Christian Shantz was a white settler who, along with his wife and children, was the first of the Schantz Russel family ancestors to make a home in what is now the Region of Waterloo. He was born July 11, 1769 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania to Jacob Shanz, originally from Switzerland, and Catherine Beary. Shantz married Hannah Paul, also from Montgomery County, in 1791 and together they had ten children: Catharine, Elizabeth, Magdalena, Jacob, David, Heinrich, Susannah, Hannah, Benjamin and Rebecca. In 1810 the family emigrated to Canada, settling at Freeport on the Grand River. Shantz died April 7, 1857 in what is now Kitchener, Ontario and was buried in the First Mennonite Cemetery.

Sue Bradnam was a photographer at the Kitchener-Waterloo Record in 1981.

Joel Rubinoff has been working for the Record since 1989.

Lydia Dotto was born in 1949. In 1971, she graduated with an Honors degree in journalism from Carleton University.

Dotto worked as a general assignment journalist for the Edmonton Journal in 1969 and for the Toronto Star between 1970 and 1971. From 1972 to 1978, Dotto was a staff science writer for The Globe and Mail. In 1978, she became a freelance science and environmental journalist and writer, publishing in varied media and publishing several reports and books. During that time, Dotto was also a partner at Dotto and Schiff Science News Service, co-director of Canadian Science News (a weekly syndication service), and president of the Canadian Science Writers Association.

In 2004, Lydia Dotto focused her work on wildlife photography, travelling across Canada, Tanzania, Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States of America. And publishing in Canadian Wildlife magazine, WILD magazine, On Nature magazine, and Muskoka magazine, among others.

Lydia Dotto also worked as a teacher, including classes on environmental communications for ten years at Trent University.

During her professional years, Lydia Dotto published numerous reports and books, including, among others:

• The ozone war (1978),
• Planet Earth in jeopardy: environmental consequences of nuclear war (1986),
• Canada in space (1987),
• Asleep in the fast lane: the impact of sleep on work (1990),
• Losing sleep: how your sleeping habits affect your life (1990),
• Blue planet: a portrait of Earth (1991),
• The astronauts: Canada's voyageurs in space (1993),
• Storm warning: gambling with the climate of our planet (1999),
• Le ciel nous tombe sur la tete: sommes-nous entrain de risquer le climat de notre planete? (2001), and
• Thinking the unthinkable: civilization and rapid climate change (2006).

Lydia Dotto passed away on September 17, 2022.

Ruth Beardsley (August 4, 1923-April 25, 1990) was born in Sommerville New Jersey to Marjorie (nee White) and Alvaro Beardsley. During the Second World War Beardsley served in United States Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), better known as the WAVES (for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). She trained at the Naval Training Centre at Hunter College in New York City and then later went to Yeoman training at Oklahoma A&M College in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She also took classes in Engineering at the University of Maryland. Later in life she worked as a secretary for American Cyanamid and her and her husband (William H.A. Weber d.1988) founded Weber Trucking Co., Irvington. Beardsley retired from the business in 1980 and passed away in 1990 in Holiday City at the age of 66.

Michael Shane Bird (June 6, 1941-October 27, 2003) was a professor, researcher, and writer who specialized in fine arts, in particular Canadian folk and fraktur, and film studies. Born in Belle Plaine, Iowa to Arthur Bird and Katherine McHugh, he attained his PhD from the University of Iowa before moving to Waterloo to teach at Renison University College. Bird taught at Renison for 34 years in both fine arts and religious studies, two topics that he also researched and wrote extensively on. He was particularly interested in religious themes in cinema, including the works of Ingmar Bergman, and Canadian folk and fraktur art. He wrote, or co-wrote, some of the first compendiums on folk art and furniture in Canada. He also wrote on fraktur art in the Pennsylvania German style, and on fraktur found in Waterloo region. On top of writing, he curated a number of exhibits in Waterloo and elsewhere on folk and fraktur art. He was closely connected with the Joseph Schneider Haus, where he gave many talks, curated exhibits, and ultimately donated to the bulk of his Canadian folk art collection.
Bird married Joan Welch in 1966 with whom he had two children. In 1979 he married Terry Kobayashi who was a frequent collaborator of his on writing on Canadian folk art, and in collecting the same. In 1992 he married Susan Hyde and in 1994 they adopted a child from China. Bird and Hyde researched and wrote a number of texts including a book on wooden churches of Cape Breton. Bird died of heart failure on October 27, 2003.

