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, the Society of Film and Television Engineers, and a charter member of the Photographic Historical Society of Canada.

In honour of the outstanding contributions he has made to WLU and the wider community over more than 60 years, Willi was awarded an honorary doctorate from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1991.

Photo courtesy of Photographic Historical Society of Canada/Robert E. Lansdale

Ira George Needles 1894-1986

Ira G. Needles, a native of the United States, graduated from Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. He joined the B.F. Goodrich Company in Akron, Ohio, in 1916. He came to Kitchener in 1925 when Goodrich purchased the Ames-Holden Rubber Company and became an executive of the Canadian Goodrich Rubber Company (which eventually was amalgamated with Uniroyal). He became general manager of the tire division in 1930, president in 1951, and chairman of the board in 1958.

Needles was a founder of the University of Waterloo, serving as chairman of the board of governors from1956 to 1966 and chancellor from 1966 to 1975. In 1958 he was named the first Kitchener-Waterloo Citizen of the Year by the K-W Jaycees. He was an active member of the Kitchener Chamber of Commerce and was known for his ability in fund-raising, especially for Waterloo College, Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Waterloo, YMCA, Canadian Conference on Education, the Ontario Safety League and Federated Charities (now United Way).

Helen Nethercott b. 1922

Helen Nethercott was born near St. Marys, Ontario, worked in London in the early 1940s and moved to Kitchener-Waterloo when she was in her early twenties. She worked for BF Goodrich until her retirement at age 68. 

Nethercott has been involved in a variety of sports through her entire life. Her first awards were for bowling in the 1940s, followed by awards in basketball, tennis and badminton in the 1950s. She also played hockey, softball, curling and volleyball.  

In the early 1950s, Nethercott organized and played for a women's basketball team that played in the Can-Am league throughout Southern Ontario. Her team won the 1956 Ontario Senior B title, and was runner up at the Canadian level. The next year, the team won the 1957 Ontario Senior A title, and again was runner up at the Canadians.

She was not only a participant, but also an active volunteer in sports throughout her life. Nethercott volunteered for the Western, a regional Southern Ontario open tennis tournament, from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and took on the role of tournament director for many years. She continues to volunteer for the WOW women's tennis tournament, held annually at the Waterloo Tennis Club (WTC).   

In 1970 she was awarded a life membership at the WTC for her extensive volunteer work for the club, including her years as Team Captain and serving on the Club's Board of Directors. In 1992, she received the WTC sportsmanship award, and later, the club lounge was named in her honour.

In her seventies, Nethercott competed in the Ontario, Canadian and American senior/masters badminton championships. In addition to winning many gold, silver and bronze medals, she won sportsmanship awards in 1998 from Badminton Canada, and in 2000 from the US Senior Badminton Championships.

She competed until 2011 when she retired from competitive sports. In total, Nethercott has received 117 medals and awards for her athletic achievements in multiple sports, primarily badminton (75), tennis (33), as well as bowling (6) and basketball (3).

Photography by Highland Portrait Studio.

Laura Nicholls b. 1978

Laura Nicholls was born in Kitchener in 1978 and has lived in Waterloo all her life. She took swimming lessons at the local YMCA as a preschooler, and in 1983 joined the Region of Waterloo Swim Club. She swam and competed for ROW until 2003, and then continued her swimming career with the Pickering Swim Club from 2003 until her retirement in 2005.

Over the course of her 22 years in the sport of competitive swimming, Nicholls accomplished many goals, won many awards and travelled the world in pursuit of excellence. As a young swimmer with the Region of Waterloo Swim Club, she began to turn heads when she started setting club records in the eight and under age group in several events. She continued breaking club records in all age categories through the club's top age group of 15 and over. By the time she ended her swimming career, she had set Ontario Records in all the sprint freestyle events - 50, 100 and 200-metre, both Short Course and Long Course; and Canadian Records in the Short Course 50 and 200-metre freestyle and the Long Course 50 and 100-metre freestyle.

As a member of the Canadian Senior National Swim Team from 1996 through 2005, Nicholls was one of the country's fastest freestyle sprinters. She was the first woman in Canadian history to break the 56-second mark in the Long Course 100-metre freestyle. She won a total of 31 individual National Championships, and is a two-time Olympian. At the age of 17 she competed in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, USA, finishing 29th in the 50 freestyle. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia she and her teammates finished sixth in the 4x100 metre medley relay and seventh in the 4x100-metre freestyle relay. In individual events she finished 13th in the 100-metre freestyle and 23rd in the 200-metre freestyle.

Other memorable swims include two relay bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998; three gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal during the Pan American Games, Winnipeg in 1999; one relay bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games, Manchester, England in 2002. The final Canadian Records she set were the Long Course 50-metre freestyle in Toronto, July 2004 and the Short Course 50-metre freestyle in Calgary, November 2004.

Nicholl's subsequent career choice has allowed her to give back to the swimming community as a coach of up-and-coming age group swimmers.

Moe Norman 1929-2004

As an amateur, he would play upwards of thirty events in a summer and usually win more than half. He also qualified as a member of Ontario teams competing for the Willingdon Cup.

When Norman turned professional, he became well-known as one of the most colourful golfers on the CPGA tour. His trademarks in his earlier days included his unconventional dress and also the use of trick shots during tournaments.

He won the Ontario Open, Manitoba Open and other major events, too numerous to mention. His success, style and ability drew raves from top performers on the pro golf circuit.

Norman received much of his early training from Lloyd Tucker, former pro at Kitchener Rockway Golf Club. Among the local tournaments he won was the Oktoberfest pro-am several times.

Dave Northey 1949-2017

Northey was employed as a research technician at the University of Waterloo under Dr. Rich Hughson. Here he assisted many undergraduate and graduate students learn exercise physiology and helped them on their way to excellent careers.  

In 1970, he placed second in the National Cross Country championships and third in 1971. Northey was the winner and record holder in 1971 and 1978 for the Berwick Marathon held in Pennsylvania.   

A founding member of the Waterloo County Amateur Athletic Association and a member of the organizing committee for the inaugural Waterloo 10 KM Classic Road Race, Northey volunteered for many years at that event. 

In addition to being a fierce competitor, Northey was an excellent musician, playing the banjo and guitar. He loved playing and listening to Bluegrass music. 

Northey brought the sport of running to a high level and inspired many local athletes to compete and participate in the sport. 

Photograph courtesy of George Aitkin.

Harold Anthony Oaks 1896-1968

Born in Hespeler and raised in Preston, Harold Anthony "Doc" Oaks enlisted at age eighteen and served overseas with the Canadian Army in World War I. In 1917 he joined the Royal Flying Corps and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1922 he graduated from the University of Toronto as a mining engineer.

A pioneer aviator-geologist in the far north, he was able to visualize the advantages of flying people and equipment over vast wilderness distances at a great saving of time. He headed several pioneering air companies, including his own Oakes Airways Ltd. He participated in several mercy flights, one of which resulted in the rescue of thirteen stranded prospectors in the subarctic.

Oaks is enshrined in Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame with the following citation: "The professional daring of his aerial expeditions into uncharted regions led others of his reed to colonize the north and bring outstanding benefits to Canadian aviation."

Michael Valentine "Val" O'Donovan 1936-2005

Val O'Donovan was an engineer, entrepreneur, university chancellor and philanthropist, whose contribution and reputation locally, nationally, and internationally was very significant. O'Donovan founded Com Dev in 1974. This company became a world leader in satellite and wireless communications technology. He served as CEO until 1998 when he retired from that position but continued as Chairman of the Board until December 2004. He started the company in Montreal but moved it to Cambridge in 1979. It became a publicly listed company in 1996.

O'Donovan was also widely recognized for his outstanding community involvement and philanthropic endeavours. He served as Chancellor of the University of Waterloo from 1997-2000 and was subsequently named Chancellor Emeritus. He played a key role in the relocation of the university's School of Architecture to Cambridge in 2004. In 1998 he and his wife Sheila established a charitable foundation to create Lisaard House, which opened in 2000, a residential hospice for terminally ill cancer patients.

O'Donovan received several distinguished honours in recognition of his many achievements. These included the McNaughton Gold Medal from the Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers in 1992, a Doctor of Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo in 1995, the John H. Chapman Award from the Canadian Space Agency in 2001 and the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour, in 2003.

O'Donovan was born in County Cork, Ireland on Valentine's Day, 1936. He graduated as an electrical engineer from the Cambridge College of Technology in 1959. He married his wife Sheila in 1960 and they immigrated to Canada in 1963 with their two infant sons. A third son and a daughter were born in Canada. Val worked in the satellite division at RCA in Montreal prior to founding Com Dev along with two partners in 1974. He died in Bermuda on February 5, 2005.

William Oelschlager 1828-1893

William Oelschlager, a native of Germany, was a member of the first Board of Directors of the Ontario Mutual Life Assurance Company (later The Mutual Life of Canada) when it was organized in 1869.

He immigrated to Huron County in 1845 and later joined the Gore Bank in Galt, where he was associated with William Hespeler.

Oelschlager started a general store in Bridgeport in 1850 and one in St. Clements in 1851. In 1869 he moved to Berlin where he was a founder of the Economical Mutual Fire Insurance Company in 1871. He was manager of the Company from 1872 to 1877 and was its second president.

He and the Company's first president founded the Pioneer Tobacco Company in 1873.

Oelschlager was a town councillor and was treasurer from 1876 to 1893. He was a school board member and active in founding the Mechanic's Institute.

Col. A. Reid "Speedy" Oliver b. 1896

The sports' achievements of A. Reid "Speedy" Oliver are legend in the Cambridge area. He was catcher for the Galt Terriers who won the Inter-County Senior Baseball championships fourteen times. He was also a fine junior hockey player, gaining his nickname in this sport.

He went overseas with the 11th Battalion as a signals' officer in the First World War and later served with the Royal Flying Corps in France.

On his return to Canada he became commanding officer of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, Highland Light Infantry. During the Second World War he was in command of the HLI Reserve Battalion, attaining the rank of colonel. He later commanded the 2nd Infantry Brigade, became honorary lieutenant-colonel of the regiment and was awarded the Volunteer Decoration Medal.

Lynn Orth

Lynn Orth is a life-long resident of Waterloo Region and a long-time sports enthusiast who has contributed significantly to lacrosse at both the youth and the men's and women's university levels.

Orth has been involved in Kitchener-Waterloo Minor Lacrosse Association (KWMLA) for more than 22 years in many administrative roles including treasurer and executive assistant. She was the program developer of the "Soft Paperweight" box lacrosse program for youth, and founder and coach of the KWMLA Women's Field Lacrosse Program. She is also a Life Member of KWMLA.

Since 1998, Orth has served with the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks Women's Varsity Lacrosse team, originally as an assistant coach and as head coach since 1999. She has been the recipient of Coach of the Year honours from WLU, as well as from the Ontario University Athletics (OUA). Under Orth's leadership, the team has been OUA Champions eight times with an impressive 117-34 win-loss record.

Orth has also been active with the Ontario Lacrosse Association (OLA) as a convenor, Vice President of Promotion, and in hosting provincial qualifying tournaments and championships. She was recognized with the OLA Volunt

eer Award as the volunteer who has done the most to promote the sport of lacrosse in Ontario; the Canadian Lacrosse Association Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of service to the betterment of the game; the OLA President's Award in recognition of 20 years commitment; the Ontario Field Lacrosse Officials Award for outstanding support of Referee Development; and the Ontario Field Commissioner's Award for continuous promotion of the game of Field Lacrosse. 

She was the manager of the Senior Women's National team from 2000 to 2005. Orth and her husband Al are co-majority owners and she is the Team Manager of the local K-W Kodiaks of the Ontario Major Series Lacrosse League. The Kodiaks were 2003 and 2005 Presidents Cup National Champions.

Charles Ottman - 1879-1906

Charles Ottman spent his short life in the Village of Wellesley, documenting the community and its residents.

The eldest of 12 children, Charles worked in his father’s saddle and harness shop. In 1902, he contracted tuberculosis and was forced to find a less strenuous occupation.  He decided to become a photographer and opened a studio above his father’s business.

Charles’ earliest work was conducted under the name of Otter Portraits - a nice play on his surname! This work mainly consisted of portraits of his family. He later expanded his focus to include group photos, both large and small, and images of school children. In addition, he took views of the village, which he printed as postcards and sold for 5 cents each.

These photographs give a rare, intimate view of Wellesley Village and its people in all seasons. Charles documented his bustling community with his camera, capturing residents at play and at work, its streetscapes, and idyllic rural scenes. 

For more than 100 years, some of Charles’ best photographs had been lost to the public until two great nephews donated digital copies to the Wellesley Township Heritage and Historical Society. For historians, this collection of over 40 photos is a treasure trove, from an era when Charles was likely Wellesley’s only resident photographer.

Cindy Overland

Between 1992 and 1994, Overland competed in the World Junior Championships and, at age 18, earned a position at the World Senior Championships, the youngest athlete to do so at the time. 

Overland was consecutively named the Canadian Senior Champion between 1995 and 1999. Competing in the World Senior Championships from 1995 to 2001, Overland had three top 10 finishes and one top five finish. 

Holding numerous provincial and national records throughout her career, Overland was a team member at both the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan and at the 2002 Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Retiring from the sport in 2004, Overland now coaches at the Cambridge Speed Skating Club and volunteers with the Ontario Speed Skating Association through the Provincial Racing Series. She also participates in public speaking events at area schools, where she stresses the importance of post-secondary education and giving back to your local community.

Margot Page

Margot Page grew up in Kitchener and is a role model for many young Canadian girls and women in sport development. 

She played forward for the Canadian National Women's ice hockey team from 1989 to 1994.  During this time, the team won three gold medals at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women's World Hockey Championships in 1990, 1992 and 1994.

Page has served as a coach with Hockey Canada in various capacities.  She is the first former National team member to become part of the team's coaching staff.  Page coached the National Women's Under-22 team in 2000, 2003 to 2004 and 2010, winning gold medals at the 2003 and 2004 Air Canada Cup, and the 2010 MLP Nations Cup.

At the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, Page was part of the Team Canada gold medal winning coaching staff.

From 1997 to 2009, Page was Head Coach of New York State's Division 1 Niagara University Purple Eagles, and is currently Head Coach for the USport (CIS) Brock University Women's Hockey Team.

Page worked as an on-air broadcaster with TSN from 1997 to 2002, and with CBC during the 1998 (Nagano) and 2002 (Salt Lake City) Olympic Games.

She is a Coach-Mentor for both the Senior and Under-18 National Teams from Switzerland.  Page says that she wants "to give back as much as possible to make the game and opportunities better for others.  It is a critical moment in the women's game and I want to make sure I do what I can to help grow it at home and in other nations."

Kali Parsons b. 1959

Kali Parsons (nee Bogias) is a two-time winner of the Tim Turow Award for Cambridge Athlete of the Year. She was Canadian power lifting champion four times (1980-85). In 1983 she was world champion, setting a world record in the 52-kilo class. She retained the world title in 1984.

In 1986 when the Canadian Power lifting Association erased all records established before drug testing, she lost all her records though she had competed drug-free. She faced a serious personal crisis when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease but she competed in 1989 to retain her Canadian records.

She is president of the Power lifting Association and teaches French and physical education at Glenview Park Secondary School, Cambridge.

Nancy-Lou Patterson 1929-2018  

Nancy-Lou Patterson is widely-known as a writer, artist, scholar, teacher, novelist and poet whose educational and artistic career spans five decades. The daughter of academic parents, she was born in 1929 in Worcester, Massachusetts. She received her BA in Fine Arts from the University of Washington in 1951, afterwards working for two years as a scientific illustrator at the University of Kansas and at the Smithsonian Institution, and then for nine years as a lecturer at Seattle University.

In 1962 she moved to Waterloo Region with her husband, E. Palmer Patterson, who was to teach at the University of Waterloo. In addition to her position as Director of Art and Curator of the University's art gallery, in 1966 Professor Patterson taught the University of Waterloo's first Fine Arts course, and in 1968 she founded the Department of Fine Arts, twice serving as Department Chair.

As a scholar Patterson is well known for her writings in the area of mythic art and literature. She has written extensively on the traditional arts of Swiss-German and Dutch-German Mennonites of Waterloo County, and also on the art of Native Canadians. Her work includes both book and exhibition reviews, and exhibition catalogues. She has published both poetry and fiction, including six novels Apple Staff and Silver Crown (1985), The Painted Hallway (1992), The Tramp Room (1993), Barricade Summer (1996), The Quilted Grapevine (2000), and The Haunted Bed and Breakfast (2003), as well as many essays on mythopoeic literature.

Patterson's artistic career began in 1953 when she created a mural for an Anglican Church in Kansas, and includes a series of stained glass windows designed in 1964 for Conrad Grebel Chapel at the University of Waterloo. Her liturgical commissions have involved work in textiles, stained glass, wood, metal, terra cotta and calligraphy.

In 1993 Patterson was named "Distinguished Professor Emerita" by the University of Waterloo, and in the same year received an Honourary Doctor of Letters degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in recognition of "a life dedicated to expression."

This biography is from the Nancy-Lou Patterson Special Collections at The University of Waterloo Library. Copyright © 2000 University of Waterloo Library. Reprinted here with permission.

George Pattinson 1854-1931

George Pattinson, industrialist of Preston, and a native of England, like his grandfather before him was connected with the woolen industry from an early age.

He was associated with the mill of James Crombie and Company, (later Robinson-Howell and Company), and became a business partner. With new owners the firm became the Ferguson-Pattinson Company, and in 1920 the business was known as George Pattinson Limited, with him as president.

He represented South Waterloo in the Ontario Legislature from 1905 to 1914 and was a member of the original Hydro Electric Commission associated with Sir Adam Beck. He was largely instrumental in bringing hydro power to Preston.

Pattinson took a prominent part in the introduction of The Workmen's Compensation Act and served on the Prison Reform Commission. He held various offices in the municipal council, including reeve in 1889. He was a member of the public school board for many years.

Sarah Pavan b. 1986

Sarah Pavan led her Forest Heights Collegiate Trojans volleyball team to three Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) titles from 2002 to 2004. During that same time, her club team captured five provincial Ontario Volleyball Association championships.

At age 16, Pavan became the youngest player to make the Canadian National Volleyball team. She went on to become the first Canadian to play intercollegiate volleyball for the University of Nebraska. In her first year at Nebraska, she was named 2004 National Freshman of the Year, as well as a First-team All-American.

In four years at Nebraska, from which she graduated in biochemistry, Pavan led the Cornhuskers to the 2005 National Finals and the 2006 National Championship. Pavan was named Big 12 Conference Player of the Year three times, as well as Big 12 Conference female athlete of the year twice. Pavan was also named as the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year in 2007.

Pavan was named Kitchener-Waterloo Athlete of the Year in 2006.

Thomas Pearce 1832-1915

Thomas Pearce was closely identified with education in Waterloo County and was the first chairman of the Berlin Free Library Board. Born in Shillelagh, County Wicklow, Ireland, he attended private school and assisted his father in the management of the family farm. At twenty-three years of age he visited relatives in Canada, decided to stay and attended Toronto Normal School. He later taught at Central School, later named "Suddaby," as first assistant.

In 1864 he was appointed principal of the school and in 1871 School Inspector for the County of Waterloo, serving until 1912.

Arthur Ulysse Pequegnat 1851-1927

Born in Switzerland, Arthur Ulysse Pequegnat came to Berlin with his parents, Ulysse and Francois Pequegnat, and his seven brothers and six sisters in 1874. He served on the Town Council, and the Board of Trade, and for twenty-seven years on the Public School Board, nine years as chairman. He was instrumental in building Victoria School where there is a plaque in his memory.

An expert watchmaker, he established jewellery stores form 1876 to 1900. Six of his brothers were jewellers in surrounding areas. He manufactured bicycles from 1895 to 1923, and commenced manufacturing clocks in 1903 - the only successful pendulum clock industry in Canada. He served Benton Street Baptist Church as Superintendent of the Sunday School for twenty-seven years, and as a Trustee and Deacon.

Clarence Debus Pequegnat 1897-1980

C.D. "Buller" Pequegnat was born in Berlin in 1897 where he received his public school education. In 1916 he enlisted in the 55th Battery C.F.A. in Guelph, transferring to the Royal Flying Corps in England in 1917, returning to Canada in 1919.

He became active in the Kitchener Young Men's Club, Kitchener Sports Association, K-W Sales & Ad Club, Westmount Golf and Country Club, and a past president of all of them.

He successfully promoted Kitchener's first outdoor swimming pool in 1929; Kitchener Memorial Auditorium in 1945 and was its first chairman of the Board, and the Waterloo County Hall of Fame in 1972.

In 1951, he promoted Kitchener's first Major Junior "A" hockey team (Kitchener Greenshirts). In the 1952-53 season, the K-W Seniors gained fan favour forcing the Greenshirts to fold. In 1964, New York Rangers moved their sponsored Junior "A" team (Guelph Royals) to Kitchener. In 1967 sponsorships in the NHL were discontinued and New York gave the franchise to Kitchener.

In 1968, he received the "Sports Celebrity Citation" and in March 1977, the CHYM Community Foundation and Waterloo Regional Sports Council Salutation for a lifetime devotion to sports activity in the community.

Marcel Pequegnat 1886-1988

Born in Berlin, Marcel Pequegnat, B.A. Sc., O.L.S. graduated from the School of Practical Science, Toronto, as a civil engineer.

His professional career ranged from surveying in Northern Ontario for the Canadian Government to Engineer and Manager, Kitchener Water Commission 1919-1957 and Consultant 1958-1970. He served the Kitchener Planning Board for twenty-seven years, and the Kitchener Suburban Roads Commission for thirty years, many as Chairman. He is a Life Member of the Engineering Institute of Canada, a charter member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario, and received their Citizenship Award in 1973. He also was awarded Life Membership in the American Waterworks Association.

He gave outstanding service to the Grand River Conservation Authority of which he was a founding member, as Vice-Chairman (1938-1952), Chairman (1953-1959), and Chief Engineer (1962-1965). His period of service coincided with the building of the Shand, Luther and Conestoga Dams.

A devout churchman at Benton Street Baptist Church, he taught Sunday school, was superintendent of the Sunday school for twelve years and church treasurer for twenty-five years.

Ulysse Pequegnat 1826-1894

Ulysse Pequegnat, an accomplished watch and clockmaker of Loveresse, Switzerland, procured clock parts from Swiss manufactures and assembled them in his home with the assistance of some of his eight sons. There were also six daughters.

At the suggestion of his third eldest son, Pequegnat immigrated to Canada, arriving in Berlin in 1874. It was inevitable that the family should continue in the watch and clock business, and Arthur, the eldest son, started the first clock manufacturing plant in Canada, A The Arthur Pequegnat Clock Company. Pequegnat started a store of his own and the sons opened clock, watch and jewelry stores in Guelph, Stratford, Brantford, Waterloo, New Hamburg, Tavistock and Neustadt.

The second and third generations of Pequegnats branched out from clock and watch making to various other fields of endeavour - the ministry, insurance, banking, industry, medicine and dentistry.

The Perines

M.B. Perine (1815-1898) [left], W.D. Perine and J.S. Perine (1820-1880) [right], were three brothers of Huguenot stock who migrated from New York State to Waterloo County in the 1850s. Perine Brothers was a name long associated with flax mills in Waterloo County.

In 1854 mills were opened at Conestogo and Doon. W.D. Perine soon returned to the United States but his two brothers expanded the mill at Doon into a twine and rope factory and another flax mill was established at Floradale. The firm name eventually became the Doon Twine and Cordage Company with E.G. Perine (1866-1911), son of M.B. Perine, as president from 1898 until 1911.

The Conestoga mill was purchased by Henry Ebel in 1904 and continued in operation until 1949. The Floradale mill was sold to J.B. Snyder in 1911 and the Doon mill was reorganized as Doon Twines, Limited, a firm that is still in operation in Kitchener in 1972.

Henry William Peterson 1793-1859

Henry William Peterson was a publisher of the first German language newspaper in Upper Canada the Canada Museum, founded in Berlin in 1835.

Peterson was born on May 27, 1793 in Quakenbruck in the duchy of Oldenburg, Germany. Two years later the family immigrated to the USA when Peterson's father was ordained as a Lutheran minister in 1810, in which capacity he served congregations in Markham and Vaughan townships.

Coming to this country later than his father, Peterson published the Museum until his appointment as Registrar for the District of Wellington a few years later.

George O. Philip 1863-1943

"Pop" Philip, who headed every parade in the city, was probably the most colourful citizen in Kitchener's history. Born in Goderich, he later moved to this city. After rolling cigars and making buggy springs he became intensely interested in the theatre and while acting professionally married Minnie Estrelle, an American stage actress, before the footlights preceding a theatre performance. He brought many stage shows to Berlin and also developed amateur theatricals.

He was a close friend of the late J. Ambrose Small, Toronto millionaire theatre producer, who vanished mysteriously.

Philip operated a cigar store, and then leased and operated the Walper Hotel for three years. He bought the Clarendon Hotel across the street and became owner of several movie theatres in Ontario, but never lost his interest in things theatrical.

Philip served as alderman for several years and supported the creation of Victoria Park.

William A. Philip 1871-1964

William A. Philip, one of the great pioneers of conservation in Ontario, was born in Fergus.

He was the first manager of the Royal Bank in Galt, a post which he held for forty-two years. He served as president of the Gore Mutual Fire Insurance Company, chairman of the Galt Board of Education, and was a founding member of the Waterloo Golf and Country Club.

Cognizant of the necessity for conservation in the Grand River Valley, he was a founder of the Grand River Conservation Commission, and was its first president, a post he held for eighteen years. He also was chairman of the Grand Valley Conservation Authority, organized later, the first development of its kind on this continent, preceding action by the great Tennessee Valley Authority. Now such projects are worldwide in scope.

Philip's service to the community was very extensive and was marked by high integrity and great ability.

Arthur Bell Pollock 1877-1951

Arthur B. Pollock, born in Linwood, attended Berlin High School, worked as a bookkeeper and clerk, and spent seven years in New York. In the belief that eventually the phonograph would become the musical centre of the home, Pollock returned to Berlin and in 1907 founded "The Pollock Manufacturing Company," to produce the "Pollock Talking Machine," operating from a carriage house at 68 Benton Street, and later from a factory on Victoria Street.

In 1909 Alex Welker, a distinguished Berlin citizen, joined the Company as engineer and manager of production.

In 1917 the Phonola Company was incorporated and a plant was opened at Elmira to manufacture phonograph cabinets. In 1925 the Berlin plant became known as Pollock-Welker Ltd.

In 1925 the Grimes Radio Corporation was formed to manufacture radio sets. In 1933 all three organizations were combined under the name, Dominion Electrohome Industries Limited.

Pollock, a distinguished citizen, died in 1951.

Carl Arthur Pollock 1903-1978

Carl A. Pollock, a native of Kitchener, graduated from the University of Toronto in electrical engineering. A scholarship from the Massey Foundation financed two years at Oxford University, England. At university he showed exceptional talent in track and rowing.

He taught for a short time at the University of Toronto, but his father's illness led him to choose a career in business and industry at Electrohome Ltd. in Kitchener, employing 3,100. Pollock joined the firm and was president for many years. Pollock was a member of the National Design Council and in 1963 he became president of the Canadian Manufactures' Association. He was convinced that Canadian technology and industry would take no second place. His own firm led in introducing several firsts in the electronics field.

He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1975. He was a founder of the University of Waterloo, chairman of the Board of Governors for eleven years and Chancellor from 1975-78. He was a founder of the Stratford Shakespearian Festival and supported musical groups, including the K-W Symphony Orchestra.

John A. Pollock b. 1936

John Pollock is the third generation of his family to run Kitchener-based Electrohome Ltd.

Pollock was born and raised in Kitchener, obtaining a Bachelor of Applied Science degree from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard University. He has also received Honourary Doctor of Laws degrees from both Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo.

Pollock joined the company in 1962, was elected president in 1971 and later became chairman, president and chief executive officer. Over the years, Electrohome became an international manufacturer of home electronics beginning with phonographs, and evolving to radios, televisions, and high-resolution projection systems. The company added broadcast properties to its portfolio, including television and radio stations.

Pollock sat on the Board of Governors of Cambridge Memorial Hospital, as well as Freeport Hospital and the University of Waterloo. He has also served on the boards of many other corporations and charitable organizations including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, and St. John's-Kilmarnock School.

He is a member of the Leadership Waterloo Region Advisory Council and a past member of the Young Presidents Organization, the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Science Council of Canada. He is currently the Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University.

Pollock and his wife Joyce have four children.

Patricia Rope Portis b. 1959

Patti Rope Portis was born in Galt in 1959 and began her gymnastic career at the YWCA under the guidance of her mother, Benita. She competed in the 1971 provincials, the 1972 junior nationals and as a senior in 1973 for the National Academy, Eugene, Oregon. She initiated new standards in training intensity, choreography and musical accompaniment. She competed for Canada in China in 1973 and in world championships in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Jugoslavia, Romania, Moscow and Riga.

In 1976 she was Canadian gymnastic champion and a member of Canada's Olympic Team which achieved Canada's highest standing ever. That year she was named Cambridge Athlete of the Year and in 1982 was coach of the Puerto Rican National Team at the Pan-American Games. She lives in Pennsylvania.

Alex O. Potter 1897-1969

Alex O. Potter was a world traveller, teacher and writer. A Berlin native, he received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Gettysburg College and his doctorate from Columbia University.

He was instrumental in the founding of Waterloo College, later Wilfrid Laurier University, and was its first dean and executive head.

As European secretary of Rotary International from 1930 to 1937 he represented Rotary at the public conference on disarmament in Paris in 1931 and attended the League of Nations sessions as a special observer. Potter was awarded the Order of St. Sava by the government of Yugoslavia.

He served in the First World War and worked for the Department of National War Service in the Second World War. Later he was a history professor at Waterloo College and in 1965 was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters by Waterloo Lutheran University.

In Kitchener's Centennial year (1954) he wrote a column "Let's Reminisce" in the Kitchener-Waterloo Record which he continued until his death in 1969.

Keith Priestman, Badminton

Keith Priestman began playing badminton at age four, and continues to train and compete in World Seniors Championships today. As a National Team member, Keith represented Canada in the 1982 and 1984 Thomas Cup, the World Team Championships, 3 All England Championships, Pan-American Championships, and over 15 other international competitions. In 2021, with Covid safety protocols in place, Keith and partner, Geoff Stensland, won the Men’s Doubles 60 in the World Seniors Championships held in Spain.

Preston Rivulettes

The Preston Rivulettes dominated women's ice hockey in the 1930s. In an estimated 350 games, the team lost only twice and they won 10 Ontario titles, 10 Eastern Canadian Championships and 6 Dominion Championships.

The team disbanded at the end of the 1930s upon the outbreak of World War II.

Photograph Courtesy of Waterloo Region Museum.

Robert "Scotty" Rankine 1909-1995

Robert "Scotty" Rankine, born in Scotland in 1909, came to Canada in 1926 and to Preston in 1929. A distinguished racer, for his accomplishments from 1930 to 1953 he was acknowledged in Canada and elsewhere as one of the world's best middle and long distance runners.

Rankine won every Canadian track championship for distance from three miles to the standard marathon of more than twenty-six miles, the Hamilton Bay race of nineteen miles on seven occasions, and the US championship for fifteen and twenty thousand meters in 1937. In the Boston Marathon he finished among the first six on several occasions. He ran for Canada in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1932, the 1936 games in Germany, the British Empire Games in England in 1934 and in Australia in 1938.

In 1935 he was voted Canada's outstanding athlete and in 1970 was admitted to the Canadian Runners Hall of Fame.

Hilda Ranscombe 1913-1998

Hilda Ranscombe was regarded as the heart and soul of the Preston Rivulettes, the women's ice hockey team that won six Dominion Championships in the 1930s. Playing Right Wing, Hilda Ranscombe's skills dominated the sport. During their heyday, the Rivulettes won an estimated 350 games against only 2 losses and one tie. Scoring data has not been saved, but

Ranscombe was by far the top scorer, becoming a legend in her time. Hilda was an all-round athlete, excelling in softball, tennis and ice hockey.

A Toronto sportswriter described Hilda as "having dazzling speed, look invincible with the puck and stick, has really gone places in every hockey contest played, [and] is an instinctive performer." She was twice finalist as Canada's Female Athlete of the Year.

Photograph Courtesy of Waterloo Region Museum.

Elmore Reaman 1889-1969

G. Elmore Reaman was born at Concord, Ontario, and earned degrees at the University of Toronto, McMaster University, Queen's University and his Ph.D. at Cornell. He was founder of the Training School for Boys, Bowmanville in 1925 and organized a private school, Glen Lawrence, in Toronto.

He established the first courses in Canada for life insurance, radio broadcasting and announcers.

Reaman was head of the English Department of the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph from 1939 to 1954, Dean of Men at Waterloo Lutheran University and director of extension at the University of Waterloo for ten years where he set up the department of design in engineering and marketing seminars for businessmen. He was the author of at least twenty books.

He was founder and first president of the Pennsylvania-German Folklore Society; founder of the Waterloo-Wellington branch of the english-speaking Union; founder and first president of the Hugenot Society of Canada.

Ernie Regehr

Ernie Regehr is a Canadian peace researcher and expert in security and disarmament. 

With his wife Nancy, Regehr served with the Mennonite Central Committee from 1974 to 1976 in South Africa, Zambia and Botswana researching and writing about the role of churches in apartheid. 

Upon his return to Waterloo, Regehr co-founded Project Ploughshares - a peace research organization based in Waterloo.  Regehr served as its Executive Director for 30 years. 

Regehr has been a Canadian non-government organization representative and expert advisor at numerous international disarmament forums including the United Nations Small Arms Review Conference.  He is currently a Research Fellow at the Centre for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo and a Senior Fellow with The Simons Foundation in Vancouver.

Regehr serves on the Board of Directors of the African Peace Forum in Kenya.  His work in conflict zones, especially in East Africa, has included diplomacy efforts related to the conflict in southern Sudan.  In the early 1990s he was Canada's representative on the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts on Arms Transfer Transparency that led to the creation in 1992 of the UN Conventional Arms Register.  In 2001 he was an advisor to the Government of Kenya in the development of a regional arms control agreement on small arms. 

Regehr's peace and security work has been honoured by being named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2003 and becoming the 26th laureate of the Pearson Peace Medal in 2011. 

Photograph courtesy of Jim Forest.

Earl "Dutch" Reibel 1930-2007

Earl "Dutch" Reibel was born in Kitchener. He played minor hockey with and was the leading scorer of the Kitchener Greenshirts Jr. "B" Ontario Hockey Association (OHA)   champions in 1948-49. In 1949-50, he led the OHA Jr. "A" scoring with the Windsor Spitfires where he became the first player in OHA history to break 100 points in a season with 129 points in just 48 games. 

Reibel was Rookie of the Year in the American Hockey League in 1952 and a first team All-Star in the Western Hockey League in 1953 when he won the scoring title. 

Reibel started his National Hockey League (NHL) career with a flourish when he assisted on all four of the Detroit Red Wings goals - a record for players in their first NHL game that still stands today. He played as center for six seasons, winning two Stanley Cup Championships with the Detroit Red Wings in 1954 and 1955. He finished in the NHL's top ten in scoring in his first three seasons. 

In the 1954-55 season, Reibel led Detroit in scoring. Reibel played in the 1954 and 1955 NHL All-Star games. And in the 1955-56 season he was awarded the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability. 

Reibel was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks in 1957, and finished his NHL career with the Boston Bruins in 1959, having amassed 245 scoring points. He completed his professional hockey career with the Providence Reds in the American Hockey League in 1961.

Photograph courtesy of the Detroit News Pictorial Magazine.

Laverne "Red" Reichert 1943-2004

Laverne Reichert, a life-long resident of Waterloo Region, loved his community and spent his volunteer life in athletics and working with people with disabilities.

Reichert's love for softball began in the late 1960s when he sponsored the first Senior Men's softball team in Waterloo. In the 1970s he sponsored Intermediate and Senior Men's Waterloo Bridge Sports, and he was Director/Trainer of the Waterloo CHYMrs. Reichert held various positions with the Kitchener Evergreens until 1984. From 1985-95 he was President of the Waterloo Ontario Fastball Association, and he served on the Ontario Amateur Softball Association Executive Council in 1990 and Chaired the Men's Committee from 1994 through 1996. Reichert was Vice-President of the Kitchener Fastball Promotions from 1993 to 2004, working to promote the game and bring tournaments to the community.

He was also involved in hockey having worked as Equipment Manager for the Waterloo Junior B Siskins as a teenager in 1959. He later became team trainer and a member of the team's executive.

Reichert joined the Kinsmen Club of Kitchener-Waterloo in the 1980s, holding several positions with the club including Vice-President in 1987-88. He actively worked to support the lives of people with disabilities. In 1991-92 he received the Kinsmen Club John Bainbridge Award for Outstanding Service. Reichert was named a Life Member of the Kinsmen Club in 1994; he received the Outstanding Volunteer Award from KW Habilitation Services in 2001; and he was made Chairman Emeritus in 2004. Through the Kinsmen Club, Reichert was actively involved in the Kinsmen TV Auction, and many other local fund raising projects.

Walter Reid 1842-1909

The name "Reidsville" was given to a settlement that developed by a small stream and lake in North Dumfries Township in 1831. The lot had been purchased by John Reid, a Native of Boghall, Scotland.

In 1857 four of Reid's sons established a shingle mill and later this was expanded to a chopping mill and sawmill and steam power was added. In 1885 one of the sons, Walter, bought out his brothers. In 1899 the sawmill was moved to Ayr and a lumber yard was started in Galt in 1909.

Reid was a keen athlete and sportsman and was the champion quoit player of Ontario in 1877. He built a bowling green on his front lawn and a curling rink on his millpond, one of the first enclosed curling rinks in Ontario.

He was also a poet and musician and conducted an orchestra consisting mostly of his own family.

John George Reiner 1832-1926

When John George Reiner arrived in Berlin on October 18, 1852, he was glad his journey had ended, because he had walked from Hamilton. Born in 1832, in the Black Forest, Germany, he had just emigrated to Canada. He spent his last shilling for lodging in Gaukel's Tavern, where the Walper House was later built.

Reiner worked at Mannheim, manufacturing fanning mills and furniture, and then built houses and barns in the United States. In 1858 he returned and again demonstrating his ability to endure lengthy journeys on foot, walked from Goderich to Neustadt, where he built a dam across the Saugeen River and a sawmill. In 1866 he went to Smithville, later Wellesley, operated a flour mill and a sawmill, and altogether during his residence there erected thirty-two buildings, including a woollen mill and general store.

He also organized the Wellesley and North Easthope Agricultural Society.

Paul Reinhart b. 1960

Paul Reinhart was born in Kitchener on January 6, 1960, and graduated from St. Jerome's High School. His hockey career began with Ontario's colourful atom hockey team, the Bauer Krauts. He played for the Kitchener Rangers from1975 to 1979 and was team captain in his final year when he scored fifty-one goals.

Reinhart was drafted in the first round 12th overall by the Atlanta Flames of the National Hockey League in 1979. He moved with the Flames to Calgary the next year and was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 1988. He was an all-star in 1985 and 1989. He played in the Canada Cup and with Team Canada in World Championships. He retired prior to the start of the 1990-91 season because of back problems. He lives in North Vancouver and has his own business.

Acting Sergeant John Rennie, G.C. 1919-1943

John Rennie was born December 13, 1920 in Aberdeen, Scotland. He and his parents immigrated to Canada in 1924. The family eventually settled in Kitchener, where Rennie attended Suddaby School and was later employed at the Canada Skate Company. He enlisted with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada at Hamilton in July, 1940. While supervising a grenade-throwing exercise in England, a live grenade fell back into the trench. Rennie protected the rest of his men from the explosion, and was awarded the George Cross for his bravery.

Gordon R. Renwick b. 1935

Gordon Renwick was born in Cambridge (Galt) in 1935. He has spent a great deal of volunteer time assisting in the administration of international ice hockey.

Renwick was president of the Galt Hornets from 1966 to 1973; the Hornets won the Allen Cup in 1969 and 1971. He was president of the Ontario Hockey Association senior league and president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association from 1979 to 1981. In 1976 and 1977, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the International Ice Hockey Federation and he has been a voting member of the International Ice Hockey Federation Council since 1978. Renwick has been vice-president of the International Ice Hockey Federation since 1984.

Billy Reynolds 1904-1964

Billy Reynolds was born in England and lived in Brandon, Manitoba before coming to Galt as a small boy.

Reynolds started in the sport of running in the early 1920s and soon proved to be a versatile winner in the middle and long distance races. He competed in hundreds of races throughout his career. He ran in the famous Boston marathon and many other major events.

He held the Canadian record for both the ten and fifteen mile distances. In 1927 he finished third in the marathon event of the British Empire games at Hamilton. In 1928 he was a member of the Canadian team which went to Amsterdam (Holland) for the Olympic Games. There were six members on the team but only five could compete and at the last minute Reynolds was withdrawn. This created a political favouritism argument which lasted for many months.

In 1932 Reynolds won the British Empire games marathon held in London, Ontario.

Steven Rice b. 1971

Steven Rice was born in Waterloo in 1971. Rice distinguished himself as a hockey player playing Right Wing, with four seasons as a member of the Kitchener Rangers and he was a Memorial Cup All-Star in 1990 and an Ontario Hockey League 2^nd team All-Star in 1991. Rice captained Team Canada to a gold medal at the World Junior Championships in 1991.

In the 1989 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Rice was the first pick of the New York Rangers. He was later traded to the Edmonton Oilers where he played for more than two seasons, before signing as a free agent with the Hartford Whalers. He finished his professional career in 1998 as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Rice lives in Waterloo and he is active in sports in the community, playing with the Cambridge Hornets of the Ontario Hockey Association Senior League.

A. Carl Rieder 1913-2007

A.C. Rieder was born to an old Kitchener family and graduated from the University of Toronto in 1938 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree. After serving as an officer in the RCAF, he set up his practice, Barnett and Rieder; later Rieder, Hymmen and Lobban. He established a solid foundation for the firm, designing and supervising the construction of many elementary and secondary schools in Ontario. Distinctive landmarks in Kitchener, Waterloo and throughout the province - public, institutional, religious, industrial and commercial buildings - show the extent of the practice which culminated in the major architectural achievement, The Centre in the Square, which received national and international acclaim.

Rieder earned the designation of Master Gardener and served on the board of the Kitchener Horticultural Society. He was a major contributor in the development of the K-W Art Gallery from its original site to the Centre in the Square complex. As a founding member of the Waterloo County Hall of Fame, he designed the Hall at Doon Heritage Crossroads.

Photograph by BELAIR, Kitchener.

T.H. Rieder 1878-1922

Talmon Henry Rieder was born in New Hamburg, Ontario, August 10, 1878. His meteoric career was terminated at age forty- three by his untimely death April 15, 1922 leaving four children and his wife, the former Martha M. Anthes, whom he married in 1906.

In 1899, as bookkeeper and minor shareholder of the newly formed Berlin Rubber Company, he displayed outstanding ability. His initiative was recognized by Jacob Kaufman who, in 1903, organized "The Merchants Rubber Company" and appointed T.H. Rieder as general manager.

These two local companies merged with the Canadian Consolidated Rubber Company in 1907, and in this union, Rieder, as vice-president and director, controlled five rubber footwear factories. In 1912-13 he negotiated the purchase of the property and the erection of the Dominion Tire Factory (Uniroyal).

In 1917 he became president of the largest rubber company in Canada. He resigned this position with the Consolidated Rubber Company in 1919 to accept another challenging responsibility as president of Ames-Holden-McCready. Again, Rieder negotiated for the land and erection of the building at King and Victoria Street, occupied by the B.F. Goodrich Company.

His leadership instilled confidence in all who worked for him and his intelligent application of sound principles proved his executive ability which led to his brilliant successes.

John Adam Rittinger 1855-1915

John A. Rittinger of Berlin, a successful journalist and weekly newspaper publisher, was renowned for his wit and humour.

He learned the printing business at the Rittinger and Motz plant and gained further experience in Toronto, Buffalo and Chicago before joining Dr. Aaron Eby in 1875 in a partnership to publish Der Glocke in Walkerton, Ontario. He became sole owner in 1878 and in 1904 succeeded his father in the Rittinger and Motz partnership in Berlin, publishers of the Berliner Journal.

Dr. Herbert Kalbfleisch, former head of the German Language Department, University of Western Ontario, said of Mr. Rittinger's writing: "Most Pennsylvania-German material originated in the United States. The Briefe vun Joe Klotzkopp provide a most notable exception. Had Rittinger written in English he would be counted among the great humourists of Canada. His work is in the tradition of Haliburton and Leacock."

Ernst F. Ritz 1925-2024

Ernst (Ernie) Ritz was born in New Hamburg in 1925. Ritz trained as an Aircrew Navigator and served in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1943 to 1945.

Ritz spent his professional career in the printing and publishing industry. He was employed at the Kitchener-Waterloo Record from 1947 to 1950 and he was co-owner and editor of the New Hamburg Independent from 1950 to 1966. After forty years in the printing industry, he retired in 1990.

He served his community for 50 years in appointed and elected municipal positions. He served on the New Hamburg Planning Board from 1948 to 1972. He was first elected to the New Hamburg Village Council at the age of 24 in 1950. Ritz was the last Mayor of the Town of New Hamburg in 1972 and he was the first Mayor of Wilmot Township from 1973 to 1978. He was a member of the first Waterloo Regional Council, serving as Chair of the Regional Planning Committee and the Regional Engineering Committee. He also served as member of three different Hydro Commissions: New Hamburg, Baden and Kitchener-Wilmot. He was also a member of the Waterloo Regional Police Commission from 1979 to 1986.

Ritz has been very active in the preservation of local history. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Waterloo Historical Society for ten years, and was President of the Society in 1990-1991. He served on Wilmot Township LACAC from 1985 to 1997 and has been Vice-Chairman of the Wilmot Township Archives Committee.

Photograph courtesy of Pirak Studios, Waterloo.

Donald Alexander Harry Roberts CD FCIS 1902-1995

Donald Alexander Henry Roberts of Waterloo, chosen "1961 Citizen of the Year" for his community service was referred to in the press as " Public Servant Extraordinary".

Alderman for four years from 1948 to 1951 and Mayor in 1952 and 1953 he represented Waterloo on the K-W Hospital Commission for five years and was a member of the Board of Governors of Waterloo College, Wilfrid Laurier University and Lutherwood. He was chairman of the K-W High School Board, President Waterloo Branch Canadian Red Cross Society, K-W Federated Appeal, K-W YMCA and Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of K-W Salvation Army Advisory Board and a member of the Waterloo County Hall of Fame Board of Governors. He was also a recipient of Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.

Roberts was actively associated with many professional and sport organizations and St. Marks Lutheran Church.

Qualified at the rank of Major, he served as Captain in the Scots Fusiliers of Canada (Militia) for seventeen years and was awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration, C.D.

He served the Mutual Life Assurance Company of Canada with great distinction and retired as Senior Vice- President in 1970.

Benita Rope 1938-2016

Benita Rope began coaching community gymnastics in 1960 and in 1972 formed the very successful Cambridge Kips Gymnastics Club.

She was coach of Canada's team for the 1978 British Commonwealth Games, the 1980 Olympic Games, and many international meets. Under her guidance, the "Kips" produced: two National Champions; four Olympians; ten international competitors; a national team pianist; Provincial and Regional champions; and choreography awards.

With Rope's leadership, a premier gymnastics training centre was opened in 1980 in Cambridge. She helped organize several international meets in Canada and developed a broad-based training program for thousands of youngsters. She also developed promotional displays, and gymnastics camps and clinics.

The Annual Cambridge Contributors Award, presented for outstanding service in sport, is named after Rope, in honour of her invaluable involvement in gymnastics at all levels.

Don Rope 1929-2009

Don Rope was born Feb. 2, 1929 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was an outstanding competitor in hockey, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, tennis, and track and field. He helped his teams win many city and provincial championships.

It was hockey where Rope gained his fame, first with the Winnipeg Monarchs and the St. Michael's College Junior "A" teams, and then with the Toronto Marlboros - all as a protégée of the Toronto Maple Leaf organization. He played several years with the K-W Dutchmen Hockey Club and a year each with the Soo Greyhounds and the Galt Terriers.

Rope played on two Canadian Senior Allan Cup Hockey championship teams and competed twice with the K-W Dutchmen Hockey Club in the Olympics for Canada, winning a bronze medal in 1956 at Cortina and a silver medal in 1960 at Squaw Valley.

When he came to the Waterloo Region to play hockey he began a career in teaching and coaching at Galt Collegiate Institute and Glenview Park Secondary School, Cambridge and won the Stewart Award for teaching excellence in 1987. In 1976 he received the Ontario Medal for good citizenship.

In 1957, he started the Galt Junior Tennis Programme that produced provincial and national champions - one of which was his daughter, Laurie. With his wife Benita, he formed the highly successful Cambridge Kips Gymnastics Club and helped produce national and Olympic calibre gymnasts. His daughter Patti, was Canada's Senior Champion in 1976 and later that year, led the Canadian Team at the Montreal Olympics to a strong performance.

Rope was a member of Canada's elite coaching staff from 1975 to 1982 and won the Cambridge Contributor Award in 1977. Today, this award is named the "Don and Benita Rope Award."

Rabbi Philip Rosensweig 1928-1989

Rabbi Philip Rosensweig was born in Toronto. As a teenager he was involved in securing passports for Holocaust survivors and working with Canadian organizations to help them get settled. Rosensweig attended Yeshiva University in New York City, and received his Rabbinic Ordination from Rabbi A.A. Price in Toronto.  Rosensweig held various posts in Toronto including at the Save the Children Foundation. At age 25, he came to Kitchener and became head of Beth Jacob Synagogue.

Within 10 years, Rosensweig had overseen the construction of the synagogue and family centre on Stirling Avenue South in Kitchener, which is still in use today. During his 36-year tenure at Beth Jacob Synagogue, he was successful in combating assimilation and loss of faith by many of the community's Jewish families.  During this period, many Jewish congregations failed across Ontario but Waterloo Region's stayed strong thanks to Rosensweig's dedication and personality.

Probably his proudest achievement was to establish ongoing relations between the Jewish and Christian communities in the Region. Rosensweig represented the Jewish community at many public events, and he spoke countless times in local schools and churches. Prior to his death, Rosensweig was instrumental in organizing a seminar for school teachers to help them inform their students about the Holocaust.

Laverne "Roter" Roth 1901-1978

Roth was born in Wilmot Township in July 1901. Playing his first hockey in his home area, he quickly displayed natural skill and in 1921 joined the Stratford Junior Club, one of the strongest in the history of Junior Hockey with stars Frank Carson and Howie Morenz who later became famous for his performance with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League.

This club won the Ontario Junior Championship in 1921 and then played the Winnipeg Falcons for the Memorial Cup (Dominion Championship) and lost by one goal.

He then played for the New Hamburg Intermediates from 1922 to 1926 winning the Northern League Championship in 1924 and 1925 and the OHA championship in 1925 and 1926.

Roth then turned professional, playing two years with Hamilton and the next eight years with Buffalo, both of the National Hockey League.

George Rumpel 1850-1916

Berlin was the birthplace of felt manufacturing in Canada and the father of the industry was George Rumpel, a native of Germany. He came to Canada in 1868 when eighteen years of age and lived in Hamilton as a shoemaker for five years.

He moved to Berlin in 1871 and in 1875 established the Berlin Felt Boot Company, with three employees. He then also manufactured leather boots. Rumpel went to Germany to study felt making and after he returned and applied the knowledge he had gained his business grew rapidly. When he sold it to the Consolidated Felt Company in 1909 there were 300 employees. He continued as president but in 1912 started the very successful Rumpel Felt Company.

Rumpel was a member of the Park Board, the Water Commission and the Town Council, which he served for five years. He was reeve in 1897 and mayor in 1898.

Dorothy Russell - 1900-2006

Teacher, naturalist, historian, and amateur photographer Dorothy Russell had an impact on many organizations in Waterloo Region.

Dorothy graduated from the Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School in 1920 and received her teacher training at the Toronto Normal School the following year. Upon graduation, she immediately began teaching kindergarten at Kitchener’s Suddaby Public School, and worked in a number of schools until her retirement in 1965.

As a child, Dorothy had been taught to respect nature and, as a teacher, she often incorporated this environmental stewardship into her lessons.

Dorothy’s uncle, Frank Schantz, was a founder of the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists in 1934. She joined the K-W Field Naturalists in 1946 and continued to be actively involved, especially with the annual Christmas Bird Count, until past her 100^th birthday.

An active member of the Waterloo Historical Society, Dorothy was a valuable resource during the planning of Kitchener’s Victoria Park 100^th Anniversary celebration in1996. At the age of 96, she was chosen to play the role of Queen Victoria.

Jim Sandlak b. 1966

Jim Sandlak is a native of Kitchener, Ontario and learned his hockey skills starting at six years of age playing minor hockey. He played with the Bauer Krauts AAA team and was the highest scorer with 70 points, scoring 34 goals with 36 assists.

In 1983 Sandlak was drafted into the Ontario Hockey League as a Midget by the London Knights, scoring 71 goals with 56 assists for three seasons.

He played two years for Canada in the World Junior Championships. In 1985, in the Gold Medal round, Sandlak scored the game-tying goal which gave them the opportunity to go ahead and win the Gold Medal. In 1986 while also representing Canada in the World Junior Championships, Sandlak was voted captain by his teammates and named player of the tournament having scored 7 goals with 7 assists in 7 games. He was then selected for the World Junior All-Star team. Sandlak still holds the World Junior Championship record for the fastest goal in a game - 11 seconds.

In 1985 Sandlak was drafted 1st round, 3rd overall to the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League. In 1986 he was the first Vancouver Canuck to win a post season award being named to the NHL All-Star Rookie Team. In his 11 years in the NHL, (9 with Vancouver and 2 with Hartford), he played 706 regular season games as well as five years of playoffs. During these 706 games he earned 229 points on 110 goals with 119 assists.

While in Vancouver, Sandlak was awarded The Alka Seltzer Plus Award for Best plus/minus during a season (1989-1990), and the Vancouver Canucks Bud Light Man of the Year for charitable work (1991).

In the 1997-98 season, Sandlak played hockey in Munich, Germany.

Sandlak remains actively involved in the hockey community by playing charity hockey games with the NHL Oldtimers. He volunteers his time and ability by coaching minor hockey in the London area which is where he makes his home with his wife Susan, and sons Patrick and Carter. Sandlak's community involvement is not limited to hockey as he continues to be involved in charitable golf tournaments, auctions, speaking engagements and most recently, the colour commentary at the professional hockey level. He continues to give of his time and abilities, both on and off of the ice.

A.W. Sandrock 1894-1980

A native of Wisconsin, Arthur W. Sandrock came to Kitchener in 1928 and established the first local funeral home. In subsequent years he gave most distinguished service to his profession, his city and his country, for which in 1966, he was named Citizen of the Year.

A member of the Ontario Safety League, he was responsible for the first safety patrols, the first driver training courses and the first traffic violators' court in Canada. He was President of the Tri-County Automobile Club; president and life member of the Chamber of Commerce and founded the Air Cadets and Airetts. Sandrock was the first local chairman of the Canadian Association of Christians and Jews.

He gave invaluable service to the Doon Pioneer Village, of which he was a founding director, and had a distinguished record as a Rotarian, Mason, and churchman.

Marilyn Sararus, Community Service

A life-long resident of Wilmot Township, Marilyn Sararus has been an active and involved volunteer within the township. Her involvement with Heritage Wilmot, Waterloo Historical Society, Doors Open Waterloo Region, and numerous other organizations are a testament to her passion for preserving history and her love of community.

Susan Scherer

A team member on Canada's National Team in two sports, ice hockey and softball, Sue Scherer lists a record of participation and achievement that few could match in this country. A native of Kitchener, as a catcher she played with Canada's national softball team that took fourth in the World Championships in New Zealand in 1986 and fifth at the World Championships in Taiwan in 1982. Three times at the Pan American Games, the team won gold in Mexico in 1981 and gold again in Venezuela in 1983 and bronze in 1987. Playing on three different teams over an eight-year period from 1977 to 1985, she helped her teams win six medals at the National Championships.

In ice hockey, as team captain she led Canada to a World Championship in 1990 and again in 1992.

A consultant, board member and advisor with several equity, fairness and spirit of sport programs, she was head coach of the University of Guelph Women's Varsity hockey team from 1993 to 1996 and she was inducted into the University of Guelph's Hall of Fame in 1991 and Softball Canada Hall of Fame in 1997.

Walter "Punch" Scherer 1916-2001

Walter "Punch" Scherer was born May 6, 1916 in New Hamburg, Ontario. Punch was involved for more than 50 years with hockey in and around Waterloo County. He played Junior hockey for New Hamburg, Junior "A" for the Kitchener Greenshirts, Senior hockey for the Stratford Indians, St. Catharines Seniors, Hamilton Tigers and The Hershey Bears and the Washington Eagles of the EAHL Hockey League. He was coach of the Kitchener-Waterloo Flying Dutchmen, the Stratford Indians and the Phillipsburg Cheves. Walter was Vice-President and Assistant Manager of the Kitchener Beavers of the EPHL, a New York Ranger Farm Team. He was General Manager of the New Hamburg Hahns Junior "C", the Kitchener Rangers, the Kingston Canadians, and the Niagara Falls Junior "A" teams, and the very successful Kitchener-Waterloo Flying Dutchmen.

Hockey Canada also appointed him as their General Manager for the National Junior world competition in 1977. Scherer won an Ontario Hockey League award in 1971 and the Gold Stick award in 1972 in recognition of his dedication and hard work in hockey. He also scouted for the Boston Bruins for several years.

It was through his assistance, sponsorship and concern that many local and other athletes went on to become involved in medicine, law, education and outstanding citizens. Many of these athletes, with the help of scholarships, went on to contribute to hockey and to their communities. He also saw many of his players make it to the National Hockey League and go on to coaching and management in professional and amateur hockey.

Photograph Courtesy of Forde Studio Photographers, Kitchener

John Schlachter 1906-1982

John Schlachter was born in Berlin (Kitchener) and studied art with Frederick H. Varley A.R.C.A., John Martin and at the Doon School of Fine Art. He became the central figure of the artistic community in Waterloo County. As well as being a well-known oil painter of landscapes, he was a prominent teacher and influenced many budding artists.

Schlacter was a member of the K-W Society of Artists, the Teachers' Council of the Five Counties Art Association and of the K-W Art Gallery where he served on the board of directors for 18 years. He was active in the Doon School of Fine Art.

Schlacter exhibited at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the London Art Gallery, the Royal Canadian Academy and the Art Gallery of Ontario. He was employed at Baetz Brothers in finishing furniture long after the normal retirement age.

George Schlee 1858-1944

George Schlee was born June 4, 1858 on a farm near Centreville, a few miles east of Kitchener. In 1876 he apprenticed as a stone mason in Listowel, Ontario, returning to Berlin following his marriage to Eva Hallman of Hanover in 1882.

In 1890 he purchased the construction firm of Jacob Baetz and became prime contractor of the community for imposing residences and civic buildings such as the Walper House, Zion Evangelical Church and a major portion of the K-W Hospital.

Following a visit to the United States, he returned home filled with enthusiasm for the potential in manufacturing of rubber footwear. With his initiative and drive, he organized the Berlin Rubber Company in 1899 and supervised the construction of the first rubber factory in Waterloo County on the corner of Margaret Avenue and Breithaupt Street. Through his vision, and the support of men like Jacob Kaufman and A.L. Breithaupt, the rubber industry was established in this community. In 1906 he sold his interests in the Berlin Rubber and founded the Berlin Button Works (Kitchener Buttons Ltd.), remaining active in this business until his death October 31, 1944.

Brad Schlegel b. 1968

Brad Schlegel was born in Kitchener in 1968. He played his minor hockey at the "AAA" level beginning with the Bauer Krauts and finishing with the Kitchener Greenshirts. He played his Junior "A" hockey with the London Knights. In 1988 he was the captain and named MVP of the Knights and an Ontario Hockey League All-star.

In 1988-1989 Schlegel joined Team Canada. He has worn the Team Canada Hockey Jersey more than any other Canadian Hockey Player. He was the captain of the Canadian Olympic Team in 1992 that won a silver medal and he was a silver Medallist and the Assistant Captain at the 1994 Olympics and a Bronze Medallist at the 1995 World Championships. He was voted Team Canada's Top Defenseman in 1995; Team Canada won a silver medal at the World Championships that year.

Schlegel played two years in the National Hockey League for Washington and Calgary. In 1992 he won the Governor General's Award and the Victor Davis Award for excellence in sport. He played several years in the Elite European Hockey League and represented Canada eight times in the Spengler Cup winning a gold medal in 1996, silver medal in 1988, named to the All-star team in 1989 and won a bronze medal in 2003.

Schlegel has been active off the ice with the Hicks for Kids Foundation helping sick and orphaned children in Germany, the Goals for Kids raising money for sick children's hospitals in Germany, the Christmas Wish foundation in Austria and the Spinal Cord division of Parkwood Hospital in London, Ontario.

He is married to Heidi and they have one child.

Ron Schlegel b. 1943

Ron Schlegel is a highly accomplished entrepreneur, academic and philanthropist who has been an innovator in many ventures.

Schlegel's business interests include agriculture, land development, seniors' health care, and most recently, mental health and addictions through the acquisition of Homewood Health Centre. He also owns Homewood Human Solutions, with headquarters in Vancouver, providing employee assistance programs to major corporations across the country. He has developed Williamsburg Town Centre in southwest Kitchener using neo-traditional planning design principles.

For many years Schlegel served in an academic role as a professor in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. He played a leadership role in developing the Department of Health Sciences and Gerontology and was a co-founder of the Centre for Applied Health Research. He has developed numerous retirement and nursing homes providing a continuum-of-care for thousands of seniors across Ontario.

In cooperation with the University of Waterloo and Conestoga College, Schlegel provided funding and leadership for the development of the innovative Schlegel - UW Research Institute for Aging. Schlegel has supported numerous other charitable causes both locally and internationally.

Schlegel has received many awards and honorary degrees in recognition of his wide ranging accomplishments and generosity in many fields. In 2010 he was inducted into the Waterloo Region Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame. In 2012 he was awarded The Record's Barnraiser Award in recognition of his outstanding achievements and service to our community. For his commitment to helping others and building a stronger Canada, in 2012 Schlegel was a Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Gordon Schmalz b. 1912

Gordon Schmalz was a product of amateur boxing in Kitchener-Waterloo. For twenty-five years, he contributed to the sport as a fighter, trainer and promoter.

After first entering the ring at the age of fourteen, Schmalz went on to win the Ontario and New York State Golden Glove titles as well as the Canadian Championship. Following his active career, he continued to promote amateur boxing cards throughout Ontario. Schmalz' career reached a high point from 1936 to 1938 when he was the Canadian welterweight champion. After losing in the finals in 1934 and 1935 he won the title for the next three years. During the war, he won two army scrolls in 1940 and 1941, one in the 147 pound class and the other in the unlimited class. He had more than 300 fights in his career and lost only thirty-three.

Schmalz started promoting amateur cards in 1938 until 1955, while still boxing exhibitions himself until he retired in 1947. One of the highlights of his career was when he authored one of the quickest knockouts. At the nineteen-second mark of the first round, he disposed of Tony Russo to win his first Canadian title.

William H. Schmalz 1862-1933

A man who played an important part in persuading several industries to locate in Berlin was William H. Schmalz. An excellent penman, in 1878 he entered the employ of the Economical Mutual Fire Insurance Company as a policy writer. He became secretary in 1891 and managing director in 1908. He served the Company until 1933.

Schmalz was an alderman in 1892 and mayor in 1911 and 1912. His son, W.H.E. Schmalz, designed Kitchener's 1924 city hall. He was secretary of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church for forty-two years, a member of the choir for twenty years, and treasurer of the Ontario district of the Missouri Synod for twenty-two years. He served the hospital board for eighteen years, nine years as secretary and three as president.

One of Canada's leading philatelists, Schmalz had a collection of 45,000 postage stamps. He also did some fine painting and etching.

William H.E. Schmalz 1890-1981

W.H.E. Schmalz, a native of Kitchener, and son of a former mayor, graduated in architecture from the University of Toronto and is known as the Twin Cities' dean of architects. He designed Kitchener's city hall in 1919 as well as many other buildings in Ontario. He graduated from the Royal Military College (medallist), and served with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery in 1916.

He served with distinction the Waterloo Historical Society, the Ontario Historical Society, the Ontario Pioneer Community Foundation and the Waterloo County Hall of Fame.

He held office in, or was a long-time member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Kitchener Parks Board, the K-W Hospital Board, the Kiwanis Club for fifty-three, the Kitchener Musical society for fifty-nine, the Kitchener Young Men's Club, the Kitchener Racing Canoe Club and the Lutheran Church locally and provincially.

He was well-known as a sportsman and as an ardent philatelist, and wrote a valuable and informative postal history of Waterloo County.

James (Jim) Schmidt b. 1927

James (Jim) Schmidt has been a printer, publisher, author, firefighter, bandsman, community activist and promoter of his hometown of Ayr, Ontario.

The Ayr News had been purchased by his father and uncle in 1913 and Schmidt began as an apprentice in 1942. In 1968, he became the sole owner, publisher and editor of this independent weekly newspaper. Although Schmidt still has a chair at The Ayr News, the operation of the printing and publishing company is now handled by the family as it enters the second 100 years of family ownership.

Schmidt has served his local community and Waterloo Region.  He has been a tireless promoter of enhancements to community services including water and sewage systems, arenas, community centres and parks.  A local park bears his name in recognition of his service.  Schmidt served as a volunteer firefighter in North Dumfries Township for more than 50 years, including 17 years as Chief.

In 1997 Schmidt authored a book on the history of Ayr and The Ayr News, upon the 100^thanniversary of the newspaper and another book in 2013 - 100 Year Trip with the Schmidt Family and the Ayr News Weekly Newspaper. In 2006 he wrote a book on The Ayr Band for its 50^thanniversary which he cofounded in 1956.

In 1993 Schmidt was honoured with the Gold Quill award by the Canadian Community Newspaper Association in recognition of 50 years of service, and in 2002 he received the Queen's Jubilee Medal in recognition of volunteer service and community building.  On his retirement from the Fire Department he received the Fire Marshal of Ontario 50 year Long Service Award and the Government of Canada Exemplary Service Medal.

Harold J. Schmidt 1920-2001

Known as Mr. Baden, Harold J. Schmidt gave of his talent, time and resources through many different aspects of community life. Contributing to his community, as a church leader, local historian, politician, member of many committees, and a businessman, Schmidt had time for everyone. Much of Schmidt's charity went unrecorded; approached by many over the years for assistance, he gave generously and without record.

In the late 1950s, Schmidt served a growing rural population as first secretary-treasurer of the Baden School Board and the Waterloo-Oxford High School Board. He was secretary-treasurer of the Wilmot Municipal Telephone System and led its conversion to rotary dial service. From 1973 to 1997, Schmidt was elected Councillor to Wilmot Township Council and he was a strong advocate of the Township's decision to purchase and restore Castle Kilbride as a museum. He called his part in the museum project "his proudest achievement." He was also a member of the Baden Chamber of Commerce and the Baden Park Board.

Remembering the assistance of his church in times of need, Schmidt became involved in charitable organizations connected with his Mennonite faith. He served as secretary-treasurer of the Mennonite Aid Union for more than fifty years. He was cofounder of the Mennonite Benefit Association and he served the Mennonite Relief Sale in New Hamburg.

Schmidt was honoured with the Ontario Volunteer Service Award and was named Wilmot Township Citizen of the Year in 2000.

Lloyd Schmidt

Lloyd Schmidt has been running his entire life - or at least it seems that way.

Attending Preston High School in the 1970s, Schmidt ran cross country and track and field events.  He ran his first marathon at the age of 16 and he ran in the first Waterloo 10 KM Classic road race in 1978.

When The Waterloo 10 KM Classic was at risk of folding in the late 1980s, Schmidt volunteered as a race director to keep it going.  He has been involved in the Waterloo Classic ever since.  In 1987, Schmidt helped to transform the race into a fund raising initiative for local charitable organizations. 

Schmidt, along with hundreds of volunteers, now helps to plan and organize more than a dozen running races in Waterloo Region under the banner of RunWaterloo.  In addition to The Waterloo Classic, races include the Re-Fridgee-Eighter, the ENDURrun, the Baden Road Races, In Running Colour, the Dirty Dash, the Laurier Loop, the Harvest Half Marathon, Kitchener Kids with Cancer Run, The Fall Classic and the Santa Pur-suit to name a few.  In total, more than 8,000 people participate each year in all these races combined.

The races that Schmidt has initiated all raise money for charities and not-for-profit organizations.  To date, more than $1.5 million has been donated to organizations such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Waterloo Region, Child Find, Canadian Red Cross, Food Bank of Waterloo Region, Canadian Diabetes Association, Lung Association, Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada, Extend-A-Family Waterloo Region, K-W Habilitation Services, Hospice of Waterloo Region, K-W Counselling Services, K-W Special Olympics, and Heartwood Place.

M. Grace Schmidt 1915-2011

M. Grace Schmidt was born in Berlin in 1915. After a short teaching career, she joined the staff of the Kitchener Public Library (KPL) where she became a reference librarian and was Assistant Chief Librarian for seven years before her retirement in 1980. She was referred to as a "walking encyclopedia" and assisted many authors writing on local history; her contribution to raising its profile was recognized by KPL which named the Grace Schmidt Room of Local History in her honour in 1984.

Schmidt served the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation, the Waterloo Historical Society, the Joseph Schneider Haus, the Waterloo County Hall of Fame, the Red Cross, the Board and United Church Women of Zion United Church and the United Church Hamilton Conference archive's committee.

Honours include the Outstanding Achievement Award for volunteerism given by the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation (1995), the WRHF Award of Excellence (1991) and Kitchener-Waterloo Woman of the Year (1980). In 1999, Schmidt received an honorary Doctorate from the University of Waterloo, recognizing her contribution to the community.

M.C. "Milt" Schmidt 1918 - 2017

The centre on one of the most potent lines in the history of the National Hockey League was Milton Conrad Schmidt, born in Kitchener, Ontario, March 5, 1918.

Schmidt played between Wood Dumart and Bobby Bauer on a unit dubbed the Kraut Line by Albert "Battleship" Leduc. With the exception of three years when he was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, Schmidt played for Boston from 1936 to 1937 season until midway through 1954 to 1955 when he gave up playing to become the Bruins coach. After seven seasons of coaching, Schmidt moved up to the management level.

Schmidt was a powerful, hard-hitting centre who never gave up the puck without a fight. He stood six feet tall and weighed 185 pounds. During his NHL career, Milt scored 229 goals and a total of 346 points. He won the league scoring title in 1939 and 1940, won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player in 1951 and 1952, and played for two Stanley Cup-winning teams, 1938 and 1939 and 1940 and 1941. He was also voted three times to the league's first All-Star team -1939 and 1940, 1946 and 1947 and 1950 and 1951 - and to the second team in 1951 and 1952.

A strong, hard skater, Schmidt was also a clever stick-handler and always dangerous around the nets. He never stopped trying.

The Schnarr Hockey Family

Amongst the many hockey players, native to Kitchener, who attained considerable fame over the years must be included the eight players who appear in the above group team picture.

All are sons of the late John H. Schnarr of Kitchener who coached, trained and managed this family team, unique indeed in the annals of team sports. It won twenty out of twenty-two games played against all-star teams in Toronto and New York, and as well, won many games in competition with top-ranking clubs in other American and Canadian cities. These achievements resulted in headline recognition in the press of both countries.

The boys were taught to skate at the earliest possible age, followed by constant practising of the then finer points of the game on their own ice surface adjacent to their home, and on other available rinks in the area. There was a spread of sixteen years between the youngest and the oldest, the latter being in his thirties during the period of the team's unusual accomplishments. John Schnarr father died in Kitchener in 1935.

John Metz Schneider 1859-1942

The founder of J.M. Schneider Limited in1890, spent his first twenty-one years on his father's farm west of Kitchener. A prudent pay-as-you-go approach led J.M. Schneider to continue his ten-hour day at a button factory during the two years he nurtured his enterprise. Schneider established his original " plant" in the basement of his home and when growth required additional space it was in the form of a house built next door.

He realized that his most valuable assets were dedicated employees and he always showed a sincere concern for them. Quality was always stressed and the family effort developed into a large and successful meat packing business.

Schneider maintained an active role in his company during more than half-a-century and was also a leader in his church and in civic service having been an alderman and member of the Kitchener Board of Trade.

Joseph Schneider 1772-1843

Joseph Schneider, commonly regarded as the Founding Father of Berlin now Kitchener, immigrated with his wife and four children from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in May, 1807, with other prominent Mennonite pioneers such as Benjamin Eby, Peter Erb and Abraham Weber.

He settled on Lot No. 17 of the German Company Tract, erected a two-storey sawmill on Schneider Creek and constructed a road from his farm to the A Great Road from Dundas. This crossroads was the nucleus of the village which was incorporated in 1854 and became the County Seat.

His 1820 house, is the oldest surviving homestead in Kitchener and has been restored as a museum.

Norman C. Schneider 1898-1985

Norman C. Schneider, a native of Berlin, attended local schools and served an apprenticeship with the Tuerk Engine and Tool Company. He designed and supervised the mechanical aspects of the meat packing plant founded by his father J.M. Schneider.

He served as federal member of Parliament from 1952 to 1958. In 1966 he was awarded a Doctor of Laws degree by Waterloo Lutheran University and in 1967 received the Centennial Medal in recognition of his service to the nation.

Schneider was a pioneer in the establishment of the Waterloo-Wellington Airport and the new 1973 terminal was named the Norman Schneider Terminal in recognition of fifty years of dedicated service in the advancement of aviation. He was also made an honorary life member of the Waterloo-Wellington Airport Commission.

He served, in various capacities, the Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club, Federated Charities, the Red Cross Society, Doon Pioneer Village, the Kitchener-Waterloo High School Board, the Salvation Army, the Children's Aid Society, the YMCA, the University of Waterloo and St. Mary's Hospital.

Wilfred Schneller 1902-1987

Wilfred Schneller, born in Waterloo Township, graduated from the Ontario Agricultural College. He started a dairy on his farm near Baden where he pioneered by installing electric fencing. The first Ontario Wheatland Day was held there. He worked thirty-two years as a food and vegetable inspector for Agriculture Canada.

With Sandy Forsythe, he conceived the idea for the Waterloo County Arboretum near New Hamburg in 1964. He initiated the formation of the Waterloo County Federation of Agriculture, the Banner Counties Ayrshire Club, the Waterloo County Soil and Crop Improvement Association, the Wilmot Township Plowmen's Association and the Baden and District Chamber of Commerce.

He was president of the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, president of the Waterloo County Supplies Co-operative and was on the Ontario Conservation Council. He was chairman of the Baden School Board, Lieutenant-governor of the Kiwanis Club, president of the Kitchener Musical Society and past master of the Masonic Lodge.

James (Jim) Schoenfeld b. 1952

James Schoenfeld was born in Galt on September 4, 1952. Jim played his junior hockey with the Niagara Falls Flyers before being drafted by the Buffalo Sabres. He spent thirteen years in the National Hockey League with Buffalo, Detroit and Boston, playing in 719 league games. He scored 51 goals, had 204 assists and spent 1,132 minutes in the penalty box.

Schoenfeld was named to the 1979-80 second All-Star team and played in the 1977 and 1980 All-Star games and the 1979 Challenge Cup.

Schoenfeld coached the Buffalo Sabres from June 1985 to January 1986. He returned to coaching with New Jersey in January 1988 and stayed with the team until November 1990. In 1988, he took the New Jersey Devils to within one game of the Stanley Cup finals. Schoenfeld took over as head coach in Washington, January 27, 1994.

Jim and his wife Theresa have four children, Justin, Katie, Adam and Nathan, and they live in Maryland.

John Scott MD 1814-1856

When a very bad cholera epidemic was raging in Galt in 1834, a man who loved the practice of medicine as a profession and politics as an avocation, Dr. John Scott, of Toronto, who had been born in Selkirk, Scotland, in January 1814, came to reside in the community. He helped his father become established in Blenheim Township. In the fall of that year he opened a practice in the nearby colourful village of Berlin.

