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

Charles Henry Janzen[1]

Male 1880 - 1963  (82 years)


Personal Information    |    Media    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    Event Map    |    All    |    PDF

  • Photos
    Janzen,CharlesH-0001.jpg
    Janzen,CharlesH-0001.jpg

  • Name Charles Henry Janzen 
    Born 9 Sep 1880  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5
    Christened Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Occupation 1901  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    florist 
    Occupation 1908  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Florist 
    Occupation 1911  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    Wholesale Florist 
    Residence 1911  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    Baptist 
    Residence 1912  77 Walter St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [6
    77 Agnes St., Kitchener, Ontario
    77 Agnes St., Kitchener, Ontario
    From: Berlin Celebration of Cityhood - Issued by Authority of the City. Berlin Ontario, Issued in Commemoration of its Celebration of Cityhood July 17th 1912.
    Eby ID Number Waterloo-29272 
    Died 1963  [5
    Buried Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [5
    Person ID I29272  Generations
    Last Modified 12 May 2024 

    Father Mayor Henry Louis Janzen,   b. 27 Jun 1844, , Germany Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 19 Nov 1927, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 83 years) 
    Mother Eliza M. Koppe,   b. 8 Sep 1851, , Germany Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1916  (Age 64 years) 
    Family ID F184243  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Caroline Roos Guggisberg,   b. 2 Mar 1882, Ingersoll, Oxford County, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 6 Dec 1957, Breslau, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 75 years) 
    Married 12 Feb 1908  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Children 
     1. Louis Charles Janzen,   b. 10 Nov 1909, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 25 Sep 1977, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 67 years)
     2. Frederich Ed. Janzen,   b. Jan 1910, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 2007  (Age ~ 96 years)
     3. Henry Leon Janzen,   b. 1915, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 29 Dec 2007, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 92 years)
     4. Elizabeth Miriam Janzen,   b. 1917, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1979  (Age 62 years)
     5. Robert L. Janzen,   b. 6 Apr 1922, Breslau, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 9 Apr 1922, Breslau, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 0 years)
    Last Modified 13 May 2024 
    Family ID F14449  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • Lights turned Old City Hall into a Christmas spectacle

      KITCHENER - Charles Janzen couldn't make flowers grow at Christmas, but he could certainly make City Hall bloom with seven thousand bulbs and almost five kilometres of electrical wire.

      For nearly three decades, the nursery owner and president of the Kitchener Horticultural Society was the brain behind the annual tradition to turn the Old City Hall building into a twinkling, sparkling, festive landmark.

      The Old City Hall and its elaborate holiday decorations, exists only in photos and memories now. Opened in 1924, people danced on Frederick Street to celebrate its construction. It was a beacon in the heart of the city until it fell to the wrecking ball in September 1973.

      Janzen and the horticultural society took over the task of decorating city hall in 1937. Before they got involved, the Christmas decorations were much more understated. City workers just strung long ropes of evergreen around the building's tall pillars, and placed a few spotlights on the lawn.

      Under Janzen's vision, City Hall became a much grander holiday spectacle. He added more spotlights and strung up coloured wheels and stars made from fancy electric bulbs. The tradition continued over the years, with increasingly elaborate decorations and lights that usually changed each year.....

      His father Henry Janzen, a German immigrant, founded the horticultural society and built the first greenhouses in this area, Berlin Commercial Nurseries, in 1879. He also helped convince the Ontario Sugar Company to open the first sugar beet factory here in 1902.

      Like his son, the elder Janzen was heavily involved in the community. He sat on the school board, was a town councillor, mayor, ran the board of trade and was a founder of the Berlin News-Record.

      Janzen's Christmas lights paused only during the Second World War, when electrical power was conserved for industrial production; they came back on when soldiers returned from the war. But the Christmas tradition never stopped, even during the early 1950s when the city used a generator to keep the lights on during power outages....

      Mercer, G. (2017). Lights turned Old City Hall into a Christmas spectacle. TheRecord.com. Retrieved 23 December 2017, from https://www.therecord.com/news-story/8022342-lights-turned-old-city-hall-into-a-christmas-spectacle/

  • Sources 
    1. [S3108] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration, 018996-08.
      Charles Henry Janzen, 27, occ. Florist, b. Berlin, res. Berlin, son of Henry Lewis Janzen and Elizabeth M. Kappe married Caroline Rose Guggisberg, 25, b. Berlin, res. Berlin, daughter of John Guggisberg and Margaret Rose, Witn: J.C. Guggisberg of Georgetown and Mynetta C. Boehmer of Berlin, 12 February 1908 in Berlin

    2. [S137] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1901, A-1 pg 12.

    3. [S57] Vit - ON - Birth Registration, 34257-1880 Charles Henry Janzen.

    4. [S340] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1911, Div. 37 Page 13.

    5. [S3231] Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/185074002/charles-henry-janzen.

    6. [S1775] Berlin: Celebration of Cityhood.

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 9 Sep 1880 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsChristened - - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - florist - 1901 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Florist - 1908 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarried - 12 Feb 1908 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Wholesale Florist - 1911 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - Baptist - 1911 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - - Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth