Watfor is a character and cartoon strip created for The Chevron by Don Kerr in 1966.[1] The character appeared in The Chevron until approximately April 1968.[2]

Watfor was inspired by the Fortran computer program called WATFOR which was developed by a group of University of Waterloo undergraduates in 1965.[3] Watfor lived in the campus pond in front of the Health Services Building.[4] It is unclear exactly what type of character Watfor is. The character refers to itself as a tad, fish, troll, and pond denizen. It may be part computer, part fish. In the comic strips, Watfor commented on campus happenings. The character was also printed on some ephemeral items such as ribbons distributed to the Orientation Committee on campus in the late 1960s.[5]

Don Kerr was a graduate student at the University of Waterloo in the department of design when he created Watfor. He had recently graduated from the University of Manitoba as an architect and came to Waterloo to further his studies, specifically around experimental colours and architectural illumination.

Cartooning was a hobby for Don Kerr. He created the FDU cartoon strip which ran in the University of Manitoba's newspaper, the Manitoban, as well as the Winnipeg Tribune. He also created Lapinette, a cartoon ad for the Bank of Montreal that ran in the majority of campus newspapers across Canada.[6]

Don Kerr married Mary Robinson, a fellow graduate student in design, in the Conrad Grebel chapel on May 20, 1967. The wedding was featured in an article in The Chevron titled, "This doesn't very often happen: Watfor sees his father married." The article includes a photograph of Don Kerr and Mary Robinson at the wedding ceremony.[7]

Homer Watson was born at Doon, Ontario in 1855 where he lived for 81 years. Early in his teens he was exhibiting his drawings at the annual fall fairs, held in surrounding communities. One of his earliest efforts, "The Pioneer Mill", appeared at the first exhibition of the Royal Canadian Academy and was purchased by the Marquis of Lorne for Queen Victoria. He took a prize in Montreal for his painting; was awarded a gold medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904; was elected as associate of the Royal Canadian Academy on the organization of that body in 1880; became full academician in 1882; elected president of the Canadian Art Club in 1907 and 1911; was president of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1918. He died in May 1936.

Mary Margaret Watson was born in Exeter, Devonshire, in England. Homer Ransford Watson and Roxanna "Roxa" Betchtel adopted her in December of 1907. She was their only living child. Mary Watson died on July 14, 1982, in Cambridge, Ontario.

Henrietta Josephine Cook was born on May 7, 1854 near Preston, Ontario to James Cook and Elizabeth Williams Cook. She married Jacob B. Weaver (1852-1932), lived in Kitchener, Ontario and died January 22, 1931.

Henry B. Weaver was born August 4, 1830 in Lancaster County, PA. He married twice and had 14 children by his first wife Hetty Rohrer Mosser (1833-1889). His second wife was Anna Martin Witmer (1826-1921). He died August 30, 1923.

Mayor of Kitchener from 1954 to 1955.

Marion Webster nee Murchie (1863-1952) was born to Charles and Marian Murchie (nee Hamilton) in Walton, Grey County, Ontario in 1863. By 1880 she was living in Grafton, North Dakota and working as a servant. She married Ardell Webster (September 21, 1858-June 1889). The two traveled to Angola in 1887 as missionaries with The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and settled in Bailundo. Ardell died in June of 1889, and Marion stayed on in Angola until her retirement in May 1933. She later worked at the Dondi mission in Catchiungo, and the Webster Memorial school there was named for her. In 1933 she returned to the United States and settled in Los Angeles with her sister Margaret. She died in Los Angeles on May 31, 1952.

Florence Weicker was a nurse and the first Lutheran Deaconess in Canada. She was born in Edmonton, Alberta on October 2, 1907 and moved to Kitchener with her family at the age of 13, where she became a member of St. Matthew's Church. She studied nursing at the Stratford General Hospital, graduating in 1932, after which time she worked as a nurse at the Freeport Sanitorium for a year and a half and as an industrial nurse Merchants Rubber for eight years. She studied at Waterloo College for a year, before going to Philadelphia where she worked with children at the Lutheran Settlement House, followed by two years of training at the Lutheran Deaconess House and School in Baltimore, graduating in May of 1947. The same year she returned to St. Matthew's Church in Kitchener, where she worked with refugees, youth groups and made regular hospital and nursing home visits. In addition to her work with the Lutheran Church, Weicker was a member of the K-W Quota Club, a board member of St. Monica's House, and a charter member of both the Sunnyside Auxiliary and the St. Leonard's Society.

Weicker died of cancer on June 16, 1977 and was buried at Saint Peter's Lutheran Cemetery in Kitchener.

Bernard Weil graduated from Sheridan College in 1981 in the program of Photography. He worked as a volunteer for The Mississauga News covering the local elections. He later took on full-time work as a darkroom technician with the publication after his graduation. He moved to the Kitchener-Waterloo Record (The Record), where he was working for a daily newspaper. In 1986, he won the photographer of the year award from the Ontario News Photographer's Association and went on to join The Toronto Star as a staff photographer.

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852) was a soldier and politician, and one of the leading figures in politics in England in the 19th Century. His positions included Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Leader of the House of Lords and Prime Minister of Britain.