Teruko ‘Terry’ Kobayashi was an art historian who wrote about Canadian folk arts. Born in British Columbia, she received her BA from the University of Toronto in 1966, and also attended the Ontario College of Education. She co-authored two books on folk art and furniture, published a number of articles in the 1970s and 1980s, and received the Dr. J.S.B. Robinson Travelling Fellowship Award in 1987, and an Ontario Educational Research Grant in 1974. She also served as head of the art department at Eastwood Collegiate Institute, and was a fine artist herself who was active in the local arts community. She was a member of the K-W (Kitchener-Waterloo) Society of Artists, and many of her publications were focused on art and artists in Ontario and the Kitchener-Waterloo area, where she lived. She was also an accomplished musician and a long-standing member of the K-W Philharmonic Choir.

Dr. Anne Millar completed her PhD in history at the University of Ottawa and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo, where she conducted oral histories of women in engineering.

"Aaron is s a PhD Candidate in the Global Governance program at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, who is pursuing a specialization in global political economy.

Aaron’s research examines the political economy of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the Caribbean with specific reference to extractive industry development in the aluminum and oil sectors of Jamaica and Guyana, respectively.

Prior to joining the Balsillie School, Aaron spent several years directing political relations at the University of Waterloo as the stakeholder relations manager for the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association. As a founder and curator, Aaron has exhibited works from his Vintage Black Canada initiative at the BAND Gallery Toronto, the Gladstone Hotel, and the Contact Photography Festival as well at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). Most recently in June, Aaron co-organized and marshaled the KW Solidarity March for Black Lives that saw an estimated 30,000 attendees." - Excerpt taken directly from Aaron T. Francis - Balsillie School of International Affairs.

Jacky Beckford-Henriques is the head coach of the Waterloo Warriors swim program. Before joining the University of Waterloo in 2017, Beckford-Henriques was the head coach of the Jamaican National swim program, and coached that team at three Olympic games. She is the co-founder of The Alliance, an anti-racism group at the University of Waterloo working towards educating members of the Waterloo community and the larger community on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Jennifer Shousterman has been in the Office of the President since 2015, and is currently an Executive Assistant, although she previously held roles as Information and Project Specialist. She enjoys being the link between the President’s office and members of the university community, as well as external stakeholders. As a life-long resident of the Waterloo Region, she also enjoys giving back to the community within various volunteer roles.

Graham Hill received a B.A. from the University of Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1968, an M.A. from the University of Lancaster in 1969, and an M.L.S. from the University of Western Ontario in 1970. He joined McMaster University in January 1971.

Hill served as the University Librarian at McMaster University from 1979 until his retirement in 2005.

Hildegard Marsden (nee von Boetticher) was a the Dean of Women and a lecturer in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages University of Waterloo. Marsden was born in Germany in 1920 and moved to the United States with her family. In 1941 while attending Randolph College in Virginia her family was deported back to Germany where she worked in a censoring office in Berlin. After the war Marsden worked a liaison between the German government and the Americans and British and during this time she met her future husband British officer Horace Marsden. The couple immigrated to Canada in 1951 and settled in Waterloo Region with their three children. Marsden began taking classes at Waterloo College and was the first woman in the region to return to university as a mature student with children. In 1959 she graduated with her BA from Randolph College and went to on to obtain an MA from the University of Waterloo. She was appointed a lecturer in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages in 1965 and in 1967 she was appointed Dean of Women. Marsden died April 24, 1988 with interment at Mount Hope Cemetery.

John Ireland Rankin was a Canadian mining executive born May 18, 1879 in Lindsay, Ontario to Colin and Rebecca (nee Deacon) Rankin. After graduating from the Lindsay Collegiate Institute he worked with the Bank of Ottawa. In 1914 he joined the N.A. Timmins Corporation, later becoming managing director. Over the course of his career he held director and executive positions at various companies including Labrador Mining and Exploration, McVittie-Graham Mines Limited, and Brompton Pulp and Paper Company. At the time of his death on September 4, 1961, he was the director of Hollinger Consolidated Gold Mines and Noranda Mines.

Pounce de Lion was the University of Waterloo Student Alumni Association mascot from 1984 to 1995. He is sometimes referred to as the University of Waterloo Alumni Affairs mascot. Also known simply as Pounce, the mascot officially received his name in 1987. Prior to this, he was likely referred to as the “lion mascot.”

Pounce has been described as a six-foot, cuddly, furry-faced lion. He is brothers with King Warrior, the University of Waterloo Athletics mascot, and Jerome, St. Jerome’s University’s mascot. Pounce is reportedly the older and wiser of the brothers.

During his tenure, Pounce participated in many events on and off campus representing the spirit of the University over all faculties with his friendly demeanor.