His interest in politics led to his selection as the reeve of the first council of the village of Berlin and, naturally, Scott used his influence to have Berlin chosen as the county seat. He was the first warden of Waterloo County and the county coroner, and one of the most esteemed men of the circle in which he moved.

William James Scott 1812-1882

William James Scott was New Hamburg's first postmaster from 1851 to 1857, a member of the first council of Wilmot Township for five years, three as reeve, and a member of the first Waterloo County Council.

In 1845 he purchased a lot from the well-known pioneer Absalom Shade, and on this site built a dam, sawmill and flour mill, from which the village of New Hamburg grew. Here, and on property on Bleams Road, Scott erected striking homes of Scottish architecture which are still in use.

He was a founding director of the Agricultural Society of Waterloo County, in 1853 and was an exhibitor of Devon cattle.

In 1858 Scott was elected an Independent Conservative member of the provincial parliament, representing South Waterloo. He was Lieutenant-Colonel of the 4 th Battalion of Waterloo Infantry. Scott donated the site on which Trinity Lutheran Church was built. He later moved to New Zealand.

Campbell A. Seagram 1906-1982

Born in Waterloo in April 1906, "Cammie" became one of Waterloo County's finest athletes excelling in most sports.

In football he was outstanding for Kitchener, winner of the Ontario Intermediate Championship in 1926, 1927, 1928 and the Canadian Championship in 1927 and named quarterback to the 1927 All Star team.

In hockey he played for Kitchener when they won the Senior Championship in the OHA in 1927. In cricket he played for the Waterloo club, winning the Western Ontario Championship several times in the late 1920s. He also was on three Canadian Championship teams of the Toronto Cricket Club. He was chosen for the Canadian team which toured England in 1936.

In badminton in 1926, he was a member of the Western Ontario Doubles Championship team and was also Twin City Singles Champion.

In curling he was a member of the Kitchener Granite Club rink, which won the Ontario Championships in 1938, 1939, 1940 and the Macdonald Brier Canadian Championship in 1939.

In golf he was a close to par player and he won the Westmount Golf and Country Club Championship in 1931, 1933, 1938, 1940.

Joseph Emm Seagram 1841-1919

Joseph E. Seagram was known throughout Canada chiefly as a distinguished breeder of racing horses and as head of several progressive industries in Waterloo, including Seagram Distillery, one of the country's largest. He was a native of Galt, but moved to Waterloo in 1864.

Seagram's interest in the breeding and racing of thoroughbreds culminated in the famous Waterloo Seagram Stables winning the King's and Queen's Plate on fifteen occasions, including eight consecutive years. Very frequently thoroughbreds from the Seagram Stables won other outstanding racing events in Canada and the United States.

Seagram served his country with distinction as a member of the House of Commons, representing his home riding, as a Conservative from 1896 to 1908.

A particularly civic-minded citizen, he contributed in various ways to civic and charitable organizations and donated the land on which the present K-W Hospital was built.

John G. Seaton MD 1892-1959

Dr. John G. Seaton was for many years a highly regarded medical practitioner in the Sheffield-Galt area.

He took a keep interest in sports, particularly in rural areas. Recognizing a great need for the organization of rural groups to sponsor the promotion of a major winter sport and a summer sport for the enjoyment of players and spectators, he became a founder of both the Ontario Rural Hockey and the Rural Softball Associations. With his cofounder, Lorne Johannes of Blair, he contacted community-minded persons in Ontario. Organization meetings were held in Galt and within a short time many well-administered leagues were in operation and several thousand players were registered with the Associations.

Great improvements in playing fields and other facilities have been made in rural Ontario due to the foresight and leadership of Seaton and his associates.

Earl Seibert 1911-1990

Earl Walter Seibert played fifteen and a half seasons in the National Hockey League, and in that time he established himself as one of the all-time great defencemen.

Seibert was voted to NHL All-Star teams in ten consecutive seasons, making the first team in 1934-35, 1941-42, 1942-43 and 1943-44. He was noted for his rushing ability and accounted for 89 goals and a total of 276 points in scheduled league games, adding another eleven goals and eight assists in play-offs.

Born in Kitchener, Ontario on December 7, 1911, son of Oliver Seibert, Earl began skating at an early age and was a consistent winner in the annual skating carnival in Kitchener. His speed and strong body-checking as a junior player caught the eye of several pro clubs and he eventually turned pro in 1929 with the Springfield Indians, a farm club for the New York Rangers. He moved up to the Rangers in the 1931-32 season and almost immediately became a standout on defence. The Rangers traded him to Chicago in 1935-36, for Art Coulter, and ten years later he was traded for three players to Detroit.

Oliver L. Seibert 1881-1944

Skating and hockey were traditions of the Seibert family of Berlin, Ontario. Berlin was later renamed Kitchener, but the Seibert name has remained over the years as one of the greatest in the area.

Seibert was a very speedy and versatile player. He started as a goaltender for Berlin but switched to forward and starred for many years. He was born in Berlin, March 18, 1881, and at one time played on a team comprised entirely from his own family. Seibert was a leader in many respects. He was one of the first Canadians to play on artificial ice when his team played an exhibition game in St. Louis.

He was also the first Berlin player to turn pro. After playing for Berlin Rangers, champions of the Western Ontario hockey Association for six successive seasons from 1900 to 1906, Seibert became a pro with Houghton, Michigan. He also played pro with London and Guelph in the Ontario Pro League and Northwestern Michigan League.

Oliver died on May 15, 1944.

Richard "Ric" James Seiling b. 1957

Ric Seiling played his minor hockey in Elmira, and he won many Ontario Minor Hockey Association Championships. At the age of fifteen, he played Junior B hockey for the Elmira Sugar Kings who won their first league playoff championship. He was drafted to the Hamilton Fincups who won the 1975-76 Memorial Cup for Canada's Major Junior A Championship. He was selected to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team. The following year the franchise became the St. Catharines Fincups and represented Canada in the very first World Junior Championship, held in Czechoslovakia, and earned a silver medal.

Seiling was selected in the first round (14th overall) by the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL in the 1977 Amateur Draft, and was selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the sixth round of the World Hockey Association that same year. He joined the Buffalo Sabres for the 1977-78 season, making his mark as an all-round player on regular shift, power play and penalty killing. In January of 1981 he was hit in the left eye with a hockey stick and played another six years with only sight in his right eye.

Twice in his nine years, Seiling was voted the Sabres "Unsung Hero" and also received the "Charlie Barton Award" for the player who demonstrated a desire and dedication to the sport. He also received the "Star of Stars" for having the most accumulated points during the season for the three star selections after each home game.

Prior to the 1986 season, Seiling was traded to the Detroit Red Wings and played the 1986-87 season there and going to the NHL semi-finals. He concluded his professional playing career as a playing Assistant Coach for the Adirondack Red Wings in the 1987-88. He was responsible for developing young Red Wing prospects for the parent NHL Red Wings.

During his playing career as a right wing and center, Seiling played 738 NHL games, earning 387 points, including 179 goals and 208 assists. Seiling remained involved with the game at an amateur and Minor Pro level as a Coach and Director of Player Personnel in the NAJHL, OHL, CoHL, and the CHL.

Photograph Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto

Rod Seiling b. 1944

Rod Seiling played a total of 979 games in the National Hockey League for New York, Toronto, Washington and Atlanta over a span of seventeen years. As an all star defenceman, his point total was 62 goals and 269 assists.

Born in Elmira in 1944, he played his minor hockey in Elmira, winning many Ontario Minor Hockey Association championships. He was named MVP of the famous Goderich Peewee Tournament after scoring seven goals in just one game. He signed a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs and played for the St. Michaels Bussers at age fourteen and won the OHA Junior B title in 1961. He was on the Toronto Marlborough team when they won the 1964 Memorial Cup and was a member of the Canadian Olympic hockey team in the 1964 Insbrook Olympics.

He will be remembered as the key player in the five for two trades from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the New York Rangers.

Frank J. Selke 1893-1985

A hockey coach, manager, executive and a National Hockey League Governor from 1904 to 1964, Frank Selke was born in Kitchener, May 7, 1893. Starting out as a manager of the Iroquois Bantams, he maintained an unbroken string of winning teams. He organized the Berlin Union Jack Athletic Club in 1910 and reorganized the Toronto Marlboros in 1921.

With the aid of a few good friends, Selke was able to finance his amateur clubs without financial aid. His earnings from his electrical trade provided the funds and his leisure time was devoted to management.

In 1929 he joined Conn Smythe, acting as his assistant during the erection and management of Maple Leaf Gardens. In 1946 he moved to Montreal and assumed the post of managing director of the Montreal Canadiens. His organization of a farm system of Junior Hockey across Canada resulted in making the Canadiens the strongest team in professional hockey. The club won many league championships and Stanley Cups. The team's record of winning five successive Stanley Cups may never be equalled.

Absalom Shade 1793-1862

Galt owes its existence largely to the initiative and pioneering of Absalom Shade, a Pennsylvania carpenter who was hired by William Dickson to help open up Dumfries Township for settlers.

The area was surveyed in 1816 and a grist mill, sawmill and a store were erected in 1817. As the settlement, known appropriately as Shade's Mills, grew, produce had to be transported with difficulty through the treacherous Beverly Swamp. To overcome this, Shade arranged for the goods to be delivered in flat bottom boats, down the Grand River to Dunnville and through the Welland Canal to market.

The name of the community was changed to Galt in 1827 in honour of John Galt, a personal friend of Dickson.

In 1831 Shade was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly, representing Halton Riding, and in 1850 he was elected reeve of Dumfries Township.

Elven Shantz 1893-1984

The Swiss ancestors of Elven Shantz immigrated from Pennsylvania to Waterloo County in 1809. A son of Menno and Susanah Shantz, he was a Saskatchewan homesteader for ten years and later a monument manufacturer in Berlin.

Shantz was Past President of the Ontario Pioneer Community Foundation and a member of Waterloo District Heritage Foundation. The Hall of Fame is greatly indebted to his knowledge and guidance.

He has given outstanding service as Secretary of the Military problems Committee of the Historical Peace Churches; as an ombudsman for Mennonite conscientious objectors and as chairman of the Peace and Social Concern Committee. He represented the Old Order Mennonites and the Old Order Amish Mennonites in their requests for exemption from government programs that are in opposition to their beliefs. He organized the Mennonite Disaster Service of Ontario and initiated the New Hamburg sale that raised huge sums for humanity.

Shantz gave excellent service to Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church for more than fifty years. Through his work he has made a unique and lasting contribution to his fellow men.

Jacob Y. Shantz 1822-1909

Jacob Y. Shantz, who was born in Berlin in 1822, a farmer and operator of a sawmill, was responsible for the erection of a building for the market which became famous through the years. He built the 1869 Market House in which the basement was the market; the first storey the municipal office, the council chamber, the post office and the library and the second storey was a public meeting hall. In this building he served for one month as mayor in 1822.

Shantz also carved a place for himself in Canadian history through his work in arranging settlement of the Russian Mennonites in the Canadian West.

Milo Shantz 1932-2009

Milo Shantz was born in New Hamburg in 1932. Shantz' early involvement in the poultry business led to the development of Hybrid Turkeys, which was among the top three breeding companies in the world when the company was sold in 1981.

In 1975, Shantz' interest in the village of St. Jacobs began with the opening of the Stone Crock Restaurant. In the following 25 years, Shantz' involvements, through various companies and shareholder groups, were extensive. The most familiar of these include the St. Jacobs and Waterloo Farmers' Markets, the Ontario Livestock Exchange, the St. Jacobs Outlet Mall, a number of rental properties, and six long-term care homes for the elderly. As a result of his marketing, financial and operational skills, Shantz' vision put St. Jacobs on the international tourism map.

Shantz was involved in numerous community and church related organizations, including the Mennonite Economic Development Association, a leader in micro-enterprise development, and Habitat for Humanity which builds affordable housing around the world.

Mersynergy Charitable Foundation was created in 1983 as a vehicle through which to receive and distribute charitable gifts. The Foundation has close involvement with Mercare Homes, a residence for psychiatrically disabled individuals, foster care throughout Southern Ontario, the St. Jacobs Schoolhouse and Church Theatres, and the St. Jacobs Daycare.

Mercedes Corporation received the prestigious Business Achievement Award from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

Shantz was recognized by the community and many organizations for his entrepreneurship and community involvement. He received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, the Confederation Medal and Wilfrid Laurier University awarded him an Honourary Doctorate of Laws.

Ralph L. Shantz b. 1934

Ralph Shantz was first elected to Wilmot Township Council in 1967. For the next 39 years, 10 of them as mayor, he served his constituents with outstanding dedication and commitment. His decisions and actions significantly influenced heritage preservation, quality of life, and the rural nature of Wilmot Township and Waterloo Region.

Shantz was active in the Wilmot Agricultural Society, Heritage Wilmot, Baden Chamber of Commerce, the restoration of Castle Kilbride and the construction of the Township offices in Baden. Shantz was very involved in Wilmot's Millennium and the 150th Anniversary Celebrations in 2000, as well as the creation of the Oasis in the Centre.

Much passion and energy were expended in Wilmot Township's Recreation Complex opened in 2008. A strong advocate for the environment and agriculture, Shantz worked relentlessly to protect Wilmot's water quality and supply. He served on Shantz Mennonite Church Council and as an Elder. He also chaired the 150^th Anniversary Committee and chaired the committee that published a history book of the church.

Shantz served on the Grand River Conservation Authority, Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro, as a Commissioner and Chair of the Commission, and the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society. He co-ordinated the 2006 Christian Shantz Family Reunion, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the family's arrival in Waterloo County.

In 2005, the Provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing presented Shantz with a "Long Standing Service Recognition Award". In 2006, Wilmot Township Council named its newly renovated archives "The Ralph Shantz Reading Room." In 2007, Shantz was honoured with the "Community Builder Award", the second such award ever presented.

Born in 1934, Shantz has lived his entire life on the family farm on Erb's Road near Baden, Ontario. He is married to the former Dorothy Schmitt and has two daughters, Kerry and Lori.

Ross Shantz b. 1939

Ross Shantz was born in 1939 in New Hamburg. He worked at Shantz Farms Ltd. with beef cattle, grain, corn and turkey production, hatchery and processing. This experience led to the development of Hybrid Turkeys (Hybrid) in 1970, which eventually encompassed fourteen farms, two hatcheries and had affiliated operations in Brazil, Hungary and Ireland. Hybrid became one of the largest primary breeders of turkeys in the world and sold breeding stock and other products more than forty countries. In 1981, Hybrid Turkeys was sold to Hendrix International of the Netherlands and Ross continued for five years as President and served five years on the Board of Directors.

Shantz has been President of Mercedes Corporation since 1986 and he has worked along with his brother Milo in every venture except the founding of Mercedes. Shantz has been involved in the operation of the St. Jacobs and Waterloo Farmers' Markets, the Ontario Livestock Exchange, the St. Jacobs Outlet Mall, Countryside Furniture, a number of rental properties, and six long-term care homes for the elderly.

Shantz believes in contributing to his community. He has been active with Habitat for Humanity, Mennonite Economic Development Association, the House of Friendship and the Mennonite Foundation of Canada.

Mersynergy Charitable Foundation was created in 1983 as a vehicle through which to receive and distribute charitable gifts. The Foundation has close involvement with Mercare Homes, a residence for psychiatrically disabled individuals, foster care throughout Southern Ontario, the St. Jacobs Schoolhouse and Church Theatres, and the St. Jacobs Daycare.

Photograph courtesy of Forde Studio, Kitchener

Donald McQueen Shaver 1920-2018

Donald Shaver of Galt, a descendant of United Empire Loyalists, succeeded in breeding championship egg-laying hens at the age of twelve.

Following service as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Tank Corps in World War II, he became a professional poultry breeder, and in 1954 developed a small-framed leghorn, named Shaver Starcross 288 for the number of eggs laid in one year. It became the world's champion egg layer and was continuously awarded the Poultry Tribune Trophy, emblematic of world leadership. Later he developed the Starbro boiler, an outstanding meat producer.

Through modern technology and business management, Shaver expanded into the export field, with regional headquarters in Britain, France, Germany and the United States, with joint ventures in Pakistan, and distributors and breeding farms in seventy countries. Shaver advocated and practised the sharing of modern food-producing technology with developing nations. He was awarded a Centennial Medal by the Ontario Agricultural College in 1974.

Ronald Frank Shaver b. 1951

Ron Shaver was born in Galt, Ontario on June 16, 1951. Ron starting skating with the Galt Figure Skating Club at age five. He won many Western Ontario Championships. At age seventeen, although still a resident of Galt, he transferred to the Stoney Creek Skating Club in order to follow his teaching Pro. He then entered the Canadian Championship Competitors. Ron Shaver won the Skate Canada International Championship in 1974 and in 1976. He won the Canadian Men's Figure Skating Championship in 1977.

Shaver was runner-up in the Canadian Men's Figure Skating Championship of three occasions. He has represented Canada in International Competitions at various places. Among these is St. Gervais, France where in International Competition he finished second behind John Currie of Britain. He has skated in Moscow, Tokyo, Germany, Czechoslovakia and Sweden.

Ron turned professional with Ice Capades in 1977.

Bill Shaw 1928-2002

Bill Shaw was born near Hespeler (Cambridge) in 1928. He attended Galt Collegiate Institute and in 1951 he graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Business. He received an MBA from McMaster University in 1966.

Shaw worked for Ford Motor Company in Windsor and then worked in product development for CCM in Toronto.

In 1968 Shaw joined Multiscreen Corporation (now Imax Corporation) to design and develop the IMAX Projection System. This revolutionary technology allows a film to be projected onto a massive screen and makes the viewer feel that they are part of the action. The first public IMAX showing was at EXPO 70 in Osaka, Japan. This installation led to the first permanent IMAX theatre at the Cinesphere at Ontario Place, Toronto in 1971. There are now over 225 IMAX theatres in over thirty countries around the world. Over 180 IMAX films take the viewer to interesting places like outer space, to the top of Mount Everest, to the bottom of the Atlantic, and to the wreck of RMS Titanic.

In 1986 Shaw accepted a Scientific and Technical Achievement award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science (which was upgraded to an Oscar in 1996). He received the Leonardo da Vinci Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the John Grierson International Gold Medal from the Society of Motion Picture Television Engineers and an engineering medal from the association of Professional Engineers of Ontario. The IMAX Founder's Award for major contributions to the 15 perf/70 mm giant screen industry was presented posthumously.

While working at IMAX Corporation, Shaw lived in Streetsville, Ontario. In 1994 he moved back to Cambridge for five years, and then settled in Dorset (near Huntsville). Shaw was always active in his communities, most notably in his church St. Andrew's Presbyterian (Streetsville and Huntsville), Streetsville Musicorp's JUSTUS, and the Huntsville Community Choir. He engineered the restoration and expansion of both churches. Four university scholarship funds were set up by Shaw at the University of Toronto to encourage future Canadian engineering successes. In addition to his singing, Shaw was interested in boats, engines, motorcycles, skiing and curling

Joseph (Schoerg) Sherk (1769-1855) Samuel D. Betzner (1770-1856)

The first two settlers in Waterloo County were Joseph (Schoerg) Sherk and Samuel D. Betzner, of Franklin County, Pennsylvania. It was in honour of them and other early settlers who followed, that the Pioneer Memorial Tower was erected in Kitchener near the actual spot where they cleared land and built their pioneer homes.

Sherk and Betzner came to Canada in the fall of 1799.

In the spring of 1800, Sherk and his wife settled on Lot No.11, B.F. Beasley Black, S.R., on the bank of the Grand River opposite Doon, and Betzner and his wife settled on the west bank of the Grand, on a farm near the village of Blair.

Peter Shirk 1839-1919

Peter Shirk, a Pennsylvania German Mennonite, came to Waterloo Township in 1861. In 1866 he purchased the Blair Mill, which he sold three years later, and with Samuel Snider then formed the Shirk and Snider Milling Company, Bridgeport. In 1889 he increased the firm's flour-making capacity to 250 barrels a day by purchasing the Baden Mill.

Shirk was a man of high repute in Mennonite and other circles and he held various public offices. He was treasurer of Waterloo Township from 1892-1912. His son George succeeded him in the office from 1912 to1927 and his grandson Allen held the position from 1927 to 1942, making a total of fifty years that members of the Shirk family carried out the duties of this office.

Shirk was also a member of the Berlin High School Board from 1878 to 1904.

He was the father of five sons and eight daughters.

Dorothy R. Shoemaker 1906-2000

Dorothy Shoemaker was born in Berlin (Kitchener) in 1906. She graduated from University College at the University of Toronto and later from the library science course at Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.

She began her library service in Kitchener as a part-time helper in the children's department and later specialized in reference work. After becoming chief librarian in 1944, many new services were added, including a bookmobile service to area schools. Her tenacious crusade of seventeen years for a new library building, resulted in its opening in 1962. She retired from the Library in 1971.

She was a charter member of the Canadian Library Association, president of the Ontario Library Association, president of the KW branch of the Canadian Federation of University Women and a member of the Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery board. To honour Dorothy on her retirement, the Library Board named their literary awards the Dorothy Shoemaker Literary Awards to encourage and recognize the creative writing of children, young people and adults. In July 1996, an anonymous gift of an endowment fund, to be administered by the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation, assured the perpetuation of the awards.

Jacob S. Shoemaker 1798-1875

Jacob S. Shoemaker, the founder of Bridgeport, had the unique distinction of being the one who sent out scouts to warn William Lyon Mackenzie that efforts were being made to capture him. MacKenzie was taken across the Grand River and guided to Bush Inn, Doon, from where he escaped to Buffalo.

Shoemaker came from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, to Abraham Erb, a miller in Waterloo in 1820. He managed the Waterloo mills for two years. In the late 1820s he purchased a lot in the area now comprising Bridgeport and constructed a large dam and sawmill. In 1830 he erected extensive mills and was soon proprietor of a sawmill, flour mill, store, woollen mills and a distillery. The flour mill, enlarged before 1851, when there was a financial depression, was destroyed by fire in 1970.

This settlement was known as Shoemaker's Mills, then Lancaster, later Glasgow, and eventually Bridgeport.

Albert "Babe" Siebert 1904-1939

A great hockey player, with a heart as big as his massive body, was lost August 25, 1939, when Albert C. "Babe" Siebert drowned at St. Joseph, Ontario.

The Babe was born in Plattsville, Ontario, January 14, 1904, and played his minor hockey in Zurich, Ontario. He played for Kitchener in the Ontario Hockey Association junior league in 1922 to 1923. Although still a junior, he moved up to play for Niagara Falls seniors in 1924 to 1925 and made the jump into the National Hockey League the following season with the Montreal Maroons.

Siebert was an outstanding left-winger at that time, and combined with Nels Stewart and Hooley Smith to form the highly-rated S-line which functioned effectively for five seasons. The line was broken with dramatic suddenness in 1932 when Stewart was traded to Boston and Siebert to New York Rangers. Siebert later went to Boston, then returned to Montreal to play for the Canadians in 1936 to 1937. By this time his speed had gone but Babe had developed into an outstanding defenceman. He was so good, in fact, that he was voted the Hart Trophy that season.

He was named to the first all-star team on defence three consecutive seasons, starting with 1935 to 1936.

William Simpson 1832-1912

William Simpson, known affectionately as "Daddy" Simpson was called the father of the furniture industry in Waterloo. He was five months old when his parents immigrated to Canada in 1832 and settled in St. George, where William received his education.

He became apprenticed to a cabinetmaker at Hamilton and learned the art of furniture making thoroughly. In 1856 he assumed control of one of the two furniture factories in Berlin and continued with various partners until the business was sold to Canada Furniture Manufacturers, Limited.

Harvey J. Sims 1871-1945

Born in Waterloo, Harvey J. Sims graduated from Trinity College, University of Toronto, and completed his law course at Osgoode Hall. In 1921 he was made King's Counsel and became a well-known authority on municipal law, acting as Kitchener's solicitor for many years. He was a leading authority on insurance law and was author of Life Insurance Contracts in Canada.

He was one of the founders of the K-W Granite Club, president of the Ontario Lawn Bowling Association and president of the Ontario Curling Association. He was a member of the Kitchener rink which represented Canada at the 1932 winter Olympics. He was a charter member of the K-W Rotary Club and served on the senate of the University of Toronto. His country residence, Chicopee, was one of the outstanding examples of amateur landscaping in the province.

Reverend James Sims 1812-1880

James Sims was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1812 and spent his early life farming there before immigrating to Canada with his wife Janet in 1837. They settled near Hawkesville in the Queen's Bush, Wellesley Township.

A widely read, self-educated man, Sims taught himself Hebrew and Greek in order to better understand the scriptures. He became a significant religious and educational leader in Waterloo County in the 1800s.

After working a couple of summers in Doon, he joined the Baptist Church in Blair and became a Baptist Minister in 1842. He was pastor of that church for 20 years and was known as Elder Sims. Every other week from 1845 to 1860 he travelled by horseback from Wellesley Township to Blair where he preached twice on Sunday, returning home the next day. He was active in the temperance movement and was a student of prophecy. He later left the Baptist Church to join the Christadelphians.

Sims was perhaps best known for his significant leadership role in promoting public education. In 1853, when Waterloo County was established, he became the first Superintendent of Schools for the Townships of Woolwich and Wellesley. He also became the first Chairman of the Board of Public Instruction. In these roles he strongly encouraged new settlers to establish and support schools. He befriended teachers and many young people decided to become teachers based on his advice. He was frequently consulted by both trustees and teachers on educational matters.

