Kaufman Footwear was founded as Kaufman Rubber Co. in Berlin, Ontario (now Kitchener) in 1907 by Jacob Ratz Kaufman. The plant opened in 1908 with 350 employees and produced rubber footwear for both domestic and foreign markets. After Jacob Kaufman's death in 1920, his son, A.R. Kaufman, became president of the company until 1964, when he retired to become Chairman of the Board. During this time the company's product line expanded to include rubber clothing for industry, such as fishermen, miners and policemen.

The company eventually began to manufacture footwear not necessarily made from rubber, the most popular being "Foamtread" slippers, which were introduced in 1953. In 1954 Kaufman became "a pioneer in the slush-molding of waterproof footwear from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) under the name Showertogs." ("Wm. H. Kaufman, Inc", leaflet.), and also began manufacturing leather workboots. The Sorel line of winter sport/work boots, introduced in 1959, became its most successful product line.

In 1964 the Kaufman Rubber Co. changed its name to Kaufman Footwear Ltd., then to Kaufman Footwear Inc. in 1973 when William H. Kaufman became Chairman of the Board in his father A.R. Kaufman's place. In 1961 Kaufman purchased L.H. Packard & Co. of Montreal, and in 1966 purchased Prospect Shoes Ltd. of Sherbrooke, Québec, only two of several companies in Canada and the United States owned and operated by Kaufman. After A.R. Kaufman's death in 1979 Kaufman Footwear became Kaufman Footwear, division of William H. Kaufman Inc. Irvin Weber became president of the footwear division in 1986, followed by John Loucks in 1991. In 1997 Tom Kaufman, son of William H. Kaufman, was named president. In 2000 Kaufman Footwear declared bankruptcy.

The Kaufman Rubber Co. plant at the corner of Victoria and King. St. in Kitchener, Ont. was designated in 1996 by the Kitchener LACAC as architecturally and historically significant. The industrial complex was designed by Albert Kahn, "foremost industrial architect" of the early 20th century. (Industrial Artifacts Project, "A history of the Kaufmans and their rubber company," 2001.)

Alvin ("A.R.") Kaufman was an industrialist and philanthropist. He was born to Jacob Kaufman and Mary Eidt Ratz in Berlin (Kitchener), Ontario on February 11, 1885. He was raised alongside his three siblings; Emma Ratz Kaufman, Milton Ratz Kaufman, and Edna Louise Kaufman.

In 1907, Alvin Ratz and his father Jacob Kaufman formed the Kaufman Rubber Company Limited, which continued as the Kaufman Footwear division of William H. Kaufman Incorporated until 2000 when the company declared bankruptcy.

Following the example set by his parents, Jacob and Mary Kaufman, Alvin Ratz supported, both personally and financially, many community organizations in the Kitchener area as well as endeavours to which he was philosophically committed, such as birth control.

He was Chairman of the Kitchener Planning Board for 36 years, served on the Kitchener Parks Board for more than 40 years, was a member of the Kitchener Hospital Board, was president of the YMCA for 13 years, was a member of the founding Board of Governors of the University of Waterloo, and served in various capacities for Zion Church in Kitchener.

Alvin Ratz Kaufman founded the Parents' Information Bureau in 1935 to distribute birth control information. One of the field-workers he hired, Dorothea Palmer, was arrested in 1936 in Ottawa under the obscenity provisions of the Criminal Code. She was acquitted in a landmark verdict that declared her work to be 'for the public good." In 1976, Alvin Ratz was honoured by the Planned Parenthood Federation of Ontario for his work in birth control and family planning.

Alvin Ratz married Jane Helen "Jean" Hutton on August 12, 1911 and together they had four children; Helen Mary Kaufman, William Hutton Kaufman, Edward Kaufman (deceased in infancy) and Sally Jean. Kaufman was remarried in 1972, following Jean's death, to C. Elspath "Beth" Hall, who died shortly after their nuptials. He was married for a third time to Ruth Samson.

Alvin Ratz died in his sleep at his Waterloo home on February 1, 1979 and was buried in Woodland Cemetery.

Emma Ratz Kaufman was born to Jacob Kaufman and Mary Eidt Ratz in Berlin (Kitchener), Ontario on August 27, 1881. She was raised alongside her three siblings; Alvin Ratz Kaufman, Milton Ratz Kaufman and, Edna Louise Kaufman. As a child, she attended King Edward Public School and graduated from Berlin High School.

Emma was strongly influenced by her parents and their work with the Zion Evangelical Church. Subsequently, Emma travelled to Japan in 1909 with Reverend J.P. Hauch and his wife who worked as missionaries. Emma spent six months in Japan and then returned to Canada. She then studied at the United Church Training School and then travelled to New York to take the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) training course.

Emma returned to Japan in 1912 and volunteered with the Tokyo YWCA for the next 25 years. Emma's work focused primarily on providing education for women and she developed classes for women in home economics, camping, physical education among other subject areas. In addition, Emma served as the only foreign secretary for the YWCA in Japan from 1916-1923. Emma also trained Japanese leaders for the YMCA and helped arrange for Canadian students to study in Japan.

In 1940, Emma left Japan for a brief vacation but was unable to return to the country due to the Second World War. While in Canada, Emma was concerned with the treatment of Japanese people in Canada during the war. She established a co-operative residence for men in Kitchener, Ontario and helped find young girls work in domestic positions. She also established a scholarship to help send Japanese girls to university and teachers college.

After the war, Emma worked for the national YWCA in Canada and helped purchase a house in Toronto, Ontario for their national headquarters. In 1965, Emma returned to Japan and was honoured by the Emperor of Japan for her services to the country. She received a silver saki bowl with the Imperial Seal of Japan inscribed on it. During the same year, Emma was awarded the International Co-operation Year medal by Cardinal Leger for her work in the development of home economics, higher education for women, camping, recreation for women, and youth leadership. She was also given a lifetime membership in the Adult Education Association.

Emma died on March 1, 1979.

Jacob Kaufman was born to Joseph Kauffman and Anna Stroh in North Easthope Township in Upper Canada on July 15, 1847. He was the third of ten children born to Joseph and Anna. During his youth, Jacob worked on the family farm. As a young adult, Jacob found a position working as a sawyer in the sawmill owned by Henry Ratz in Gads Hill, Ontario.

In March 1877, Jacob married Mary Eidt Ratz and together they moved to Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario. Jacob and Mary had seven children. Only two of their sons and two of their daughters reached adulthood; Emma Ratz Kaufman, Alvin Ratz Kaufman, Milton Ratz Kaufman, and Edna Louise Kaufman.

In 1877, Jacob and his father-in-law, Henry Ratz, established a planing mill and a sash-and-door factory. The business was successful and in 1888 a new factory was constructed. Jacob eventually bought out Henry Ratz from the company and the business was incorporated as Jacob Kaufman Limited in 1916.

Jacob was a founder of the rubber footwear industry in Berlin (Kitchener), Ontario. In 1903, Jacob started a rubber firm called Merchants Rubber. The company specialized in producing rubber footwear and rubber garments for fisherman and miners. Merchants Rubber was eventually absorbed by Canadian Consolidated Rubber of Montreal along with its major competitor, Berlin Rubber. In 1907, Jacob and his son Alvin Ratz Kaufman formed the Kaufman Rubber Company Limited, which continued as the Kaufman Footwear division of William H. Kaufman Incorporated until 2000 when the company declared bankruptcy.

Jacob was a member of the Zion Evangelical Church throughout his life and served as a trustee for 35 years. Jacob was also actively involved in civic and community initiatives, supporting causes such as the local Children's Aid Society, the Kitchener-Waterloo Orphanage, the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the YMCA, the YWCA and the Kitchener-Waterloo Hospital.

Jacob died on April 20, 1920.

Jane Helen "Jean" Kaufman was a philanthropist and volunteer. She was born October 25, 1886 in Port Elgin, Ontario the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Hutton. She moved to Berlin (now Kitchener) in 1911 where she would become known as an active supporter of local organizations. She raised funds for the YWCA and Victorian Order of Nurses, and was a member of the Zion United Church. Kaufman married Alvin Ratz Kaufman on August 12 , 1911 and together they had three children: Helen Mary, William Hutton, Edward Kaufman (deceased in infancy) and Sally Jean.

Mary Eidt Ratz was born to Christine Eidt and Henry Ratz in Gads Hill, Ontario on December 14, 1856. Mary was one of 13 children born to Christine Eidt and Henry Ratz.

In March 1877, Mary married Jacob Kaufman, who at the time worked as a sawyer in her father's saw mill. Together, Mary and Jacob moved to Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario. Mary and Jacob had seven children. Only two of their sons and two of their daughters reached adulthood; Emma Ratz Kaufman, Alvin Ratz Kaufman, Milton Ratz Kaufman, and Edna Louise Kaufman.

Mary was a member of the Zion Evangelical Church throughout her life and led the Zion's women's society. Mary was also actively involved in many civic and community initiatives. She was the president of the local Children's Aid Society and the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) and a member of the National Council of Women of Canada, the Women’s Hospital Aid Association of Ontario, and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. Mary was also known to support the Kitchener-Waterloo Orphanage and the Kitchener-Waterloo Hospital.

Mary died on December 24, 1943.

Milton Ratz Kaufman was born to Mary Eidt Ratz and Jacob Kaufman in Berlin (Kitchener), Ontario on September 30, 1886. He was raised alongside his three siblings; Emma Ratz Kaufman, Alvin Ratz Kaufman, and Edna Louise Kaufman.

After his father died in 1920, Milton assumed control of the family planing and lumber mills.

Milton married Edith D. Oetzel (February 26, 1889-January 9, 1980) and together they had one son; Jacob Edmund Kaufman (April 18, 1916-October 20, 2012).

Milton died on November 6, 1980.

William "Bill" Hutton Kaufman was a third-generation businessman, philanthropist and community volunteer in Kitchener, Ontario. He was born on March 19, 1920 to Alvin ("A.R.") Kaufman and Jane Helen "Jean" Hutton in Kitchener, Ontario. He received his education in Kitchener and at the University of Toronto. He served as an RCAF flying instructor during WWII, and after the war ran Kaufman Furniture in Collingwood, Ontario. He succeeded his father as president of Kaufman Rubber Co. Ltd. (later renamed Kaufman Footwear) in 1964, after having worked in the company since 1952. In 1973 he again succeeded his father, this time as Chairman of the Board. In 1979 several companies were amalgamated to form William H. Kaufman Inc. William H. Kaufman stepped down as president in 1986 but remained as Board Chairman.

Following the example of his father and grandfather, Kaufman was an active member of the community. In 1955 he became a member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Hospital Commission and in 1974 became the Chairman on the Waterloo Region District Health Council, serving for 35 years until 1990. The YMCA also benefited from his participation for more than 35 years: in 1954 he became a board member, served as president from 1978 to 1981, helped fund the A.R. Kaufman YMCA in 1982 and was named Honourary President in 1983. In 1996 he activated The William H. Kaufman Charitable Foundation to fund innovative projects worldwide in the areas of education, health, environment, and others.

Kaufman's philanthropic and volunteer work earned him many awards, among them the Canada National Health and Welfare Volunteer Award (1986), National YMCA Council Fellowship of Honour (1983), Canadian Red Cross Society Distinguished Service Award (1987).

Kaufman married Sarah Kathleen Kaufman on November 22, 1947. Together they had four children: David, Sally, Tom, and Elizabeth. They divorced in 1965. He was married for a second time on May 12, 1968 to Margaret "Peg" Isabelle Forbes.

Kaufman died on October 8, 2005 and was buried at Woodland Cemetery.

Christian Ellison Kaumeyer was born on October 12, 1895 in Chippewa, Ontario. He was appointed general manager of the Niagara Parks Commission in 1934. He was appointed one of the original commissioners when the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission came into being in 1938, and became general manager in 1941, which post he held until 1966. He died June 21, 1967.

John Keble was an English churchman and poet. Keble attended Corpus Christi College, Oxford and was later a fellow at Oriel College, Oxford. In 1815 he took his holy orders and became a curate. In 1827 his work "The Christian Year" was published and due to this he was appointed Chair of Poetry at Oxford in 1831. The success of this collection of verse was so great that nintey five editions were printed in Keble's lifetime. In 1835 Keble was appointed Vicar of Hursley where he remained for the rest of his life. Keble died in 1866.

Miss Oktoberfest 1988.

Percy S. Keeting was born ca. 1895 in England and immigrated to the United States in 1933.

Ivan Wilbur Keffer was born March 21, 1890 in Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario. He married Mary Louise Elligsen of Sebringville in 1917. Keffer began working for the F.W. Woolworth Co. in Hamilton, Ontario in 1912, after graduating from high school. He was named manager of a store in Stratford, Ontario in 1915, later working as a district superintendent and then buyer based in Toronto, Ontario. In 1927, the company opened the subsidiary F.W. Woolworth GmbH in Germany. The same year Keffer accepted a position to organize and develop the, moving with his wife and daughter Mary Jane to Berlin, Germany. He became managing director of the German company in 1933. The Keffers lived in Berlin until 1939 when they returned to Canada and settled in Toronto because of the political and economic tensions in Germany. Keffer continued to serve Woolworth’s as Canadian General Manager. In 1945, he was appointed executive vice president and treasurer of the company and the family moved to New York. Upon his retirement in 1953, the Keffers moved back to Toronto and lived in an apartment there as well as the house they built in Port Elgin. Keffer died January 7, 1965 and was buried in the family plot at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery in Vaughn, Ontario.

Naila Keleta-Mae is an artist, poet and Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Waterloo. The principal investigator of the Black and Free research-creation project, Keleta-Mae is a National Research Council of Canada Dorothy Killam Fellow, and the Tier 2 SSHRC Canada Research Chair in Race, Gender and Performance. Known for her work in Black expressive culture and Black feminisms, her scholarly contributions focus on the cultural production of Black women including music, videos, performances, plays, and poetry, and has authored two books Beyoncé And Beyond: 2013-2016 (2023) and Performing Female Blackness (2023).

Keleta-Mae was born in Toronto, Ontario and was heavily influenced by her parents, who immigrated to Canada from Jamaica in the 1960s, and were active in community building, including as members of the Afro-Caribbean Association of Manitoba during the 1970s. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and Spanish from Concordia University. Keleta-Mae completed a Masters of Arts in 2005 and a Doctorate of Philosophy, Theater Studies in 2012, both at York University. She worked as a faculty advisor at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont for two years, before joining the University of Waterloo as a lecturer in 2011, where she was promoted to Associate Professor in 2020.

In addition to scholarly contributions, research and theatrical performances, since joining Waterloo, Keleta-Mae has regularly written and commentates for major media outlets, and gained international attention in 2015 for centering Beyoncé as a topic of focus in an undergraduate Gender and Performance course. Founded in 2017, her Black and Free research-creation project, which examines Black expression in the 21st century, consists of multi-year research partnerships and includes a research team of more than 30 people. In 2022, Keleta-Mae received the UWaterloo Arts Award for Excellence in Research.

Blanche Mildred Clement Kelly (1881-1945) was born July 16th, 1881 to Edwin Perry Clement and Janie Elizabeth Bowlby Clement in Waterloo. In 1915 at the age of 34 she married 28 year old Frederick Bowman Kelly (1887-1984) of Guelph. The two moved to Guelph where Frederick was employed as a merchant. The two had no children. Blanche died in 1945 at the home of her sister Florence and Frederick lived until the age of 97, dying in 1984.

Peter Reginald Kelly was born at Skidegate, British Columbia on April 21, 1885. He was a member of the Haida.

Peter studied theology at Coqualeetza Institute and Columbia College, both Methodist institutions. He taught school for five years at Skidegate, British Columbia before becoming a lay preacher. Later, he became an ordained minister and served in several pastorates and as captain of the Thomas Crosby III and Thomas Crosby IV mission ships.

Peter was an advocate for Indigenous rights, particularly surrounding BC land claims. As president of the Allied Tribes of BC (ATBC), he testified on Indigenous grievances before a special parliamentary committee in 1927. He was active in the Native Brotherhood of BC in the 1930s and he was a key figure in the consultations of the late 1940s that led to a revision of the Indian Act.

In 1948, Kelly received an honorary degree in theology from the University of British Columbia. In 1957, he was elected president of the Conference of the United Church in British Columbia.

Peter Reginald Kelly died at Nanaimo, British Columbia on March 2, 1966.

