Charles Henry Janzen^[1]

1880 - 1963  (82 years)

• Name	Charles Henry Janzen
  Born	9 Sep 1880	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Christened	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	1901	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  	florist
  Occupation	1908	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  	Florist
  Occupation	1911	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  	Wholesale Florist
  Residence	1911	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  	Baptist
  Residence	1912	77 Walter St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [6]
  		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   [5]
  Person ID	I29272	Generations
  Last Modified	3 Mar 2025

  
  

  Father	Mayor Henry Louis Janzen,   b. 27 Jun 1844, , Germany ,   d. 19 Nov 1927, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 83 years)
  Mother	Eliza M. Koppe,   b. 8 Sep 1851, , Germany ,   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 ,   d. 6 Dec 1957, Breslau, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 75 years)
  Married	12 Feb 1908	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Children	1. Louis Charles Janzen,   b. 10 Nov 1909, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 25 Sep 1977, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 67 years)   2. Frederich Ed. Janzen,   b. Jan 1910, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. Bef 2007  (Age ~ 96 years)   3. Henry Leon Janzen,   b. 1915, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 29 Dec 2007, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 92 years)   4. Elizabeth Miriam Janzen,   b. 1917, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1979  (Age 62 years)   5. Robert L. Janzen,   b. 6 Apr 1922, Breslau, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 9 Apr 1922, Breslau, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 0 years)
  Last Modified	4 Mar 2025
  Family ID	F14449	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Janzen,CharlesH-0001.jpg

  
  

• 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

  [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 [S137] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1901, A-1 pg 12. [S57] Vit - ON - Birth Registration, 34257-1880 Charles Henry Janzen. [S340] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1911, Div. 37 Page 13. [S3231] Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/185074002/charles-henry-janzen. [S1775] Berlin: Celebration of Cityhood.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 9 Sep 1880 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Christened - - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - florist - 1901 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Florist - 1908 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Married - 12 Feb 1908 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Wholesale Florist - 1911 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Baptist - 1911 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth