November 2003 - Nr. 11
Waterloo County,
the Land
we love
It was written in the Chronicle Telegraph in 1906, and I quote "When of chaos the Great Architect of the Universe had evolved and formed the planet on which we live, there existed a little spot, 305, 250 acres in extent, on what is now the North American continent. In the countless succeeding ages this little spot was destined to become famous and be known as The County of Waterloo.
In celebration of German Pioneers Day and the County of Waterloo’s 150 th year, we take a few moments to look back at how it all began and evolved to this day. We present to you an overview of the immigration and impact of German - speaking peoples in our Region since its beginning.
It all began with some Mennonites from Pennsylvania coming to Ontario in the late 1700’s. Word of the fine lands they found went back home. It was then that Old Hannes Eby called a meeting in his home in April of 1804.
He and other Pennsylvania Mennonites were concerned about the prospect of military service in America and were finding the remaining available land unsuitable or expensive. They saw the promise of plentiful, fertile land and a place to live in peace and harmony in a region that was to become Waterloo County.
"Jetzt gehn wir nach Kanada" was the declared resolve of the 26 shareholders who had just formed a corporation they called "The German Company". This group pooled their resources and purchased all the available land they could buy.
They came and cleared the land.
They bore hardship and they persevered.
They built the first schools and churches.
They were the first pioneers of Waterloo County.
Many others followed in their footsteps.
The Mennonite Community is still very much present with us today and is giving our county a very special character.
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Neat Farms
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Pristine fields
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Horse-drawn carriages
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Farmers Markets
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Modest Meeting Houses
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Grand Churches
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Conrad Grebel College of the University of Waterloo
And a vibrant business atmosphere all of which constitute a part of and attest to the Mennonite communitys presence today. Most of all, after 2 centuries, the traveler will still hear the Pensylvania DEITSCH spoken whenever groups of Mennonites gather.
In 1886 the new Township was named Waterloo after the site of the battle, which in the previous year, ended the Napoloenic wars in Europe.
The hardships caused by these wars and their aftermath initiated a mass migration of peoples from Europe to America and the County of Waterloo again became a popular destination for German immigrants. Many Germans settled in the small hamlet to the south-east of Snyders Mills, on land initially owned by the Eby family, which they then called Ebytown. This new wave of immigrants came from Alsace-Lorraine, Bavaria, Hesse and other areas of Germany. Among them were the Zehrs, the Lichtys, the Roths, the Rudys, the Littwillers, the Doerrs, the Sherks, the Shantzs, the Nafzigers and many more.
What up to now had been a farming community transformed itself into an industrial center. A new type of immigrant, well educated, intellectual and skilled had arrived.
In 1833, Ebytown was renamed Berlin and by the 1840’s the new German settlers had overtaken the Mennonites as the dominant segment of the population
1853 brought the formation of the county government with its seat in Berlin and a brand new seal of office was created.
A railroad was constructed in 1856 to connect the county to the outside world with the first train arriving May 17’th .
This immigration was ongoing with, among others, the Schneiders, the Kuntzes, the Breithaupts, the Schreiters, The Zellers, and the Rumpels arriving.
These immigrants demonstrated a great knack for industry and commerce. They built furniture factories, leather tanneries, button-textile-felt and sausage industries, shoe manufacturers, rubber plants, foundries and of course breweries and distilleries.
They also founded newspapers, insurance companies, banks, other financial institutions and were the driving force behind the formation of Ontario Hydro.
But culture was not ignored
- Huge Saengerfests with as many as 1,200 singers and audiences of over 12,000 were organized
- Orchestras were founded
- A Theatre was established
- Many beautiful churches were constructed
- Educational institutions were founded
- And Parks were created
The residents of Waterloo County Prospered.
Let us cite the achievements of just a few:
laid the foundation for the world famous Seagram Liquor distillery. In his other capacity as Immigration Agent he was instrumental in opening up the prairie to agriculture.Jacob Hespeler
Sir Adam Beck also known as the human dynamo who was knighted by King George in 1914 was one of the fathers of Ontario Hydro
J. M. Schneider made Berlin well known all across Canada for his fine sausages, some even called Berlin "Canadas Wurststadt".
George Rumpel became know as the kingpin of Canadas slipper trade
Emil Vogelsang made Berlin the capital of the button manufacturing industry.
Hartman Krug started a furniture factory and built it into one of the countries larges at the turn of the century.
One could not list all the entrepreneurs of that time period, there are just too many.
One family however deserves special mention. The Breithaupts who were industrialists, public servants and philanthropists. They were in the production of leather, rubber, furniture and the provision of insurance. They served as mayor, on hospital boards, the Agricultural Society, City Council, as members of the Provincial Parliament, as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and in many other capacities.
The impact of the family continues to the present time and today we are especially proud of and it is particularly appropriate to have Mr. James Breithaupt, a direct descendant of the original family, as Chairman of this German Pioneers Day celebration.
While many of the institutions and events have come and gone with time, the footprints of these German Pioneers are still with us today.
- Wilfred Laurier University was founded as the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, a German speaking college.
- The Record which was founded as the Daily News of Berlin.
- Grand River Hospital founded as the Berlin – Waterloo hospital.
- The Schneider Corporation founded by J. M. Schneider making sausages after work at home.
- Clarica, which dates back to the original Mutual Life of Canada founded during that era.
- The K-W Philharmonic Choir which was founded in the 1800’s
- The Concordia Club whose social activities are enjoyed today as they were enjoyed 130 years ago.
- The magnificent churches and stately century homes, which still add a classic sophistication to our community today.
- And Victoria Park, created in the 1800’s, still graces our downtown .
World War I brought difficult times to the German-speaking population of Waterloo County. Their heritage was no longer treasured, the name of the Pennsylvania DEITSCH was changed to Pennsylvania Dutch and in 1916 the name of Berlin was changed to Kitchener.
Between the two wars, 2700 German-speaking immigrants, among them Russian Mennonites, Siebenbuerger-Saxons and Donau Swabians came to Waterloo County. They came from Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Russia, Poland, Switzerland and Austria.
The advent of WWII brought this flow of German immigrants to a halt.
Millions of people were made homeless in Europe in the aftermath of the war and Waterloo County again became a popular destination for Germans who had lost everything except the will to build a new future for themselves and their children. The Mennonite community, the local churches, many in the community at large and particularly Mr. Wilfred Bitzer provided much needed support and guidance to these poverty stricken and war shocked newcomers.
They were tradesmen, teachers, engineers and talented people determined to make it. They found work doing whatever was available, no matter how menial. Mr.Stronach, founder of Magna International had his first job at Freeport Sanatorium washing dishes. They however did not stay at those level very long and they quickly progressed to work in construction, in factories and other skilled endeavors.
They went on to develop land, build houses and apartments, founded industries and entered wide ranging professional careers and became involved in culture and the arts.
Some of the more recent outstanding immigrant entrepreneurs and enterprises include:
, who founded Automation Tooling Systems, a world leader in automation innovation.Klaus Woerner
Paul Tuerr Construction , which developed many subdivisions, apartments and homes.
Pillers Sausages, which has become a staple of the Canadian diet.
Quadro Engineering, a designer and producer of size reduction equipment.
Pfennig Farms, a pioneer in organic farming.
Waterloo County celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.
We the Canadians of German ancestry are proud to have been a part of and to have contributed to Waterloo County from its very inception. We are looking forward to being a part of our Counties future and, most of all, we are happy to call this region our home and proud to call Canada our children’s native land.
