Rev. Armand O. Ramseyer

Other Events:

• Interesting: religion
• Occupation: minister
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-203891

Notes:

If you tuned into Kitchener's CKCR radio on a Sunday afternoon in the early 1940s, chances were good you would hear the singing of 20 or so children from the village of Doon, a few kilometres south of the city.

The Happy Half Hour singers were led by Rev. Armand O. Ramseyer, their pastor at the Doon Gospel Tabernacle. Each show opened with the theme song, We're A Happy Lot of People Yes We Are.

Last week's "mystery" photo, snapped in about 1943, was often given to listeners who made a donation to the group, one of many church organizations broadcasting on CKCR at the time.

Last week we knew next to nothing about the photo, but readers had plenty of information. Most of the children in the picture are still living. So is the piano player, Ruth (Krogman) Schwindt, now in her 90s.

That's Rev. Ramseyer in the top left corner, beside his wife, Hilda, who played the violin and assisted with the ministry. Standing on the right in the front row are their three oldest children - Paul, Janet and Armand Jr. (Buddy).

Ramseyer, born in 1914, grew up on his parent's farm outside New Hamburg, one of 11 children and blessed with a good singing voice.
"When I think of him, a big smile comes on my face," Janet (Ramseyer) Pergola said by email from her home in Tampa, Fla.
As she tells the story, her dad was a young man working at the Merchants Rubber Co. in Kitchener (where he met his future wife, Hilda Weicker of Kitchener) when he became very ill with blood poisoning caused by a glue used to make rubber dinghies. At one point, when he wasn't expected to live, he vowed to God he would go into the ministry if he survived. And that's what happened.

In 1940 the Ramseyers moved to Doon where Armand had been invited to start a church. Doon Gospel Tabernacle members would later build a chapel \emdash today it's the Doon Chapel wedding venue at 1222 Doon Village Rd. \emdash but in the early 1940s the church was next door in a former general store. The Ramseyer family lived upstairs.

Every Sunday the Doon group travelled to Kitchener where The Happy Half Hour was broadcast live from the CKCR studio, then upstairs in the Waterloo Trust building at King and Ontario streets. In addition to the Ramseyers and Schwindt (Krogman), the children shown in the photo were: Eldon, Esther, Shirley and Helen Leis; Alice, Doris, Mary and Stella Bewick; Beryl, Faith and Grace Hosie; Ralph and Ruth Smith, plus Beatrice Seftel, Joyce Stewart and Isobel Sapsworth.
"They are all still living with the exception of my dad, my mom, my brother Buddy and Mary Bewick," Pergola said. "The youngest one is my brother Paul, who is 72."

Paul Ramseyer, now living near Wichita, Kan., charmed audiences because he could sing tenor parts as a three-year-old, she recalls. The Toronto Star wrote about the three Ramseyer children, calling them the country's youngest trio singing in three-part harmony.
The Happy Half Hour children also sang in area communities. Bernice (Yause) Ramseyer of Tavistock (her husband may be distantly related to the pastor's family) phoned to say she remembers seeing a performance at the Tavistock library in the 1940s. "They were cute kids," she said. Hilda (Merlau) Shiry remembers listening to The Happy Half Hour and saw the group perform at the Wellesley fellowship hall. "I still know the words of their theme song to this day," she said.

In 1945 the Ramseyers moved into Kitchener and Armand started a Waterloo church, which first met in a Masonic hall at 6 Princess St. W. (behind today's Huether Hotel), then in a roofed-over basement at 235 King St. N., just north of University Avenue. This hall was later the first home of the Waterloo Pentecostal Assembly, now at 395 King St. N.

Over time, The Happy Half Hour had many participants. Laverne Hurst of Kitchener married one of the Doon singers, Stella Bewick, and sang on the show for a time. He can recall "street meetings" Rev. Ramseyer held on an empty business lot on Arthur Street in Elmira, across the road from where Hurst's father, John, had a barbershop. Other readers recalled that Ramseyer also held outdoor "revival" meetings off Spring Valley Road in Kitchener, near today's Woodside National Historic Park.

In 1954 the Ramseyers and most of their six children moved south to the first of several U.S. church posts Armand took on, first in Lynn, Mass., then Bay City, Mich., then Aberdeen, Wash., and then, in 1965, to the Open Bible Chapel in Concord, Calif. Over the years he wrote a few books and got a master's degree in theology.

While The Happy Half Hour children were well known to CKCR listeners, it never went to their heads, Pergola said.
"My dad kept us humble, and my mother, too. . . We were part of the ministry and their mission in song was to uplift spirits." Her father had a second radio ministry in Aberdeen, but never ventured into TV, Pergola said. "Our family travelled quite a bit and we all harmonized in the car," her sister, Beth (Ramseyer) Whitworth, wrote by email from her home in California. "I think all of us loved to sing."

Rev. Ramseyer was just 62 when he died in 1976. Hilda Ramseyer died in California in 2002. Her remains were returned to Kitchener for internment at St. Peter's Lutheran Cemetery. A tribute headstone for Armand was also installed, carrying the words Keep On The Firing Line, the title of a favourite Christian song.

According to an online history at the website of the Canadian Communications Foundation, CKCR radio is a direct forerunner of today's 570 News Radio (CKGL-AM) and 96.7 CHYM FM.

Guelph Mercury Friday, February 22, 2013

Armand — Hilda E. Weicker. Hilda (daughter of William Weicker and Emma E. Jungblut) was born 21 Jul 1913, Edmonton, , Alberta, Canada; died 7 Aug 2002, Concord, Contra Costa, California, United States; was buried , Saint Peter's Lutheran Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

1. Armand Richard "Bud" Ramseyer was born 25 Dec 1935, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 12 Sep 2005; was buried , Delhi Cemetery, Norfolk Co., Ontario, Canada.
2. Jan Ramseyer was born 16 Sep 1938, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 24 Apr 2019, Tampa, Hillsborough, Florida, United States; was buried , Cremated.
3. Paul Daniel Ramseyer was born 14 Nov 1940, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 24 Dec 2020, Rose Hill, Butler, Kansas, United States; was buried , Cremated.
4. John Mark Ramseyer was born 30 Mar 1946, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 19 May 2000, Concord, Contra Costa, California, United States; was buried , Saint Peter Anglican Cemetery, Brooksby, , Saskatchewan, Canada.
5. Timothy Robert Ramseyer was born 1 Oct 1952, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 2 Sep 2016, Banchory, Aberdeenshire, Scotland; was buried , Cremated.

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14328446
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-33795
• Occupation: 1891, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Agricultural Laborer
• Residence: 1891, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1901, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Occupation: 1911, Baden, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1911, Baden, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Death of Joseph L. Ramseyer

A prominent and well known resident of this community passed away early on Tuesday morning when Mr. Joseph L. Ramseyer was called by death at the age of 58 years. He had been seriously ill for some weeks and the news of his death, though expected, caused deep grief among a large number of friends. The deceased was a son of the late Peter Ramseyer and resided on the farm all his life. He was a kindly and friendly neighbor and his cheerful spirit made him a host of friends. He was a devout christian throughout his life's career and took art active part in all matters pertaining to his church. There are left in deep bereavement his sorrowing widow, who before her marriage was Mary Roth, and a family of ten children. The children are: Jeremiah, William and Edna, of Kitchener, (Ada) Mrs. Nelson Litwiller, Missionary at Pehuajo, Argentine Republic, South America, and Aaron, Mahlon, Anna May, Armand, Reta and Dorcas at home. One daughter, Nancy, died about three years ago in India where she held a missionary post, and another daughter died several years ago at the age of seven years. The funeral was held yesterday afternoon from his late home to the Pentecostal Tabernacle at Kitchener where the funeral service was held after which the earthy remains of the departed were laid to rest in Woodland Cemetery. The funeral was attended by a large circle of sorrowing relatives and friends. The sympathy of the whole community is extended to the bereaved ones in their sad loss.

New Hamburg Independent, January 24, 1930

______________


In Memoriam. Died In Wilmot, on Tuesday, January 21st, 1930, Joseph L. Ramseyer Aged: 58 years, 8 months and 22 days. Funeral Will take place from his late residence on Thursday, January 23rd, at 1.45 o'clock p.m., to the Pentecostal Tabernacle, Kitchener, at 3 o'clock, thence to Woodland Cemetery. Friends and acquaintances will please accept this intimation. All is over, hands are folded On a calm and peaceful breast; All is over, suffering ended, Now dear father is at rest.

Funeral Card

Joseph married Mary Roth 13 Jun 1912, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Mary (daughter of Daniel S. Roth and Rebecca Schwartzentruber) was born 21 Nov 1887, East Zorra Twp., Oxford Co., Ontario, Canada; died 12 May 1961; was buried , Woodland Cem., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Mary Ramseyer
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-77677
• Residence: 1911, Baden, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-217831
• Residence: 1867, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1881, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Occupation: 1891, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1891, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Peter married Anna Litwiller 24 Sep 1867, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Anna (daughter of Rev. Peter Litwiller and Elizabeth Lichti, daughter of Rev. Peter Litwiller and Elizabeth Lichti) was born 26 May 1850, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 11 Jul 1915; was buried , Riverside Cem., Elkton, Huron, Michigan, United States. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Anna Ramseyer
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-217832
• Residence: 1852, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Amish
• Residence: 1861, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1867, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1891, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-77674
• Occupation: 1885, East Zorra Twp., Oxford Co., Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Occupation: 1901, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Laborer
• Occupation: 1911, Baden, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Laborer, Odd Jobs
• Residence: 1911, Baden, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Death of Daniel S. Roth

The death took place at Baden on Tuesday of this week of Mr. Daniel S. Roth at the age of 65 years. The deceased was a former resident of New Hamburg and was a kindly friend and neighbor. Possessed of a cheerful and friendly disposition he had many friends who deeply regret his passing. He was a faithful member of the Amish-Mennonite Church. He leaves to mourn their loss, three daughters, Mrs. Joseph Ramseyer, of Snyder's Road, Mrs. Jos. Schwartzentruber, Zurich, Miss Sarah, at home, and Michael, near Petersburg. The funeral will take place from his late home to Steinmann's A.M. Church and Cemetery.

Kitchener Daily Record 14 Mar 1929

Daniel married Rebecca Schwartzentruber 8 Dec 1885, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Rebecca (daughter of Michael Schwartzentruber and Barbara, daughter of Michael O. Schwartzentruber and Barbara M. Erb) was born 14 Oct 1863, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 12 Jan 1920, Baden, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Steinmann Mennonite Cemetery, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Rebecca Roth
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-77675
• Residence: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1881, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1911, Baden, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Roth. - Rebecca Swartzendruber, wife of Daniel S. Roth, was born Oct. 14, 1863; dies at Baden, Ont. Jan. 12, 1920; aged 57 y. 2 m. 22 d. She lived in matrimony over 34 years and was mother to 5 sons and 5 daughters. She leaves husband, 1 son, and three daughters. Funeral services conducted by C. Litwiller, C. Gascho, D. H. Steinman, and M. H. Shantz. Texts, Rev. 14: 13 and Rom. 8: 1-14.

"Well, the delightful day has come
When my dear Lord hath brought me home,
And I can see his face.
There with my Savior, Brother, Friend,
A blest eternity I'll spend,
Triumphant in His grace."

Gospel Herald - Volume XII, Number 45 - February 5, 1920, p. 847

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-7855

Joseph — Barbara Klopfenstein. Barbara was born CA 1823, Of, Ohio; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Barbara Ramseyer
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-8542

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-24854
• Occupation: 1852, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Yeoman
• Residence: 1852, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Amish
• Occupation: 1861, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Yeoman
• Residence: 1861, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Hall of Fame - Waterloo Region: Bef 2012, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Religious leader

Notes:

Litwiller, Peter (1809-1878)

Peter Litwiller was born 8 January 1809, in Illfurth, Upper Alsace. His parents were Anna Maria (the name she went by) Maurer and Jacob Litwiller. Jacob died in 1814. Widow Maria, three married daughters and their families, two single daughters and Peter left France and arrived in New York on 12 July 1827.

On their arrival in Waterloo, they selected lots in the newly-surveyed centre block in Wilmot Township and set to work. Young Peter selected Lot 7, on the north side of Erb's Road, but did little work on his own lot until after his marriage to Elizabeth Lichti in 1830. By 1835, however, he had completed his settlement duties and received his patent for the front fifty acres from the Crown.

In 1838 Peter bought a little notebook which he called his "Notizbuch." It illustrates the settlers' system of bartering goods and services. Litwiller frequently hired persons by the day or to do certain tasks. This may have been the labourer's only way to get a little needed cash as much as Litwiller's need for assistance. Goods supplied in exchange for work might be yarn for stockings, material for a coat, a pound of "dubock" (tobacco), or postage for a letter. A study of the names appearing in Litwiller's notebook is a veritable "who's who" of new Amish-Mennonite arrivals in Canada. Litwiller also had dealings with his non-Amish neighbours, most of whom were Roman Catholic.