In addition to personal appearances, caricatures drawn in Pounce’s likeness were used by the alumni association to promote events and activities on campus. These caricatures were drawn by campus artist Frank Esch. Esch drew Pounce in dozens of poses, from holding a tennis racket to a newspaper in his paws.

By 1987, these caricatures were so popular that some began to copy his picture without permission. As a result, the Alumni office applied to obtain a trademark for Pounce and issued a UW News release asking people to please request permission to use Pounce’s image.

Two lion costumes were used for Pounce between 1984 and 1995, both of which are held by the University of Waterloo Archives.

In the early 1990s, plush toys of Pounce were available for purchase in the Open Door gift shop in South Campus Hall. The small plush could be bought for $17.99 and the larger twelve-inch plush toy could be purchased for $21.99.

Virender Kumar (Vir) Handa was a faculty member in civil engineering at the University of Waterloo from 1964 to 1995 with a focus on construction safety and management. Born in Lahore, India, his father was a lawyer and his mother a social activist. Handa obtained a BSc in physics, chemistry and maths at the University of Calcutta in 1949 and a second BSc in engineering at the University of London in 1954. Coming to Canada on a scholarship, he completed an MSc in civil engineering at Queen's University in 1958 and an MSc in applied mathematics at the University of Waterloo in 1962, followed by a PhD in in civil engineering in 1964.

In addition to substantial contributions to the development of the study of construction management, Handa worked with Waterloo colleagues to created several Expo 67 pavilions including Man the Explorer, Planet ad Space, and Man the Producer. He served as Chairman of the Board of the Canadian National Museums of Science and Technology, consulted for the Cree Housing Authority for more than 20 years, and held the position of Riding Association President for the Liberal Party of Canada. Handa was also active in the recruitment of students to Kitchener-Waterloo serving with involvement and chair roles in groups including the Canadian South Asian Chamber and the India Canada Association.

Handa died May 3, 2005 following complications from an accident two years prior, leaving behind wife Silvana and their two children, Dev and Aruna. A celebration of life was held on May 25, 2005 at Waterloo's University Club.

Lannois Carroll-Woolery is the Manager of Data Analytics & Reporting for the Department of Institutional Analysis & Planning at the University of Waterloo, and current President of the Caribbean Canadian Association of Waterloo Region (CCAWR).

Carroll-Woolery was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica. He was primarily raised in Kingston, Jamaica but spent many childhood holidays in the rural area of St. Thomas, Jamaica. He did very well in high school majoring in STEM subjects and was class valedictorian. He was awarded a scholarship and attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts for two years. Due to financial restrictions, he left the college and moved to Canada joining his parents who recently immigrated to Canada.

Carroll-Woolery began studying at the University of Waterloo in 1992. He graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc), Mechanical Engineering. As a student, he was involved with the Association of Caribbean Students at the university. During this time, Carroll-Woolery met and married his wife and started a family.

Following graduation, Carroll-Woolery and his family decided to settle in Waterloo, and he found work in the Information Technology (IT) sector. In 2006, he began working for the University of Waterloo and has been in his current position since 2017.

Carroll-Woolery has been an active member of the Caribbean Canadian Association of Waterloo Region and has been the association’s President since 2019.

In 2022, Carroll-Woolery received a Master of Applied Science (MASc), Data Science from the University of Waterloo.

Vershawn "Vay" Young is an artist, actor, diversity consultant and Professor, Joint Appointed, in Communications Arts and English Language and Literature at the University of Waterloo where he has been the director of Waterloo's Black Studies program since its launch in 2022. His research in Black Studies focuses on masculinity, language and performance, and he is known for scholarship about "code-meshing" which was explored in his 2007 book Your Average Nigga Performing Race, Literacy, and Masculinity.

Young holds a JD law degree from Mitchell Hamline College of Law and a PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to his appointment at Waterloo, he was a faculty member at the University of Iowa and the University of Kentucky.

Since joining Waterloo, Young has been a founding member of Waterloo's Black Faculty Collective and, along with Kathy Hogarth and Christopher Taylor, was a member of the Black Studies implementation team whose work and phage 1 report led to the founding of a Black Studies program in 2022. Outside of academia, he has worked as a high school drama, English and speech teacher, an elementary school principle and a school board administrator. During Winter 2023 Young stared as Sir Robert Chiltern in a production of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband at the Firehall Theatre in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Jacob Hoffman (1809-1878) married Veronica Eby (1817-1876) and lived in Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario. Their oldest child, Isaac Hoffman (1835-1898) married Caroline Harlen[1] (1838-) ca. 1854. Two daughters (of their six living children) are represented in the fonds: Caroline M. Hoffman (1857-) and Emma Sivina Hoffman (1862-).

Caroline M. Hoffman married John D. Barnes of Providence Rhode Island (date of marriage unknown, ca. 1878?). They had one daughter, Lillie Caroline Barnes.[2] As of 1895[3] they were living in Providence, R.I. but sometime after that Caroline and Lillie returned to the Waterloo area.

Lillie Caroline Barnes married David Shannon Bowlby, K.C. (1873-1938) in 1904. They had two children, foster daughter Carolyn Barnes Bowlby, and son Shannon Bowlby. (Source: "David Shannon Bowlby, K.C.," WHS 26 (1938): 45-46 and Ezra E. Eby, Biographical History of Waterloo, 1895-1896, p. 802).

Carolyn Barnes Bowlby married Norman Davison (1877-) in 1920. They had two children, Peter (1927-) and Carolyn, known as Patti (b. ca. 1930).
Carolyn Davison married J.W. Carlisle.

Emma Sivina Hoffman (b. 1862), married Cyrus Schiedel of Waterloo in 1885. They had one son, Wilfrid H. Schiedel. (Source: Ezra E. Eby, Biographical History of Waterloo, 1895-1896, p. 802)

[1] Spelled variously in sources Herlan, Harlen, Harlan.
[2] Ezra Eby gives her name as Lillie, probably after her aunt Lillie Josephine Hoffman. However, the name used by the donor is "Lillian".
[3] Date from Ezra Eby.

Emma Allen Bowlby was born to David Sovereign Bowlby and Martha Esther Murphy Bowlby in Waterloo in 1862. When she was 21, in 1884, she married the 39 year old Gardiner Boyd. Gardiner Boyd was born in 1845 to Mossom Boyd and Caroline Dunsford of Bobcaygeon Ontario. The couple had three children, Gardiner Mossom (born 1885), Mary Olive (born 1886) and Frieda Kathleen (born 1888).
Emma died in 1897 and her husband in 1898 leaving her children to be raised by their maternal grandparents, and later by their father’s half brother.

Alida Burrett (nee Schriel) (1944-2011), women's rights and environmental activist, was born August 26, 1944 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. At the age of six she immigrated to Canada with her parents and siblings. Alida attended Trent University for her B.A. (class of 1974) and Brock University for her B.Ed. (class of 1976). Alida met George Burrett while at Trent and the two married in 1971. Alida worked for B.F. Goodrich where she became involved in expanding the role of women in the company, and later as a teacher. Her passions were in women's rights and environmental protection and she became active as a student in the 1970s, helping to produce an early environmental magazine, and shortly after graduation as a champion of female equality in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Alida was involved in the Kitchener-Waterloo Status of Women Group in the 1980s and in 1997 she founded the Citizen's Advisory Council on Air Quality.

George Burrett is also politically and professionally active in environmental protection as well as peace, particularly in terms of nuclear disarmament. George was a member of the Waterloo Region Peace Network and performs home energy audits in the Waterloo Region.

Alida Burrett died March 25, 2011.

Richard Hobson (1938) was born to Wilfred Hobson (1899-1995) and Kathleen McKittrick (1904-1992). The family has its roots in the United Kingdom, and Hobson’s paternal grandfather Edward came to Canada from Ireland in 1884 and his father Wilfred from England in 1910. The two families settled in Ontario and Kathleen and Wilfred met in Toronto at St. Clement’s Church Tennis Club. Kathleen and Wilifred married and went on to have three children: John Edward (1933), Richard James (1938) and Kathleen Margaret Stephanie (?).

Richard Hobson married Mary (Penny) Paisley (b.1939), daughter of Elmer Paisley (1907-1976) and Margaret Rieder. Penny Paisley’s mother Margaret was the daughter of local prominent businessman Talmon Rieder and his wife Martha Anthes. (from Ancestry and "Hobson, Richard. One tree many roots. Waterloo: Richard Hobson, 2010").

James Rutherford and George Harrington Guy were sons of Harry L. Guy. H.L. Guy was general manager of the Mutual Life Assurance Company of Canada and sat on the Board of Governors of the University of Waterloo. In 1933 H.L. Guy and his wife had a home built at 110 John Boulevard in the Westmount region of Waterloo.

Alphonse Illig was born in 1889 and married Rose Mehlman on July 27, 1921. Alphonse worked for Bauer Limited. Their son Joseph Illig was born in 1924. Joseph joined the Canadian forces for the Second World War and served on the HMCS Kirkland Lake. He was later a founding member of the K-W Naval Veterans Association and a member of the Royal Canadian Legion. Joseph died in 2012.