Hespeler Heritage Centre News
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A Storied Past
An application for rezoning has been filed by JENC Investments Ltd. with the City of Cambridge regarding the property at 408 Guelph Avenue. The large building on the property has an interesting…
When Things Were Simpler
I am regularly amazed by the bureaucratic maze that must be negotiated to get a project underway and completed. We have made our lives so complicated, that sometimes it is easier to just walk away,…
1946 Dominion Woollens Picnic
At 6:00a.m. on August 23rd, 1946, the ‘banshie’ screamed out in Hespeler. The air horn on the Dominion Woollens & Worsted building was normally…
Krueger Butcher Shops
In the former Town of Hespeler the name Krueger was synonymous with butchers! Two generations of this family operated shops in the core area.
Beginning in 1905, Arthur James Krueger opened his shop on the south side of Queen East, between Cooper Street and Tannery Street East, under the name “Krueger Meats”. Simply by calling telephone number 11, your meat order would be filled and…
General Stores
When the first settlers ventured into this area in the early 1800s, the area was known as the “Queen’s Bush”.
The earliest were Mennonite farmers from Pennsylvania who came by way of a small number of native trails and a few “slashed” trails into the area along the Grand and Speed Rivers. One “slashed” trail was created in April 1827 by John Galt on his way to found the settlement of Guelph. His…
Love is in the Air
The Hespeler Post Office was a busy place on Monday mornings; and this day in late February of 1973 was no different. The first mail truck had arrived around 5am and the work floor was humming, a “beehive” of activity. In the letter carrier section, the six carriers were sorting up their routes for delivery.
It had been a hard winter of cold, snow and ice; but this day was promising to be sunny and pleasant…
Winston Hall Construction
Here again is the magic of Frank Johnston from Dominion Woollens & Worsteds. The first photo appeared in the DDW News in April 1944. The company was proud of this new Women’s Wartime Residence. It hadn’t even been named Winston Hall yet. The second photo was the original.
Frank thought that the remaining construction materials, sky, hydro wires, trees and ground needed to be replaced in order to make…
The Nut Harvest
It was fall 2011 and once again I stood, rake in hand, staring at the huge and onerous job awaiting me. Before me completely carpeting our lawn, at least ankle deep, were large green orbs the size of tangerines. A storm system, accompanied by high winds, had brought down this deluge. It certainly had been a bumper crop year for our large black walnut trees! As I began to attack the seemingly truckloads of leaves and nuts, my…
Feline Follies: How to Train a Cat
It was the late 1970s and the summer had been hot; not unlike the July weather this year. As an outside worker, sweltering through the hottest part of each day, I looked forward with great anticipation to joining friends at days end for “a cold one” at the Hespeler Legion.
Filling my hand at the bar with a mug of golden liquid, I looked around…