In 1867, Sims sold the farm on which he had lived and apparently retired from his active community work. He died in Waterloo in 1880. 

Image courtesy of the Waterloo Historical Society.

Darryl Sittler b. 1950

Born on September 18, 1950, in Kitchener, Sittler started his professional hockey career when he was chosen by the Toronto Maple Leafs from the London Knights in the first round of the 1970 entry draft. He played 1,096 games in fifteen seasons with the Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings, retiring in 1984.

Sittler scored 484 goals, ranking eighteenth in most goals scored in NHL history. His 1,121 points put him seventeenth on the career point's list. He established the NHL mark for the most points (ten) in one game. In 1976 Sittler's overtime goal against Czechoslovakia gave Team Canada a 5-4 victory in the final of the first Canada Cup. Sittler was one of the most respected Leaf Captains (1975-1981) in history.

He is a prominent figure in the community, lending support to charity projects and minor sports organizations. He lives in Amherst, NY and is employed in public relations.

Alan R.G. Smith 1879-1950

Alan R.G. Smith was born on Churchill Farm in Wilmot Township. A public servant most of his life, he served as secretary of the Wilmot Agricultural Society, the New Hamburg Board of Trade and the Waterloo County Mothers Allowance Board. He was president of the Ontario Association of Fairs and Exhibitions, the Ontario Experimental Union and the Waterloo Crop Improvement Association.

For thirteen years he lectured for the Ontario Department of Agriculture and spearheaded a campaign to eradicate sow thistles in Western Ontario. He was District Weed Inspector for several years and was an active member of the Farmers Institute.

For several years he was superintendent of the Ontario Government's "Soils and Crops Train" - a project with speakers encouraging farms to use up-to-date methods of farming.

Smith's interest in local history led to the discovery of native artifacts in the Baden Hills area and he wrote a number of articles for the Waterloo Historical Society's annual volume.

Doug Smith

A native of Rockton, a few miles east of Cambridge, Doug Smith contributed football skills which helped Glenview Park Secondary School win the South Waterloo Championship in 1970. From there he attended Wilfrid Laurier University, played for the Golden Hawks and won All-Canadian University recognition in 1973.

Joining the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 1974, Smith continued his career there until 1980, was CFL Eastern All-star Centre in 1979 and helped the Alouettes win Grey Cups in 1974 and 1977. He played for the Toronto Argonauts in 1981 and 1982 and finished his career with the Montreal Concordes in1983 and 1984. He was team captain during his last six years of playing.

Father of three children, Smith works with an academic book publishing company, plays recreational hockey, coaches and referees.

Photograph Courtesy of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

J. Albert Smith 1894-1971

Ron Smith 1944 - 2017

Ron Smith was born in 1944 in Galt (Cambridge) and had a distinguished sporting career, initially as a local athlete, and then in a professional administration and coaching/managing career in ice hockey. Smith's coaching career, including high school, junior, university and professional leagues, has spanned 35 years.

Smith held head coaching jobs in the National Hockey League (NHL), American Hockey League (AHL) and International Hockey League (IHL). In his 11 year professional coaching career, Smith had a combined 427-319-83-12 record while coaching the New York Rangers (NHL), Binghamton Rangers (AHL), Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL) and Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL).

Prior to joining the professional coaching ranks, Smith was the head coach at York University, and served as Director of Player Personnel with the Canadian Olympic Program. He was also appointed to the position of Technical Director for the Ontario Hockey Association, and was instrumental in developing the Canadian National Coach Certification program.

Previous to his coaching career, Smith was a standout senior hockey player and professional baseball player as a shortstop in the San Francisco Giants' organization.

Vincent Smith, Community Service

Teacher and lay minister, Vincent Smith was a role model who emphasized that academic excellence and hard work were the most effective paths to success. Vincent’s influence and inspiration reached far beyond his classroom teaching as he fulfilled speaking engagements, conducted pre-marital and personal counselling, and served as a community historian.

Karen Snelgrove b. 1969

Karen Snelgrove began her career at age seven playing T-Ball. From 1976 to 1984, she moved up through the Kitchener Minor Girl's Softball League, culminating in the Kitchener CHYM Belles (Bantam). During this period she won numerous honours as best pitcher, MVP and all star awards. She excelled at several sports while attending Grand River Collegiate and was selected Female Athlete of the Year in 1988. From 1985 to 1990, while still of Bantam age, Snelgrove jumped to the Kitchener Waterloo Civitans and helped them win three National Championships.

From 1994 to 1996, Snelgrove played Senior Women's Ball for the Dorchester Jesters, with time permitting while she was in the National Training Program. Selected to Canada's National Junior Women's Team in 1987, she competed in the World Junior Championships held in Oklahoma.

She was awarded a softball scholarship to the University of Columbia, Missouri from 1988 to 1992 and helped Missouri win a berth in the College World Series in Oklahoma. In 1990 she led the National Division with an ERA of .180. In 1991 Snelgrove pitched back-to-back perfect games, was Academic All-American, and in 1992 was Missouri Female College Athlete of the Year and Athletic All-American. From 1988 to 1992, she set five University softball records, most notably ERA for a season of .180, ERA for a career .380, and tossed four perfect games. She held a career record of 78-29, including 25-6, and was named to the Big-Eight all tournament team four times. In 1998 she was inducted into the Missouri's Athletic Hall of Fame, only the second softball player to receive this honour in the history of the University.

In 1990, Snelgrove was selected to Canada's National Senior Women's Softball Team. The following year they won the silver medal at the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Cuba. In 1994 the Team attended the South Pacific Softball Classic in Sydney, Australia and the World Championships in St. John's, Newfoundland. In 1995 they attended the Pan Am Games in Argentina.

Named to Canada's Olympic Team in 1995, Snelgrove played in the Olympic Games in Atlanta and was considered by many to be Canada's top pitcher at those games, especially given her performance against the USA. The American team went on to win the gold medal while Canada finished fifth.

Elias Weber Bingeman Snider 1842-1921

E.W.B. Snider, a native of Waterloo, was one of the "Fathers of Ontario Hydro." Recognition of his pioneering, with its great benefits to Waterloo County, is perpetuated in a 20-foot monument erected in St. Jacobs in 1956, which was unveiled by the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, Louis O. Breithaupt, and on which a light burns continuously.

After working at his father's flour mill at German Mills he purchased a mill at St. Jacobs. He established the Snider Lumber Co. in Gravenhurst to provide lumber for barrels.

He promoted the Berlin and Elmira Railway Co., and then bought a Waterloo foundry that led to the incorporation of the Waterloo Manufacturing Co., producing modern machinery to harvest more western wheat.

He was elected to the Ontario legislature for North Waterloo in 1881 and served for thirteen years. It was said of him: "He was a combination of idealist and practical man of affairs. When one dream was achieved, he went on to the next."

Henry Snider 1811-1877

Henry Snider was a very successful farmer and businessman in Bloomingdale, Ontario. His father Jacob (Yoch) Schneider had sixteen children, and on his 3,000 acres of land, much of which bordered the Grand River, he established a school and church for the educational needs of his large family. Henry Snider purchased portions of land from his father, and here developed his farm. He also owned a flour and feed mill at Conestogo, a sawmill in Pilkington Township and had an interest in the Doon Linen Mill. In 1871 he operated a general store in Conestogo with Charles Hendry.

Snider was one of the commissioners who purchased the lot on which the Bloomingdale School was built in 1842. He served as councillor of Waterloo Township and was deputy reeve from 1854-1858. He was one of the first directors of the Waterloo County Agricultural Society.

Beatrice Snyder 1908-1998

Beatrice Miller Snyder was born in Wilmot Township and spent most of her life there.

She became adept at feeding large numbers of people when, as a young housewife, she was required to feed employees of her husband's transport business. Because of this expertise, she was often called on to supervise meal preparation for large groups of people at annual church conferences and other meetings.

In addition, she published a booklet of recipes and guidelines for the preparation of large scale meals and a book Pennsylvania German Customs and Cookery.

She served on many boards and committees, including the Waterloo Regional Folk Arts Council and Festival, the Waterloo Farm and Home Safety Association, the Central Ontario Exhibition, Kitchener Theatre Arts Centre committee, farm forums, the Pennsylvania-German Folklore Society, Shantz Mennonite Church Women's Missionary Service Auxiliary, the Women's Institute and the Waterloo County Federation of Agriculture.

Donald Snyder

Donald Snyder spent his more than 50 year career working so that the food we consume is safe and properly labelled.  Working for various food production companies, he wrote regulations for food safety, food specifications, food fraud and developing food standards.

Snyder was born in Waterloo. His father co-owned Maple Lane Dairy in Kitchener with his uncle.  Snyder started the first quality control laboratory at Maple Lane to test dairy products coming into the plant to guarantee the safety and quality of the products being produced.

Maple Lane's laboratory and production methods were considered innovative.  The dairy was one of the first to move away from transporting raw milk in cans to bulk haulage and high temperature short-term pasteurizing.

In the 1970s, Beatrice Foods bought Maple Lane and Snyder was placed in charge of quality control at their milk production facilities, in addition to small animal feed and cookie wafer operations in Ontario and western Canada.  Snyder became Corporate Vice-President of Technical Services.  In 1997, Parmalat bought Beatrice Foods and Snyder was made Vice-President of Technical and Environmental Affairs for Parmalat Canada.

Snyder was actively involved in manufacturing associations, including the Ontario Dairy Council and the Food Consumer Product Manufacturers of Canada.  He was also a member of the committee who created the National Dairy Code, and has been made an honorary lifetime member of the International Dairy Federation Canada for his outstanding contributions to the Canadian dairy industry.

In Waterloo Region, Snyder has been involved with many community organizations including serving on the Board of Conrad Grebel University College, Secretary of the Mennonite Conference of Ontario, and volunteering with the Ontario Mennonite Relief sale and Kitchener-Waterloo Out of the Cold Program.

Photograph courtesy of Ken Jantzi.

Fred M. Snyder 1898-1978

Fred M. Snyder was born and farmed on Airvue Farm in Waterloo County. Consistent dedication to stock improvement made him an extremely successful breeder and Fair Competition Judge, and an international authority on Holstein cattle. Large numbers of his herd, the Airvue Strain, were shipped abroad. He has given invaluable assistance to young Canadian farmers.

Snyder was President of the Waterloo Holstein Club and the Canadian Holstein Association. He received the Master Breeder's Award, the highest honour the latter Association can bestow. He promoted the Artificial Insemination program ; received a Certificate for Meritorious work from the Waterloo County Federation of Agriculture, and the Premier Breeders and Exhibitors Plaques. He was a founder of the Waterloo County Co-operative Supplies and a life member of the Dairy Shrine Club of America.

He had been a member of the Waterloo Lions Club, the Retired Business and Professional Men's Club, was a charter member of the Board of Doon Pioneer Village, and a member of the Board of Trustees of First United Church, Waterloo.

Graham & LuAnn Snyder, Hockey

Elmira’s Graham and LuAnn Snyder have long been involved with local hockey. In honour of their son, Graham and LuAnn created both the Dan Snyder Memorial Scholarship and the Dan Snyder Fund in order to provide support to athletes and teams in Woolwich Township. The couple were also instrumental in fundraising for the building of the Woolwich Memorial Centre, which opened in 2009.

James "Jim" Snyder 1919-2011

Born in Waterloo in 1919, Jim Snyder excelled in badminton and in 1940 won the Canadian Amateur Badminton Singles Championship and at the same tournament, he and his brother Paul, won the Canadian Amateur Doubles Championship in Winnipeg.

In 1939, the brothers won the Canadian Badminton Open Doubles Championship at Massey Hall in Toronto. This was a first in Canadian History that an Open Badminton Championship was held in which both professional and amateur players from Canada, United States and other countries participated.

Both brothers served in the second world war in the RCAF Paul died in action in 1941 and is buried in Holland. Jim was awarded the AFC and an injury from a plane crash while in the service in 1945 terminated his badminton career.

Joseph G. Snyder 1928-2013

Joe Snyder, a life long resident of the Region of Waterloo, was born in 1928 at Oak Shade Farm in Waterloo.  In 1949 the well-known Oak Shade herd of cattle, which Snyder co-managed as a teenager, was dispersed.  Snyder then became one of the early pioneers of the artificial insemination (AI) industry as an Assistant Manager of the Waterloo Cattle Breeding Association (WCBA).  He was the first person involved in helping farmers to decide which bull to breed with a particular cow in order to achieve maximum herd improvement.  Snyder was involved in the early experimental use of frozen semen at the farm level.  He used his excellent communication skills to promote the benefits of AI to farmers, as well as the benefits of milk recording and type classification.

In 1961, Snyder joined the Holstein Association of Canada as the Fieldman for the West-Central Ontario district.  He traveled thousands of miles making farm visits, answering requests for management and record keeping advice, and encouraging farmers to make use of milk recording, classification and corrective mating.

In 1980 Snyder became Secretary-Manager of the newly formed Ontario Branch of Holstein Canada, a position he held until retiring.  Among his achievements while at the Ontario Branch was his leadership of 4-H and Junior Membership activities and Ontario's Holstein success at the Madison World Dairy Expo in winning the State herd class twelve years in a row. 

Snyder was also a booster of athletic activities in his community.  He is a past president of the Woolwich Minor Hockey League and coached a church league hockey team for many years.

Snyder was always committed to his church.  He was moderator of the Mennonite Church of Eastern Canada for a number of years and was on the Board of Governors of Conrad Grebel College, Fairview Mennonite Home and President of the Ontario Mennonite Mission Board.  For twenty years, fourteen as Chairman, Snyder served on the Ontario Mennonite Relief Heifer Sale that has raised millions of dollars for worldwide relief and development work.  Snyder volunteered with Woolwich Community Care Concepts, House of Friendship, Woolwich Information Center and hosted The Meeting Place (Mennonite Heritage Centre) in St. Jacobs.

Peter Etril Snyder 1944-2017

Peter Etril Snyder is a Waterloo-born artist who, as a child did chores for his father, co-owner of Maple Lane Dairy. Snyder received his formal training from the Ontario College of Art. For the past thirty-five years, he has demonstrated his versatility in paintings of Mennonite country life as well as scenes from across North America and Europe. Snyder continues to express in his work his deep sense of place. Rooted in Waterloo County, he has showcased the traditional Mennonite lifestyle and its connection to our pioneer past. He has exhibited his style through original paintings and murals, limited edition reproductions, collector plates, and books. The Canadian government presented one of Snyder's paintings, The Homesteaders, to H.R.H. Prince Philip.

Snyder uses his abilities throughout the community. For the past twelve years he has donated approximately 25,000 monthly calendars to volunteers throughout the Region. Snyder is also involved in KidsAbility, formerly the Rotary Centre. His art is included in the rotunda of the KidsAbility centre as well as given as thank-you gifts for donors to the centre.

Snyder is a Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellow and the recipient of an Honourary Doctor of Laws degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1999. He is frequently commissioned by corporations and individuals to create unique pieces for collections. Snyder's wife, Marilyn, is one of his greatest supporters and works with him out of their home. His brother, Doug, has for over twenty-five years provided day-to-day management of his gallery and many specialty projects.

Photo by Pirak Studios, Waterloo

Roy G. Snyder 1915-2015

Roy G. Snyder was born in Waterloo County in 1915.  His achievements in the agricultural field brought him the honour of inclusion in the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame, Toronto, in July 1982 as well as several other honours.

Snyder was a pioneer of artificial insemination as the first full-time employee of the Waterloo Cattle Breeding Association, and its manager from 1946 to 1963.  He established the Association as the very early artificial insemination centres in Canada.  He was instrumental in importing the first pure bred Charolais bull to Canada which was followed by his involvement with establishing many other exotic beef breeds.  More important were the dairy breeds especially Holsteins.  Under his management the Waterloo Cattle Breeding Association became the first in the world to use 100% frozen semen in 1954.

Snyder served as secretary-manager and President of the Ontario Association of Animal Breeders from 1952 to 1977 and was secretary-treasurer of the Canadian Association of Animal Breeders in 1964.  He also served as President of the Waterloo Cooperative Medical Services and the Comparative Health Services of Ontario, and as a member of the Board of Governors of Conrad Grebel College, University of Waterloo, as well as several other boards.  At retirement Snyder was manager of Semex Canada.

Walter Harold Somerville CBE 1881-1959

Theobald Spetz CR, DD 1850-1921

The grandson of the first Roman Catholic from Europe to settle in the Erbsville area, Thoebald Spetz graduated from St. Jerome's College in 1870, studied and taught at St. Mary's College, Kentucky, and in Rome, being ordained a priest in 1877. He returned to St. Jerome's in 1878 and remained as professor of history, disciplinarian and president until 1901.

In 1890 he established a Catholic congregation in Waterloo and in 1911 assumed charge of St. Mary's in Berlin. Father Spetz had an active interest in public life and was a valued member of the Children's Aid Society and vice-president of the Waterloo Historical Society when it was founded. He was a man of erudition, critical judgement and unbiased views.

Following many years of research in 1916 his scholarly book The Catholic Church in Waterloo County, 1850-1916" was published.

David Spiers 1832-1917

The Galt Collegiate Institute, built while he was mayor, has been described as a A fitting monument to the steady character and civic usefulness of David Spiers, who came from Scotland at the age of nine.

Spiers started his business career in the Andrew Elliott and Company store, became a manufacturer and bought the local electric and gas plants. He owned and operated an oatmeal mill and was associated with a number of firms, including the Galt Art Metal Company of which he was president. He was an original promoter of the Galt, Preston and Hespeler Railway.

Spiers served on the town council for twenty-five years and was mayor from 1880 to 1882. A member of the collegiate board for forty-three years, including twenty-eight years as chairman, and president of the hospital board for eighteen years, he was untiring in his efforts to advance the interests of his community.

Moses Springer 1824-1898

A great organizer, leader, and a self-made man, Moses Springer was in 1863 appointed the first President of the Waterloo County Mutual Fire Insurance Company (later the Waterloo Mutual Insurance Company).

Orphaned at ten, he had a limited education, and was entirely dependent on his own resources. A Mennonite, he eventually became a ward of Bishop Joseph Hagey of Preston. He farmed until twenty, and later became a conveyancer and general insurance agent.

In 1852 he was appointed magistrate for Waterloo. He was first reeve of the village of Waterloo, in 1857 for fifteen years; was the first mayor of the Town of Waterloo in 1876 for two years and became sheriff of Waterloo County in 1881. He was a member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly for North Waterloo from1867 to 1881.

Edna Staebler 1906-2006

Edna Louise Cress was born in Berlin (Kitchener) in 1906. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto in 1929 and the Ontario College of Education in 1931.

From 1966 to 1995, Staebler authored twenty-one best selling books including Sauerkraut and Enterprise, Food that Really Schmecks, Cape Breton Harbour, More Food that Really Schmecks, Whatever Happened to Maggie, Schmecks Appeal, Schmecks Appeal Series, Haven't any News, Ruby's Letters, The Electrohome Story and Places I've Been and People I've Known.

She earned distinction as a pioneering woman journalist writing for Maclean's, Chatelaine, Saturday Night, Readers' Digest and Star Weekly while chronicling lifestyles of Canadians. She lived on Old Order Mennonite and Amish farms, on a Hutterite Colony, in the Nova Scotia African-Canadian community, on an Iroquois Reservation, in a miner's home in Wawa, in Newfoundland, and in a swordfisherman's home in Cape Breton.

Staebler received many awards and honours including the Order of Canada in 1996, Province of Ontario Senior Achievement Award 1989; Canadian National Magazine Award 1989, a 1989 KW Arts Award and the 1998 KW Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement, KW Woman of the Year in 1980, and the 1996 Lifetime Achievement Award of Cuisine Canada to be called "The Edna" in perpetuity.

As a philanthropist, Staebler was the donor of the Edna Staebler Annual Awards for creative non-fiction at Wilfrid Laurier University; she endowed the Writer-in-Residence Program at the Kitchener Public Library; and she was the donor of the Edna Staebler Fellowship at the Joseph Schneider Haus Museum.

Photograph Courtesy the Kitchener-Waterloo Record Photographic Negative Collection.

Levi Stauffer 1839-1909

Levi Stauffer, who was born on a farm near Waterloo, was a farmer all his life.

Stauffer was one of the founders of the North Waterloo Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. in 1874, and its first president. The Company started business in rented quarters in the Central Block, 16 King St. S. Waterloo. He became secretary, and later was made Manager, a position to which he was reappointed annually for thirty-three years. The company expanded from Waterloo County and eventually became a Provincial company. In a history, high tribute was paid to Stauffer's leadership, which brought the company to its leading financial position.

Stauffer was an active member of the United Brethren Church in Kitchener and later of the Methodist Church in Waterloo.

Alvis P. "Peggy" Stayt 1908-1985

Born in England, Peggy came to Kitchener in 1950. She set up a new agency, the Family Services Bureau ,later K-W Counselling Services, and became the executive director. In 1975 she was honoured at a provincial ceremonial dinner for her contributions in the social service field and was cited for her role in establishing the K-W Social Planning Council, founding the local Parents Without Partners and her membership on the board of governors of the Canadian Welfare Council.

Stayt founded and served as chairman of the K-W Red Cross homemaker service and initiated the After Four Club for children aged seven to ten whose parents worked outside of the home.

She was president of the K-W Philatelic Society, was chairman for local stamp shows and took many awards for her fine collection. She retired in 1976 and returned to England where she died.

Jean Margaret Steckle 1929-2003

Jean Steckle was born in Waterloo Township. She graduated with a Bachelor of Household Science from the University of Guelph, a Master of Science from Cornell University and a PhD from the University of Reading.

Steckle spent eighteen years in the field of international development, beginning as an economics expert in the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in Ghana in 1958. For three years in the late 1960s, she served as chief of Technical Services in the Home Economics branch of FAO's Nutrition Division in Rome. When she returned to Canada in 1976, she became nutrition consultant for Health and Welfare Canada's Indian and Northern Health Services. Steckle was named Canadian representative to the United Nations Administrative Commission on Nutrition in Paris in 1980 and in Washington in 1987. She chaired the National Native Diabetes Working Group and she directed a national study on infant feeding practices for Native women.

In 1990, she received the Assembly of First Nations Award for her pioneering work in public health with Native People. In 1993, she received the Alumnus of Honour award from her peers at the University of Guelph and in 1995, Jean received a Distinguished Career award from the United Nations. After her retirement, Jean dedicated herself to the project of converting the family farm into the J. Steckle Heritage Homestead, an educational facility devoted to urban children and immigrant families.

John Steckle 1889-1981

John Steckle, who graduated from the Ontario Agricultural College in 1920, was one of the best known and most successful farmers in the Waterloo Region. He was born in the house built by his grandfather, a Swiss Mennonite minister, and was living in it raising purebred Suffolk sheep when he died. He raised purebred livestock, Holstein cattle, Yorkshire pigs and Morgan horses.

The first president of the Waterloo Holstein Association, he helped found the Waterloo Cattle Breeders Association, was a director of the Canadian Holstein Friesian Association, a member of the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame, the Waterloo County Ratepayers Association and the Children's Aid Society.

He donated a sugar maple bush to the City of Kitchener, which has been kept in its natural state, and in the spring is carpeted with trilliums. In 1977 he donated and helped finance the moving of the historic Sam Bricker barn from his farm to Doon Pioneer Village.

Robert J. Steckle b. 1930

Robert J. Steckle was a farm boy and a native of the Kitchener area where his parents farmed for many years.

Steckle started wrestling while he was going to school, although most of his later wrestling was done at the YMCA where he won many championships.

He was an outstanding champion in Freestyle and Greco-Roman in the light heavyweight class. Steckle won the Canadian Freestyle championship nine times between the years of 1951 and 1963. He also won the Canadian championship in Greco-Roman three times, and the United States National championship in 1955 and 1957.

Adding to these accomplishments, Steckle represented Canada in three Olympic Games: 1952, 1956 and 1960; two British Empire Games in 1954 and 1958; the Pan American Games in 1963 where he won a silver medal; and the World Championships in 1962.

Susannah I. Steckle 1898-1985

Susannah Chase was born on March 29, 1898, in King's County, Nova Scotia. She came to the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, and in 1921 was the first woman in Ontario to graduate from an agricultural course. Returning to the Annapolis Valley, she was the first woman president of the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers' Association and was named an honorary member in 1948.

When she married John Steckle in 1928, she started a seven- acre orchard on the homestead on Bleams Road. She sold apples, pears, vegetables and flowers at the Kitchener Farmers' Market for many years.

Steckle was active on the K-W Council of Friendship, the Waterloo County Children's Aid Society, the Kitchener YWCA, Trinity United Church and was the first president of the Helena Feasby branch of the Women's Institute. She was famed for her trillium teas which took place in Steckle Park which was later donated to the city by her husband, John Steckle.

J.E. Wallace Sterling 1906-1985

J.E. Wallace Sterling was a minister's son, born August 6, 1906, in Linwood, Ontario. He attended Victoria College, Toronto, receiving his B.A. in 1927. He excelled in football and basketball and later coached these sports while studying for his M.A. at the University of Alberta. After receiving his PhD from Stanford in 1938, Sterling was appointed assistant professor of history at the California Institute of Technology, becoming chairman of the department within seven years. During the same period, and continuing until 1948, he was a regular commentator on the CBS evening network news.

In 1949 Sterling began his nineteen-year presidency of Stanford. On his retirement in 1968, he became the Chancellor, an honorary and advisory position which kept him particularly active in the field of fund raising. During his presidency, Stanford rose from 15th to third place nationally in the number of highly ranked graduate fifteenth programmes.

Honorary degrees were bestowed on him by universities in the United States and Canada. Queen Elizabeth awarded him honorary knighthood in 1976. In addition, he was honoured by Japan, Austria, France and the Federal Republic of Germany.

Scott Stevens b. 1964

Scott Stevens, a Kitchener native born in 1964, played his minor hockey locally and was a member of the Kitchener Rangers in 1981, and 1982 when the Rangers won the Memorial Cup, developing a reputation as a clean, hard-hitting defence-man.

In the 1982 Professional Draft, Stevens was a 1^st round selection (5^thoverall) of the Washington Capitals. In his first season, he was named to the NHL Rookie All-Star team.

In 22 seasons in the NHL (13 years as an All-Star), Stevens scored 196 goals and 908 points, while amassing 2,785 penalty minutes as the rock of the defence corps for Washington, St. Louis Blues and the New Jersey Devils. He captained the Devils to three Stanley Cup championships.

Stevens was an impact player, delivering crushing body-checks that forced opponents to be wary at all times when Stevens patrolled the blueline.

Upon his retirement, Scott was the 11^th highest scoring defence-man of all-time in the NHL.

The Very Rev. Finlay G. Stewart DD 1908-1993

Finlay Gordon Stewart, born in Elgin County, taught school at Dutton and Ottawa and trained for the ministry at the University of Toronto, graduating from Knox College and was made a Doctor of Divinity in 1955.

He began his ministry at Niagara Falls and from 1938 to 1974 served at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Kitchener. In 1956 he was elected Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

During WWII he was a chaplain for five years, including four years overseas, and was decorated for his services in Northwest Europe.

Locally, he was chaplain of the Canadian Legion Branch 50, the 404 Wing of the Reserve R.C.A. and several other organizations.

Dr. Stewart gave service to the K-W High School Board, the Cancer Society, the Family Service Bureau, the Social Planning Council, the John Howard Society and St. John Ambulance. He was also an Honourary Member of Rotary International.

In 1970, Dr. Stewart was named Citizen of the Year for his extensive and outstanding community service.

Jacob G. Stroh 1848-1935

Jacob G. Stroh was a well-known Waterloo historian and archaeologist who early evidenced an absorbing interest in the beginnings of Waterloo County history.

In his youth he lived on Queen Street, Berlin, near the tavern operated by his grandfather, Frederick Gaukel on the site of the Walper Hotel and was fascinated by its Indian customers. Relics of their encampments in the area were dug up later, and Stroh built up a very comprehensive collection of these artifacts which was given to Doon Pioneer Village.

Employed earlier by the Breithaupt and Lang tanneries, Mr. Stroh ultimately established his own tannery on Bridgeport Road, Waterloo, which brought him into frequent contact with distant farmers who supplied him with hides and for whom he frequently tanned a skin in return for a prized Indian object that the farmer's plough had exposed.

His public service included forty years as a member of the Waterloo Library Board.

Henry W. Sturm 1884-1977

Born in Waterloo, Henry received a public school education and started working at the age of twelve. A few years later he apprenticed in barbering and was associated with J.J. MacCallum's News and Barber Shop until 1918.

He was interested in baseball and hockey and took over Frank Selke's baseball operation in 1917, giving freely of his time in the promotion of amateur sports and community undertakings.

In 1923, he was elected to Kitchener City council and served almost continuously until 1953 and was mayor in 1933 and 1934. As mayor, with Mayor Wenige of London, in 1933, he organized the Ontario Mayors and Reeves Association.

During the period of 1947-1951 he was active in the promotion of the building of the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium and piloted to completion, the $1,250,000 project which was officially opened May 24th , 1951. He was a member of the first Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Commission in 1950.

Jeremiah Suddaby 1842-1910

Jeremiah Suddaby was described by one who knew him well as "a man of sterling worth whom to know was to love, a born teacher, a man of splendid ability and attainment, a deep student and a friend of teachers and pupils."

Born in Grenville County near the town of Prescott, in 1842, he completed Normal School and taught in the County of Waterloo until 1877. During the years that followed, as principal of the Berlin Model School, he played a prominent part in the training and preparation of many of the teachers of the county.

Suddaby enjoyed a brilliant reputation, not only in Waterloo County, but throughout the entire province, where he was widely known and esteemed as an authority on educational affairs. In his memory the Berlin Public School Board changed the name of Central School where he served, to Suddaby School.

Jim Swartz 1928-2002

Jim Swartz, born in Kitchener, was an outstanding basketball and baseball player in his youth, and a supporter of sport in the Region of Waterloo throughout his life.

He was the leading scorer and captain of the K-W YMCA Blues (basketball) which he led to the Canadian Championship in 1953. After his playing days, Swartz coached basketball at Wilfrid Laurier University on a volunteer basis in the early 1960s. He refereed basketball games at both the high school and university levels and he administered the KW Referees Association and conducted training clinics for two generations of referees.

Swartz was actively involved in the Kitchener Sports Association for over forty-eight years, serving as secretary of the Association for forty years. He was instrumental in the development of all of KSA's projects: The Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, Jack Couch Park, the Waterloo County Hall of Fame, Lion's Baseball Park, Breithaupt Baseball Park, the Boxing Academy, and the KSA Volunteer's Dinner and Scholarship Program. He also helped to raise funds for many individuals and teams traveling to national and international sport competitions.

Swartz served on the Board of Governors of the Waterloo County Hall of Fame as secretary and treasurer, and as chairman of the Sports Research Committee.

He was married to the former Judy Siebert for fifty-one years, and the proud father of four children Nancy, Tom, David and Jennifer. Grandpa to Erin, Meghann, Joel, Laurie, Josh and Kelly.

Ralph Tailby 1916-1978

Ralph Tailby was born in Kitchener in 1916 and started playing tennis at age 12 when he joined the Waterloo Tennis Club. He won many club championships and was president from 1964-1968. The club made him a life member.

He was ranked number two in Canada in 1953. In 1961 he won his first Canadian Senior single's crown. He won the Ontario double's crown with his partner Bun Cooke four times in 1963, 1964, 1965, and 1967. Tailby played for Canada in the Gordon Trophy matches for senior amateurs (45 years and over). The matches alternated between the United States and Canada. During the period from 1961-1978 he won the event thirteen times.

In 1975 he was made a member of the International Club in recognition of his participation in international tennis tournaments. He was a chartered accountant and served overseas in the army pay corps from 1942-1945.

William Tassie LLD 1815-1886

Dr. William Tassie's school for boys at Galt was one of Canada's outstanding educational institutions. This Irishman from Dublin came to Canada with his bride in 1834. He taught at Oakville and at the Gore District School in Hamilton, and became headmaster of the Galt Grammar School in 1853. He received his BA in 1856, his MA in 1858, and the honorary degree of LLD from Queen's University in 1871.

Under his leadership the school expanded rapidly and became one of the first four Collegiate Institutes in Ontario. Boys came from Quebec, Ontario, the Maritimes, the northern and southern united states, and the West Indies. Tassie, in addition, supervised four boarding homes for the boys.

When it was ruled that girls should receive their secondary education along with boys, Tassie resigned. He then administered and taught his private boys' school in Toronto. He was principal of the Peterborough Secondary School when he died.

Andrew Winton Taylor 1907-1986

Andrew Winton Taylor was born in 1907 on a farm in North Dumfries Township which was settled in 1819 by his great-grandfather who worked as millwright for the Hon. Wm. Dickson. After attending the Galt Collegiate Institute, he graduated from the Ontario Agricultural College in 1931.

Taylor is the author of several books: Banners Unfurled, a history of our First United Church in Galt; Our Yesterdays and Todays, traces the history of North Dumfries Township from 1816-1967. He was a president from 1961 to 1962, councillor and director of the Waterloo Historical Society and served on the publication committee from 1946-1962. He was a past president of the Ontario Historical Society and was chairman of the Museums section and editor of their newsletter.

He served as President of the Waterloo County Crop Improvement Association and was secretary of the Waterloo County Federation of Agriculture for five years. He was past-president of the Central Dumfries Farmer's Club and served as secretary of the Central Dumfries Co-operators Association for thirty-one years. Taylor was inducted into the Cambridge Hall of Fame in 2001.

Cyrus M. Taylor 1831-1899

Cyrus M. Taylor was manager of the Waterloo County Mutual Fire Insurance Company from its founding in 1863 to 1898, when he retired. The name of the Company was later changed to The Waterloo County Mutual Fire Insurance Company.

Taylor was responsible for the management and day-to-day operations of the company for thirty-five years, and he, more than any other person, was responsible for the successful launching of the company.

The success of the Waterloo Mutual Fire Insurance Company led to the suggestion that a life insurance company be formed on the same principle. Mr. Jeremiah Hughes, one of the Company's first agents, promoted the idea with Taylor. Discussions that eventually led to an application for a charter were held in Taylor' s home. He became the first treasurer of the Ontario Mutual Life Assurance Company that eventually became The Mutual Life Assurance Company of Canada.

Charles F. Thiele 1883-1954

Charles F. Thiele, a distinguished musician of Waterloo, invented a collapsible metal music stand and was the first music stand manufacturer in Canada. He came to Waterloo from New York in 1919 and founded the Waterloo Music Company and the Waterloo Metal Stampings Company producing music stands, drums, cymbals, other rhythm instruments and office furniture.

Bandmaster of the Waterloo Musical Society, which he led for thirty-two years from 1919, he also organized the Ontario Bandmen's Association and founded the Canadian Bandmasters' Association.

No music festival on the continent was comparable with the Waterloo Music Festival which he started in 1932 with fifteen bands and eighty solo contestants. In 1953 there were sixty bands and 1,000 individual entries.

Thiele, who was particularly interested in forwarding the musical interests of young people, bought a sixty-five acre property near Bamberg as a summer music camp which he dedicated to the memory of Canadian bandsmen who died in the two world wars. His large library of band music was willed to the Waterloo Musical Society.

Betty Thompson 1934-1994

Betty Thompson was born in 1934 in Walkerton, Ontario. She began work at CKCO-TV in 1956 after graduating from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute's radio and television course. She became widely known to viewers as Miss Betty of "Romper Room" a children's television program which she hosted from 1972 to 1975. After that, she hosted a number of magazine-style shows such as "Ladies First" and "Betty and Friends". In 1992, Betty was appointed community relations co-ordinator at CKCO-TV.

In 1990 she was special events chairperson for the Ontario Summer Games, helping with fund raising for the games. In 1992 she was chosen the 35th Kitchener-Waterloo Citizen of the Year by the KW Junior Chamber of Commerce. She was active in the Big Sisters of KW and area, Best Friends of Big Sisters and spear-headed the opening of Stuffy's second-hand children's wear shop. She was also involved with many organizations including the John Howard Society, the United Way, Parents Are People Too, KW Oktoberfest and Flowers Canada.

In 1992 Thompson was honorary chairperson of the KW Cancer Society's fund raising campaign and at the Betty Thompson Golf Classic raised funds for the KW Hospital Foundation to help start a training program to educate women about breast cancer.

John Thompson

John Thompson has always been a doer and an organizer, contributing to Waterloo Region through many volunteer activities in support of sports and the community. 

Thompson began working at K-W Federated Appeal in 1976, leading amalgamation with United Way of Canada before retiring as CEO in 2005.  Thompson along with the new organization's staff and volunteers grew the organization from collecting donations of one million each year to more than five million dollars annually to support community social service organizations. 

Thompson's interest in sports provided opportunities to make major contributions in hockey with Kitchener Rangers and the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup, Waterloo Siskins reunions, K-W Dutchmen anniversary, Special Hockey International 2013 Tournament, Hockey Helps The Homeless and 25 years leadership as founder of Huronia Hockey Camps in 1970.  In fastball he managed local minor and senior teams, and filled leadership roles for Canadian and International Championships hosted by and having significant impact on the community. 

Thompson was president of Kitchener Sports Association, initiating its volunteer recognition, Olympic Dreams and scholarship programs, co-founder of the K-W Athlete of the Year program in 1999, and the driving force behind several charitable golf tournaments and other fund-raising events for local sports organizations.  As well, he has authored two sports books. 

Outside of sports, Thompson served as president of Rotary Club of Kitchener-Westmount, chair of the local CARP chapter, chair of Waterloo Region Hall of Fame, founding treasurer of Crimestoppers of Waterloo Region and on committees with the Chamber of Commerce.

Photograph courtesy of the Waterloo Region Record/David Bebee.

John W. Tibbits

Since 1987, Dr. John Tibbits has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. He is currently the longest serving president of an Ontario college.

Under his leadership, Conestoga College has been transformed from a small school of 2,000 students into a leading polytechnic post-secondary institution serving 23,000 full-time and 38,000 part-time students across eight campuses.

John’s vision for growth and development has enabled Conestoga to offer career-focused education and training programs that support the local and regional workforce, and contribute to the well-being of the community. Graduates from the college have reinvested in Waterloo Region creating more than 3,500 businesses locally, and more than 5,000 across Ontario.

In addition, John has held voluntary board positions with many local, provincial, and national industry and community organizations including Grand River Hospital, Polytechnics Canada, Communitech, Skills Canada - Ontario, and the March of Dimes.

He has been recognized with numerous honours and awards, including Business Leader of the Year Award from the K-W Chamber of Commerce (2000), a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce (2011), and a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012). John was also inducted into the Skills Canada – Ontario Klaus Woerner Hall of Fame in 2009 and was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International in 2011.

Photo courtesy of Conestoga College

Walter Tkaczuk b. 1947

Walter Tkaczuk was born in Emsdetten, Germany but grew up in South Porcupine, Ontario.

He played Junior B Hockey with the Kitchener Greenshirts before moving up to the Kitchener Rangers mid-way through the 1964-65 season. He played an additional three full seasons with the Rangers, scoring a total of 78 goals and adding 141 assists.

Tkaczuk was the Ranger Rookie of the Year in 1965-66, the top Ranger scorer in 1966-67 and he won the outstanding team effort award in 1967-68. He also won the Red Tilson Trophy in 1967-68 as the most outstanding player in the Ontario Hockey League.

He joined the New York Rangers at the end of the 1968 season and stayed with them until his retirement in 1981. In the National Hockey League, he played in 945 regular season games, scoring 227 goals and assisting on 451 others. He also played in 93 playoff games, scoring 19 goals and 32 assists.

Martin M. Todd 1858-1917

In Galt, the name of Todd has for three generations been identified with the development and operation of railroads.

Thomas Todd, owner of the Galt Flour Mills, was a principal promoter and first president of the Galt, Preston and Hespeler Railway. On his death in 1900 his son, Martin Todd, who for some years had worked with the Great Western Railway in Hamilton, became president of the Company. Martin Todd's son, Milne, was the third generation to be president.

Under Martin Todd's management the railway became one of the best inter-urban electric railways in Canada, eventually also serving Berlin and Waterloo. Todd was manager of the Lake Erie and Northern Railway, and actively associated with a number of prominent Galt firms. He served many community organizations.

Carl Totzke 1926-2015

Carl Totzke was born in Kitchener and educated in local schools. He received his BA from Waterloo College and did post-graduate work at McGill University while playing intercollegiate football. Carl was an outstanding athlete, administrator and supporter of the community.

Totzke played football as a wide receiver with the Kitchener Dutchmen - on four occasions they won the Ontario Rugby Football Union Championship. Totzke played basketball for the Kitchener Waterloo YMCA Blues when they won the Canadian Basketball Championship in 1953.

In 1954, Totzke was named Athletic Director at Waterloo College. He became the first football coach and Athletic Director at the University of Waterloo when it was founded in 1957, serving in those positions until 1989.

The Athletic Department at the University of Waterloo honoured Totzke by establishing the Totzke Trophy, awarded annually to the most deserving student based on athletic skill, sportsmanship and outstanding contributions to the athletic program at the University. Totzke served two terms as President of the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union.

In addition to his university activities, Totzke helped establish a children's summer camp north of Peterborough.

Interest in art and football are not often shared; however, Totzke was avidly interested in visual art. He served for many years on the Board of Directors of the Homer Watson House and Gallery, including two terms as Chairman. Totzke also served on the Board of Governors of the Waterloo County Hall of Fame, and is a past Chairman of the Board.

Yvonne Tousek b. 1980

Yvonne Tousek was born in Kitchener in 1980. Like most gymnasts she started at an early age at the K-W Gymnastics Club. By age 12 she was already representing Canada on the international stage, competing in the children's division of the Pan American Games, where she medaled in vault, uneven bars and floor exercises and won bronze in the all-around competition.

At the age of 14 she moved to Cambridge and she was soon competing at the senior level. Tousek was the top Canadian all-around finisher at the 1995 World Championships in Japan and at the 1997 Worlds in Switzerland.

At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Tousek was the only Canadian woman to qualify for the all-around final and finished 26th.

In 1996 and 1997 Tousek was named Gymnastics Canada's female athlete of the year and in 1999 she was named athlete of the year in Cambridge.

At the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Tousek captained the Canadian team that won the gold medal. Individually she placed fourth all-around and won a gold medal on the uneven bars and floor exercise; that year she became the first person to perform a sideways back handspring on the balance beam at the 1999 World Championships in Tianjin, China. The element was then named after her (The Tousek) in the International Gymnastics Code of Points.

At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Tousek led the Canadian women to a ninth place finish in the team competition, placing 15th in the qualifying round.

Tousek finished her gymnastics career at the University of California at Los Angeles where she earned All-American honours and four NCAA titles (three team, one uneven bars). Yvonne is currently touring with the Cirque du Soleil show Corteo.

Lloyd Tucker 1912-2000

Lloyd Tucker was born in Kitchener on March 4, 1912. He became a golf caddy at the age of eight. At fourteen he was a golf pro at Seagram's French River Golf Course. He later became the professional at the Grand River Golf Club and in 1938, at Rockway Golf Club. Twice he was runner-up for the Miller Trophy match play for professionals only. This was a much sought-after title in the 1940s and 1950s. He qualified for the four rounds of the Canadian Open.

Tucker was known as one of the best teaching professionals in Canada, having developed Gerry Kesselring, Tony Matlock, Bill Gross and Gerry Knechtel, all of whom won provincial, Canadian or International titles. In his seventies he continued as a teacher for the Ontario Golf Association junior golf program. He served in the Canadian Air Force during the Second World War.

Robert Turnbull 1827-1879

It was very appropriate that a man from Scotland, the land of sheep, would be responsible for a large number of hand knitters from his native land immigrating to Canada, and so providing a Scottish Lowland influence in the community of Galt.

Turnbull immigrated from Hawick, Roxboroughshire, Scotland in 1854. His action is indicative of what he thought of his adopted land and its possibilities for the future. He built a flourishing hand knitting business and when he died in 1879 he was succeeded in the Turnbull Knitting Company by his sons, Charles and John.

With another son, George, they were instrumental in the founding of a large number of the initial industries in Galt, including paper box making, and the manufacture of ribbon, shoes, nails and tacks.

Thomas Joseph "Tim" Turow 1908-1995

Born in the Ukraine in 1908, Turow arrived in Preston in 1914. His life revolved around sport, first as a player and later as an organizer, coach and executive. As a player, he excelled in football, baseball and hockey. For twenty years, Turow was a baseball umpire. In 1948 he won the Ontario Five-Pin singles bowling championship, a most difficult achievement.

Turow was president of the Inter-county Baseball Association and also the Inter-county Umpires Association. For many years he was an executive member of each of these long established organizations. In addition, he was deeply involved in sports organizations in Preston as an organizer, manager and coach for many years.

The "Tim Turow" trophy is presented annually to the outstanding athlete in the City of Cambridge. Turow was inducted into the Cambridge Hall of Fame in 2001.

William "Bill" Tutte 1917-2002

Bill Tutte was born in Newmarket, England at Fitzroy House, a horse racing stable. His father was the House gardener, his mother the housekeeper.  When Tutte was eleven, he won a scholarship that enabled him to study in a high school in the city of Cambridge.  There he excelled, particularly in mathematics, sciences and history; upon graduation, he was granted admission to Trinity College, Cambridge University. 

At Trinity College, Tutte majored in the Natural Sciences, with a specialty in Chemistry; after three years, he achieved a First Class Degree. He continued on as a graduate student in Chemistry. 

During the Second World War, Tutte was invited to become a part of the highly secret codebreaking organization, now known by its location, Bletchley Park.  Tutte arrived in the spring of 1941 and was made a member of the Research Section, whose responsibility were codes that had not been broken.  

In October, 1941 Tutte was presented with a sample of teletype tape, intercepted by radio antennae, produced by a machine that the British called Fish.  This code was used by the German's to communicate with Generals in field command.  Tutte's first great codebreaking contribution was to determine, from this sample of tape, the structure of the machine that produced the tape.  His second great contribution was to describe how to decipher codes that this machine produced.  Tutte's method required a high speed electronic computer to carry out that decipherment.  The computer which the British then developed was called Colossus.  All contributions relative to Fish and Colossus were kept secret for more than 50 years. 

After the War, Tutte returned to Cambridge as a PhD student in Mathematics.  In 1948, Tutte was offered a position on the Faculty of the University of Toronto.  In 1962 he accepted an offer from the University of Waterloo; he was instrumental in the development of the University, in particular the creation of its Faculty of Mathematics. 

In the late 1990s, the veil of secrecy surrounding his war contributions was finally lifted.  Tutte was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2001, for his breaking of Fish during the war and for his central contributions to combinatorial mathematics.

Photograph courtesy of the Waterloo Region Record/Mathew McCarthy.

William Twaits 1878-1939

William Twaits was born in Galt where he excelled in various athletic activities. Playing for his native town in the early 1900s he acquired fame as one of hockey's outstanding players. This was in the era of seven man hockey with little or no substitutes. Stamina, speed and skill was a definite essential to compete with top teams including Berlin, Toronto and others.

Twaits captained and played cover point for Galt in the Dominion finals in 1903. He later played with Berlin and records indicate that he was one of the first Canadians offered a professional contract by an American team. He also starred on the Galt Football team which won a World Championship at St. Louis World Fair in 1905.

Twaits died in Sarnia in 1939. For many years he enjoyed a most successful business career in one of that city's larger industries.

Sidney C. Tweed 1886-1942

From the time he became a stenographer for a Winnipeg life insurance company at the age of fifteen in 1901, Sidney C. Tweed had visions of some day establishing his own Canadian Insurance Company B a dream that eventually came true. In 1911, when he was Assistant Superintendent of Agencies for the Winnipeg firm, he joined the Mutual Life of Canada, becoming Superintendent of Agencies.

In 1920 he founded and was president of the Ontario Equitable Life and Accident Insurance Company, which operated from a two-room office costing $12.50 a month rent, with a rented typewriter and $150.00 worth of furniture B and one clerk. Six weeks after receiving its charter, $1,053,300.00 of business had been placed on the books. Three other insurance companies were purchased by the Company.

When he retired in 1931, Tweed could look back on a life insurance career that was outstanding in every way.

Daniel Tye 1793-1874

Daniel Tye, born in Suffolk, England, obtained 300 acres of land in Wilmot Township in 1837. After clearing five acres, he moved to Long Island, New York. His family joined him there while he managed a farm for one year. In 1839 they went to Haysville, Waterloo County in a covered wagon, arriving in 1840.

He was one of the first importers of Devon cattle, Southdown sheep and Essex hogs. He was also the first exhibitor from Wilmot at the Provincial Exhibitions, securing prizes for his Devons at London, Cobourg, Brantford and Kingston.

Tye was elected second vice-president of the Waterloo Agricultural Society when it was organized in 1852 and was a delegate to the annual meeting of the Upper Canada Agricultural Board at Cobourg in 1855.

He was an active supporter of St. James Anglican Church, Huron Road, built in 1842, interested in public affairs and was a strong Conservative.

Frank Udvari 1924-2014

Born in Yugoslavia, Frank Udvari came to Canada with his parents at the age of seven, and grew up in Kitchener. Interested in hockey at an early age, he refereed in the minor hockey leagues for three years and joined the NHL in the 1951-52 season, handling twelve games. He remained a referee to the 1965-66 season, handling 718 regular games and 70 playoffs. Recognized as the best on the staff, he was appointed supervisor of the NHL officials in 1966. He conducted many hockey schools across Canada and the USA, and two in Germany for the Canadian Army.

Udvari was influential in helping many junior members to ultimate success. Carl Voss, referee-in-chief, who brought him into the NHL stated that he had never been associated with a person who had higher personal standards.

Photograph courtesy of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto, Ontario.

University of Waterloo Warriors 1974-75 Men's Basketball Team

The University of Waterloo Warriors 1974-75 Men's Basketball Team provided the greatest of seasons and at the same time the saddest of seasons.

The team was unbeaten in the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union that season, with a perfect 25-0 won-lost record including an 18-game winning streak.

The culmination of the on-the-court campaign came right in the university's jam-packed Physical Activities Complex when the Warriors earned a dramatic 80-79 victory over the University of Manitoba Bisons in the playoff title game.

Although the roster that year featured five Ontario natives, including three graduates from Forest Heights Collegiate in Kitchener, the final game line-up was missing one of those three. Centre-forward Mike Moser, an all-Canadian all-star, died in his sleep during a Florida exhibition tour earlier that season. In a silent but profound tribute to Moser, only four Warriors were introduced as starters for each game after his death, including the title game.

William Valores Uttley 1865-1944

William "Ben" Uttley in 1893 bought the struggling Berlin Daily Telegraph and two months later launched the Daily Record , now the Record.

Born in Elmira, he was educated at the local public school, the Berlin High School and the Toronto Business College. He began his active newspaper work with the St. Louis, Missouri, Chronicle.