Moira Welsh worked at The Record for two years, until moving on to work for the Toronto Star. She is now an Investigative reporter and has won two Canadian Association of Journalists Awards and three National Newspaper Awards with the Toronto Star. Her reporting focuses on the topics of elderly, environmental regulation and social justice.

The Westmount Golf and Country Club was established on June 17, 1929 when the first meeting of the Board of Directors took place. By the fall of 1929 land on the outskirts of Kitchener, Ont. had been purchased and Stanley Thompson had been retained to design and supervise construction of the course. The club officially opened in 1931. Since that time a number of major golf tournaments have been held at the Club including the Canadian Open Golf Championship in 1957, the Canadian Ladies Open and Closed Championship in 1965, Canadian Amateur Golf Championship in 1969, Labatt's International Golf Classis for the C.P.G.A. in 1981, and the L.P.G.A. du Maurier Classic in 1990. Westmount has produced golf Chamions at the provincial, national and international level, including Gary Cowan, Mary Gay, Dan Maue, Colin Moskal, and Judy Ellis.
In 1963 a curling facility was added and the club began to operate year-round. Tennis was added in 1977.

Dwight Whalen is a freelance researcher and writer from the Niagara Falls, Ontario area.

Catharine Schneider was born on July 21, 1860 to Johann Christoph and Anna Schneider. She married John White (1853-?), who had migrated from Scotland on July 12, 1882, and the couple lived in Toronto. They had four children: John Alexander (1883-1989), married Clarabel E.L. Bowman; Elizabeth (1884-1974); Arthur (1888-1910), married Carrie Emma McDonald; and Harold Eugene (1899-1982). Catharine died at home on March 2, 1938 and is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.

Etta was born to Tobias and Mary Schantz in Port Elgin, Ontario on October 9, 1866 and raised alongside her seven siblings; Orpheus Moyer Schantz, Sophie Emma Schantz, Austin Tobias Schantz, Franklin Abram Schantz, Arthur Benjamin Schantz, Florence Annie Catherine Schantz, and Herbert Cecil Palmer Schantz.

In 1870 the family moved to the village of Hawkesville in Waterloo County. In 1877 the family moved to Conestogo, Waterloo County and later to Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario in 1884.

In 1884, Etta started working at the Williams Greene Rome Company shirt factory.

Etta attended high school at the Berlin Collegiate & Technical Institute. In addition, she attended the Model School for teacher training at Central School. She taught briefly in West Montrose, Ontario before returning to the shirt factory in 1892.

Between 1892 and 1896 Etta lived in Chicago, Illinois with her brother Orpheus. She helped take care of his home and his infant daughter Ruth Schantz. Eventually, she found a position at the department store Carson Pirie Scott & Company where Orpheus worked. Around 1897, Etta moved back to Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario.

On September 1, 1897 Etta married her long-time friend Ward White in her family’s home located at 43 Schneider Avenue, Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario. The couple moved to Leamington, Ontario and had their first child, Wilfrid Herbert White on February 20, 1899. Wilfrid died at four months of age on June 4, 1899.

In 1900, Ward moved out west to homestead in Alberta with Etta’s brothers Arthur and Austin and her father Tobias. Subsequently, Etta returned home to Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario to give birth to their second child.

Etta gave birth to a daughter, Dorothy Etta White, on April 26, 1900. Etta died from complications of the childbirth on May 5, 1900.

James Herbert White, author of Forest Trees of Ontario, was born September 21, 1875. In 1909, he became the first person to receive a degree in forestry at the University of Toronto, and taught there for 37 years. He is recognized as a pioneer in forestry conservation in Ontario. He died November 14, 1957.

Miss Oktoberfest 1970.

Ward was born to John White (1838-1910) and Susan Malott (1846-1872) on March 21, 1870 in Leamington, Ontario.

Ward was a member of the Salvation Army.

On September 1, 1897 Ward married his long-time friend Etta in her family’s home located at 43 Schneider Avenue, Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario. The couple moved to Leamington, Ontario and had their first child, Wilfrid Herbert White on February 20, 1899. Wilfrid died at four months of age on June 4, 1899.

In 1900 Ward moved out west to homestead in Alberta with Etta’s brothers Arthur and Austin and her father Tobias. Subsequently, Etta returned home to Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario to give birth to their second child, Dorothy Etta. Etta died from complications of childbirth shortly after.

Ward stayed in Alberta and proposed marriage to Etta’s sister Sophie. Sophie declined his proposal.

In 1908 Ward moved to Chilliwack, British Columbia and worked as a contractor. He helped build the extension of the Chilliwack hospital, nurses’ home, and Methodist church. Later, he worked as a caretaker of municipals schools until he retired.

Ward married Ella Feeg (nee Hunsperger) and helped her raise her three children from a previous relationship; Benjamin, Gilbert and Beatrice.

Ward died on May 1, 1948 in Chilliwack, British Columbia.

Wilfrid Herbert White was born to Etta Lydia Mary White and Ward Malott White on February 20, 1899. Wilfrid died at four months of age on June 4, 1899.