Kitchener has long been a place of derision for me. A Western abomination in the East, like Moncton or Gander. Ugly, dull, post-war. Not nearly as interesting as its neighbours. Perhaps the only thing that would get me to return to it is checking out Oktoberfest (good to know it starts late). But I liked this post because it’s a reminder that even places urbanists like myself love to sneer at have value, character, community, and significance in some way. It’s very cool that the German heritage of the region lives on in an every day sense and it’s awesome you were able to stumble onto it during what could’ve just been a disappointing trip.
I will say, Kitchener is *much* more interesting than it was ten or fifteen years ago. Not as cute as Guelph or Kingston, but it's got some good old bones.
There is no familial link between Schneider's and Schneider Haus. Schneider Haus was the home of the Joseph Schneider family, of the first Swiss-German-Pennsylvanian Mennonite settlers. The sausage company was founded by John Metz Schneider, a Swedenborgian German whose parents arrived with the wave of industrial skilled-tradesmen in the mid-19th C.
The Mennonites welcomed the Germans to their settlements, and together they made Berlin an industrial powerhouse. JM Schneider worked in a prominent Mennonite's button factory before starting his sausage factory. So there is a common lineage between Schneider Haus and Schneider's in that regard.
I'll also mention that the Prime Minister in 1939, William Lyon Mackenzie King, was from Berlin/Kitchener.
Aha! Good to know. I figured the odds were a coin flip but didn't have time to look for a connection. Glad I hedged against that possibility. Thanks for letting me know!
Kitchener has long been a place of derision for me. A Western abomination in the East, like Moncton or Gander. Ugly, dull, post-war. Not nearly as interesting as its neighbours. Perhaps the only thing that would get me to return to it is checking out Oktoberfest (good to know it starts late). But I liked this post because it’s a reminder that even places urbanists like myself love to sneer at have value, character, community, and significance in some way. It’s very cool that the German heritage of the region lives on in an every day sense and it’s awesome you were able to stumble onto it during what could’ve just been a disappointing trip.
I will say, Kitchener is *much* more interesting than it was ten or fifteen years ago. Not as cute as Guelph or Kingston, but it's got some good old bones.
There is no familial link between Schneider's and Schneider Haus. Schneider Haus was the home of the Joseph Schneider family, of the first Swiss-German-Pennsylvanian Mennonite settlers. The sausage company was founded by John Metz Schneider, a Swedenborgian German whose parents arrived with the wave of industrial skilled-tradesmen in the mid-19th C.
The Mennonites welcomed the Germans to their settlements, and together they made Berlin an industrial powerhouse. JM Schneider worked in a prominent Mennonite's button factory before starting his sausage factory. So there is a common lineage between Schneider Haus and Schneider's in that regard.
I'll also mention that the Prime Minister in 1939, William Lyon Mackenzie King, was from Berlin/Kitchener.
Aha! Good to know. I figured the odds were a coin flip but didn't have time to look for a connection. Glad I hedged against that possibility. Thanks for letting me know!