Peter's compassionate business acumen won for himself the respect of his co-religionists and, at the age of 28, he was chosen for the ministry in the Wilmot Amish Mennonite congregation in 1845. That was also the year that he served as one of the trustees who purchased the school site which the Amish had established at the site of the present St. Agatha Mennonite Church.

Peter's brother-in-law, Rudolph Roth, a gifted preacher, had been ordained minister in 1835 and bishop in 1843. Family relationships during the next few years must have been very trying for Peter and his sisters and in-laws when Rudolph Roth, his wife Maria (nee Litwiller), Jacob and Barbara (Litwiller) Gardner, and Veronica (Litwiller) Gingerich (but not her husband) joined the Reformed Mennonites . Rudolph's early demise in 1853 removed him from any conflict which Peter might have had with him.

Rudolph's leaving the Amish-Mennonite fold and the deaths of both Bishop John Oesch in Hay and Bishop Christian Miller in Wilmot, left the aged Bishop Christian Wagler, recent immigrant from Alsace, as the only bishop for the whole Amish-Mennonite constituency. It must have been Bishop Wagler who ordained Peter Litwiller that same year, and after Wagler's death the following year, Peter was left with bishop oversight over the whole Amish-Mennonite community from Wilmot to Lake Huron.

Joseph Ruby was ordained bishop for the South Easthope-East Zorra congregation in 1853 and John Jantzi for the North Wilmot-Wellesley congregation in 1859. The Hay congregation, however, did not ordain a bishop, and were served by those in East Zorra or Wilmot for the next 100 years.

Peter Litwiller's farm buildings were across the street and up the road a short distance from the Catholic Church. In 1857, a dedicated young man by the name of Eugene Funcken arrived in St. Agatha to serve in the Congregation of the Resurrection. Father Funcken was full of zeal and energy. These two men might have had good reasons to ignore each other, at best, or engage in a running feud, at worst, but they did neither. According to family tradition, they met with each other regularly to discuss topics of a religious nature. They set the stage for a peaceful community, rather than one where various factions are in conflict.

Peter Litwiller died 7 July 1878. It is said that when the funeral cortege passed the Catholic church on its way to the Amish cemetery, Father Funcken had the bells tolled. A broadside printed at the time of his death is also attributed to Father Funcken. In it he extolled the bishop's character and his ministry.<sup>1

1</sup>Roth, Lorraine. "Litwiller, Peter (1809-1878)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. October 2004. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 13 Nov 2005

______________

Herald of Truth - Volume XV, Number 8 - August 1878, pages 141, 143 and 144

LITZWILER.-July 8th, of long suffering with rheumatism, PETER LITZWILER, bishop of the Amish Mennonite church, at the age of 69 years, 5 months and 27 days. He was beloved by all who knew him.

Peter married Elizabeth Lichti 1830. Elizabeth (daughter of Johannes F. "John" Lichti and Magdalena Joder) was born 2 Oct 1808, , France; died 25 Feb 1882; was buried , Saint Agatha Mennonite Cemetery, St. Agatha, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Elizabeth Litwiller
• Name: Lizzie Lichty
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-24855
• Immigration: 9 Jul 1825, New York City, New York, USA.
• Residence: 1852, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Amish
• Residence: 1881, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Immigration:
Departed Le Harve, France on the passenger ship "Elizabeth" arrived New York City 9 Jul 1825"
John Leichy, age 67, farmer, from France
Madelina Leichty, age 52
Joseph Leichty,, age 26
Maria Leichty, age 18
Elizabeth Leichty, age 16
Nicholas Leichty, 1

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-447937

Christian — Catherine. Catherine died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Catherine Roth
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-447938

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-76955P
• Residence: 1852, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1881, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1881, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1891, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1891, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Retired: 1901, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1911, Petersburg, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Income
• Residence: 1911, Petersburg, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Michael — Barbara M. Erb. Barbara (daughter of Christian H. Erb and Maria "Polly" Miller) was born 3 Jun 1832, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 30 Dec 1910; was buried , Steinmann Mennonite Cemetery, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Barbara M. Schwartzentruber
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-76956P
• Residence: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1881, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1891, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite