In 1890 J.M. Schneider began to make sausages full time in Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario. In 1891 he opened his first shop on Courtland Ave. next to his home. In 1909 he made the first additions to his plant and in 1912 organized his business as a joint stock Company under the name of J.M. Schneider & Sons Ltd. J.M.'s sons Charles, Norman and Fred were all involved in the business.

J.M.'s business grew and prospered as did Kitchener, renamed in 1916. By 1925 the company employed 131 people and had sales of $1.5 million. A new 100,000 square foot plant was built at that time. By 1965 almost 1,400 people were employed at the Courtland Ave. plant and in 1970 the company's shares were listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. In 1975 Schneider Corp. was set up as a holding company, with J.M. Schneider Inc. as its meat processing division. In 1979 the company was reorganized. Heritage Group Inc. was the new holding company with J.M. Schneider Inc. as one of five operating subsidiaries. In 1985 the company lost money for the first time and in 1988 employees went on strike for the first time. After several years of losses, layoffs and restructuring, the company was sold to Smithfield Foods Inc. on Dec. 17, 1997.

Kaufman Footwear was founded as Kaufman Rubber Co. in Berlin, Ontario (now Kitchener) in 1907 by Jacob Ratz Kaufman. The plant opened in 1908 with 350 employees and produced rubber footwear for both domestic and foreign markets. After Jacob Kaufman's death in 1920, his son, A.R. Kaufman, became president of the company until 1964, when he retired to become Chairman of the Board. During this time the company's product line expanded to include rubber clothing for industry, such as fishermen, miners and policemen.

The company eventually began to manufacture footwear not necessarily made from rubber, the most popular being "Foamtread" slippers, which were introduced in 1953. In 1954 Kaufman became "a pioneer in the slush-molding of waterproof footwear from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) under the name Showertogs." ("Wm. H. Kaufman, Inc", leaflet.), and also began manufacturing leather workboots. The Sorel line of winter sport/work boots, introduced in 1959, became its most successful product line.

In 1964 the Kaufman Rubber Co. changed its name to Kaufman Footwear Ltd., then to Kaufman Footwear Inc. in 1973 when William H. Kaufman became Chairman of the Board in his father A.R. Kaufman's place. In 1961 Kaufman purchased L.H. Packard & Co. of Montreal, and in 1966 purchased Prospect Shoes Ltd. of Sherbrooke, Québec, only two of several companies in Canada and the United States owned and operated by Kaufman. After A.R. Kaufman's death in 1979 Kaufman Footwear became Kaufman Footwear, division of William H. Kaufman Inc. Irvin Weber became president of the footwear division in 1986, followed by John Loucks in 1991. In 1997 Tom Kaufman, son of William H. Kaufman, was named president. In 2000 Kaufman Footwear declared bankruptcy.

The Kaufman Rubber Co. plant at the corner of Victoria and King. St. in Kitchener, Ont. was designated in 1996 by the Kitchener LACAC as architecturally and historically significant. The industrial complex was designed by Albert Kahn, "foremost industrial architect" of the early 20th century. (Industrial Artifacts Project, "A history of the Kaufmans and their rubber company," 2001.)

The Young Women's Christian Association of Kitchener-Waterloo was organized in 1905 as the "Berlin YWCA" and operated out of rented premises on Queen St. South in Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario with Mary Ratz Kaufman as President. the YWCA's main purpose at that time was to provide for both the spiritual and physical welfare of the increasing number of young women who were coming to the urban and industrialized areas seeking employment and education. The local Y offered both a residence and a programme of helpful classes in embroidery, cooking, and "physical culture". In 1911 fund-raising began, a site was purchased and on May 15, 1915 a new building was opened at 84 Frederick St., Berlin [now Kitchener], Ontario. Although the motion was made in 1917 to change the name of the YWCA from Berlin to Kitchener, as the City had been renamed, the name was not officially changed until 1960.
In 1937 a new wing donated by Mary R. Kaufman, containing a gymnasium, was opened. A branch of the YWCA was desired for Waterloo and in 1960 a property in Waterloo was purchased at 186 King. St. S., later sold in 1972 to the Red Cross.
Over the years the YWCA offered many programs for children and adults alike: camping started 1926 at Camp Tinawatawa, clubs flourished, physical, health and craft classes were offered and programs were devised for newcomers to the country and area. Today, the YWCA provides "programs in the areas of childcare, youth recreation, emergency and supportive housing for women, and prison-based counseling." (http://www.ywcakw.on.ca/about.php ) The building at 84 Frederick St. is now an emergency shelter called Mary's Place, named after Mary Ratz Kaufman and operated by the YWCA.

The Parents' Information Bureau (PIB) was a clinic for family planning and birth control set up by A.R. Kaufman of the Kaufman Rubber Company in the 1930's in Kitchener, Ont. Kaufman became interested in birth control during the Great Depression after determining that seasonal employees with large families were disproportionately impacted by layoffs. He began offering family planning services to his employees, eventually extending them to anyone in Canada with the founding of the PIB. At its peak, the organization employed approximately 50 people in locations across the country who provided services to families in their homes, rather than at clinics. The model allowed families to order supplies by mail, receiving kits that included spermicides, condoms and information about purchasing additional items like diaphragms.

The International Press Bureau was a literary agency in Chicago, Ill. owned first by William Gerard Chapman and after his death by his son Gerard. Chapman sold and syndicated pieces for newspaper and magazine features, mostly in the United States.