Uttley was intensely interested in civic affairs and served as a member of the city council. He was one of the charter members of the Waterloo Historical Society, collected much historical data and published a History of Kitchener in 1939.

In 1919 he sold the News Record to W.D. Euler and W.J. Motz and returned to Elmira where he purchased the Elmira Signet.

Kelly VanderBeek

At the time of her retirement from professional skiing in 2013, Kelly VanderBeek was the most decorated female member of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team.

VanderBeek began her skiing career and her Olympic dreams at her home club of Chicopee Ski Club in Kitchener.  She first qualified for the Canadian National Ski Team in 2000.  In her junior career, she finished third in super-G at the 2002 and 2003 FIS (International Ski Federation) Junior World Ski Championships.  She won the NorAm titles for downhill and super-G those same years.  In 2002, VanderBeek was named the Canadian Junior Athlete of the Year.

VanderBeek earned three top-three World Cup career medals, including a third-place finish in the super-G held at Lake Louise.  This made her the first Canadian woman to win a medal at the event since Lake Louise began hosting it.   VanderBeek had a fourth-place finish in super-G at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy; she was 0.03 seconds behind the third place skier.

A crash in 2009 resulted in a full knee dislocation and prevented VanderBeek from competing in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. However, she was asked to carry the torch by VANOC president John Furlong, and joined the on-air broadcast team.

This led to VanderBeek working as an on-air broadcaster with CTV during the Vancouver (2010) and London (2012) Olympic Games and with CBC at the Sochi (2014) and Rio (2016) Olympic Games.  She has also covered other notable sports events, such as the Rogers Cup, for CTV, CBC and Sportsnet.

VanderBeek has created her own not-for-profit organization - Kelly VanderBeek Racing (KVR) - to provide a competitive ski racing program to young athletes.  She also is an Athlete Ambassador with Right to Play - Canada.

Fitzroy Carter "Fitz the Whip" Vanderpool b. 1967

Fitzroy Carter Vanderpool was born in Trinidad and Tobago in 1967. He has been a Canadian citizen and resident of Kitchener since the age of six. His love of boxing began at the age of nine and his life has since been devoted to the sport.

In 1993, at the age of 26, Fitz "The Whip" turned professional and went on to win five professional boxing titles, including the Canadian Professional Boxing Federation Welterweight Championship in 1996. He was crowned the World Boxing Federation Inter Continental Champion in 1997 and in 1999 went on to win the WBF Super Welterweight World Championship. In 1997-98 the Canadian Professional Boxing Federation named him Canadian Boxer of the Year.

In addition to his successful professional boxing career, Vanderpool has been recognized for his lifetime commitment to health, fitness and community service in Kitchener-Waterloo. In 1997 he was named Kitchener-Waterloo's Inaugural Athlete of the Year. He is one of 10 people selected to appear on the Eastwood Collegiate 50^th Anniversary Wall of Recognition. He has been proclaimed an International Fire Safety Ambassador and in 2003 awarded for his Outstanding Contribution to Fire Safety. Vanderpool has been featured on CKCO as a Local Hero and Community Champion; he has been a celebrity judge for the Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest parade; and he has run for City Council.

Currently, Vanderpool is the head instructor and owner of The Whip Boxing Academy where he continues to thrive in the boxing community, producing young champions and transferring his knowledge and skills to young people.

Warren Vincent b. 1923

A name synonymous with the village of Ayr and the surrounding rural district for over three quarters of a century is that of Warren Vincent. Raised on a farm just south of Ayr, Vincent first entered the public eye as a youngster with his brother Marlen as they offered up their musical talents at many social events.

Vincent began his career serving the farming community while still a teenager during 1930s, riding a bicycle along concession roads selling grain lifters and electric fences. In 1943 he joined his father who operated an International Harvester farm equipment dealership in Ayr.

In 1955 Vincent and his brother Marlen formed Vincent Farm Equipment Ltd. to run the family business. In the 1950s they assisted the quickly modernizing dairy industry by taking on a line of bulk milk coolers and supplying them to customers across the province. Over the next two decades Vincent Farm Equipment went through a series of expansions: a new facility was built in Ayr, and branches were established in Cambridge, Seaforth and Woodstock. Another branch dealership was added in 2001 in Exeter, Ontario. Over time, lawn and garden and recreational equipment have been added to the mix of products offered.

Since the beginning, Vincent has been active in the farm equipment industry, having served as president of both Ontario and Canadian Implement Dealer Associations, and also as director for Eastern Canada on the North American Equipment Dealers Association.

Despite his busy schedule, Vincent has always been able to find time to volunteer with community groups and support local organizations. He served as a village councillor, participated on local sports and church committees, co-chaired the Ayr Sesquicentennial Committee in 1974 with his wife Laura, and over the years often acted as master of ceremonies at various public events. Vincent's contributions were acknowledged in 1974 when he was one of 100 recipients awarded the Centennial medal by the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph for service to Agriculture and in 1978, when he was selected Ayr Citizen of the Year.

Today, Vincent and Laura enjoy visits with friends and family at their Ayr residence.

Photo Copyright A Little Photo Lab & Studio

Charles Edward Voelker 1918-1986

Charles Voelker, known to most who knew him as "Colonial Charlie", left his distinctive mark on the landscape of Waterloo Region.

Voelker was a third generation resident of Waterloo Region. In 1936, at age 17, he began his career designing furniture locally. He also drew maps for Hydro, worked as a clerk at Goodrich Rubber Company, did munitions time studies for the war effort at Waterloo Manufacturing, and drafted cottages for Ratz Lumber.

Inspired by a gift of books, his creative talents turned to teaching himself the history and art of architecture. It became his life's passion to design plans, beginning with his family's homes. In 1947 from his own house, he was self-employed as an architectural designer throughout his life. His meticulous dedication to detail can be seen particularly in many of the subdivisions of Colonial Acres, Westmount, Beechwood and Williamsburg Acres.

Voelker served the community for seventeen years as member of the Waterloo Public School Board, including serving as Chairman. He was the Judge for the Court of Revision for twenty years. Then as a City of Waterloo Alderman for fifteen years, he championed civic beautification, affordable housing, housing for seniors and people with disabilities, library expansion, initiation of the Parkview Cemetery's crematorium, lower taxes and the preservation of historic buildings.

In 1967 Voelker was a recipient of the Canada Medal for service to community and country. More than 250 of his drawings are preserved by the City of Waterloo's Heritage Collection. His architectural achievements, community involvement and life's work as a visionary were highlighted in an exhibition installed by the City of Waterloo in 2003.

Emil Vogelsang 1834-1894

Berlin was called "Buttonville" because Emil Vogelsang who had learned the craft in Germany came to Berlin in 1866 and founded the Pioneer Button Works. When his partner withdrew, Jacob Y. Shantz, who had constructed the building, made a contract for seven years with Vogelsang.

Vogelsang then established the Canadian Ivory Button Works in the building at the northeast corner of Queen and Courtland. In 1886 he moved to Port Elgin to control the Emil Vogelsang Button Company.

Berlin had the first button manufacturing plant in Canada and the second on the North American continent. The area had other button firms: the one owned by Jacob Y. Shantz, Dominion Buttons, later under David Gross, Kitchener Button Industries under George Schlee, Mitchell Button Company and also the Roschman button factory in Waterloo.

Augustus Stephen Vogt FRCO 1861-1926

A great Canadian and distinguished musician, Augustus Vogt was always an ardent admirer of Waterloo County. He was born in the village of Washington in Oxford County, but at the age of four went with his family to Elmira. He studied under the best teachers available in Waterloo County. At the age of fourteen he was an organist for St. James Lutheran Church, Elmira, and at sixteen organist and choirmaster of First Methodist Church, St. Thomas.

He subsequently studied in Boston and in Leipzig, Germany. On his return he was appointed organist and choirmaster of Jarvis Street Baptist Church, Toronto, developing its choir until it had a wide reputation. In 1894 he organized the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, judged at that time to be the finest group of singers in North America. Concerts were presented in U.S. cities and overseas.

Modern Piano Techniques was one of his great works.

Mac Voisin b. 1949

Mac Voisin was born in Kitchener in 1949. Voisin grew up in the Kitchener-Waterloo area and graduated from St. Jerome's High School and the University of Waterloo with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Voisin started his career as a Registered Real Estate Broker but after three years, he went into home building with his brother. In 1980, Voisin and his then brother-in-law Mark Nowak opened the first M&M Meat Shop in Kitchener, hence the name M&M. The first M&M franchise store was opened in Cambridge in 1981. To date, there are more than 400 stores from coast to coast.

M&M Meat Shops has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the Canadian Franchise Association's first annual "Award of Excellence in Franchise Relations" and the Association's Hall of Fame Award and Award of Excellence in Franchise Relations.

Voisin and M&M Meat Shops have been longtime supporters of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of Canada; this support has been recognized by the Canadian Franchise Association's first ever "Corporate Citizen Award" for outstanding franchise organizations who demonstrate a genuine concern and support for a community or social group in need.

Professionally, Voisin served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Franchise Association. He has received many honours in recognition of his leadership in the retail and food industry, including being named the Canadian Food Industry's "Man of the Year" in recognition of M&M Meat Shops' fundraising efforts for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of Canada; Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Ontario - Retail Category; and the Governor General of Canada's "Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada" in recognition of his significant contribution to his community and to Canada. He was awarded the "Alumni Achievement Medal" from the University of Waterloo, Faculty of Engineering for outstanding entrepreneurship and community service, including work for local and national medical foundations. In addition, Voisin was selected as the "Executive of the Year" by the Ontario Frozen & Chilled Food Association and honoured for his commitment and dedication to the growth, prosperity and development of frozen foods in Ontario.

Voisin is active in the community, serving on many committees and boards of directors. He has served as Honourary Chairperson of the local chapter of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of Canada; a Board Member with Junior Achievement of Waterloo Region; a member of the Board of Directors, Vice Chair, President and Honourary Chair of St. Mary's General Hospital Foundation; Honourary Chair of the Fundraising Committee, Food Bank of Waterloo Region; and he is a Charter Member of the K-W Community Foundation Council.

Keith Wagler b. 1947

Keith Wagler was born on the family farm near Tavistock, Ontario in 1947. At age 15, Keith took up pitching softball. In 1966 at the age of 18, he pitched the Tavistock Juveniles to the Ontario Amateur Softball Association (OASA) title.

The 1970s belonged to Keith. He joined the Kitchener Super V's (later called the Evergreens) in 1970 and played with them for nine years. In 1972 Keith suited up for 104 games for Kitchener and Tavistock; he pitched in 92 games with a win/loss record of 79 to 13. Tavistock won the South Perth title and Kitchener won the Inter-City Crown. Keith also won the league Earned Run Average Award (1.07).

Keith's highlight year was 1975 when Kitchener won the OASA Elimination Title and finished third in the Canadian Championships. During his years in the Ontario Fastball League and the Inter-City League he pitched against many legends of the game such as Dick Hames, Bob Domik, Wally Dick and Pete Landers. Through seventeen years of pitching Keith recorded 21 no hitters, 5 of these being perfect games.

Due to arthritis, Wagler was forced to retire from the game in 1979. He has continued to support the sport he loves by coaching and he has conducted clinics for minor ball players in New Hamburg, Tavistock and other rural communities.

Photograph Copyright Bryn Gladding Photography.

Patricia Colleen Wagner (1930-2018)

Patricia “Pat” Wagner was a tireless researcher and avid champion for the preservation of historical landmarks in Waterloo Region.

A volunteer with local heritage committees, including Friends of Doon Heritage Crossroads, Heritage Kitchener, Friends of Joseph Schneider Haus, and North Waterloo Branch Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, testified to Pat’s interest in and advocacy for heritage properties and institutions.

She co-authored the Guide to Historical Resources in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in 1989. Pat also made a major contribution to the Regional Heritage Planning Advisory Committee’s study of historical bridges. The study played a key role in refurbishing rather than replacing several bridges including the Hartman Bridge in New Hamburg and the Freeport Bridge in Kitchener.

Pat was an early advocate for the preservation of the Governor’s House and Gaol in downtown Kitchener. Along with her fellow activists, Pat helped protect the buildings from demolition, and promoted their re-use. She also took part in the creation of the Walled Garden in the former exercise yard of the gaol.

For her achievements, Pat was presented with the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation Award of Excellence (2003), Ontario Senior of the Year for Waterloo Region (2009), and the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Lifetime Achievement (2012). In 2019, the Mike & Pat Wagner Heritage Award, part of the City of Kitchener Great Places Awards, was created.

Photo courtesy of Tony Wagner

Adam Warnock 1827-1902

Adam Warnock was born at Nelson, near Glasgow, Scotland. His family came to Galt in 1833 where his father, a millwright, took charge of the Dumfries Mills. In 1843 they moved to a farm in Beverly Township. Adam married a sister of Jacob Hespeler.

As a general merchant, Warnock dealt in luxury groceries and hardware. At this time the store was known as Warnock and Fraser. He was also interested in many other phases of industry such as Galt Axe Company and the Plattsville and Preston Mills, in all of which he held a partnership. He was the president of the Galt Knitting Company and in 1887 founded the firm of Newlands and Company.

He was a director of the Gore Mutual Fire Insurance Company and served on the boards of the Galt Hospital and the Galt Grammar School.

Waterloo 4-H Association

In the early 1900s, agriculture was Canada's primary industry, so it's not surprising that there was interest in agriculture education for youth across the country. 

4-H started in Ontario in 1915 with 32 young men attending a meeting held in Waterloo.  This club is recognized as the first 4-H club in Ontario, followed by clubs across the region and province.  The first Boys' and Girls' Club in Canada, forerunner of 4-H, was started in Manitoba in 1913.

4-H is based on a "learn to do by doing" philosophy.  The four H's stand for head, heart, hands and health.

The purpose of 4-H was to "study the principles on which everyday farm operations are based" and to create greater interest in farm life.  The first clubs focussed on agriculture and the initial participants were boys.  Through the 1900s, 4-H grew to include girls and domestic sciences.

Today in Waterloo Region, across Canada and around the world, 4-H members aged 9 to 21 come together with volunteer leaders to learn about selected topics through hands-on activities and mentorship.  Members are encouraged to focus on how their actions affect their relationships, their community, the environment and society as a whole.

The success of 4-H has seen hundreds of thousands of youth and volunteers taking part in leadership and skills development programs across Ontario in both rural and urban communities.  Although still rooted in agricultural history, 4-H recognizes that everyone can benefit from a socially conscious approach to learning.

Logo courtesy of 4-H Ontario.

Waterloo Historical Society

The work of the Waterloo Historical Society (WHS), begun in Berlin (Kitchener) in 1912, laid the groundwork for the Waterloo Region Museum.  In the basement of the Berlin Public Library, WHS collected significant artifacts such as a Conestoga wagon, later donated to the museum.  That was and still is part of its mandate - to preserve the unique heritage of the townships and cities in Waterloo Region.

The annual reports published by WHS since its inception are recognized as the most comprehensive source of historical information about Waterloo Region.  In 1993 the publication, now called the annual volume, received the Scadding Award of Excellence from the Ontario Historical Society.

The WHS has also been a key partner in helping to establish and preserve local historical landmarks such as the Waterloo Pioneers Memorial Tower, Doon Heritage Village and Joseph Schneider Haus. Similarly, WHS has co-operated with government departments to identify and mark heritage sites throughout the Region.

Kitchener Public Library houses the WHS paper archives and in 1984 the two organizations partnered to open the Grace Schmidt Room of Local History.

WHS has published two books and both won the Ontario Historical Society's Fred Landon Award for Regional History - Waterloo Township through Two Centuries by Elizabeth Bloomfield in 1995, and Waterloo County:  An Illustrated History by Geoffrey Hayes in 1997.

Waterloo Historical Society provides an exceptional model of how to run a volunteer organization over a prolonged period.  Without its remarkable work, consistent documentation, collection, publication and advocacy, much of Waterloo Region's rich historical record would have been lost.

Waterloo Historical Society Board of Directors 2012

From left, standing: John Arndt, John Glass, Marion Roes, Jeff Shank, Sherwood Hagey

From left, seated: Karen Ball-Pyatt, Susan Hoffman, Helga Hartman, Lesley Webb.  Absent: Rosanne Atwater-Hallatt, Debbie Kroetsch.

Photo by Reflections by Ken Jantzi

Waterloo Siskins Hockey Club

The Waterloo Siskins Hockey Club has competed from 1934 to present, celebrating its 75^th anniversary season in 2009/10. The Siskins were named Team of the Century by the Ontario Hockey Association for their 11 Sutherland Cup Championships. 

The club has served as a training ground for hockey players who have advanced to Major Junior A, minor pro and university levels, as well as 18 who have played in the National Hockey League, and several who have represented Team Canada at the Winter Olympic Games and the world championships.   

Homer Ransford Watson 1855-1936

Homer Watson was one of Canada's greatest artists. Born in Doon, except for a few years spent abroad, he lived in the village all his life.

He was president of the Royal Academy and a member of the Ontario Society of Artists. He won awards at several international exhibitions and his paintings hang in the National Gallery, the Department of National Defence and the Public Archives, Ottawa and in galleries and private collections around the world, including Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

In 1880, when he was twenty-five, the Marquis of Lorne, Governor General of Canada, and his wife, Princess Louise, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, bought his painting "The Pioneer Mill." Later they purchased two other paintings. Two were placed in Windsor Castle as part of Queen Victoria's collection, and the other in Kensington Palace, London.

After his death, Watson's home became the Doon School of Fine Arts and is now operated as a public art gallery.

John Watson 1820-1903

At the age of eight, John Watson of Shotts, Scotland, was apprenticed to the moulding trade. He learned it well, for years later he won medals and international acclaim for his original productions.

In 1846, when a young man, he went to Galt, where he was associated with the Fisher and Lutz Foundry. In 1847 he started his own foundry in Ayr, making pots and stoves, but soon branched out into the manufacture of agricultural implements which he exhibited at world fairs and sold in the USA, France, Australia, and Russia.

A very active Liberal and a close friend of the famous Toronto editor, George Brown, he was the first reeve of Ayr and also served as County warden. He was a director of the Gore Mutual for 39 years.

The Company he started in Ayr in 1847 is, in 1972, still under the management of the Watson family.

Mary Urie Watson 1866-1950

A woman of whom the residents of Ayr have every reason to be proud was Mary Watson. In 1903, she became the first principal of the Macdonald Institute of Domestic Science and Art, a part of the Guelph Agricultural College.

The Toronto Globe said: "No other Canadian teacher along these special lines has the standing and experience of Miss Watson."

She graduated from the Philadelphia College of Domestic Science in 1895, taught for two years in Hamilton and then went to Columbia University, New York, graduating in Domestic Art from the Teacher's College in 1900. She later held positions in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Normal School in Hamilton.

As part of her community service, in the Second World War she had charge of the knitting of socks, sweaters and other articles for the Ayr Women's Institute. She died in 1950.

Joseph "Josh" Wayper 1858-1915

A resident of Hespeler for forty years, Josh Wayper was a marksman of uncanny ability. He was proprietor of the Queen's Hotel in which his numerous trophies and stuffed animals were on display for the public to see.

He was co-founder of the Hespeler Gun Club which was formed in 1883 and was active for many years. In 1896, the Hespeler four man team led by Wayper won the Ontario Championship, breaking 94 out of 100 clay pigeons.

In 1901 Wayper was champion wing-shot of Canada, killing 199 out of 200 live pigeons to equal the World's Record for this type of competition. In trapshooting, Wayper was three times Canadian champion. He also won the championship gold medal for Ontario several times.

On one occasion he was a member of the Canadian team which went to England for the Bisley competition. In the course of his career, Wayper won a great many lesser events as well.

Carl N. Weber 1899-1978

Born in Elmira, Ontario, C.N.Weber, in 1923, purchased the wholesale hardware business of John Fennell in Kitchener and organized Weber Hardware, later to become C.N Weber Limited. A longtime member and past-president of the Kitchener Board of Trade (Kitchener Chamber of Commerce), he was elected chairman of the Kitchener Urban Renewal Committee in 1971. He was a director of Canada Trust, the Equitable Life Insurance Company and the Economical Mutual Insurance Company.

Beyond his business interests, he served his community as a member of the K-W Hospital Commission for twenty-two years and was chairman for twenty of those years. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the University of Waterloo from the time it was founded until his death. He was also a trustee and past-president of the Ontario Hospital Association.

An active member of the Lutheran Church, he was a Canadian delegate to the World Council of Churches in India in 1961. He was a member of the executive council of the Lutheran Church in America, a member and chairman of its board of publications, a member of its pensions board and an executive member of the Eastern Canada Synod.

Donna Wilson Weber 1939-2010

Donna Wilson Weber was born in Listowel in 1939. Through her volunteerism in the sporting community, Weber was a sports builder in Waterloo Region.

Weber was honoured with a Life Membership in the Kitchener Minor Hockey Association in 1993, and she was recognized by The Canadian Hockey Association in 2001 for outstanding service to minor hockey. Weber was selected as Volunteer of the Year in Minor Baseball in 1995 and in Minor Hockey in 2003.

Weber made significant contributions to the Sponsored Children's Program of Minor Hockey; to the World Women's Hockey Championship held in Kitchener in 1997; to the National Junior Baseball Championship from 1995 to 2000; to the Parade of History Walls at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium and the Waterloo Recreation Centre; and to the World Fastball Championships held in Kitchener in 2002.

Weber received the Queen's Gold Medal Jubilee Award in 2002 from the Government of Canada for service to Country and Community. Together with her husband John, she was involved extensively in hockey, baseball, fastball, their church and many other community activities.

Donna and her husband John are parents of three children, Deborah, David and John-Michael.

Photo - Forde Studio.

Eben Oliver Weber 1881-1951

Eben Oliver Weber was born in Woolwich Township in 1881. He attended Stratford Business College before taking a degree at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. He joined his father, L.S. Weber, and his brother I.S.K. Weber, in manufacturing furniture in Waterloo.

His entrepreneurial spirit was manifest in his ownership of the Waterloo Furniture Company, the National Furniture Company, Kitchener, and the Crown Furniture Company, Preston, as well as two farms west of the Kitchener boundary. He donated approximately seventy acres of maple sugar bush to the Westmount Golf and Country Club; the remainder was developed into the Westmount residential area.

He served as chairman of the K-W High School Board, the K-W Hospital Board and the K-W Orphanage Board. At the time of his death, the Rev. George Barthel said, "E.O. Weber had the ability to cut through red tape and to get to the heart of a matter. Oh, that we had more like him!"

John Weber 1939-2013

John Weber was born in Kitchener in 1939. Through his volunteerism in the sporting community, Weber was a sports builder in Waterloo Region.

Weber received the Special Achievement Award in 1999 from the Province of Ontario for his contributions to amateur baseball. He served as President of several sport organizations: Kitchener Minor Baseball; the Kitchener Sports Association; and the Inter County Baseball Association. Weber was selected as the Volunteer of the Year for the Kitchener Minor Baseball in 1992 and in 2002 he received the Queen's Gold Medal Jubilee Award from the Government of Canada for service to country and community.

Weber served in an executive capacity with the Kitchener Panthers Baseball Club for forty years. He managed championship baseball teams at the Peewee, Bantam, Midget and Junior levels and played on Midget and Junior Championship Teams. From 1995 to 2000, Weber chaired the National Junior Baseball Championships held in Kitchener.

Weber played football and baseball at Bluffton College in Bluffton, Ohio. He was a two-time all conference fullback and in 1989 he was inducted into the Bluffton College Athletic Hall of Fame for his achievements in Football, Baseball and Community Service in Kitchener, Ontario

John and his wife Donna are parents of three children, Deborah, David and John-Michael and they have two grandchildren, Tyler and Jared.

Photo - Forde Studio

Hilbert Lewis "Lefty" Weichel 1896-1979

H.L. "Lefty" Weichel was a native of Elmira. He distinguished himself in business, church, civic and political affairs. Following a period as a commercial salesman he joined the hardware business established by his grandfather in 1879.

He was mayor of Elmira for four years, reeve for six, an alderman for eleven, and was elected Warden of Waterloo County in 1954.

He served St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church as treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Board and in 1940 was elected vice-president for Canada of the International Lutheran Laymen's League. He was awarded a citation for Distinguished Service by Valparaiso University of Indiana and a Scroll of Honour by the Western New York District of the Lutheran Laymen's League.

He served as President of the OML (Waterloo County Automobile Club), the Ontario Good Roads Association, and the Elmira and District Arthritic and Rheumatism Society, and was MC of a touring musical group that presented over 1,100 community programs.

O.W. "Mike" Weichel 1894-1968

O.W. "Mike" Weichel of Elmira turned a wartime tragedy into fifty years service to sports, veterans, his community and his nation.

A promising young hockey and baseball star, Weichel lost a leg in the First World War. Two weeks previously he had signed a professional baseball contract and had been promised a professional hockey tryout. In the eyes of Frank Selke, former general manager of the Montreal Canadiens, Weichel ranked next to Lionel Conacher as Canada's greatest all-round athlete.

With his sports career ended, he turned his interest to executive work. He was a hockey and baseball coach, manager or executive for more than thirty years and served on the Ontario Minor Hockey Association executive for twenty years.

During seven years service as an MP, the former Elmira postmaster spearheaded the drive which brought Canada its first national fitness plan. While sports was a major interest, he was a tireless worker for veterans, his church and his community. During the Second World War he at one time served on the executives of twenty-three sports, charitable, community and military organizations.

William G. "Billy" Weichel 1871-1949

On July 20, 1870, William G. "Billy" Weichel was born in Elmira where his father operated a hardware store. After his education at the Elmira Public School and the Berlin High School, Weichel became a clerk in his father's store from 1883-1890. He then began work as a salesman for the Galt (Cambridge) saw manufacturers, Shurly-Dietrich. In 1896 along with his father and brothers, he opened a hardware store in Waterloo called "M. Weichel and Sons Hardware" and became the manager. He later assumed ownership of the business and renamed it "Weichel Hardware".

Weichel enjoyed recreational activities including fishing, hunting, curling and bowling being a member of the Waterloo Lawn Bowling Club. He was a member of First United Church and the Grand River Masonic Lodge. His prominence in politics led him to hold leadership positions with many companies and organizations such as the Merchants Casualty Insurance Company, the Waterloo Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the Waterloo Board of Trade, the Lancaster Club, the Waterloo Club and the Waterloo County Canadian Club.

His extensive political career began in 1908 when he was elected a town alderman, a position he held until 1911 when he became deputy reeve. That year he left municipal politics and defeated William Lyon Mackenzie King, then Minister of Labour in the Laurier government, to become the Conservative Party's Member of Parliament for North Waterloo. Running under the Unionist platform, he was defeated in the 1917 election.

In 1922-1923 Weichel returned to local politics when he was elected mayor of the town. In this position he sought to revive the activities of the Waterloo Board of Trade, to create employment opportunities for the unemployed and to regulate the town's motor traffic. In 1923 his interests turned to the provincial political arena and Weichel was elected the Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament for the Waterloo riding. He was re-elected in 1926 but defeated three years later. Weichel retired from politics in 1934 after losing the provincial election.

Photograph and biography courtesy of Heritage Resources, City of Waterloo.

Alexander H. Welker 1882-1982

Alex Welker has many claims to fame: he helped manufacture Canada's first production car, the "LeRoy" for Milton and Nelson Good in 1901; was cofounder of Electrohome Limited; co- invented and built the Cycle car at the Pollock-Welker Manufacturing Company and patented thirty inventions in the mechanical field.

He served on the Kitchener Waterloo High School Board for fifty-three years and in 1954 was awarded the "Lamp of Learning" for outstanding service in the field of education.

Born in Listowel in 1882, he apprenticed at the Waterloo Manufacturing company branch in Elmira for $425 a year, and board, and later worked at the Waterloo plant and the Tuerk Engine Company. He established the Met-Craft firm in Waterloo and designed and made the ornamental brass work at the front of the sanctuary in St. John's Lutheran Church in Waterloo.

He witnessed the first Canadian flight of the famous Wright brothers in Weston, Ontario in 1909. Welker was a director of the first symphony orchestra in the Kitchener-Waterloo area and played the cello.

William Wellwood 1940-2003

William Wellwood was born in Chatham, Ontario, moving to Waterloo Region in 1991.  After working for 11 years as a groom and assistant trainer for his uncle, Harold Wellwood Sr., he started his own public stable in 1966. With his family, he formed Wellwood Stables Inc. in 1976.    

For more than 40 years, Wellwood forged a reputation as one of the most astute horsemen, not just in Canada, but on a global scale. He had the distinct ability to select and develop horses into becoming high calibre winners.

Wellwood was named Ontario Jockey Club Horseman of the Year four times - in 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1974, Canadian Horseman of the Year in 1972 and 1974, and he received the O'Brien Award for Trainer of the Year in 1995 and 1997.

Wellwood was a superior trainer and driver who won many races. During his career, he trained 1,014 winners with purses totalling $18 million and drove 2,891 winners with horses that earned $15.7 million.  

Wellwood also gave back to the racing community, serving for 25 years as an executive member of the Ontario Harness Horse Association while also serving as an executive member of the Canadian Trotting Association. In those roles Wellwood helped to develop and implement policies integral to harness racing in Canada and he is considered an icon in North American harness racing.

Wellwood is recognized as a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame and the United States Trotting Hall of Fame.

Photograph courtesy of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Mike West b. 1964

A backstroke swim specialist on Canada's National Team from 1980 to 1986, Waterloo native Mike West revised the Canadian record book ten times in his 100 metre and 200 metre back stroking events. He also set a world record in the 200 metre backstroke at a meet in Winnipeg in 1984.

West earned two medals in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, three at the Commonwealth Games, two at the Pan American Games, four at the World Student Games (FISU), and the Canadian Inter-university Championships. A graduate in Health Studies from the University of Waterloo and in Medicine from Queen's University in Kingston, he is currently practising medicine in Hamilton.

West was named the Canadian Amateur Swimming Association Athlete of the Year in 1985 and was the recipient of the Government of Canada Sports Excellence Award in 1983 and 1984. He trained in Waterloo at the Region of Waterloo Swim Club and the University of Waterloo.

Thomas Hilliard Wholton LLD, CDA 1897-1965

Thomas Hilliard Wholton, born in Hamilton, and a graduate of Queen's University, pioneered in the educational field in Canada. He joined the Galt Collegiate Institute as a science teacher in 1923 and was principal from 1925 to 1959.

His school was one of the first to employ a full-time qualified librarian; the first in Canada to teach traffic safety; the first to grant a specialist's certificate in guidance and one of the first to experiment in advanced technical evening classes and industrial Grade XIII.

Active in drama locally, provincially and nationally, in 1942 he was awarded the Canadian Drama Award for Ontario for his services to drama, including the Dominion Drama Festival and the Western Ontario Festival.

He also served the Family Service Bureau, the Civic Service Club, the Eugenics Society of Canada, and was a Regent of Renison College. In 1952 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Queen's University.

John Lehman Wideman 1833-1917

John L. Wideman was the postmaster at St. Jacobs for forty-four years from 1865 to 1909.

At sixteen he left the family farm in York County to become a carpenter and at nineteen clerked in the John W. Eby dry goods and drug store in Berlin and later in the George W. Eby general store in St. Jacobs. In 1854 he became a member of the firm of Yost, Winkler and Wideman, general merchants.

An ardent Liberal, Wideman was a member of the Woolwich Township Council 1866-1873; township clerk 1873-1905; clerk of the Seventh Division Court 1867-1893; a notary public from 1879; chairman of the License Board of North Waterloo for ten years; a director of the Waterloo Mutual Fire Insurance Company and a member of the Waterloo Historical Society from its beginning.

He was a very prominent member of the Evangelical Church.

John Peter Wilker 1809-1889

The first pioneer of Petersburg, Peter Wilker, had the honour of having the community named after him. He lived all his adult life in the village and owned 250 acres of land. Although he was a skilled carpenter, blacksmith and farmer, his first employment after arrival in Canada from Germany was digging graves for cholera victims. He later delivered mail on horseback.

In 1832 he built the first log house in Petersburg; in 1840, he built the nine-room home known as A The White House; in 1844 the first Lutheran Church; and in 1848 the first school in the village.

Although not a policeman, Wilker A kept order in the village and was a member of the school board and the Lutheran Church board.

Katharine Langdon Wilks 1853-1948

Katharine Langdon Wilks, daughter of Matthew Wilks, an English gentleman, was the great-granddaughter of John Jacob Astor of New York City. She was born at Shanklyn, on the Isle of Wight, and came to Canada with her parents when they, in 1858, settled on what became known as Cruickston Park Farm.

Before it became her permanent residence Wilks traveled extensively and crossed the Atlantic more than seventy times. She was a great admirer of animals. Her show horses were winners for many years, and her stallion "Kentucky Todd" made the Wilks name famous throughout North America. Her beautiful home hosted many prominent people, including royalty. Earl and Lady Grey and the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire were among her guests. She was president of the Red Cross Society for twenty-five years.

Wilks died at Cruickston Park at age 95.

George Erskine Duff Wilson MD 1904-1993

G.E. Duff Wilson was born in Acton, Ontario. He graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto in 1929 and interned at Toronto Western Hospital. He opened his practice in Ayr in 1930, taking post-graduate training in Yonkers, N.Y. He served overseas with the Royal Canadian Medical Corps which he joined in 1942. Lieutenant Colonel Wilson remained active with the Corps after the War.

After taking a diploma in public health at the University of Toronto (1946), Wilson was appointed Medical Officer of Health for Kitchener in 1948. He served as Medical Officer of Health for the County of Waterloo from 1965 to 1971.

Through the Ontario Medical Association, he sparked the Canadian Fitness Program. He was local historian for Ayr, President of the Ayr Horticultural Society and promoted tree planting. He was an elder and chorister at Knox United Church and he served on North Dumfries Township Council from 1973 to 1975.

Honours included Ayr Citizen of the Year 1979, the Centennial Award, Ontario Volunteer Award and Celebration 88 certificate.

Photograph, Kitchener-Waterloo Record Photographic Negative Collection Dana Porter Library, University of Waterloo

William John Wintemberg 1876-1941

Lack of education does not keep a man from reaching great heights. William Wintemberg, a blacksmith's son, born in New Dundee of German-Alsatian parents, overcame several handicaps, and was elected to fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada.

A shy, retiring boy, weak physically, he was apprenticed to a tailor. At sixteen he worked in Toronto as a printer, and later a coppersmith. He became a helper at the Ontario Provincial Museum, and due to his great interest in Indian artifacts was appointed assistant to the chief archaeologist of the Royal Victoria Museum, Ottawa. In 1926, for health reasons, he curtailed his work but continued to take part in excavations throughout Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. He worked at the St. Ignace II research project.

An expert in Iroquoian archaeology, he published seventy-five articles and pamphlets. His book, Folklore of Waterloo County , gives a true picture of the early settlers.

Honourable John J. Wintermeyer 1916-1993

John Wintermeyer's long career in public life was one that could truly be called "a devoted service to a calling."

Wintermeyer was born in Berlin (Kitchener) and attended St. Jerome's High School. He graduated in commerce and philosophy from the University of Notre Dame before attending Harvard Law School. In 1943, he graduated from Dalhousie Law School and he was admitted to the bar in Nova Scotia and Ontario.

Wintermeyer was elected as a City of Kitchener alderman in 1952, and in 1955 he was elected Member of Provincial Parliament for Waterloo North. In 1958, Wintermeyer became leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, a position he held until 1963. As leader of the official opposition in the Legislature, Wintermeyer stressed the need for hospital and medical insurance, education reform, improvements in public services, equality of opportunity and constitutional changes.

Wintermeyer was known as man of deep faith, charity and integrity. He held a Papal Honour - Member of the Order of St. Sylvestre, Sir Knight of Malta; and he held a Civilian Honour - Member of the Military Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem. In 1993, he was honoured as Kitchener Citizen of the Year in recognition of his public contributions, and his commitment and dedication to the community. He served on the boards of numerous organizations including St. Mary's St. Vincent de Paul, The Working Centre, the Anna Kaljas House, St. John's Kitchen and Reaching Our Outdoor Friends.

Wintermeyer played an integral role in the development of Hockey Canada, serving as President and Director, and he was Chairman of the Canadian Olympic Hockey Foundation.

In 1994, St. Jerome's University created the John J. Wintermeyer Chair, and in 2000 the University established the John J. Wintermeyer Lecture in Christianity and Public Policy. In his honour, the City of Waterloo established Wintermeyer Park along the Grand River.

Klaus Woerner 1939-2005

Klaus Woerner founded Automation Tooling Systems (ATS), which is today a global leader in automated manufacturing solutions.

Woerner was born in Tiengen, Germany and trained in Switzerland as a tool-and-die maker. He immigrated to Canada in 1960, and spent his first 14 years in Canada in various technician jobs, while studying engineering at night.

Woerner moved to Kitchener in 1974, and four years later mortgaged his home to start a small business making special purpose machines. Today, that company is ATS, which employs more than 4,000 people around the world, more than half of them in Waterloo Region.

Throughout his life and until his death in 2005 at the age of 65, Woerner proved himself to be a gifted engineer, entrepreneur and business leader. He made a significant contribution to the global automation industry, and in 1997 was named Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year.

Woerner embodied the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation for which Waterloo Region has become known. He was a community builder who was known for his philanthropy. His many substantial donations included support for the Centre in the Square, Conestoga College to upgrade robotics and automation equipment, and the University of Waterloo to establish a laboratory for automated manufacturing research.

Woerner also donated to the Grand River Hospital, the K-W Symphony, the K-W Philharmonic Choir, the YMCA, the Walter Bean Grand River Trail, the Grand River Conservation Authority, and Junior Achievement among other organizations.

Ward Woolner MD 1879-1958

Ward Woolner, born in Waterloo Township, practiced medicine in Ayr and surrounding townships for more than sixty years, serving three generations of many families. He graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto in 1903, and started his practice in 1904.

He was President of the Ontario Medical Association, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Ontario Medical Health Association, Vice-president, the Canadian Medical Association, a charter member of Waterloo County Medical Association, and for several years was Chief Coroner for Waterloo County.

Dr. Woolner was elected to Ayr Council (1912-13-14-17) and was Reeve (1913-14). He was Medical Officer of Health for North Dumfries (1923-54) and for Ayr for twenty-five years. He promoted the Public Health Nurse service for Ayr and North and South Dumfries schools, one of the first of such services in rural areas.

He was a school trustee in Ayr, an elder in Knox United Church, an office holder in the Masonic Order, and served on many citizens' projects.

Women's Institutes of Ontario - Waterloo District Women's Institute

The Women's Institute movement was started in Ontario in 1897 through the combined efforts of Erland and Janet Lee and Adelaide Hunter Hoodless.

The Women's Institute's mission promoted knowledge for rural women that led to improvements in home sanitation, better understanding of economic and hygienic value of foods and fuels, enhanced care of children, and raising the general standard of health. The original focus of domestic science education was expanded to include personal growth opportunities, government lobbying, and health and community wellness initiatives.

The earliest Women's Institutes in Waterloo County began in Winterbourne in 1902 and in Wellesley in 1903. At one time, there were 33 Women's Institute Branches in Waterloo Region.

In the mid-1930s, Branches were encouraged to start keeping local history books which became known as the Tweedsmuir Village History Books. The Branches in Waterloo Region have faithfully created and preserved these scrapbooks for many decades.

For more than 100 years the Women's Institute movement has grown into a global organization operating in more than 60 countries helping women assume leadership roles in their communities.

Today, there are four Branches left in the Waterloo Region - Bloomingdale, Branchton, Maple Grove and New Dundee.

Oliver J. Wright 1905-1983

Oliver J. Wright, a native of Conestoga, was educated at the K-W Collegiate and the Ontario Agriculture College. He worked as a chemical laboratory technician at Dominion Rubber Co. before becoming a farmer.

He was elected to Woolwich Township Council in 1941 and served as reeve and warden of Waterloo County in 1949. As chairman of the Grand Valley Conservation Authority, he helped create several conservation areas. He was appointed to the Honour Roll of the Grand River Conservation Authority in 1976.

He was a member of the Elmira District Secondary School Board and served on the board of the Rotary Club and the North Waterloo Society for Crippled Children. He was a founding member and president of the board of the Doon Pioneer Village Foundation.

He contributed to the improvement of agriculture through many farm organizations, including the Waterloo Holstein Breeders Club, the Twin City Milk Foundation and the Associated Milk Foundation of Canada, all of which he served as president.

Joseph Wrigley 1850-1934

Joseph Wrigley helped administer the municipal affairs of North Dumfries Township for forty years. He was a councillor from 1880 to 1884, deputy reeve in 1885 and 1886 and reeve in 1887 and 1883. In 1887 he was warden of Waterloo County, was appointed North Dumfries township clerk and treasurer in 1889 and served in this joint capacity until 1924.

He was also the first secretary of the Ayr Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Co., founded in 1893, serving until 1922.

Like his father, Sylvanus Wrigley, he farmed at Wrigley's Corners, eight miles south of Galt, for fifty years. Wrigley often proudly recalled the distinguished and interesting history of the Wrigley family. His grandfather, the original Joseph Wrigley, was greatly interested in education and formal schooling was conducted in his home before a tiny log school was built in 1834.

Dan Yantzi b. 1957

Dan Yantzi was born in Kitchener in 1957 and started playing fast pitch softball as a nine-year-old in his hometown of Tavistock.

In 1978, as a twenty year old, he moved to the senior ranks with the Kitchener Evergreens of the Ontario Fastball League. He later played for the Waterloo CHYM'rs which later began the Waterloo Twins, where he eventually ended his playing days. From 1988 to 1995, he also served as the team treasurer for the Waterloo Twins.

In 1990, Yantzi led the Waterloo Twins to their first appearance at the International Softball Congress World championships. Over the years, he competed in ten World Championship Tournaments (ISC) and received second team all-world selections in both 1991 and 1993.

Maturing from his younger days as a fire-balling right hander and a dominant pitcher in Ontario, he prolonged his career through a strict regimen of exercise, weight training and diet. In addition, he also added a dreaded change-up pitch to his repertoire. In his last year of active play, he also became Canada's first player representative to the ISC.

Following his career in sport, he continued to give back to the youth of the community, trying to develop their pitching skills through better mechanical skills, hard work and dedication to the sport.

When Kitchener-Waterloo hosted the 2002 ISC World Championships, Yantzi was inducted, as the first Canadian pitcher, into the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame.

Yantzi is a world-class competitor, a man of convictions and principles, who truly played for the love of the game. He is a professional account, CMA, and currently owns Sketchley Cleaners in Kitchener-Waterloo. He is also the proud father of Aaron and Jordan.

John "Jack" Alexander Young 1919-1999

Jack Young was born in Toronto and raised in Saskatchewan. He served overseas during the Second World War in the medical corps, suffering serious lung injuries during a bombing in 1943. While he was recuperating at the Freeport Hospital in Kitchener, he was taught leatherworking as part of his occupational therapy program

In 1949, Young formed Custom Leather Products Ltd., which he sold in 1974. Today, Custom Leather is the largest and one of the oldest men's belt manufacturers in Canada.

Young served as a trustee on the Waterloo Township School Board from 1949 to 1950 and then with the Kitchener School Board from 1960 to 1966, serving two terms as Chairman.

In 1965 Young was elected to Kitchener City Council and re-elected from 1967 to 1969. In the late 1960s he served on the Kitchener and Area Planning Board. He was elected Chair of the Waterloo County Area Planning Board in 1969.

In 1972, Young was appointed by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario as the first Regional Chairman of the new Regional Municipality of Waterloo for a four and a half year term. He was elected chair by Regional Council in 1976 and served until 1978.

At a time of change, when previously existing municipal structures were reconfigured, including dissolution and amalgamation, Young recognized the importance of local identity and traditions. He felt that regional government had a responsibility to ensure that local heritage was preserved. In 1973, he initiated the Waterloo Region Heritage Foundation as a not-for-profit organization. Funded by an annual grant from the Region of Waterloo, the Foundation promotes and encourages interest in the heritage and culture of Waterloo Region.

In 1988, Waterloo Regional Council established a biennial award in Young's name to recognize a person in Waterloo Region who best exemplifies the high standards of political and civic life exhibited by Young.

After leaving local politics, Young served as a Consultant and Senior Advisor on US affairs with the Ontario Ministry of Industry and Trade from 1979 to 1986; Chairman, President and CEO of Ontario International Corporation from 1980 to 1986; and was Principal Partner in JA Young & Associates, consulting on international trade, municipal affairs and corporate services.

Photograph by Belair, Kitchener.

Hon. James Young 1835-1913

The field of politics, local, provincial and national, was a lifelong interest of James Young of Galt.

From 1853 to 1863, as editor and publisher of the Dumfries Reformer , he could express his political opinions in print. He represented the riding of South Waterloo as a Liberal in the Canadian Parliament from 1867 to 1878. Young's suggestion to have a Canadian Hansard received approval from both sides of the House. In 1879 and 1880 he was a member of the Ontario Legislature, representing North Brant, and was appointed Provincial Treasurer in 1883. Ill health compelled him to resign his post four months later, but he remained as a member of the Legislature until 1886.

Young was an excellent speaker, writer on commercial affairs and a historian, publishing a number of books, including Reminiscences of the Early History of Galt and the Settlement of Dumfries and Public Men and Public Life in Canada.

Noah Zeller 1851-1914

Noah Zeller was Waterloo County's most famous self-made musician. His Mennonite parents, of Breslau, refused to allow him to play any instrument. However, he bought a violin which he hid and lowered from his bedroom window to practice in secret. In spite of parental feelings, he persevered with his musical studies and at eighteen developed an orchestra in Bridgeport. He taught music and was a cabinetmaker.

Zeller was a member of the Kitchener band from 1869 to 1875, as a clarinetist, and became leader in 1880. At different periods he was leader of either the Waterloo or the Kitchener band (at one time leading both) and brought them to a high state of perfection. He also led the St. Jacobs, New Hamburg and Baden bands and gave private lessons. In 1912, because of ill health, he resigned as leader of the Kitchener band, after twenty- three continuous years of service.

Walter P. Zeller 1890-1957

Walter P. Zeller, who became the founder of a great chain of stores, Zeller's Ltd., began his career as a delivery boy, sweeping floors and washing windows. His pioneer grandfather settled on a farm near Breslau, in 1831. The family's great interest in the pioneers of this County led the Zeller Family Foundation to provide funds to assist in the development of Doon Pioneer Village.

Zeller's personal success with Zeller's Ltd., came after a period of training with other department stores.

He gave generously of his time in an executive capacity to a large number of community, provincial and national enterprises, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis Club, the Canadian Osteopathic Aid Society, the Shawbridge Boys' Farm and Training School and the YMCA. He also served as Executive Assistant to the Minister of National War Services and Chairman of the National War Savings Campaign.

Elizabeth Ziegler 1854-1942

Elizabeth Ziegler, daughter of Enoch Ziegler and Hannah Hallman, received her teaching certificate from the Toronto Normal School at the age of sixteen, and at that time was the youngest student to receive a certificate. It was signed by Dr. Egerton Ryerson, Ontario's first Minister of Education. She taught for fifty-eight years, one year in Breslau, two years in Bloomingdale and in Waterloo for fifty-five years in both Central School and later as principal of Alexandra School.

Premier G.S. Henry presided when the Elizabeth Ziegler School, Moore Avenue, Waterloo, was opened and named in honour of her on September 2, 1931. Mr. Henry said in part:

"This splendid building is a monument to the purpose, integrity and inspiration of a woman who has helped fashion the lives of the citizens of this community and has helped them to make the best use of their lives."

Ziegler was a vocalist of note for many years and was a church choir leader. She retired in 1930 and died in 1942.

Lieut. George Henry Ziegler ED, LCTM, ATCM 1889-1981

George Henry Ziegler devoted his life to the musical development of his community. He graduated from the University of Toronto and the Toronto Conservatory of Music.

He was a flautist with the 29^th Regiment Band, the Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He was organist and choirmaster at St. Peter's Church, St. Andrew's Church and at Trinity United from 1917-1950.

Founder of the Berlin Conservatory of Music in 1913, he retired as principal in 1974. He organized the Kitchener-Waterloo branch of the Ontario Registered Music Teacher's Association and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, which he directed. He was leader of the 29^th Regiment Band of the Scots Fusiliers of Canada, and of the Kitchener Musical Society Band for forty-one years. He organized the Kitchener Ladies' Band and the first Kitchener Boys' Band.

Ziegler served on the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, and on the board of the Western Ontario Conservatory of Music.

Sister Mary Aloysia Zimmer SSND 1907-2002

A native of Bruce County, Sister Aloysia graduated from Hamilton Normal School in 1927, and began her teaching career as a School Sister of Notre Dame (SSND), teaching in St. Agatha, St. Clements, Kitchener, Preston and Oakville. She was supervising principal of the Kitchener Separate Schools for sixteen years, principal of St. Mary's School in Oakville for six years and principal at St. Clement's School in Preston for three years.

Sister Aloysia was active in the work of teachers' federations at the regional, provincial, national and international levels. As president of the Ontario English Teachers' Association, and as a governor of the Ontario Teachers' Federation from 1966 to 1969, she received the President's Award, and was made a Fellow of OTF. She represented 90,000 Ontario teachers at two national and three world conferences.

After retiring in 1973 she organized "Project RAISE" (Retirees Assisting in Serving Each Other), and interdenominational, volunteer, nonprofit organization representative of all walks of life, races and creeds, to alleviate the loneliness of elderly people in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.

Sister Aloysia died in the 74th year of her religious profession on December 12, 2002.

Margaret E. Zoeller 1920-2012

Margaret E. Sudden was born in Galt (Cambridge) in 1920. She attended St. Andrew's School and the Galt Collegiate Institute where she took a commercial course. She was a prime study analyst before her marriage to Austin S. Zoeller, a Wilmot Township farmer.

Beginning in the Haysville Branch of the Women's Institute, she served with distinction in six levels of this rural women's organization, including the Associated Country Women of the World.

Zoeller was public relations officer for the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario and later became Provincial President from 1968 to 1971. She was the voice of Ontario Women's Institutes when she was editor of Home and Country from 1974 to 1982.

She was director of the first provincial Junior Farmers' Board, a member of the Ontario Food Council and received the Centennial Medal in 1967.

Photograph by Belair, Kitchener.

Herman Theodor Zoellner 1854-1922

Herman Theodor Zoellner made a tremendous contribution to the early musical life of the Berlin-Waterloo area.

He was born in Dornburg, Saxony, and came from a long line of musicians. He studied music in Germany and in Berlin after coming here in 1861. He went to Cincinnati to obtain a theoretical and practical musical education. In 1880, on his return to Berlin, he started vocal and instrumental classes, took over the leadership of several societies and organized the Philharmonic Society and Orchestra which presented many great choral works as well as operas and operettas.

He was the director of several "Saengerfests" and being an able arranger, composer and performer on various instruments ranked high in his profession.

He conducted several men's choruses, was the singing master in the Berlin public schools and St. Jerome's College and the organist and choir director in two churches.