Oliver S. "Willow King" Scheifele

Other Events:

• Business: Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Willow King
• Family Photograph: Oliver Scheifle and wife Laura Hought
• Interesting: suicide, story, business
• Name: O. S. Scheifele
• Eby ID Number: 00099-5556.7
• Residence: 1891, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1901, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer Son
• Occupation: 1909, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Occupation: 1911, Conestogo, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1911, Conestogo, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Misfortune: 1933; committed suicide

Notes:

Planting the seeds

By Bob Vrbanac, Chronicle Staff

We've all heard the story of how Abraham Erb's gristmill was Waterloo's first business and led to founding of the city.

But did you know it was all a mistake? Erb was one of the Mennonite farmers who was attracted to the area from Pennsylvania because of the arable land.

But when he arrived he found out the bottomland he owned was more than a little waterlogged. There was no way he could produce a decent crop.

But the Beaver Creek, now known as Laurel Creek, did run through his property. It provided an excellent source of running water and lead to the construction of one of the area's first water-powered gristmills.

Erb had no idea his little side project would become one of the best mill sites west of the Grand River, and farmers who needed their grain ground down to the flour of life would travel more than a day's journey to get in line with the others waiting for the service.

That's just one of the stories on display at the City of Waterloo's newest exhibit celebrating the community's agrarian past called Agricultural Roots.

"The grist mill formed the nucleus of the city and we grew out from there," said Karen VandenBrink, manager of heritage services for the city. "The exhibit starts out from our early origins and goes from there."

And it's a colourful past. Have you heard of the story of the Willow King, who pioneered a novel solution to riverbank erosion that was patented and shipped around North America?

Oliver Scheifele's revolutionary method of using willow branches to shore up the banks of waterways in 1921 might have been inspired by the willow trees he saw in Waterloo Park, said VandenBrink. He might have noticed how once a willow shoot was submerged in water it would quickly grow roots along its length and it would stabilize the earth around it.

Scheifele came up with the idea of using hundreds of those poles interwined to hold riverbanks in place. He quickly won contracts with big players like Dominion Public Works, Ontario Highways and Canadian Pacific. He also branched out into the United States, winning contracts from the U.S. government to monitor the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, before opening an office in Buffalo.

But the Great Depression seemed to affect his business like many others in 1931, and his enterprise began to struggle. He was down to working out of his own garage by 1933 and was fulfilling an order for London, Ont., to plant 4,000 willow shoots along the Thames River when tragedy struck.

His wife became worried when he didn't show up for dinner on the night of April 18, 1933. She might have even had something special planned for his 50th birthday.

She found him dead, and the official cause of death was suicide by gun shot to the head.

Unfortunately, what could have been one of Waterloo's most interesting green businesses is now lost to the sands of time. His widow sold his business along with his patents, and his legacy was lost.

VandenBrink said the only remnants of his business might be the willow trees that still populate Waterloo Park. "We think there are definite connections to the willows around Silver Lake," she said.

While that provides some dramatic tension to the story of Waterloo's agricultural roots, there is still one business that continues to carry the city's banner into the world - Ontario Seed Company.

Founded in 1906 by Otto Herald as the Pioneer Canadian Seed Growers in Waterloo, it was bought by Jacob Uffelman in 1916 and his family continues to run the business at its King Street location in uptown Waterloo. "They still operate it today, and it still is a huge business," said VandenBrink.

It is still one of the largest wholesale seed suppliers in Canada, she said, as Ontario Seed Company ships out more than 40 million packets of seeds a year.

If you want to see why it's been so successful for more than 100 years, the exhibit has some of the early advertising and seed catalogue's that helped establish the roots of the company.

To call it artwork would be an understatement as vibrant colours and mouthwatering vegetables dominate the original advertising. It is interesting to see the use of language used in the print ads, loaned to the City of Waterloo for display. All of them have words like "massive" and "giant" implying the high yields that farmers would get. "Everything is luscious looking," said VandenBrink.

The exhibit Agricultural Roots is on until Mar. 1 at the museum located at Conestoga Mall. To see its special holiday hours visit www.waterloo.ca/museum.

Planting the seeds. (2012). WaterlooChronicle.ca. Retrieved 17 November 2018, from https://www.waterloochronicle.ca/whatson-story/5891294-planting-the-seeds/

Oliver married Laura Naomi Hought 9 Mar 1909, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Laura was born Aug 1888, Peel Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada; died 13 Jul 1979, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Saint Matthews Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, Conestogo, Woolwich, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24124487
• Name: Thelma Trussler
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-167373
• Residence: 1911, Conestogo, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Methodist
• Residence: 1921, Conestogo, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1934, 202 King St. N., Waterloo, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

THELMA TRUSSLER 1909-2004 Peacefully at Lanark Heights Long Term Care, Kitchener, on Thursday July 22, 2004. Thelma was born in Conestogo on December 10, 1909 to Laura and Oliver Scheifele. She graduated from St. Mary's Hospital in 1931 as a Registered Nurse and spent most of her life working at St. Mary's and K-W Hospitals caring for post surgery patients. Thelma was predeceased by her beloved husband of 50 years, Alfred, in 1985 and a sister, Audrey and her husband, Phil Hawke. Dear mother of Andrea and Don Smythe of Courtright, Ont. and Richard and Carol Trussler of Kitchener; loving grandmother of Thea of Nelson, B.C., Stephanie of Campbell River B.C., and Stuart and his wife Lois of Courtright. A memorial service in celebration of Thelma's life will be held, in the chapel of the Edward R. Good Funeral Home, 171 King St. S. Waterloo on Monday, July 26, 2004 at 1: 30 p.m. with Rev. Richard Hawley officiating. A reception will follow the service in the funeral home Reception Room. Cremation has taken place. In Thelma's memory, donations may be made to St. Mary's Hospital Foundation or charity of choice and can be arranged through the funeral home at 745-8445 or www.edwardrgood.com

The Record Newspaper 23 Jul 2004

Thelma — Alfred G. Trussler. Alfred (son of George Henry Trussler and Clara Minerva Stein) was born 10 May 1910, , Ontario, Canada; died 8 Oct 1985; was buried , Saint Matthews Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, Conestogo, Woolwich, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-167395
• Residence: 1911, Conestogo, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Methodist

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-167384
• Residence: 1911, Conestogo, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Methodist

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• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-194486

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-314781
• Residence: 1921, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite