Waterloo Region Generations
A record of the people of Waterloo Region, Ontario.

William Jack "Bill" Arnold

Male 1915 - 2004  (88 years)


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Generation: 1

  1. 1.  William Jack "Bill" Arnold was born 6 Dec 1915, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada (son of Percy Arnold and Maude Helena Williams); died 26 Nov 2004, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Parkview Cemetery, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.

    Other Events:

    • Name: William Jack Dewsnap
    • Eby ID Number: Waterloo-321392
    • Residence: 1921, 18 1\2 Frederich St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
    • Residence: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Church of England
    • Occupation: 1950, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; caretaker - K-W Collegiate & Vocation Institute
    • Residence: 1950, 162 Waterloo St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

    Notes:

    He'll swap broom for a pen

    By ROLAND CRIPPS Record Staff Writer

    Bill Arnold hasn't done much broom-pushing in the past 11 years.

    But at the end of the year, Arnold plans to hang up his broom at Kitchener-Waterloo collegiate for good and try pushing a pen.

    "I always said I was going to write a book," says the 65-year-old head custodian at KCI, who is retiring after 31 years at the school.
    "I have a lot of notes for it now."

    The proposed book, I Walked Through Italy, deals with Arnold's war-time experiences when he was with the Royal Canadian Regiment. The regiment landed in Naples, at the toe of Italy, in 1943, and marched the length of the country to Bologna before moving into France.

    Arnold, who lives in Waterloo, started working in 1929 at the Seagram Stable in Waterloo at age 13, apprenticing as a jockey.

    In 1932, he rode his first race at Blue Bonnets track in Montreal, bringing Mint Magi across the finish line in first place.


    "I should have stopped with my first winner," Arnold says.

    He rode in about 50 other races, but never managed to bring another winner home.

    Most of the time he worked as an exercise boy, putting horses through their paces, until he joined the army in 1942. While in the service, he "ballooned" from 85 pounds to 130.

    "It wasn't the army food-it was lousy," Arnold said.

    "Riding horses is a great way to keep slim."

    After the war, he worked two years as a painter before returning to Seagram Stable in 1947, the year before. he was married.

    He spent two years with the stable but summer-long travel on says. the circuit, which keep him from home, and the expenses of supporting a home in Waterloo and himself on the road, made him look for another job in 1949, the year he cards. landed a custodian job at KCI.

    Three years later, the head custodian died and Arnold was asked to fill in until someone was found for the position.

    "I've been filling in ever since," Arnold says.

    "After the first 29 years, it becomes easy."

    Arnold has a staff of 14 at KCI and oversees seven elementary schools. It means most of his time is spent supervising, but when the going gets tough he'll still pick up a broom and give a helping hand.

    "What I'll miss most is the people," Arnold says.

    Each year, there are several students he gets to know well. And there are the staff and teachers who invariably ask him what the score was when his beloved Toronto Maple Leafs have met defeat the night before.

    "When Toronto wins, there's never any of them around," Arnold

    Along with the plans for a book, Arnold says he'll fill in time during his retirement by continuing to bowl, pitch horseshoes and play
    And, there might be a part-time job in the offing, but that's indefinite he says.

    "I'll just lay around for the first month and see how things go."

    K-W RECORD DEC 18 1980

    William — Olive Pauline Lorentz. Olive (daughter of Maggie Clara "Clara" Lorentz) was born 31 Jan 1921, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 19 Mar 2013, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Parkview Cemetery, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]


Generation: 2

  1. 2.  Percy Arnold was born 1878, , England; died 1972; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.

    Other Events:

    • Military: Boer War
    • Nationality: , Canada
    • Name: Earnald S. Dewsnap
    • Name: Percy Arnold Dewsnap
    • Eby ID Number: Waterloo-321387
    • Immigration: 1907, , Canada
    • Occupation: 1909, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; engineer
    • Residence: 1911, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada
    • Occupation: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Printer, Office
    • Residence: 1921, 18 1\2 Frederich St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
    • Residence: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Church of England
    • Residence: 1935, 11 Moore Ave., Waterloo, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
    • Occupation: 1950, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; painter
    • Residence: 1950, 162 Waterloo St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
    • Residence: 1957, 7 College St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

    Percy married Maude Helena Williams 1902, London, England. Maude was born 1878, Barnsley, , Yorkshire, England; died 1960; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]


  2. 3.  Maude Helena Williams was born 1878, Barnsley, , Yorkshire, England; died 1960; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.

    Other Events:

    • Nationality: , Canada
    • Eby ID Number: Waterloo-321388
    • Immigration: 1907, , Canada
    • Residence: 1911, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada
    • Residence: 1921, 18 1\2 Frederich St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
    • Residence: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Church of England
    • Residence: 1935, 11 Moore Ave., Waterloo, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
    • Residence: 1950, 162 Waterloo St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
    • Residence: 1957, 7 College St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

    Children:
    1. Gwendoline Arnold was born 1902, , England; died Yes, date unknown.
    2. Edward Arnold was born 1904, , England; died 1980.
    3. Elizabeth Arnold was born 20 Jul 1909, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 11 Jul 1987, Rexdale, Etobicoke Twp., York Co., Ontario.
    4. 1. William Jack "Bill" Arnold was born 6 Dec 1915, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada; died 26 Nov 2004, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Parkview Cemetery, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.
    5. Dorothy Marguerite A. "Dora" Dewsnap was born 1921, Doon (Kitchener), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 15 Dec 2001, Vernon, , British Columbia, Canada; was buried , Memory Gardens Cemetery, Breslau, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.