An illustrated history of the local Westmount neighbourhood written by a University of Waterloo librarian will be officially launched Thursday, Nov. 24
WATERLOO, Ont. (Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011) - An illustrated history of the local Westmount neighbourhood written by a University of Waterloo librarian will be officially launched Thursday, Nov. 24.
Susan Saunders Mavor's book, Westmount: The Tie That Binds The Twin Cities, tells the story of one of Waterloo Region's most interesting and attractive residential areas, from its origins in 1912 to present day. The invitation-only launch event, hosted by the university, will be held at 4:30 p.m in the Westmount Golf and Country Club.
"The history of Westmount is in many ways a reflection of the history of Canada on a smaller scale," said Mark Haslett, university librarian. "Its growth and architecture, its challenges and solutions combine to present a portrait of the life and times of the people who have lived there. The past provides a model for how this unique neighbourhood has survived and how it can continue to thrive."
From the beginnings of its development by local industrialist and entrepreneur Talmon Henry Rieder, Westmount was envisioned as an upscale residential area.
Rieder aptly described Westmount as "a fine piece of property" in 1912 when he consulted America's foremost landscape architects, the Frederick Law Olmsted firm, about its development.
Besides giving it the name of Canada's premier neighbourhood, Westmount in Montreal, where he had lived for a period, Rieder also transferred many of the street names from its Quebec namesake to his new subdivision in Berlin, as Kitchener was then known.
The book, with a preface written by noted historian John English, outlines the history of the neighbourhood and the adjacent golf course through the world wars, economic depressions, and also through the times of modern prosperity. English describes Mavor's book as "a wonderful story of romantic vision, economic boom and depression, and, above all, the creation of a community."
The community's development was guided by a series of unique champions following Rieder's death in 1922. The story of those individuals, as well as of the many families who have called Westmount home over several generations, is enhanced by photos from personal albums, decades-old letters, diary excerpts and documents from archival collections.
The author, Susan Saunders Mavor, is a librarian and head of the rare books and archives department of the University of Waterloo Library. A number of the library's archival collections have been consulted as part of her research for the book as well as for earlier articles she has published on Westmount's history.
As a long-time resident of the Westmount area in Kitchener, her professional and personal interests have been combined in the publication of this book. She lives in one of Westmount's earliest houses with her husband Ted.
The book is available through the University of Waterloo Bookstore www.bookstore.uwaterloo.ca/westmount.html or at Words Worth Books.
