Behind the names, some Kitchener street talk

Compiling a listing of Kitchener’s historic street names and a roster of the stories behind them is a mug’s game — it seems easy at first but can never be completed. Many have tried. A manuscript in the Waterloo Historical Society collection in legendary historian B. Mabel Dunham’s handwriting has a promising start but peters out when she realized what a can of worms she had opened. Ellis Little, Mr. Waterloo History, put together a listing for that city that also got bogged down. In the 1970s, John Rennie in the K-W Record tried to capture all the street name stories. The Kitchener Public Library’s Grace Schmidt Room website has a nine-page street name index which is quite comprehensive but still has gaps. My own project started during the early pandemic — let’s just say it is a work in progress and will be long after we’re all healthy again.

Guesswork and assumption come into play when creating street listings and recovering stories behind the names. It’s easy to assume Gaukel Street honours Frederick Gaukel, one of Berlin’s founding fathers. Was Frederick Street also named for him or was it for Frederick Millar, who operated one of the village’s first stores on that street? Why is Bismark Street misspelled, missing its ‘c’? And why did some names just vanish?

During the First World War, Kaiser Street was, naturally, renamed, becoming part of Mansion. Last week, several streets whose names disappeared were featured. One was Charon, modern-day Moore Avenue. Charon was the mythical ferryman carrying souls into the underworld. Until 1899, Charon crossed Styx Street in Berlin’s North Ward. In Greek mythology, Styx River linked earth and underworld: in Berlin, Styx Street linked King and Ahrens streets. Local quipsters claimed the street names were chosen because Charon/ Moore leads to Mount Hope cemetery. Alas, the cemetery was created more than a decade after maps with the two street names were published. Even so, for many years, one route to Mount Hope was indeed along Charon across Styx. In 1898, Styx was renamed when linked with the already existing Louisa Street which had connected Margaret and Lancaster. Charon remained until 1954 when it was melded with Waterloo’s Moore Avenue.

During the 1950s, Kitchener and Waterloo wanted to eliminate name duplication.

A few changes included, in Kitchener — Albert Street became Madison; Princess changed to Hillview; Spring to Wellington (extension); Fischer to Belmont Boulevard; in Waterloo — Church Street became Central; Snider changed to Fountain; Frederick to Marshal; Duke to Dupont; David to Roger; and Queen to Regina.

Sometimes street names changed when several were linked as one. Duke Street contains sections once named Elgin, Short and Edward. Weber Street overlays Gzowski and Pinke streets. Charles, when extended in the early 1960s, gobbled up Alma and Wendell.

Chances are you’ve never travelled on the one Kitchener street that honours a local war hero. Hermie Place runs from Ellen Street West to Victoria North. Herman “Hermie” Quirmbach, born in 1880, volunteered to serve in the Boer War, took part in several battles and returned home to acclaim. Within a year he moved to the United States but nonetheless by 1907 this small street had been named for him.

Running between Frederick and Stirling are three streets that intersect with Brubacher Street. Samuel S. and Lydia (Musselman) Brubacher had 10 children. Samuel died in December 1875, six months before his 10th child (and namesake) was born. Lydia lived to be 80. Eldest son Simeon took over the family farm at age 15 and, by the mid-1890s, streets and homes began appearing: Brubacher Street first, then Samuel, Simeon and Lydia streets. The question is, did Simeon name the streets after himself and his parents or himself and a brother and sister? Now, 125 years later, one of Kitchener’s nicest neighbourhoods is bound together via common roots in the Brubacher family. Check out Deacon John Brubacher at the Waterloo Region Generations website and track the family from its 1815 arrival at German Company Tract 57 which eventually became part of Kitchener’s East Ward.

Many more Kitchener street names carry stories behind their names but few carry a direct link to 1815! Sadly, too many of those stories have been lost to time.