The Forgotten Homes of Kitchener

Since its inception, the City of Kitchener has undergone and continues to undergo a never-ending cycle of urban change and development. As such, the city has seen countless buildings and houses demolished and the land redeveloped to make way for new developments suited for the time. With a specific focus on residential buildings, there are homes and their corresponding addresses that no longer exist in modern-day Kitchener. This StoryMap seeks to remember one of these neighbourhoods and the people that lived in those homes, lest they be forgotten and lost in history.

This StoryMap tells the story of the Kitchener residents who lived in the neighbourhood block of Caroline Street and Mount Hope Street. Located in north Kitchener near the city boundary and directly adjacent to the Grand River Hospital, the neighbourhood block currently exists as a large parking lot. The block itself is bordered by King Street West, Union Boulevard, Park Street, and Mount Hope Street. Caroline Street runs down the block at the center, while the Vogt Place minor road splits the block between Caroline Street and King Street West.

The Vernon City Directory lists the residents of this neighbourhood block with addresses ranging from 9-44 Caroline St., 4-46 Mount Hope St., and 7-9 Vogt Place.

The images below show snippets of the neighbourhood block on historical road maps ranging from the 1920s to the 1990s. It is important to note that Caroline Street was renamed to Mutual Drive on June 1, 1951.

The interactive map below displays the residents of the block from 1907-1940 as recorded by the Vernon City Directory.

Analyzing the recorded names of the residents from the Vernon City Directory, it can be observed that a handful of residents shared relations with each other through common surnames. These relations are further supported after external research into the names using online census, birth, marriage, and death record resources. As such, many of the houses would have acted as family homes for one, two, and even three generations of family trees. Listed below are notable family trees amongst the residents of Caroline Street and Mount Hope Street.

The Blumen family lived on 14 Caroline St. from 1910-1930. The family was headed by Bernhard Blumen (1856-1915) and his wife Caroline Weihs Blumen (1862-1931), both of whom immigrated from Germany in the 1880s. Raising a family of ten children throughout their marriage, only five of their children are listed as residents on the Vernon City Directory. Starting from the oldest birth year, they include Bernard (Barney) Blumen (1897-1919), Matthew Blumen (1899-1986), Joseph Blumen (1901-1933), Clara Blumen (1903-?), and Frederick William Blumen (1905-?). In connection to another notable family tree that will be explored later, Joseph was married to Verlie Gehl (1900-1975) of the Gehl family.

The Rejefski family lived on 20 Mt. Hope St. from 1908-1940. The family heads were Michael Rejefski (1863-1959) and his wife Josephine Kruszewski Rejefski (1871-1954), the former of whom immigrated from Germany in 1883. Raising a total of nine children altogether, six are recorded as residents in the Vernon City Directory. In birth order, they include Leo Rejefski (1894-1953), Ida Rejefski (1897-?), Reinhold Rejefski (1900-1966), Annie Rejefski (1903-1968), Michael J. Rejefski (1907-?), and Margaret Rejefski (1912-1981).

The Gehl family lived on 17 Caroline St. from 1919-1940. The family head was Charles E. Gehl (1874-1960) who married twice in his lifetime, the first marriage to Elizabeth Ludwig (1878-1904) and the second to Margaret O'Neil (1884-1936). The former marriage produced five children of whom only one, Verlie Gehl (1900-1975) who herself married Joseph Blumen (1901-1933), is listed in the Vernon City Directory. The latter marriage produced six more children, with four recorded as residents. In ascending order of birth year, they include Rose Gehl (1910-1994), Mary Gehl (1912-1996), Russell Gehl (1914-1969), and John Gehl (1917-2005). Notably, Pearl Puttock Gehl (1908-1948), the sister-in-law of Charles and an aunt to his children, is also listed as a resident of the address.

The Schacht family was split between 26 Mt. Hope St. and 46 Mt. Hope St., residing from 1907-1940 in the former and 1920-1940 in the latter. The largest of the family trees in the neighbourhood spanning three generations, it was headed by Carl (Charles) Schacht (1856-1940) and his wife Anna Maria Pell (1855-1943). Together, they raised a family of 9 children, of whom seven are recorded as residents of the 26 Mt. Hope St. address. Starting from the earliest birth year, they include Augusta (Gussie) Schacht (1880-?), Frederick (Fred) Schacht (1883-1973), Annie Schacht Cameron (1890-1973), Paul Karl Schacht (1893-1981), Louise Schacht (1895-1990), Otto Schacht (1897-1950), and Herbert Schacht (1900-1937). Living with the family are Annie and Louise's husbands James Cameron (1885-1956) and Patrick Farrell (1902-1970) respectively. Moving to the next generation, Augusta and Fred's children are all recorded as residents of the 46 Mt. Hope St. address. In birth order, they include George Schacht (1910-1985), Lambert Schacht (1912-1982), Roy Schacht (1913-1963), Frowde Schacht (1915-1983), and Audrey Schacht (1917-1997).

The Brubacher family lived on 34 Caroline St. from 1919-1940. The family heads are Addison Brubacher (1872-1951) and his wife Emma Mueller (1879-1929). Their two children, Gordon Brubacher (1910-1985) and Alvin Brubacher (1906-1953) are recorded as residents of the address in the Vernon City Directory. David S. Brubacher (1887-1956), brother of Addison and uncle to his children also resides at 34 Caroline St. Notably, Gordon is married to Margaret Fietsch (1917-1991), connecting him to two other residents of the neighbourhood block as explored below.

Gordon Brubacher's marriage to Margaret Fietsch connects him to another resident of the neighbourhood block, his father-in-law Clarence Fietsch (1894-1981) of 20 Caroline Street. Clarence himself is connected to brother-in-law William F. Hachborn (1872-1929) through his wife Margaret V. Hachborn (1898-1955), who lives at the same address.