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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

Robert Judd is an alumnus of the University of Waterloo. He studied Mechanical Engineering and received a Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) in 1963.

Judd was part of the second cohort of students that began studying at the University, formerly known as Waterloo College and Associate Faculties, in October 1957. During his time as a student at the University, Judd was the goalie of the Warriors Hockey team.

In 1857 William Hespeler, a merchant, and George Randall, a contractor, built what was known as Granite Mills in Waterloo, Ontario. A susidiary to the mill was a small distillery known as the Waterloo Distillery. The business also included a dry goods store. In 1863 Hespeler and Randall took in William Roos, and in 1864 William Hespeler went abroad, hiring young Joseph Emm Seagram to look after his interests. By 1870 Seagram had bought out Hespeler's interests and the company name became "George Randall and Company."

In 1878 Seagram bought out Randall, and he, Seagram. and Roos operated as "Randall and Company" until 1881 when they changed the name to "Seagram and Roos." 1883 Seagram bought out Roos and became the sole proprietor, changing the company name to "Joseph Seagram Flour Mill and Distillery Company." Seagram incorporated the company in 1911, changing the name to "Joseph E. Seagram and Sons, Limited." By 1919 when Seagram died, he had built his Waterloo distillery into a major exporting company and his brand names were widely known. In 1928 the Bronfman family acquired the distillery and amalgamated it with their company, Distillers Corporation Limited.

Jermal Jones is the Associate Director, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Access in the University of Waterloo Library.

Elwood Jones (January 9 1911-March 1984) a.k.a. Big Al was a children's television host on CKCO TV from 1960 to 1982.

Mary Johnston (1930-2017) pursued a career as an elementary public school teacher and thereafter as public school principal in Waterloo, Ont. She was widely known for the contributions she made to education-related local and provincial committees as well as to the Presbyterian church and to historical groups in the Region. During her 37 year career in education she was presented with numerous awards including the Queen's jubilee medal three times, the K-W Oktoberfest Woman of the Year Award and the Wiegand Award for Teaching Excellence.

Mary Johnston was born to Joseph Samuel and Marion Halley (nee Leslie) Johnston in Edmonton but moved to Waterloo at a young age, attending elementary and secondary school in the city. She was a graduate of Stratford Teacher's College and she received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Western Ontario (1957). She also held a B.Ed. Degree (1963) and a M.Ed. Degree (1968) from the University of Toronto.

She began her teaching career at a rural one room school located on Bearinger Road, now located in the City of Waterloo. She then taught at MacGregor Public School in Waterloo. Her next position was as vice-principal of Empire, followed by Centennial Public School in Waterloo. She later served as principal of Brighton and Winston Churchill. In 1977 she was the first principal of Keatsway, then principal of Macgregor Senior Public School from which she retired in 1987. Her appointment to principal of Brighton in 1969 marked the first time there was a female principal in Waterloo history.

Mary was an active member of many local education board committees and provincial committees. She was a member of the Ontario Teachers' Federation advisory committee to circular 14, and was Regional Professional Development Chairwoman for the Midwestern region of the Ministry of Education from 1974-1976. As well, Mary was a member of local and national bodies including the Waterloo County Women Teachers' Association and the Federation of Women Teachers' Associations of Ontario. She was also involved in local community endeavours and was a member of the K-W University Women's Club. She also served on the City of Waterloo's architectural advisory committee and on the publication committee of the Waterloo Historical Society. Her interest in education and local history lead her to publish The Trail of the Slate, a history of education in the Waterloo Region.

She was ordained an elder of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in 1973 and had been actively involved in many of the church's activities including teaching the Communicants class and serving on the advisory committee for the student intern programme. Her work with the Presbyterian Church lead to her being awarded a life membership in the Women's Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

Mary passed away on July 7, 2017.

Herbert Johnston was the son of John James Johnston and Margaret Beaty and was born at Meaford on April 21st, 1874. He attended the Public and High Schools at Meaford. From 1892 to 1893 he was postmaster, telegraph operator and general merchant in the village of Hollen (?), Ontario. He attended the County Model School at Owen Sound and received the third class certificate of qualification as a public school teacher on Dec. 14, 1895. For several years he taught in schools at Mountain Lake and North Keppel, before studying Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto, graduating from the School of Practical Science in 1903.

He served his apprenticeship with W. M. Davis, O.L.S. at Kitchener and was granted his certificate in February, 1905. Mr. Johnston joined Mr. Davis in partnership from 1904 to 1910, and was also Assistant City Engineer at Kitchener. He was City Engineer at Kitchener from 1910 to 1917. From 1917 on he worked in private practice as a consulting engineer and Ontario Land Surveyor. He was Engineer for Waterloo County, as well as for the towns of Hespeler, Preston, Elmira and New Hamburg, and for the Townships of Waterloo and Wilmot. He was appointed as a member of the Kitchener Road Commission and Kitchener Planning Board. He was an active member of King Street Baptist Church in Kitchener.

Mr. Johnston married Ellen Agnes Clarke, and their children were Ruch (sic) A. Trinier, Alethea M., and Herbert Paul. Herbert Johnston died in Kitchener on June 13th, 1961.

David Lloyd Johnston is an academic, writer and former Governor General of Canada who served as the president of the University of Waterloo from 1999 to 2010. Born June 28, 1941 in Sudbury, Ontario, Johnston completed his studies at Harvard (A.B. 1963), Cambridge (LL.B. 1965) and Queen's (LL.B. 1966).

Known for work related securities regulation, corporation law and communications law, Johnston taught law at Queen's University (1966), and the University of Toronto (1968), and was the University of Western Ontario's Dean of Law (1974 to 1979). In 1979 he was named Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University and in July 1994, after stepping down as Principal, returned to McGill's Faculty of Law as a full-time Professor. Johnston took office as Waterloo's fifth president on June 1, 1999. A member of the Order of Canada, Johnston holds honorary doctorates Among the many honours accorded Professor Johnston are honorary doctorates from higher education institutions across the country.

In addition to authoring and co-authoring numerous books, Johnston has played active roles in a variety of associations and organizations in educational and governmental settings. He was President of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, the Conférence des Recteurs et des Principaux des Universités du Québec, the founding Chair of the National Roundtable on Environment and the Economy and chaired Harvard University's Board of Overseers. For the federal government, he has chaired the Information Highway Advisory Council, the Blue Ribbon Panel on Smart Communities, the Advisory Council on Online Learning, the Committee on Canadian Information Systems for the Environment, and the National Broadband Task Force. He has also chaired the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and The Neuroscience National Centre of Excellence. Professor Johnston has served on many other provincial and federal task forces and committees and is on the boards of a number of companies including CGI Group, Masco Corp., Fairfax Financial Holdings, ARISE Technologies Inc., and is a founding trustee of the MasterCard Foundation.

Miss Oktoberfest 1998.

Stanley Karl Johannesen, born March 10, 1939, is an author, writer, and Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Waterloo. Johannesen was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended Manual Training High School (MTHS) before going on to receive his BA at Evangel College, Missouri, and then his MA and PhD in History (1973) at the University of Missouri. Johannesen began teaching American history while completing his PhD at the University of Missouri and joined the University of Waterloo in 1969 where he remained until his retirement in 2004.
While at the University of Waterloo Johannesen was the first editor-in-chief of Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques, an English and French peer-reviewed academic history journal published at the university from its establishment in 1974 until 1989. During his professional academic career Johannesen produced several papers and reports on teaching, religion, and cultural criticism and delivered presentations at conferences worldwide, from Korea to Norway to Cuba. Johannesen was also active in the American Studies Association (ASA)
Outside of teaching, Johannesen has published a number of essays, short-stories, memoirs, reviews, and articles in various journals and print publications, such as Queen’s Quarterly and the K-W Record, that reflect personal interests including religion, social issues, travel, and cabinet-making. Johannesen is also known for his books: “Sister Patsy,” “Luggas Wood,” and “The Yellow Room,” and is the co-founder and editor of Blaurock Press and, together with his wife Penny Winspur, co-founder of The Electric Ferry Press. Johannesen is also an avid blogger and maintains his own website at http://www.skjohannesen.com.

In 1890 J.M. Schneider began to make sausages full time in Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario. In 1891 he opened his first shop on Courtland Ave. next to his home. In 1909 he made the first additions to his plant and in 1912 organized his business as a joint stock Company under the name of J.M. Schneider & Sons Ltd. J.M.'s sons Charles, Norman and Fred were all involved in the business.

J.M.'s business grew and prospered as did Kitchener, renamed in 1916. By 1925 the company employed 131 people and had sales of $1.5 million. A new 100,000 square foot plant was built at that time. By 1965 almost 1,400 people were employed at the Courtland Ave. plant and in 1970 the company's shares were listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. In 1975 Schneider Corp. was set up as a holding company, with J.M. Schneider Inc. as its meat processing division. In 1979 the company was reorganized. Heritage Group Inc. was the new holding company with J.M. Schneider Inc. as one of five operating subsidiaries. In 1985 the company lost money for the first time and in 1988 employees went on strike for the first time. After several years of losses, layoffs and restructuring, the company was sold to Smithfield Foods Inc. on Dec. 17, 1997.

Judi Jewinski is a retired Administrative Dean at Renison University College. Jewinski established the regional affiliate of Teachers of English as a Second Language Association of Ontario (TESL), a professional federation of English as a Second Language teachers of all levels in 1979. Jewinski was the Director of the University of Waterloo’s English Language Institute at Renison and she is the author of books that focus on writing and grammar.

Miss Oktoberfest 1972.