Tony Kelly worked at a Literary Manager of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Robert Julius Kelp was born in Hamburg (Germany) in 1926 to Karl and Katherine (Kruse) Kelp.
In 1944, Kelp joined the Luftwaffe (the aerial-warfare branch of the German armed forces or Wehrmacht) where he served as a paratrooper on the Western Front, primarily in Belgium and the Netherlands.
During his time as a member of the Wehrmacht, Kelp was injured and spent time in a hospital and visiting family. He returned to the front and was captured by the British forces in the winter of 1945. From 1945 to 1948, Kelp was a prisoner of war and was transferred to different prisoner-of-war camps, ending in France where he was assigned to work removing landmines in Normandy and working on several farms in the area. In 1946, Kelp and his colleagues tried to escape to Germany and ended up in the Cherche-Midi prison in Paris. In November 1948, Kelp returned to Hamburg with his family, where he trained and worked as a tool and die maker.
In 1958, Kelp emigrated to Toronto where he worked with Frank Stronach (founder of Magna International). In 1963, he was joined in Canada by his girlfriend Gitta Hartmann (1932-2018) whom he married soon after and with whom he had two children. The family soon moved to Kitchener-Waterloo for work-related reasons. In 1967, Kelp became a Canadian citizen.
Robert Julius Kelp died in 2013, aged 87.

Irvine Kempt jr. was born April 21, 1871 in Glasgow to Irvine Kempt (1831-May 14, 1920) and Margaret Davidson (Nov. 26, 1839-January 17, 1900), daughter of George Davidson, first sheriff of Waterloo County, Ontario and Margaret Garden.

Margaret Davidson was born November 26, 1839 in Bridgeport (now Kitchener), Ontario to Sheriff George Davidson and Margaret Garden. She married Irvine Kempt in Glasgow, Scotland on July 17, 1867. Margaret Kempt died January 17, 1900.

Nigel Kennedy Kempt was born March 22, 1910 in Glasgow, Scotland, son of Irvine Kempt jr. (1871-1920) and Louise Ashton Kennedy. He died July 7, 1955.

The Kent County Home Economics Association was established on January 18, 1978 as the Kent Family and Consumer Studies Association. The group was established as a professional organization to provide support, networking, and learning opportunities for home economists in the Chatham-Kent area of Ontario. Membership included those in the fields of consumerism, child studies, foods and nutrition, housing, and textiles. The organization hosted guest speakers and demonstrations on a variety of topics including special education, fitness, healthy cooking, work-life balance, women's experiences, personal finance, early childhood education, crafting, adolescent sexuality, and more. In April of 1981 the name of the group changed to the Kent Home Economics Association, to keep in the line with the recently established Ontario Home Economics Association. The organization disbanded sometime after 1987.

James (Jim) Keron is an alumnus of the University of Waterloo. Keron graduated with a Bachelor of Mathematics (BMath) in 1970 and a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Anthropology in 1986. Keron also received a Master of Arts (MA), Archeology in 2003 and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Bioarcheology in 2015 from Western University.

During his time as a student at the University of Waterloo, Keron was actively involved in various clubs and committees, including the Folk Music Club and the Federation of Students (now known as the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association, WUSA).

Keron served on the Orientation Committee in 1967, where he played a key role in coordinating events and activities for incoming students. He also served on the Homecoming Committee in 1967 and helped organize the celebration.

In 1968, Keron took on the role of Chairman for Summer Weekend 68, a multi-day event featuring activities and musical performances for the university community, which was organized by the Federation of Students. Additionally, he served as the Chairman of the Board of Student Activities during Fall 1968.

In 1969, Keron served as Chairman of the Orientation Committee and worked as the Treasurer of the Federation of Students between 1969 and 1970.

As a student, Keron also worked with the concert technology group providing sound and lighting for concerts on campus and for performances held at Wilfrid Laurier University, McMaster University, and other venues.

Benjamin West Kilburn (December 10, 1827 – January 15, 1909) was an American photographer and stereoscopic view (stereograph) publisher famous for his landscape images and his visual record of the great migrations at the end of the nineteenth century.

Admiral Husband E. Kimmel was Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Hawaii, during World War II.

William Kindree was an undergraduate student of mathematics at the University of Waterloo in the 1960s and part of the team led by mathematics lecturers Paul Dirksen and Paul Cress that developed the WATFOR 360 compiler in 1966-1967 as well as its successor WATFIV.