Our Early History
The first gathering of Unitarians in Waterloo Region
occurred in 1956.
An ad placed in the paper for a meeting at the Walper Hotel
to discuss
Unitarianism drew twenty curious members of the
community.
On November 25, 1956,
the Waterloo Country Unitarian Fellowship was born.
EARLY MILESTONES IN THE YEARS LEADING UP TO OUR FIRST
BUILDING
In November 1956 we began to meet Sunday evenings at the
Smithson Public School.
In 1957 we moved to Sunday mornings at the Kitchener
Y.M.C.A.
In March of that year we had our first financial crisis -
coffee stopped for one month due to a limited budget!
In 1959 we moved to MacGreger Public School.
In 1962 back to the Kitchener Y.M.C.A.
No history of our community would be complete without
mention of one of our most dedicated founding members who
served us in so many capacities - Bob Whitton. He is seen here
on the left at the 25th Anniversary Celebrations on Saturday,
November 21, 1981, reminising about his first 25 years with our
community.
Finally we moved into our first home, the beautiful
building on the corner of Allen and Moore Streets in Waterloo,
built in 1905 and containing several stained glass windows. It
was purchased in October, 1963 and dedicated on November 10,
1963. For pictures of our first home, click the "next" button
below.