Waterloo Region Museum

Inductees - W to Z

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.

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 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
b. 1939

John Weber was born in Kitchener in 1939. Through his volunteerism in the sporting community, Weber has been 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.

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
1880-1965

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.

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.

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 honor 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
1920-1912

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.