Rotary International was begun by Paul Harris in Chicago on February 23, 1905. In 1912 the first Rotary Club was charted in Canada, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Rotary Club of Kitchener was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Guelph in September 1922 as the Rotary Club of Kitchener and Waterloo. The first officers were: President- A.J. Cundick; Vice-President- T.A. Witzel; Secretary- H.M. Cook; Treasurer- P.V. Wilson; Sergeant at Arms- W.M.O. Lochead. Directors included C.A. Boehm, L.O. Breithaupt, P.E. Heeney, Jerome Lang and Oscar Rumpel. By the end of the first year the membership had grown to forty members. As of 2013 membership was sitting at 70 members.

The main project of the Rotary Club of Kitchener is the KidsAbility Centre, a Childrens Treatment Centre that serves children with a range of special needs. As well, the Rotary Club of Kitchener takes part in youth development programs, grants, a car draw fundraiser, a golf tournament, environmental protection projects, a children's Christmas party, the Rotary African Women's Education Fund, study exchange programs and more.

Since 1922 Rotary clubs have also been charted in Kitchener-Grand River, Kitchener-Westmount, Waterloo, Kitchener-Conestoga, Cambridge North, Cambridge Sunrise, and Preston Hespler.

In 1857 William Hespeler, a merchant, and George Randall, a contractor, built what was known as Granite Mills in Waterloo, Ontario. A susidiary to the mill was a small distillery known as the Waterloo Distillery. The business also included a dry goods store. In 1863 Hespeler and Randall took in William Roos, and in 1864 William Hespeler went abroad, hiring young Joseph Emm Seagram to look after his interests. By 1870 Seagram had bought out Hespeler's interests and the company name became "George Randall and Company."

In 1878 Seagram bought out Randall, and he, Seagram. and Roos operated as "Randall and Company" until 1881 when they changed the name to "Seagram and Roos." 1883 Seagram bought out Roos and became the sole proprietor, changing the company name to "Joseph Seagram Flour Mill and Distillery Company." Seagram incorporated the company in 1911, changing the name to "Joseph E. Seagram and Sons, Limited." By 1919 when Seagram died, he had built his Waterloo distillery into a major exporting company and his brand names were widely known. In 1928 the Bronfman family acquired the distillery and amalgamated it with their company, Distillers Corporation Limited.

The Alexandra Studios was a Toronto, Ontario-based photographic studio.

The studio was started by Louis J. Turofsky in 1911 and occupied a number of Toronto locations until it ceased operations in 1976. The studio seems to have evolved through a number of name changes, including Alexandre Studios from 1915-1921, and then known as Alexandra Studios from 1922-1953. From 1954-1963 the business was known as Turofsky Photographers. In 1964 the firm again was known as Alexandra Studio, becoming the Alexander (or Alexandra) Studio-Turofsky from 1973 to 1974, after which it appeared to have the name of Alexander Studio.

Photographers employed by the studio included Louis J. Turofsky, Nathan Turofsky, Harold Crellin, and Roy P. Mitchell. It would appear that Louis and Nathan Turofsky no longer were involved with the studio after 1960, after which date Crellin and Mitchell ran the business. From 1973-1974 Crellin was President of the company, with Mitchell as Secretary-treasurer. From 1975 until the closing of the studio in 1976, Mitchell appears to have been the President of the company.

The Kent County Home Economics Association was established on January 18, 1978 as the Kent Family and Consumer Studies Association. The group was established as a professional organization to provide support, networking, and learning opportunities for home economists in the Chatham-Kent area of Ontario. Membership included those in the fields of consumerism, child studies, foods and nutrition, housing, and textiles. The organization hosted guest speakers and demonstrations on a variety of topics including special education, fitness, healthy cooking, work-life balance, women's experiences, personal finance, early childhood education, crafting, adolescent sexuality, and more. In April of 1981 the name of the group changed to the Kent Home Economics Association, to keep in the line with the recently established Ontario Home Economics Association. The organization disbanded sometime after 1987.

Gilbert & Bacon was a portrait studio that developed out of the Trask & Bacon partnership in 1870. The studio began under the leadership of William Frank Bacon and found continued success under Frank T. Bacon. William Bacon was the main photographer for the studio. By 1878, the studio gained membership in the Philadelphia Photographic Society. The studio ran out of 830 Arch Street in Philadelphia, while a second gallery was opened in 1886 on 1030 Chestnut Street.

Pan Politae began as a Hi-Y club organized by twenty-five students at Kitchener Collegiate Institute, Kitchener, Ontario in 1937. Its purpose was to work with the Kitchener-Waterloo Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in organizing boys' groups, to help with repairs and renovations at camps run by the YMCA, and to provide fellowship for their group with social and sports facilities of the YMCA. From 1941 to 1945, the club suspended activities until 1945 when it was re-organized as a Y's Men's club. For the next 28 years, Pan Politae supported many YMCA programs through fundraising and service. The 1970's saw an increase in YMCA membership and diversity of programming, while Y's Men's membership declined. In 1973, Pan Politae ceased operating as an active Men's Club.

Nicolas Wines was established in Paris in 1822 with a shop at 53 rue Sainte-Anne. They were the first French company to sell wine in bottles directly to the consumer and now have over 490 stores in France alone.